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Texas Eastern Transmission. L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Hanging Rock Lateral Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: January 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 21)]
[Notices]
[Page 4711-4712]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31ja02-58]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP02-45-000]
Texas Eastern Transmission. L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Hanging Rock Lateral Project
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
January 25, 2002.
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 Hanging Rock Lateral Project
involving construction and operation of facilities by Texas Eastern
Transmission, L.P. (Texas Eastern) in (Scioto and Lawrence Counties,
Ohio).\1\ These facilities would consist of about 9.6 miles of 24-inch-
diameter pipeline. This EA will be used by the Commission in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the
public convenience and necessity.
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\1\ Texas Eastern'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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If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities.
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, 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 in accordance with
state law.
A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the
project notice Texas Eastern provided to landowners. 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 available for viewing on the FERC Internet website
(www.ferc.gov). 
Summary of the Proposed Project
Texas Eastern wants to construct a pipeline lateral to provide
service to the Hanging Rock Power Plant, a 1,240 megawatt gas-fired
electric power plant (Hanging Rock Plant) which will be constructed in
Lawrence County, Ohio, by Duke Energy Hanging Rock, L.L.C. The pipeline
facilities would allow Texas Eastern to provide a total of 250,000
dekatherms per day (dth/d) of transportation service to the Hanging
Rock Plant. Texas Eastern proposes to have these facilities in service
by November 1, 2002. Texas Eastern seeks authority to construct and
operate:
9.6 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline extending from
milepost (MP) 562.18 on Texas Eastern's 30-inch-diameter Line Nos. 10
and 15 (the Texas Eastern Interconnect) in Scioto County, Ohio, to the
Hanging Rock Plant in Lawrence County, Ohio;
150 feet of 20-inch-diameter pipeline at the Texas Eastern
Interconnect;
150 feet of 12-inch-diameter pipeline at MP 2.1 on the
Hanging Rock Lateral to interconnect with the existing Tennessee Gas
Pipeline Company (Tennessee) pipeline Scioto County, Ohio;
2 new metering and regulating (M&R) stations (the
Tennessee Interconnect) at MP 2.1 in Scioto County, Ohio, where the
Hanging Rock Lateral and the Tennessee pipeline cross;
the Hanging Rock Plant M&R station on the Hanging Rock
Plant property at MP 9.6 in Lawrence County, Ohio; and
appurtenant facilities.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on the
Commission's website at the ``RIMS'' link or from the Commission's
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street,
N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. For
instructions on connecting to RIMS refer to the last page of this
notice. 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 146.9
acres of land including the construction right-of-way, extra work
spaces, access roads, and pipeyards. Following construction, about 0.86
acre would be maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The
remaining 146.04 acres of land would be restored and allowed to revert
to its former use. About 57.8 acres of this total would be within the
permanent 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. NEPA also requires us
\3\ to discover and address concerns the 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.
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\3\ ''We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general
headings:
geology and soils
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
vegetation and wildlife
endangered and threatened species
public safety
land use
cultural resources
air quality and noise
hazardous waste
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. Alternatives routes
that may be evaluated include moving segments of the project to the
east side of the Norfolk & Western Railroad tracks.
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 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 5.
[[Page 4712]]
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Texas Eastern. This
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and
our analysis.
Six perennial and 8 intermittent waterbodies would be
crossed by open cut.
About 4.53 acres of wetlands, including about 2.47 acres
of forested wetlands, would be crossed.
About 7.23 acres of upland forest would be cleared.
Three federally listed endangered or threatened species
may occur in the proposed project area.
About 117.7 acres of prime agricultural land would be
affected, including a total of about 0.86 acre of prime farmland soils
that would convert to industrial use.
About 3.9 acres of residential property would be affected.
A total of 16 residences are within 50 feet of the
construction work area and 8 of these are within 10 feet.
A total of 2 businesses are within 40 feet of the
construction right-of-way and 1 business is within 10 feet.
Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities. We will briefly describe
their location and status in the EA.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative
locations/routes), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental
impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be.
Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments
are received in time and properly recorded:
Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Linwood
A. Watson, Jr., Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 2.
Reference Docket No. CP02-045-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before (February 25, 2002).
Comments may also be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu
of paper. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the
Commission's web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing''
link and the link to the User's Guide. Before you can file comments you
will need to create an account which can be created by clicking on
``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.''
We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving
it, please return the Information Request (appendix 3). If you do not
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.
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 14 copies of its filings to the
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. 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).\4\ Only intervenors have
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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\4\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing
comments electronically.
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Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor
status to have your environmental comments considered.
Additional information about the proposed project is available from
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the
FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the ``RIMS'' link to information in
this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket#'' from
the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions. For assistance with access
to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2222.
Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website,
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS
helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.
C.B. Spencer,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-2288 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P