Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Eastern Express Project 2000 and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28170-28172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13175]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP99-262-000]


Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Eastern Express Project 2000 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 19, 1999.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's 
(Tennessee) proposed Eastern Express Project 2000. This project 
involves the modification of Tennessee's existing pipeline system in 
Massachusetts and Connecticut to allow the transportation of an 
additional 173,000 decatherms per day (Dth/d) to American National 
Power in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and El Paso Gas Services in 
Haverhill, Massachusetts and Dracut, Massachusetts. 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.
    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 addressing a number of typically asked questions, 
including the use of eminent domain, is attached to this notice as 
Appendix 1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 
First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    In order to transport the additional volumes, Tennessee proposes to 
make the following system changes (see Appendix 2 for a map of the 
proposed project area):

[[Page 28171]]

    •  Install a 6,150 ISO-rated horsepower (hp) Solar Centaur 
compressor, associated piping and appurtenant equipment, and restage an 
existing compressor at the existing Agawam Compressor Station (CS-261) 
in Agawam, Massachusetts, to increase down stream capacity by 83,000 
Dth/d;
    •  Install a 7,170 ISO-rated hp Solar Taurus compressor unit 
with associated building, minor piping and appurtenant equipment and 
relocate blowdown silencers at the existing Mendon Compressor Station 
(CS-226A) in Mendon, Massachusetts, to increase downstream capacity by 
250,000 Dth/d;
    •  Install a larger flow control valve in place of an 
existing flow control valve at a delivery point to Algonquin on the 
Blackstone Lateral in Mendon, Massachusetts, to allow incremental 
volumes to be delivered to Algonquin;
    •  Install pressure regulation immediately downstream of CS-
266A on the Blackstone Lateral in Mendon, Massachusetts, to enable 
efficient operational flexibility for deliveries;
    •  Install station piping at the existing Hopkinton 
Compressor Station (CS-267) in Westborough, Massachusetts, to provide a 
reverse flow capability that would enable natural gas received from 
Haverhill and Dracut, Massachusetts to flow westerly during periods 
when the market demand east of CS-267 is low;
    •  Install mainline regulation in East Granby, Connecticut, 
approximately 9 miles south of CS-261 on the 300-Line to allow for new 
deliveries in Connecticut south of CS-261 without having to install 7.8 
miles of replacement piping or looping; and
    •  Modify the existing Southern Connecticut-Milford delivery 
point, Meter 2-245, on the 300 Line in Orange, Connecticut, by 
installing an additional connection to deliver additional natural gas 
to Southern Connecticut for the Milford Power Plant.

Land Requirements for Construction

    The proposed activities would be performed within a 20.45 acre area 
of the existing right-of-way/fee property.

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. 
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 the proposed action and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern.
    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
activities associated with 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.
    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 4 of 
this notice.

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 Tennessee. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    •  Air and noise impacts associated with installation of one 
new compressor unit at CS-261 and one new compressor unit at CS-266A.
    •  Approximately 1.0 acre of upland forest would be cleared.

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), 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 two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    •  Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2.
    •  Reference Docket No. CP99-262-000; and
    •  Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 18, 1999,

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 3). Only intervenors have the 
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
    You do not need intervenor status to have your environmental 
comments considered. Additional information about the proposed project 
is available from Mr. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External 
Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) 
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,

[[Page 28172]]

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.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-13175 Filed 5-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M