Environmental statements; availability, etc.: Southern Natural Gas Co.,

[Federal Register: June 25, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 122)]

[Notices]

[Page 34647]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr25jn98-96]

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP96-153-004]

Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statements for the Proposed Amended North Alabama Pipeline Project

June 19, 1998.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared this Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Supplement) for the North Alabama Pipeline Project and it addresses the environmental impact of the amended natural gas pipeline project proposed by Southern Natural Gas Company (Southern) in the above-referenced docket.

The staff prepared the Supplement to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that the Amended North Alabama Pipeline Project would result in limited adverse environmental impact if it is constructed as planned and with the additional mitigation recommended in this Supplement. This document supplements the North Alabama Pipeline Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that was noticed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register on May 30, 1997. The Supplement only examines the route changes north of milepost 95.25 (about milepost 91.2 of the route previously studied in the FEIS). There are no changes in the facilities south of milepost 95.25.

The Supplement assesses the potential environmental effects of construction and operation of the following Southern facilities:

‹bullet› About 27.1 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline (26.9 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline and 0.2 mile of 12-inch-diameter pipeline); and

‹bullet› Two new meter stations, and related facilities.

Facilities required by two local distribution companies to receive natural gas from Southern are also examined.

The purpose of Southern's proposed facilities would be to transport a total of 69,000 thousand cubic feet per day of natural gas to one existing and two new customers in northern Alabama.

Comment Procedure

Written Comments

Any person wishing to comment on the Supplement may do so. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded:

‹bullet› Reference Docket No. CP96-153-004;

‹bullet› Send two copies of your comments to: Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 1A, Washington, D.C. 20426.

‹bullet› Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the Environmental Review and Compliance Branch II, PR 11.2; and

‹bullet› Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, D.C. on or before August 10, 1998.

Public Meeting Schedule

A public meeting to receive comments on the Supplement will be held on July 30, 1998 at 7:00 p.m. at the: Hartselle Civic Center, 406 Nanceford Road, Hartselle, AL 35640.

Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and present oral comments on the environmental impacts described in the Supplement. Anyone who would like to speak at the public meeting may get on the speakers list by signing up at the public meeting. Priority will be given to persons representing groups. A transcript will be made of the meeting.

After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are investigate, and modifications are made to the draft Supplement, a final Supplement will contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on the draft Supplement.

The Supplement has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A, Washington, D.C. 20426, (202) 208-1371.

A limited number of copies are available at this location.

Copies of the Supplement have been mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, public interest groups, interested individuals, newspapers, and parties to this proceeding. Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to make the commentor a party to the proceeding. Any person may file a timely motion to intervene during the comment period on the basis of the Commission staff's draft Supplement (see 18 CFR 380.106 and 385.214). You do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.

Additional information about the proposed project is available from Paul McKee in the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (202) 208-1088. David P. Boergers, Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-16884Filed6-24-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M