[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81602-81604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32641]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP11-36-000]


Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Northampton Expansion Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 21, 2010.
    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 Northampton Expansion Project 
(Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (Tennessee) in Hampden County, 
Massachusetts. 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.
    The Notice of Intent (NOI) announces the opening of the scoping 
process the Commission 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 January 20, 2011.
    Comments on the project may be submitted in written form or 
electronically, as described in the public participation section of 
this notice.
    This NOI is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing for this project, which includes affected landowners; Federal, 
State, and local government representatives and agencies; elected 
officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American 
Tribes; 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 where compensation would be 
determined 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 Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov/for-citizens/citizen-guides.asp). This fact sheet addresses a number of 
typically asked questions, including the use of eminent domain and how 
to participate in FERC's proceedings.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    The Project involves the construction of the new Southwick 
Compressor Station 260A at 248 Feeding Hills Road in the Town of 
Southwick, Hampden County, Massachusetts. The Project has been sited on 
a 5.32-acre parcel adjacent to Tennessee's existing 8-inch diameter 
Northampton Lateral Line. The Compressor Station will consist of a 
2,000-horsepower electric engine compression unit housed within a new 
building, and other associated facilities, including a gas cooler unit, 
vent silencer, a fan, a control building, on-site access driveway, and 
overhead electrical line. Ancillary equipment will also include an 
emergency generator, hot water boiler and space heater, all fueled by 
natural gas. In order to connect the Compressor Station to the 
Northampton Lateral, Tennessee will need to install a total of 380 feet 
of pipeline: (i) 155 feet of pipeline on the Compressor Station site; 
and (ii) 225 feet of pipeline within a 60-foot wide easement connecting 
the Compressor Station site to the Northampton Lateral.
    A location map depicting the proposed facilities is attached to 
this NOI as Appendix 1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not printed in 
the Federal Register, but they are being provided to all those who 
receive this notice in the mail. Copies of the NOI can be obtained 
from the Commission's Web site at the ``eLibrary'' link, 
Commission's Public Reference Room, or by calling (202) 502-8371. 
For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the end of this 
notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Tennessee proposes to construct the Project on a parcel of land 
measuring approximately 5.32 acres which is wholly owned by Tennessee. 
Construction will require approximately 3.28 acres of new land 
disturbance of which 1.57 acres will be permanently altered by 
operation of the facility. Approximately 2.82 acres (over 50 percent) 
of the 5.32-acre parcel would be utilized as buffer and visual 
screening both during and post-construction and will not be affected by 
either construction or operation of the facility. Portions of this work 
are also required within a proposed 0.31-acre pipeline easement 
necessary to connect the compressor station to Tennessee's existing 
pipeline. Following construction, the ground surfaces immediately 
surrounding the facility and within the proposed fence line will be 
converted to gravel and maintained lawn to facilitate maintenance of a 
clear and accessible operational area.

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 
\2\ 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 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.
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as results of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise
     Reliability and safety
    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.

[[Page 81603]]

    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.
    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.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with applicable State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to 
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested 
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on 
historic properties.\3\ We will define the project-specific Area of 
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project is 
further developed. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a 
minimum encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples 
include construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, 
compressor stations, and access roads). Our EA for this project will 
document our findings on the impacts on historic properties and 
summarize the status on consultations under section 106.
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    \3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic 
Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified issues that we think deserve attention 
based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the 
environmental information provided by Tennessee. This preliminary list 
of issues, which is presented below, may be revised based on your 
comments and our continuing analyses specific to the Project:

 Potential noise and vibration impacts from compressor station
 Air quality impacts from the compressor station construction 
and operation

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 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please send in your comments 
so that they will be received in Washington, DC, on or before January 
20, 2011.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the project docket number (CP11-36-000) with your submission. 
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 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.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes 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. This list also 
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's 
regulations) 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, and anyone who submits 
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list 
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related 
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
proposed project.
    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would 
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD 
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please 
return the attached Information Request (Appendix 2).

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 (866) 208-FERC or on the 
FERC Web site 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

[[Page 81604]]

[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 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. 2010-32641 Filed 12-27-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P