[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28968-28970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12296]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP11-159-000]


Perryville Gas Storage LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Crowville Salt Dome Storage 
Project Amendment and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    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 proposed Crowville Salt Dome 
Storage Project Amendment (Project Amendment) which involves the 
expansion, installation and operation of natural gas storage facilities 
by Perryville Gas Storage LLC (Perryville) in Franklin Parish, 
Louisiana. This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-
making process to determine whether the Project Amendment is in the 
public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public

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and interested agencies on the Project Amendment. 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 June 13, 2011.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for the Project Amendment. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this 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 Perryville representative about the acquisition or modification 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 Amendment is approved by the 
Commission, that approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. 
Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, 
Perryville could initiate condemnation proceedings where compensation 
would be determined in accordance with state or federal 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 (http://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.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Perryville proposes to increase the working capacity of its two 
previously certificated (FERC Docket No. CP09-418-000) natural gas 
storage caverns by 2.5 billion cubic-feet each; and install three 
freshwater supply wells (FW Wells 5-7), six brine disposal wells (SWD 
Wells 6-11) and eight groundwater monitoring wells (Monitor Wells 1-8). 
Perryville believes the proposed facilities are necessary to expand its 
Crowville Salt Dome Storage Project so that it can meet the demand for 
reliable natural gas storage capacity in the eastern and southeastern 
United States.

Land Requirements for Construction

    With one exception, lands recently disturbed for installation and 
operation of the Crowville Salt Dome Storage Project facilities would 
be used for installation of the proposed facilities. The installation 
of one groundwater monitoring well would require the use of two 
previously undisturbed acres.
    The general location of the proposed facilities is shown in 
Appendix 1.\1\
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    \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, (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting 
to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
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The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from the issuance or amendment 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 be addressed in the EA. All comments received will be 
considered during the preparation of the EA.
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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 a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed Project Amendment under 
these general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Water resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Land use and visual resources;
     Cultural resources;
     Air quality and noise;
     Reliability and safety; and
     Cumulative impacts.
    We will also evaluate alternatives to the proposed project or 
portions of the proposed project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid environmental impacts.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
The EA will be placed in the public record, and depending on the 
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 
is published for review. 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 beginning on page 4.
    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(s), 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(s) as the project is 
further developed. For 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 of 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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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 your comments so 
that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before June 13, 
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 (CP11-159-000) with your 
submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and 
has expert eFiling staff

[[Page 28970]]

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 property 
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 1).

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to participating 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 
(i.e., CP11-159). 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 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.

    Dated: May 13, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-12296 Filed 5-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P