[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76003-76004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30594]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP09-432-000]


Tricor Ten Section Hub LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Ten Section Gas Storage 
Project

November 29, 2010.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Ten 
Section Gas Storage Project, in Kern County, California, proposed by 
Tricor Ten Section Hub LLC (Tricor) in the above referenced docket. 
Tricor requests authorization to utilize the depleted underground 
capacity available within Zone 1 of the Upper Stevens Sands of the 
existing Ten Section oil and gas field, about 12 miles southwest of 
Bakersfield, to store about 22.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Ten Section Gas Storage Project in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed 
project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a 
major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment.
    The California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas, and 
Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) participated as a cooperating agency in 
the preparation of the EA. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by 
law or special expertise with respect to resources potentially affected 
by the proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. DOGGR has the 
authority to review Notices of Intent to drill or rework wells and 
injection project applications, under California state laws and 
regulations. DOGGR may adopt the EA for purposes of its environmental 
review of the Project.
    The Ten Section Storage Project would consist of the following 
facilities that would fall under the authority or jurisdiction of the 
FERC:
     26 new gas injection/withdrawal wells drilled from 5 well 
pads at the field;
     2 new (low pressure and high pressure) 20-inch-diameter 
field pipelines connecting the gas injection/withdrawal wells to the 
compressor station;
     5 existing water disposal wells at the field used for the 
same purpose;
     new 4-inch-diameter water disposal pipeline from the 
proposed Tricor compressor station to the existing water disposal 
wells;
     2 existing water supply wells and new associated pipelines 
to provide water for field operations and hydrostatic testing;
     9 existing oil production wells in the field converted 
into observation wells;
     new 42,000-horsepower (hp) electric-driven field 
compressor station;
     new 36-inch-diameter bi-directional header pipeline, 
extending about 20.5 miles, between Tricor's compressor station and the 
existing Kern-Mojave pipeline; and
     new metering and regulating station at the interconnection 
between the Tricor header pipeline with the Kern-Mojave pipeline.
    In addition, as part of this Project, the following facilities 
would be constructed and operated which are not regulated by the FERC 
(non-jurisdictional facilities):
     New electric substation, to be designed, built, owned, and 
operated by Pacific Gas and Electric company (PG&E) about 1.5 miles 
southwest of the storage field;
     new 1.6-miles-long, 230-kilovolt transmission line, to be 
designed, built, owned, and operated by PG&E, connecting the new 
electric substation with Tricor's compressor station;
     new 30,000 barrel oil tank within the proposed compressor 
station tract, and
     new 10-inch-diameter, 0.3-mile-long oil pipeline between 
the proposed Tricor compressor station and the existing facilities of 
Kern Oil.
    The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is 
available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies of the 
EA are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, 
NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    Copies of the EA have been mailed to Federal, State, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; interested 
Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners; local 
libraries; other interested individuals; and parties to this 
proceeding.
    Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. 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 properly recorded and considered prior to 
a Commission decision on the proposal, it is important that the FERC 
receives your comments in Washington, DC on or before December 31, 
2010.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
project docket number (CP09-432-000) with your submission. 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 eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an 
easy method for interested persons to submit brief, 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 Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling you 
can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a 
file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an 
account by clicking on ``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 a paper copy of your comments at the following 
address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    Although your comments will be considered by the Commission, simply 
filing comments will not serve to make the commenter a party to the 
proceeding. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must 
file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR

[[Page 76004]]

385.214).\1\ Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the 
Commission's decision.
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    \1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
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    Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be 
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your comments considered.
    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC or on the 
FERC Web site (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 
(i.e., CP09-432). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. 
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at (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 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-30594 Filed 12-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P