Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned North Main Lines Relocation Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting
Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 173 (Monday, September 8, 2014)
Federal Register Volume 79, Number 173 (Monday, September 8, 2014)
Notices
Pages 53181-53184
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2014-21313
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Docket No. PF14-12-000
Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned North Main Lines Relocation Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting
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 North Main Lines Relocation Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C.'s (SNG) in Bessemer, Alabama. The Commission will use this EA in its decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that the scoping period will close on September 26, 2014.
You may submit comments in written form or verbally. Further details on how to submit written comments are in the Public Participation section of this notice. In lieu of or in addition to sending written comments, the Commission invites you to attend the public scoping meeting scheduled as follows:
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Date and time Location
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Monday, September 15, 2014, 6:00 Bessemer Civic Center, North Meeting
p.m. CST. Room, Second Floor, 1130 9th Avenue
SW., Bessemer, AL 35022.
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This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental mailing list for this project. State and local government representatives should notify their constituents of this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
If you are a landowner receiving this notice, a pipeline company representative may contact you about the acquisition of an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the planned facilities. SNG would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. However, if the Commission approves the project, 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 where compensation would be determined in accordance with state law.
A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for viewing on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.
Summary of the Planned Project
SNG plans to relocate a portion of its natural gas pipeline system known as the North Main Lines and to relocate a portion of its natural gas pipeline system known as the Calera Branch Line in Jefferson County, Alabama. SNG is relocating its pipelines in order to protect them from subsidence that will result from longwall coal mining operations that are planned underneath the current location of the existing lines. SNG plans to abandon a total of about 9.2 miles of 20-, 22-, and 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline and replace it with approximately 11.0 miles of the same diameter pipelines. Three of the pipelines (North Main Line, North Main Loop Line, and 2nd North Main Line) would be relocated within a parallel corridor, and one pipeline (Calera Branch Line) would be relocated in a separate location. SNG does not anticipate altering the capacity of the existing pipelines with the planned relocation activities.
Specifically, the Project would consist of the following components:
Relocation of approximately 3.5 miles of the existing and parallel 22-inch-diameter North Main Line and 24-inch-diameter North Main Loop Line from milepost (MP) 297.28 to MP 300.15, and 24-inch-
diameter 2nd North Main Line from MP 174.77 to MP 177.62;
installation of a new aboveground gate settings on each of the relocated North Main Lines;
relocation of approximately 0.44 mile of the existing 20-
inch-diameter Calera Branch Line from MP 0.30 to MP 0.84;
abandonment in place of approximately 2.87 miles of the existing 22-inch-diameter North Main Line and 24-inch-diameter North Main Loop Line from MP 297.28 to MP 300.15 and 2.87 miles of the existing 24-inch-diameter 2nd North Main Loop Line from MP 174.77 to MP 177.62; and
abandonment in place of approximately 0.54 mile of the existing 20-inch Calera Branch Line from MP 0.30 to MP 0.84.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\1\
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\1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the Additional Information section at the end of this notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction
SNG anticipates using a 140-foot-wide construction right-of-way for constructing the three parallel pipelines, and a 90-foot-wide construction right-of-way for constructing the single pipeline. SNG would reduce the construction rights-of-way width to 100 feet and 75 feet, respectively, through wetlands. SNG would maintain a 100-foot-
wide permanent easement for operating the three parallel pipelines, and a 50-foot-wide permanent easement for operating the single pipeline. Construction of the planned facilities would involve conventional pipeline construction and would disturb approximately 80 acres of land. Following construction, SNG would maintain approximately 45 acres for the permanent pipeline easement.
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 \2\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. This process is referred to as scoping. The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. We will consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
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\2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the construction and operation of the planned project under these general headings:
geology and soils;
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
vegetation and wildlife;
endangered and threatened species;
cultural resources;
land use;
air quality and noise;
reliability and safety; and
cumulative environmental impacts.
We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
Although no formal application has been filed, we have already initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process. The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before the FERC receives an application. As part of our pre-filing review, we have begun to contact some federal and state agencies to discuss their involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EA.
Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. The EA will be available in the public record through the Commission's eLibrary. Depending on the comments received during scoping, we may also publish and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We will consider all comments on the EA before
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we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation section of this notice.
With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues related to this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA.\3\ Agencies that would like to request cooperating agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments provided under the Public Participation section of this notice. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has expressed its intention to participate as a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EA to satisfy its NEPA responsibilities related to this project.
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\3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1501.6.
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Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation with the Massachusetts State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to solicit its views and those of other government agencies, interested Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on historic properties.\4\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project develops. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, and access roads). Our EA for this project will document our findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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\4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Those regulations define historic properties as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities and the environmental information provided by SNG. This preliminary list of issues may change based on your comments and our analysis:
Routing variations;
construction in residential areas;
existing utilities; and
cumulative impacts.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific comments or concerns about the project. Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before September 26, 2014.
For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the project docket number (PF14-12-000) with your submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or efiling@ferc.gov.
(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment feature located on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
(2) You can file your comments electronically using the eFiling feature located on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling, you can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on ``eRegister.'' You must select the type of filing you are making. If you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select ``Comment on a Filing''; or
(3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the planned project.
If we publish and distribute the EA, copies will be sent to the environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please return the attached Information Request (Appendix 2).
Becoming an Intervenor
Once SNG files its application with the Commission, you may want to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the Commission's Web site. Please note that the Commission will not accept requests for intervenor status at this time. You must wait until the Commission receives a formal application for the project.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket number, excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field (i.e., PF14-
12). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
In addition, the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription which
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allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to the documents. Go to www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Dated: September 2, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
FR Doc. 2014-21313 Filed 9-5-14; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
