[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69717-69719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28989]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[ Docket No. CP11-547-000]


Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, LLC; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 2012 Storage 
Optimization Project 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 2012 Storage Optimization 
Project involving abandonment of certain facilities and construction 
and operation of new facilities by Natural Gas Pipeline Company of 
America, LLC (Natural) in Washington County, Iowa; Effingham, Clinton, 
and Piatt Counties, Illinois; and Harrison County, Texas. 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 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, December 1, 2011.
    Comments may be submitted in written form. Further details on how 
to submit written comments are provided in the Public Participation 
section of this notice.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. 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 representative of Natural 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 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?'' was attached to the 
project notice Natural 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

    Natural states that the benefits of the 2012 Storage Optimization 
Project would serve the public convenience and necessity by replacing 
aging compressor units with new equipment and thereby improving and 
optimizing its market area storage withdrawal and injection 
capabilities, system flexibility and reliability
    The proposed Project would consist of the following:

Compressor Station 205--Washington County, Iowa

     Construct and operate a new 3,550 hp gas-fired compressor 
unit at Natural's Compressor Station 205 located near Keota in 
Washington County, Iowa.
     Abandon by removal the existing dual 6-inch-diameter meter 
runs at Natural's Compressor Station 205.
     Install new 10-inch-diameter meter.

[[Page 69718]]

Proposed Compressor Station 206A--Effingham County, Illinois

     Construct and operate a new 22,000 hp electric motor 
driven compressor station located near Altamont in Effingham County, 
Illinois.

Compressor Stations 310 and 311--Centralia and Clinton Counties, 
Illinois

     Abandon in place two 2,800 hp gas-fired compressor units 
at Natural's CS 310 located near Centralia in Clinton County, Illinois.
     Abandon in place three 2,800 hp gas-fired compressor units 
at Natural's CS 311 located near Hammond in Piatt County, Illinois.

North Lansing Storage Field--Harrison County, Texas

     Reduce the cushion gas inventory by 5 Bcf at Natural's 
North Lansing Storage Field near Longview in Harrison County, Texas.
    The general location of the project 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, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on 
connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the new proposed Compressor Station 206A would 
permanently disturb about 14.32 acres of land. The remaining proposed 
work would be conducted within existing facility areas.

The EA Process

    The Natural 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 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 under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species; and
     Public 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.
    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 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.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the Natural Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the Natural Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with applicable State Historic Preservation Office(s) (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(s) 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 would document our 
findings on the potential project 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 Natural Register of 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 December 1, 
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 (CP11-547-000) 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.

[[Page 69719]]

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; Native 
American Tribes; environmental and public interest groups; 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 
(i.e., CP11-547). 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: November 2, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-28989 Filed 11-8-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P