[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 233 (Monday, December 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64071-64073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29033]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[ Docket No. CP10-16-000]


Cadeville Gas Storage LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Cadeville Gas Storage Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 30, 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 Cadeville Gas Storage Project 
(Cadeville Gas Storage) involving construction and operation of 
facilities by Cadeville Gas Storage LLC (Cadeville Gas) in Ouachita 
Parish, Louisiana. 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 which 
issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping 
period will close on December 30, 2009.
    This notice is being sent to affected landowners; federal, state, 
and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other 
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. State and local 
government representatives are asked to notify their constituents of 
this planned 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 Cadeville Storgae representative about survey permission and/or 
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 
natural gas 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?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). 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 
available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site (www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Cadeville Storage proposes to convert a depleted natural gas 
reservoir to storage with an approximate 16.4 billion cubic feet (bcf) 
of working gas capacity and 5.4 bcf of base gas capacity. Cadeville 
Storage proposed to construct the following facilities associated with 
the Project:
     Install eight new natural gas injection/withdrawal wells;
     convert three existing wells to observation wells;
     construct approximately 0.2 miles of 20-inch diameter 
injection/withdrawal pipeline referred to as the South Injection/
Withdrawal Pipeline, and 1.4 miles of 16-inch diameter injection/
withdrawal pipeline referred to as the North Injection/Withdrawal 
Pipeline;
     construct an integrated compressor station/control 
facility, comprised of five 4,735 brake horsepower (bhp) natural gas 
fueled engines, reciprocating compressors equipped with air intake 
filters/silencers, critical grade exhaust silencer/catalyst, a 
triethylene glycol dehydration system, control and safety systems, and 
associated facilities;
     construct approximately 2.6 miles of 16-inch diameter 
header pipeline referred to as the Tennessee Header;
     construct approximately 0.9 miles of 16-inch diameter 
header pipeline referred to as the Gulf South Header;
     construct approximately 6.4 miles of 24-inch diameter 
header pipeline referred to as the CenterPoint Header; and
     construct three metering and regulation stations, one at 
each interconnect point with the Tennessee, Gulf South, and CenterPoint 
pipelines. These stations are referred to as the Tennessee Meter 
Station, Gulf South Meter Station, and CenterPoint Meter Station.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices are 
available on the Commission's Web site at the ``eLibrary'' link 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. 
Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this 
notice in the mail.
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    If approved, Cadeville Storage proposes to commence construction of 
the proposed facilities on or about June 2010.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction and modifications of the storage field and associated 
facilities would temporarily impact about 141.3 acres of land for use 
as construction workspace, access roads and pipe/contractor yards 
areas. A total of 80.2 acres would be permanent impact.
    Cadeville Storage is proposing to construct as well as utilize 
existing access roads along with the Project. Approximately 2.5 acres 
would be used as permanent easements for new access roads.

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. 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 of Intent, the Commission staff 
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the 
EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the 
EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify 
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to 
comment on their areas of concern.
    In the EA we \3\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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     Geology and soils
     Land use

[[Page 64072]]

     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
     Cultural resources
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Air quality and noise
     Endangered and threatened species
     Public safety
    We will also evaluate possible 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 in the EA. Depending 
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be 
published and mailed to federal, state, and local agencies, public 
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for 
this proceeding. 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 below.
    With this NOI, we are asking federal, state, and local 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. Additional 
agencies that would like to request cooperating agency status should 
follow the instructions for filing comments provided under the Public 
Participation section of this NOI.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Cadeville Storage. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
     Potential impacts may occur to wetlands and waterbodies. 
Approximately 4.08 acres of wetlands would be affected by crossing of 
pipeline facilities.
     Construction and operation impacts would affect 
approximately 132.0 acres of forested and mixed woods lands.
     Potential impacts may occur to the federally-listed red-
cockaded woodpecker.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about Cadeville Gas Storage 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 comments are timely and properly recorded, please send 
in your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or 
before December 30, 2009.
    For your convenience, there are three methods in which you can use 
to submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the project docket number CP10-16-000 with your submission. 
The docket number can be found on the front of this notice. The 
Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has dedicated 
eFiling expert 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 on the Commission's internet Web site 
at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to 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, which is located on the Commission's internet Web site at 
http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. 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 as your submission. New eFiling users 
must first create an account by clicking on ``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 via mail to the Commission by 
sending an original and two copies of your letter to: Kimberly D. Bose, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
    Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas Branch 2, 
PJ11.2.

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 distances defined in the 
Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities.
    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 
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 a Commission 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 
FERC Internet Web site (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 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.


[[Page 64073]]


    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. E9-29033 Filed 12-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P