[Federal Register: April 8, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 67)]
[Notices]               
[Page 17168-17170]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08ap98-72]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-266-000]

 
Enogex Interstate Transmission L.L.C. and Ozark Gas Transmission, 
L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the 
Proposed Ozark/NOARK Expansion Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

April 2, 1998.
    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 construction and operation of 
approximately 9.9 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and other 
appurtenant facilities, and the modification of two compressor stations 
and a meter station, proposed in the Ozark/NOARK Expansion Project.\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\ Enogex Interstate Transmission L.L.C. and Ozark Gas 
Transmission, L.L.C.'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 whose property will be crossed by the 
proposed project, 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 may 
seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement relative to land use 
and access. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, the 
pipeline has the right to use eminent domain. Therefore, if 
negotiations fail to produce an agreement between the pipeline company 
and landowner, 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

[[Page 17169]]

domain, is attached to this notice as 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Enogex Interstate Transmission L.L.C. and Ozark Gas Transmission, 
L.L.C. (Enogex) proposes to acquire the facilities of the Ozark Gas 
Transmission System (Ozark); dedicate to interstate service the 
facilities of NOARK Pipeline system, Limited Partnership (NOARK), and 
intrastate pipeline; and expand and integrate the Ozark and NOARK 
systems into a single interstate system.\3\ Once completed, the system 
would be known as Ozark Gas Transmission, L.L.C., and would have a firm 
transportation capacity of 330 million cubic feet per day.
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    \3\ On March 5, 1998, under Docket No. CP98-265-000, Ozark Gas 
Transmission System filed an application under section 7(b) of the 
Natural Gas Act to abandon all of its facilities by sale to Enogex.
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    To fully integrate the systems Enogex proposes to construct/install 
the following facilities:
    <bullet> about 0.19 mile of 10-inch-diameter pipeline extending 
from milepost (MP) 151.0 of Ozark's system to Southwestern Energy 
Pipeline Company's Fort Chaffee Compressor Station which connects with 
NOARK's system at about MP 0.0, all in Sebastian County, Arkansas;
    <bullet> about 4.86 miles of dual 20-inch-diameter pipeline loops 
(totaling about 9.7 miles) from MP 123.1 on Ozark's system to the NOARK 
Mainline Compressor Station at MP 26.4 on NOARK's system, all in 
Franklin County, Arkansas;
    <bullet> two electrically driven compressor units totaling 5,500 
horsepower (hp) and ancillary facilities including a pig launcher, a 
pig receiver, a compressor building, piping, and appurtenances at the 
existing NOARK Mainline Compressor Station;
    <bullet> about 2 miles of electric transmission line to provide 
power for the new compressor additions at the existing NOARK Mainline 
Compressor Station;
    <bullet> one 4,500-hp electrically driven compressor unit and 
ancillary facilities including a compressor building, piping, and 
appurtenances at the existing Ozark Lequire Compressor Station, located 
on Ozark's system at MP 212.4 in Haskell County, Oklahoma;
    <bullet> about 1 mile of electric transmission line to provide 
power for the new compressor addition at the existing Ozark Lequire 
Compressor Station; and
    <bullet> two 8-inch-diameter meter runs, valves, and tie-in piping 
to upgrade the receipt meter capacity at the existing Ozark-Enogex 
Boiling Springs Meter Station, located on Ozark's system at MP 237.0 in 
Latimer County, Oklahoma.
    A general location map of the project facilities is shown in 
appendix 2. If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a 
specific portion of the project, contact the Office of External 
Affairs.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would affect a total of 
about 95.1 acres. Of this total, about 69.2 acres would be disturbed by 
construction of the pipelines. An additional 14.0 acres would be 
disturbed by installation of the compressor and meter facilities. The 
remaining 11.9 acres would be disturbed by construction of an access 
road and use of 25 extra work areas that would be needed at road, 
railroad, and waterbody crossings.
    The 4.86 miles of dual 20-inch-diameter pipelines would be 
installed adjacent to an existing NOARK 12-inch-diameter pipeline using 
a 115-foot-wide construction right-of-way. Following construction and 
restoration of the right-of-way and temporary work spaces, Enogex would 
retain a 50-foot-wide permanent pipeline right-of-way. For construction 
of the 0.19 mile of 10-inch-diameter pipeline, Enogex would use a 65-
foot-wide construction right-of-way, of which it would retain a 25-
foot-wide strip as permanent pipeline right-of-way. Enogex would 
install the compressor and meter facilities entirely within in the 
fence lines of existing sites, requiring no additional temporary work 
space.
    Existing land uses on the disturbed areas, as well as most land 
uses on the permanent rights-of-way, would be allowed to continue 
following construction. Total land requirements for new permanent 
rights-of-way would be about 30.1 acres.
    Construction of the electric transmission line for the NOARK 
Mainline Compressor Station would require a 2-mile-long, 70-foot-wide 
right-of-way that would affect about 17.0 acres. For the Ozark Lequire 
Compressor Station, a 1-mile-long, 80-foot-wide right-of-way would be 
required, which would affect about 9.7 acres.

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. The EA we are 
preparing will give the Commission the information to do that. NEPA 
also requires us to discover and address concerns the public may have 
about the proposal. 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. 
We encourage state and local government representatives 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> Public safety.
    <bullet> Land use.
    <bullet> Cultural resources.
    <bullet> Air quality and noise.
    <bullet> Socioeconomics.
    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 
these proceedings. 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 final recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section on pages 5 and 6 of 
this Notice.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified an issue that we think deserves 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Enogex. The number of issues 
may increase or

[[Page 17170]]

decrease based on your comments and our analysis.
    <bullet> There are 15 noise-sensitive areas that are in proximity 
to the compressor stations.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commenter, 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 routes, 
and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. Please follow the 
instructions below to ensure that your comments are received and 
properly recorded:
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP98-266-000.
    <bullet> Send two copies of your comments to: David P. Boergers, 
Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., 
NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    <bullet> Lable one copy for the attention of the Environmental 
Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1.
    <bullet> Please mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 8, 1998.

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 to all other parties 
on the Commission's service lists for these proceedings. 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.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-9156 Filed 4-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M