[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 167 (Monday, August 31, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44838-44840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20848]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP09-432-000]


Tricor Ten Section Hub LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Ten Section Storage Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public 
Scoping Meeting

August 21, 2009.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Ten Section Storage Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities proposed by Tricor 
Ten Section Hub LLC (Tricor) in Kern County, California. This EA will 
be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine 
whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process we will 
use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the 
project. Your input will help the Commission staff determine what 
issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping 
period will close on September 21, 2009.
    Comments on the project may be submitted in written form in a 
letter to the Secretary of the Commission, or verbally at the public 
scoping meeting. Further details on how to submit written comments are 
provided in the Public Participation section of this notice (page 5). 
In lieu of sending written comments, we invite you to attend a public 
scoping meeting scheduled as follows:

FERC Public Scoping Meeting, Tricor Ten Section Storage Project, 
Thursday, September 10, 2009, 6:30 p.m., Bakersfield Marriott at the 
Convention Center, 801 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93301. 661-323-
1900.

    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing for this project, which includes affected landowners; Federal, 
State, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental 
and public interest groups; Indian tribes and Native American 
organizations; parties to this proceeding; and local libraries and 
newspapers. State and local government representatives are asked to 
notify their constituents of this proposed project and encourage them 
to comment on their areas of concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. 
However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that approval 
conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if easement 
negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline company could 
initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with State law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice Tricor provided to landowners. This fact sheet addresses 
a number of typically asked questions, including the use of eminent 
domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. It is 
also available for viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    On June 12, 2009, Tricor submitted its application to the FERC 
under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), in Docket No. CP09-
423-000. The FERC issued a Notice of Application on June 23, 2009.
    Tricor proposes to construct and operate a natural gas storage 
field and pipeline in unincorporated Kern County, California. The 
storage facilities would be within the existing Ten Section oil and gas 
field, about 12 miles southwest of the city of Bakersfield. This field 
was first established in 1936, and is still in operation. Between 1977 
and 1982, the field was used to store natural gas by two local 
distribution companies (Pacific Gas and Electric [PG&E] and Southern 
California Gas).
    According to Tricor, its project would provide natural gas storage 
services to the interstate system in the southwestern United States. 
Tricor stated that the project would meet a growing demand for firm and 
interruptible storage services for customers in the gas marketing, 
distribution, transmission, production,

[[Page 44839]]

and electric power generation industries.
    The Ten Section Storage Project would consist of a 32.5 billion 
cubic foot (Bcf) storage field with a working capacity of 22.4 Bcf 
(with 10.1 Bcf of cushion gas). The storage facilities would be 
designed to inject natural gas into underground storage at a maximum 
rate of 0.8 Bcf/d, and withdraw natural gas from storage at a maximum 
rate of about 1.0 Bcf/d. The Ten Section Storage Project would consist 
of the following facilities:
     26 new gas injection and withdrawal wells drilled within 5 
well pads at the field;
     9 existing oil production wells converted into observation 
wells;
     5 existing water disposal wells used for the same purpose;
     New 42,000 horsepower electric driven compressor station;
     2 new 20-inch-diameter field pipelines (high pressure and 
low pressure), extending for a total of 1.8 miles, connecting the gas 
injection/withdrawal wells to the Tricor compressor station;
     New 4-inch-diameter water disposal pipeline, extending for 
1.1 miles, connecting the 5 water disposal wells to the produced water 
tank at the compressor station;
     New 36-inch-diameter bi-directional header pipeline, 
extending for 20.4 miles, between the Tricor compressor station and the 
existing Kern River Gas Transmission Company (Kern) interstate 
pipeline; and
     New metering and regulating station at the interconnection 
with the Kern pipeline.
    Non-jurisdictional facilities associated with the project would 
include:
     New electric substation to be built and operated by PG&E 
about 1.5 miles southwest of the storage field;
     New 230-kilovolt transmission line, about 1.6-miles-long, 
to be built and operated by PG&E, connecting the new electric 
substation with the Tricor compressor station; and
     New 10-inch-diameter crude oil pipeline, extending for 
0.3-mile, between the Tricor compressor station and the existing 
facilities of Kern Oil and Refining Company.
    The general location of the Project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on 
connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed jurisdictional facilities would 
disturb a total of about 400 acres of land. Following construction, 
about 179 acres would be maintained for permanent operation of the 
project's facilities. The remaining temporary construction acreage 
would be restored and allowed to revert to former uses. About 83 
percent of the construction right-of-way is agricultural land, and 14 
percent is oil and gas production open land.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. The NEPA also requires 
us to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping.'' The main goal of 
the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
    In the EA we \2\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Geology and soils;
     Water resources and wetlands;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Cultural resources;
     Land use and socioeconomics;
     Air quality and noise; and
     Safety and reliability.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA 
may be published and mailed to those on our environmental mailing list 
(see discussion of how to remain on our mailing list on page 6 of this 
notice). A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA is 
published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make our 
recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments are 
considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section of this notice (below).
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may 
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to 
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments 
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice (below).

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
written comments are timely and properly recorded, please send in your 
comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before 
September 21, 2009.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your written comments to the Commission. The Commission 
encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert eFiling staff 
available to assist you at 202-502-8258 or [email protected].
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the Quick 
Comment feature, which is located at http://www.ferc.gov under the link 
called ``Documents and Filings''. A Quick Comment is an easy method for 
interested persons to submit text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the 
``eFiling'' feature that is listed under the ``Documents and Filings'' 
link. eFiling involves preparing your submission in the same manner as 
you would if filing on paper, and then saving the file on your 
computer's hard drive. You will attach that file to your submission. 
New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on the links 
called ``Sign up'' or ``eRegister''. You will be asked to select the 
type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is 
considered a ``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You may file your comments with the Commission via mail by 
sending an original and two copies of your letter to: Kimberly D. Bose, 
Secretary, Federal

[[Page 44840]]

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    In all instances, please reference the project docket number CP09-
432-000 with your submission. Label one copy of the comments for the 
attention of Gas Branch 3, PJ-11.3.

Environmental Mailing List

    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners who are 
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily 
for project purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of 
aboveground facilities (as defined in the Commission's regulations).
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request 
(Appendix 2). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an ``intervenor,'' which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the 
Internet at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Click on 
the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket 
number, excluding the last three digits, in the Docket Number field. Be 
sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, 
please contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or 
toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. The 
eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of formal documents 
issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time 
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to 
the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-20848 Filed 8-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P