Florida Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Compressor Station 11A Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68676-68677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31731]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Florida Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Compressor Station 11A 
Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

[Docket No. CP00-4-000]
December 2, 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 the Compressor Station 11A 
Expansion Project involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Florida Gas Transmission Company (FGT) in Mobile County, Alabama.\1\ 
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\ FGT'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

    FGT wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in Alabama to 
transport an additional 80,000 million British thermal units per day of 
natural gas to Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AEC) for use at a 
nonjurisdictional electric generating facility in Escambia County, 
Alabama. To provide this service FGT seeks authority to:
    •  Upgrade the two compressor turbines at Compressor Station 
11A (CS-11A) from 12,600 horsepower (hp) Solar T-90s to 15,000 hp Solar 
T-100s for a new total station horsepower of 30,000 hp;
    •  Rewheel the centrifugal compressor of each unit to enable 
the compression of a larger volume of gas at a lower differential 
pressure;
    •  Install one new gas scrubber and a cooler; and
    •  Loop the existing 30-inch-diameter suction yard pipeline 
with approximately 1,000 feet of 36-inch-diameter pipeline.
    All of the proposed facilities would be constructed in the station 
yard of CS-11A. 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 activities would require approximately 6 acres of 
previously disturbed soil located entirely within the 27 acre, fenced 
compressor station property. The entire 6 acres would return to pre-
construction conditions as no additional land would be needed to 
operate the new facilities.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental

[[Page 68677]]

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 
theirs 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:
    •  Geology and soils.
    •  Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
    •  Vegetation and wildlife.
    •  Land Use.
    •  Cultural resources.
    •  Air quality and noise, endangered and threatened species.
    •  Public safety.
    •  Hazardous waste.
    We will also evaluate 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 on the following page.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified the air and noise impacts associated 
with upgrading the two compressor units at CS-11A as an issue that we 
think deserves attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by FGT. 
Additional issues may be included based on your comments and our 
analysis.

Nonjursidictional Facilities

    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts for the power generating plant and approximately 60 miles of 
new 20-inch-diameter pipeline. These are nonjurisdictional facilities 
to be constructed by AEC for the delivery of natural gas from the 
existing FGT mainlines to a planned power generating plant. 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, 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., N.E., 
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. CP00-4-000.
    •  Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 3, 2000.

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.
    The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding 
has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file late interventions 
must show good cause, as required by section 385.214(b)(3), why this 
time limitation should be waived. Environmental issues have been viewed 
as good cause for late intervention.
    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 document 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.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-31731 Filed 12-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M