[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66603-66605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27015]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP12-491-000]
Trunkline Gas Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Trunkline Mainline
Abandonment 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 Trunkline Mainline Abandonment
Project involving abandonment of facilities by Trunkline Gas Company,
LLC (Trunkline) located in numerous counties in Illinois, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and 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 they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that
the scoping period will close on November 26, 2012.
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.
Trunkline 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
Trunkline proposes to abandon by transfer to a corporate affiliate
portions of its existing 100-1 and 100-2 looped \1\ pipeline systems
and portions of compressor stations (CS) located in numerous counties
in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and
Texas, so that they may be converted to the transmission of crude oil.
Trunkline also proposes to abandon in-place 12 compressor units
totaling 15,850 horsepower (hp) that are no longer needed. Trunkline
states that the abandonment would result in the reduction of its
certificated winter mainline capacity through the Independence CS from
1,555 thousand dekatherms per day (MDt/d) to 958 MDt/d, and the
certificated capacity out of its Texas portion of its system through
the Longville CS would be reduced from 1,109 MDt/d to 920 MDt/d. After
abandonment, these gas volumes would continue to be transported using
the 100-2 pipeline between the Kountze CS and Longville CS, and the
100-3 pipeline between the Longville CS and the Tuscola CS.
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\1\ A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to
an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
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The Trunkline Mainline Abandonment Project would consist of the
following:
Abandonment by transfer of 45.02 miles of the 24-inch-
diameter 100-1 Loopline extending from Main Line Valve (MLV) 43-1 near
Buna, Texas to the Longville CS near Longville, Louisiana;
Abandonment by transfer of 725.46 miles of the 30-inch-
diameter 100-2 Loopline pipeline extending from the Longville CS to the
Tuscola CS near Tuscola, Illinois;
Abandonment in-place of a 3,000-hp compressor unit from
the Pollock CS (Louisiana); a 1,050-hp compressor unit from the Epps CS
(Louisiana); four compressor units totaling 4,200 hp from the Shaw CS
(Mississippi); five compressor units totaling 5,250 hp from the
Independence CS (Mississippi); and a 2,350-hp compressor unit from the
Joppa CS (Illinois); and
Abandonment of minor facilities at 163 sites across the
systems, 80 of which would require ground disturbing activities.
Trunkline states that upon the grant of abandonment authority for
the above facilities, its Mainline pipeline and existing compressor
stations would continue to operate in interstate transportation
service.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear 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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Non-Jurisdictional Facilities
Following transfer of the facilities, the future operator of the
abandoned pipeline would perform activities that are not under the
jurisdiction of the FERC (non-jurisdictional) including modification of
the facilities to transport crude oil. The future operator would modify
the facilities proposed for abandonment at 95 sites. These activities
would include:
Removal and/or change out of mostly MLVs at 84 sites that
overlap the abandonment work sites;
Construction of four new MLVs;
Construction of three new relays totaling 4,400 feet to
make the pipeline diameter consistent, in order to enable inline
inspection tools to be run through the crude oil pipeline; and
Construction of replacement pipelines across the Sabine,
Red, Mississippi, and Ouachita Rivers using the horizontal directional
drilling method.
The scope of the non-jurisdictional pipeline construction
activities is still being developed. However, the current scope
includes:
Construction of about 33.6 miles of 30-inch-diameter
pipeline from the vicinity of the tank farms in Patoka, Illinois to
Trunkline's existing Johnsonville CS; and
Construction of about 154 miles of 30-inch-diameter
pipeline from about milepost 62.7 near Alexandria, Louisiana to a
possible delivery point in St. James, Louisiana.
These related non-jurisdictional facilities are not subject to the
FERC's environmental review procedures. In the EA, we \3\ will provide
available descriptions of the non-jurisdictional facilities and include
them under our analysis of cumulative impacts.
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\3\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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Land Requirements for Construction
Trunkline's abandonment activities would require ground disturbance
of approximately 10.1 acres at 80 sites and would involve the
following: excavation of cross-over pipeline segments for isolation of
tap valve meter and regulators, installation of hot taps on the
Mainline pipeline, excavation and removal of two drip lines on Loopline
100-2, removal of a small segment of pipeline from Loopline 100-1
downstream of Mainline Valve 43-1, and capping the ends of the pipe.
Upon conclusion of the abandonment activities, the disturbed acreage
would be restored. In addition, Trunkline would use other areas at
existing mainline valve and compressor stations to disconnect above
ground piping, welding caps on the pipeline ends, or
[[Page 66604]]
installing blind flanges. These activities would involve no ground
disturbance.
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
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. We will
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the abandonment 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;
Public safety; and
Cumulative impacts.
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. 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. We
will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendations
to the Commission. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and
address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the
Public Participation section below.
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.\4\ 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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\4\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 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 applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (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.\5\ We will define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs 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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\5\ 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 your comments so
that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before
November 26, 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 CP12-491-000 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 can file your comments electronically using the eComment
feature on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for interested persons to
submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
(2) You can file your comments electronically using the eFiling
feature on the Commission's Web site (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 can 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; Native American Tribes; and
local libraries and newspapers. This list also includes all affected
landowners (as defined in the Commission's regulations) who are
existing 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
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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-
491-000. 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: October 26, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-27015 Filed 11-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P