[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1569-1570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-656]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP96-97-000]
Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Hockessin Expansion Project
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
January 16, 1996.
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 construction and operation of
the facilities proposed in the Hockessin Expansion Project.\1\ This EA
will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to
determine whether an environmental impact statement is necessary and
whether to approve the project.
\1\ Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company's application was filed
with the Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part
157 of the Commission's regulations.
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Summary of the Proposed Project
Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (ESNG) seeks to:
(1) Provide additional firm contract demand sales and storage
service to several of its existing customers;
(2) Abandon firm sales service to one of its existing customers;
and
(3) Construct and operate certain new pipeline and compressor
facilities required to stabilize capacity on its system and to provide
the additional firm sales and storage service.
ESNG indicates that the proposed project (1) would stabilize system
capacity and integrity of declining inlet gas pressure at the Hockessin
meter and regulating station, and (2) enable ESNG to provide 4,796 Mcf
of additional firm daily capacity on ESNG's system.
ESNG seeks authority to:
construct and operate a 2,170-horsepower (hp) Delaware
City Compressor Station (C.S.), with a 1,085-hp back-up unit, in New
Castle County, Delaware;
construct and operate 0.89 mile of 16-inch-diameter
pipeline in New Castle County, Delaware to tie the suction side of the
proposed Delaware C.S. into the Hockessin Line;
uprate the maximum allowable operating pressure from 500
pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to 590 psig on 28.7 miles of the
Salisbury Lateral from the outlet of ESNG's existing Bridgeville C.S.
in Sussex County, Delaware to the Citizens Meter and Regulatory Station
in Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland; and
abandon 100 Mcfd of firm sales service to Playtex Apparel,
Inc., a direct sales customer.
The general location of the project facilities and specific
locations for facilities on new sites are shown in appendix 1.\2\
\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the
Delaware's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. Copies of
the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the
mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 4.8
acres of land for the proposed pipeline and about 2.7 acres for the new
compressor station. About 0.9 acre would be fenced around the
compressor station facilities.
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
[[Page 1570]]
public may have about proposals. We call this ``scoping''. The main
goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the
Important environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the
Commission requests public comments on the scope of the issues it will
address in the EA. All comments received are considered during the
preparation of the EA. State and local government representatives are
encouraged to notify their constituents of this proposed action and
encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general
headings:
Land use.
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
Air quality and noise.
Cultural resources.
Public safety.
Endangered and threatened species.
We will also evaluate possible 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 in the EA. Depending
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be
published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, public
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners,
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we
recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified one issue that we think deserves
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Transwestern:
The proposed compressor station may increase ambient noise levels.
Keep in mind that this is a preliminary issue. Issues may be added,
subtracted, or changed based on your comments and our analysis.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your
specific comments or concerns about the project. You should focus on
the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to
the proposal (including alternative locations or routes), and measures
to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific your
comments, the more useful they will be.
Please follow the instructions below to ensure that your comments
are received and properly recorded:
Address your letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426;
Reference Docket No. CP96-97-000;
Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, EA
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE., PR-11.1, Washington, DC 20426; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before February 20, 1996.
If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one
from Mr. Herman K. Der at the above address.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding or become an
``intervenor''. Among other things, intervenors have the right to
receive copies of case-related Commission documents and filings by
other intervenors. Likewise, each intervenor must provide copies of its
filings to all other parties. If you want to become an intervenor you
must file a motion to intervene according to rule 214 of the
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) (see
appendix 2).
You do not need intervenor status to have your scoping comments
considered.
Additional information about the proposed project is available from
Mr. Herman K. Der, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0896.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-656 Filed 1-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M