[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5504-5505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2450]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP12-36-000]


Tres Palacios Gas Storage, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Copano Plant Interconnect 
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 affects of the Copano Plant Interconnect 
Project (Project) proposed by Tres Palacios Gas Storage, L.L.C. (TPGS) 
in Colorado and Wharton Counties, Texas. The Commission will use this 
EA 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 February 29, 2012.
    You may submit comments in written form. Further details on how to 
submit written comments are 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 should 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, a pipeline company 
representative may contact you 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 Commission approves the project, 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.
    TPGS provided landowners with a fact sheet prepared by the FERC 
entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I 
Need To Know?'' 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 (www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    TPGS plans to construct, own, and operate approximately 19.7 miles 
of 24-inch diameter pipeline, appurtenances, and one interconnect and 
metering station that connects the existing Copano Energy Houston 
Central Plant in Colorado County, Texas to TPGS' existing pipeline 
system in Wharton County, Texas. The Copano Energy Houston Central 
Plant, which processes natural gas produced from Eagle Ford Shale in 
southern Texas, would send refined natural gas to TPGS storage and 
wheeling facilities where it would either be sent to the ten interstate 
and intrastate pipeline with which TPGS interconnects, or be stored in 
TPGS facilities for later delivery to any of these pipelines for 
transportation to markets in the United States and Mexico.
    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 printed in 
the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to all those 
receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 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 Project would impact a total of approximately 
227.4 acres, including lands affected for the pipeline construction, 
additional temporary workspaces and the aboveground interconnect and 
metering site. Following construction, about 96.4 acres would be 
maintained for permanent operation of the project's facilities; the 
remaining acreage would be restored and allowed to revert to former 
uses. About 97 percent of the planned pipeline route parallels an 
existing pipeline right-of-way.

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. The 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 important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. We will 
consider all filed comments 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 environmental affects that could occur as 
a result of the construction and operation of the proposed Project, 
under these general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Land use and recreation;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise; 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.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA 
will be available in the public record through eLibrary (FERC's records 
information system, see the Additional Information section of this 
Notice). To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and address your 
comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section. Depending on the comments received during the 
scoping process, we may also publish and distribute the EA to the 
public for an allotted comment period. Comments on the EA will be 
considered before we make our recommendations to the Commission.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law 
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues of 
this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the 
EA.\3\ 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.
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    \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing 
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations, Sec.  1501.6.
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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 the

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Texas 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.\4\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential 
Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the Project develops. 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 of 
consultations under section 106.
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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Those 
regulations define historic properties as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National 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 in your comments 
so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before February 
29, 2012.
    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 (CP12-36-000) with your submission. 
The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has 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 www.ferc.gov 
under the link to Documents and Filings. This is a 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 
(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 must select the type of 
filing you are making. If you are filing a comment on a particular 
project, please select ``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You may file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
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; Indian 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 we publish and distribute the EA, 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 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 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., 
CP12-36). 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: January 30, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-2450 Filed 2-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P