[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 150 (Wednesday, August 5, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41815-41816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20851]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-637-000]
Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed VNG Replacement
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
July 30, 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 Columbia Gas Transmission
Corporation's (Columbia) proposal to construct about 6.9 miles of 20-
inch-diameter pipeline to replace an equivalent length of 12-inch-
diameter pipeline on its Line VM-108 in Sussex County, Virginia.\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\ 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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Columbia states that the proposed replacement is primarily due to
the age and condition of the old pipeline. Also, the proposed
replacement would allow Columbia to transport the additional storage
service volume to Virginia Natural Gas, Inc. in Norfolk, Virginia.
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.\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
Columbia seeks authorization for the following:
(1) Construct approximately 6.9 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline
to replace an equivalent length of 12-inch-diameter pipeline on Line
VM-108 in Sussex County, Virginia;
(2) Increase the deliverability of its existing Glady Storage Field
by 14,100 Mcfd in Randolph and Pocohantas Counties, West Virginia by
reworking two wells; and
(3) Reacquire from Transco Energy Marketing Company certain
pipeline capacity on its Solo Pipeline between Emporia, Virginia and
Petersburg, Virginia, and on Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Corporation's pipeline from Boswells Tavern, Virginia, to Emporia,
Virginia.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 109
acres of land. Following construction, about 58 acres would be
maintained as new permanent right-of-way. The remaining 51 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 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 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.
Endangered and threatened species.
Public safety.
[[Page 41816]]
Land use.
Cultural resources.
Air quality and noise.
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 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 Columbia. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
The project would cross two perennial streams classified
as warm water fisheries which contain wild trout.
Four federally listed endangered or threatened species may
occur in the proposed project area.
Prehistoric and historic archeological sites and landscape
with historic structures may be affected.
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/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:
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;
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2.
Reference Docket No. CP98-637-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before August 31, 1998.
If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to
remain on our mailing list, 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 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.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-20851 Filed 8-4-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
