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Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Lansing Storage Field Abandonment 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: June 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 111)]
[Notices]
[Page 34602-34604]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jn03-58]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP03-131-000]
Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Lansing
Storage Field Abandonment and Request for Comments on Environmental
Issues
June 3, 2003.
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 North Lansing Storage
Field Abandonment Project proposed by Natural Gas Pipeline Company of
America (Natural) in Harrison County, Texas.\1\ The facilities to be
abandoned include an inactive injection/withdrawal well, about 2,380
feet of 8-inch-diameter lateral pipeline, and the associated 6-inch
meter facilities. 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\ Natural'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
The proposed abandonment is responsive to a Commission Order issued
December 24, 2002, in FERC Docket No. CP02-391-000, involving the
expansion of Natural's North Lansing storage field. An environmental
condition of the Order required Natural to identify any currently
unused aboveground facilities and pipelines on the property of S.J.
Keasler, a landowner on the North Lansing storage field, and provide a
timetable for filing an abandonment application with the
[[Page 34603]]
Commission for removal of these facilities.
Natural identified an injection/withdrawal well, lateral pipeline
and meter facility, all located on S.J. Keasler's property. The
facilities were constructed under the FERC Docket No. CP89-2081-000 to
increase withdrawal capabilities at the North Lansing storage field.
Natural states that the injection/withdrawal well was plugged in 1997
after a leak was detected in the production tubing and has since been
inactive. The surface wellhead equipment was subsequently removed. The
associated meter facilities and lateral pipeline have been inactive
since the well was plugged and are not located in an area of the
storage field conducive for future connections to other possible wells.
Due to the potential for corrosion from condensate and water to occur
and cause future problems at the North Lansing storage field, Natural
proposes to abandon the injection/withdrawal well and lateral pipeline
in place and remove the meter facilities.
Natural seeks authority to:
? Abandon in place the injection/withdrawal well (ODA3-W,
Emma Keasler #103);
? Cut, fill, cap, and abandon in place approximately 2,380
feet of 8-inch-diameter lateral pipeline (G-7 lateral); and
? Abandon by removal all aboveground portions of the 6-inch
meter facility; and the belowground portions to three feet below grade.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other
than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's Web site
at the ``FERRIS'' link 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 FERRIS 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
Abandonment of the proposed facilities would require disturbance of
about 0.01 acre of land. Natural proposes that following abandonment,
it would continue the existing easement agreement and retain ownership
of the abandoned lateral pipeline. The 0.01 acre of land would be
restored and allowed to revert to its former use.
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. 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 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;
? Land use;
? Water resources;
? Cultural resources;
? Vegetation and wildlife;
? Air quality and noise;
? Endangered and threatened species;
? Public safety.
We will not discuss impacts to the following resource areas since
they are not present in the project area, or would not be affected by
the proposed abandonment.
? Fisheries and wetlands;
? 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.
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.
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 Natural. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
? Two federally listed endangered or threatened species may
occur in the proposed project area.
? In comments submitted under Docket No. CP02-391-000, S.J.
Keasler, an affected landowner, expressed desires to have Natural
remove all aboveground facilities and the pipeline associated with the
inactive injection/withdrawal well (ODA3-W, Emma Keasler #103).
However, Natural proposes to abandon the well and lateral pipeline in
place.
? An unnamed intermittent tributary of the Moccasin Creek is
crossed by the G-7 lateral pipeline. If the G-7 lateral pipeline were
removed, the tributary would be subject to disturbance.
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 means of
abandonment), 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: Magalie
R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First
St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
? Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas
Branch 3.
? Reference Docket No. CP03-131-000.
? Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before July 3, 2003.
Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our
environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission
strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions
or
[[Page 34604]]
protests to this proceeding. 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 a free account which can be
created by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.''
We might mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in
receiving it, please return the Information Request (appendix 4). 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 might
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.
Environmental Mailing List
This notice is being sent to individuals, organizations, and
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the
proposed project. It is also being sent to all identified right-of-way
grantors. By this notice we are also asking governmental agencies to
express their interest in becoming cooperating agencies for the
preparation of the EA.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the
FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the FERRIS
link. Click on the FERRIS link, enter the docket number excluding the last
three digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected an
appropriate date range. For assistance with FERRIS, the FERRIS helpline
can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at
FERCOnLineSupport@ferc.gov. The FERRIS link on the FERC Internet Web
site 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 too 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.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-14493 Filed 6-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P