[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
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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