[Federal Register: March 2, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 40)]
[Notices]               
[Page 10214-10216]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02mr98-66]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP96-213-007]

 
Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Amended Market Expansion 
Project (Lines VM-105, VM-106, and VM-109) and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

February 24, 1998.
    The Staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will

[[Page 10215]]

discuss the environmental impacts of the construction and operation of 
facilities consisting of about 6.9 miles of 20- and 24-inch diameter 
pipeline proposed in the Amended Market Expansion Project (Lines VM-
105, VM-106, and VM-109).\1\ The pipeline facilities are proposed 
instead of certain compression which had previously been approved by 
the Commission. The 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\ Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation'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

    Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (Columbia) proposes to amend 
its Market Expansion Project authorized in a Commission Order dated May 
14, 1997 (Order). Columbia states that due to a more detailed facility 
design analysis, it has determined that certain compression facilities 
approved in the Order are no longer required and certain other 
facilities not approved in the Order will be needed. The effect of the 
proposed facility revisions would be to decrease the overall cost of 
the Market Expansion Project facilities by about $3,280,700.
    The new facilities that Columbia proposes to construct and the 
facilities its proposes to delete from the Market Expansion Project 
(facilities approved but not yet constructed) are listed below:

New Proposed Facilities (Louisa County, Virginia)

    <bullet> Line VM-105 Loop--construct 0.3 mile of 20-inch-diameter 
loop on the suction side of the Boswells Tavern compressor Station;
    <bullet> Line VM-106 Replacement--replace 0.6 mile of 12-inch-
diameter pipeline with 24-inch-diameter pipeline on the discharge side 
of the Boswells Tavern Compressor Station;
    <bullet> Upgrade a meter station within the Boswells Tavern 
Compressor Station; and
    <bullet> Line VM-109--construct 6.0 miles of 24-inch-diameter 
pipeline loop from its mainline valve 3 to its Louisa Compressor 
Station.

Canceled Market Expansion Project Facilities

    The following facilities are portions of the previously approved 
Market Expansion Project but have not yet been constructed. In this 
proposal, Columbia wishes to cancel these items in lieu of the new 
proposed facilities listed above.
    <bullet> Louisa Compressor Station--a new 1,350 horsepower (hp) 
unit at the existing compressor station in Louisa County, Virginia and 
a relocated 1,140 hp unit from the Petersburg Compressor Station in 
Prince George County, Virginia.
    <bullet> Petersburg Compressor Station--a new 1,100 hp unit at the 
existing compressor station in Prince George County, Virginia.
    <bullet> Hamlin Compressor Station--a new 3,175 hp compressor 
station in Lincoln County, West Virginia and a relocated 825 hp unit 
from the Dungannon Compressor Station in Columbiana County, Ohio.
    The 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 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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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require the 
disturbance of about 85 acres of land. Following construction, about 14 
acres would be maintained as new permanent right-of-way. The remaining 
71 acres 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 use 
to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. 
We call this ``scoping.'' The mail 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:

<bullet> Geology and soils
<bullet> Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
<bullet> Vegetation and wildlife
<bullet> Endangered and threatened species
<bullet> Public safety
<bullet> Land use
<bullet> Cultural resources
<bullet> Air quality and noise
<bullet> 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 resources 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.

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 Columbia. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    <bullet> About 0.46 acre of forested wetland would be permanently 
converted to emergent wetland in the project area.
    <bullet> A total of 5.4 miles of the Line VM-109 Loop would cross 
the Green Springs Rural Historic District which is listed as a National 
Historic Landmark.

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 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:
    <bullet> Send two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers, 
Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., 
N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
    <bullet> Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental

[[Page 10216]]

Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP96-213-007; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 26, 1998.
    If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please 
write to the Secretary of the Commission.

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).
    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.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-5224 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M