[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 215 (Thursday, November 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65930-65932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26388]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP14-539-000]
Ozark Gas Transmission, LLC; Supplemental Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Ozark Abandonment
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
On October 7, 2014, the Commission issued a ``Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Ozark Abandonment Project,
And Request for Comments on Environmental Issues'' (NOI). It has come
to our attention that the environmental mailing list was not provided
copies of the NOI; therefore we are issuing this Supplemental NOI to
extend the scoping period and provide additional time for interested
parties to file 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 Ozark Abandonment Project
(Project) involving abandonment of facilities by Ozark Gas
Transmission, LLC (Ozark). The Commission will use this EA in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the
public convenience and necessity.
The Commission and cooperating agencies continue to gather input
from the public and interested agencies on the Project. This process is
referred to as scoping. Your input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. The original NOI
identified November 6, 2014 as the close of the scoping period. Please
note that the scoping period is now extended and will close on December
1, 2014.
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 the 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 proposed facilities. Ozark
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 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
Ozark proposes to abandon in place and remove from service
approximately 159 miles of mainline natural gas pipeline facilities
between Sebastian and White Counties, Arkansas. In addition, Ozark
would disconnect and abandon 29 associated metering and regulating
facilities and other appurtenant facilities, as necessary. Ozark is
proposing to abandon the aforementioned facilities due to
underutilization and lack of market interest.
Specifically, Ozark would abandon in place the following
facilities:
127.5 miles of 20-inch-diameter Line 1 in Franklin,
Johnson, Pope, Conway, Faulkner, and White Counties from mile post (MP)
127.52 to MP 0.00;
26.4 miles of 10-inch-diameter Line 2 in Sebastian,
Franklin, and Logan Counties From MP 0.00 to MP 26.37;
4.8 miles of 12-inch-diameter Line 1-A in White County
from MP 0.00 to MP 4.75;
29 associated metering and regulating facilities, located
along Line 1, 2, and 1-A, in Franklin, Logan, Johnson, Pope, Conway,
Faulkner, and White Counties; and other appurtenant facilities, as
necessary.
The general location of the facilities to be abandoned is shown in
appendix 1.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Requirements for Abandonment
The abandonment activities, including excavation and ground
disturbance, would disturb about 23.6 acres of land, of which 22.7
acres would be within existing facility sites operated by Ozark. The
remaining acreage of impact would be within Ozark's existing easements,
pipeline right of way, or original construction corridor. Following
construction, only existing sites at Noark and Searcy Compressor
Stations and the existing permanent pipeline right-of-way would
continue to be maintained. All land disturbed outside of existing sites
or permanent pipeline right of way would be restored and return to
former uses.
Future Use of the Abandoned Pipeline Facilities
Following the abandonment, Ozark indicates that several parties
would perform activities that are not under the jurisdiction of the
FERC. In the EA, we will provide available descriptions of the non-
jurisdictional facilities and include them under our analysis of
cumulative impacts.
After abandonment, Ozark would transfer the assets to an affiliate,
which would lease the facilities to Magellan Pipeline Company, L.P
(Magellan) for refined petroleum products transportation service. The
affiliate and Magellan would undertake conversion work on the abandoned
lines to prepare them for refined petroleum transportation.
Additionally, after abandonment, Ozark's existing customer,
SourceGas, would construct, install, and operate about 6.3 miles of new
2-inch- and 6-inch-diameter pipeline laterals and perform a meter
station upgrade in Logan County in order to transfer SoureGas' existing
firm service on the abandoned facilities to an economically viable
transportation alternative. Furthermore, Ozark Gas Gathering, LLC (OGG)
would make reconnections on
[[Page 65931]]
their system to continue service at two locations.
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
\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. We will
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the abandonment of facilities 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.
The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA
will be available in the public record through the FERC's eLibrary
system. 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 of this
NOI.
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 1501.6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Arkansas 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. Our EA for the
Project will document our findings on the impacts on historic
properties and summarize the status of consultations under Section 106.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
December 1, 2014.
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 (CP14-539-000) 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; Indian Tribes; other
interested parties and non-governmental organizations; 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 abandonment purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of
aboveground facilities. 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 EAs coping 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
[[Page 65932]]
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., CP14-
539). 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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
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 30, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-26388 Filed 11-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P