Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 18, 2007 / Notices

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 18, 2007 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP08–14–000]

El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline

Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare

an Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed Hobbs Expansion Project

and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

December 11, 2007.

yshivers on PROD1PC62 with NOTICES

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 Hobbs Expansion Project involving

construction and operation of natural

gas pipeline facilities by El Paso Natural

Gas Pipeline Company (El Paso) in Lea

County, New Mexico and Winkler

County, Texas. 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.

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 determine which

issues need to be evaluated in the EA.

Please note that the scoping period will

close on January 11, 2008. Details on

how to submit comments are provided

in the Public Participation section of

this notice.

This notice is being sent to affected

landowners; federal, state, and local

government agencies; elected officials;

Native American tribes; other interested

parties; and local libraries and

newspapers. State and local government

representatives are asked to notify their

constituents of this proposed project

and to encourage them to comment on

their areas of concern.

A fact sheet prepared by the FERC

entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas

Facility On My Land? What Do I Need

To Know?’’ addresses a number of

typically asked questions, including the

use of eminent domain and how to

participate in the Commission’s

proceedings. It is available for viewing

on the FERC Internet Web site (http://

www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

El Paso proposes three components

(compression, new pipeline, and piping

modifications) to meet the natural gas

delivery requirements at the SPS Hobbs

Power Plant in Lea County, New

Mexico. El Paso proposes to construct,

own, and operate:

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• A natural gas-fired, reciprocating

jumper compressor unit totalling 3,550

horsepower (HP), with appurtenances,

at it Eunice ‘‘C’’ Compressor Station;

• 7.3 miles of 20-inch-diameter

pipeline and the new Hobbs Delivery

Meter Station;

• Pipeline system improvements to

include the Maximum Allowable

Operation Pressure (MAOP) up-rate of

5.7 miles of the existing 16-inchdiameter Line No. 30131; and

• Plant yard pipe modifications at El

Paso’s existing Keystone and Eunice

‘‘B’’ Compressor Stations.

All work would occur in Lea County,

New Mexico except for the work at the

Keystone Compressor Station in

Winkler County, Texas. El Paso also

proposes to abandon in place 1,700 feet

of existing Line No. 30131 pipeline in

Lea County, New Mexico.

The general location of the proposed

facilities is shown in Appendix 1.1

The EA Process

We 2 are preparing this EA to comply

with the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) which requires the

Commission to take into account the

environmental impact that could result

if it authorizes El Paso’s proposal. By

this notice, we are also asking federal,

state, and local agencies with

jurisdiction and/or special expertise

with respect to environmental issues to

formally cooperate with us in the

preparation of the EA.

With this notice, we are asking

federal, state, and local agencies with

jurisdiction and/or special expertise

with respect to environmental issues to

formally cooperate with us in the

preparation of the EA. These agencies

may choose to participate once they

have evaluated the proposal relative to

their responsibilities. Additional

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.

NEPA also requires the FERC to

discover and address concerns the

public may have about proposals. This

process is referred to as ‘‘scoping.’’ The

1 The appendices referenced in this notice are not

being printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all

appendices are available on the Commission’s

website at the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link 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 of this notice. Copies of the appendices

were sent to all those receiving this notice in the

mail. Requests for detailed maps of the proposed

facilities should be made directly to El Paso.

2 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the

environmental staff of the FERC’s Office of Energy

Projects.

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main goal of the scoping process is to

focus the analysis in the EA on the

important environmental issues. By this

Notice of Intent, we are requesting

public comments on the scope of the

issues to address in the EA. All

comments received are considered

during the preparation of the EA.

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.

• Land use.

• Water resources, fisheries, and

wetlands.

• Cultural resources.

• Vegetation and wildlife.

• Air quality and noise.

• Endangered and threatened species.

We will also evaluate possible

alternatives to the proposed project or

portions of the project, where necessary,

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 below.

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 compressor station sites, 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 an original and two copies of

your letter to: Kimberley D. Bose,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 18, 2007 / Notices

yshivers on PROD1PC62 with NOTICES

Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room

1A, Washington, DC 20426;

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of Gas Branch 2, PJ–11.2;

• Reference Docket No. CP08–14–

000; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before January 11, 2008.

The Commission encourages

electronic filing of comments. See 18

Code of Federal Regulations

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions

on the Commission’s Internet Web site

at http://www.ferc.gov under the

‘‘eFiling’’ link and the link to the User’s

Guide. Prepare your submission in the

same manner as you would if filing on

paper and save it to a file on your hard

drive. Before you can file comments you

will need to create an account by

clicking on ‘‘Login to File’’ and then

‘‘New User Account.’’ You will be asked

to select the type of filing you are

making. This filing is considered a

‘‘Comment on Filing.’’

We will mail the EA for public

comment. If you are interested in

receiving it, please return the

Information Request (Appendix 2). 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, or ‘‘intervenor’’. 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). Intervenors

have the right to seek rehearing of the

Commission’s decision. Motions to

Intervene should be electronically

submitted using the Commission’s

eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov.

Persons without Internet access should

send an original and 14 copies of their

motion to the Secretary of the

Commission at the address indicated

previously. Persons filing Motions to

Intervene on or before the comment

deadline indicated above must send a

copy of the motion to the Applicant. All

filings, including late interventions,

submitted after the comment deadline

must be served on the Applicant and all

other intervenors identified on the

Commission’s service list for this

proceeding. Persons on the service list

with email addresses may be served

electronically; others must be served a

hard copy of the filing.

Affected landowners and parties with

environmental concerns may be granted

intervenor status upon showing good

cause by stating that they have a clear

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and direct interest in this proceeding

which would not be adequately

represented by any other parties. You do

not need intervenor status to have your

environmental comments considered.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Mailing List

Leaf River Energy Center LLC; Notice

of Intent To Prepare an Environmental

Assessment for the Proposed Leaf

River Storage Project and Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

An effort is being made to send this

notice to all individuals, organizations,

and government entities interested in

and/or potentially affected by the

proposed project. This includes all

landowners who own homes within

distances defined in the Commission’s

regulations of certain aboveground

facilities.

Additional Information

Additional information about the

project is available from the

Commission’s Office of External Affairs,

at 1–866–208–FERC or on the FERC

Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov)

using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Click on the

eLibrary link, then on ‘‘General Search’’

and enter the docket number excluding

the last three digits in the Docket

Number field. Be sure you have selected

an appropriate date range. For

assistance, please contact FERC Online

Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov

or toll free at 1–866–208–3676, 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 now

offers a free service called eSubscription

which 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 http://

www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Finally, public meetings or site visits

will be posted on the Commission’s

calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/

EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along

with other related information.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E7–24413 Filed 12–17–07; 8:45 am]

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[Docket No. CP08–8–000]

December 11, 2007.

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 Leaf River Storage Project involving

construction and operation of

underground natural gas storage and

pipeline header facilities by Leaf River

Energy Center LLC (Leaf River) in

Smith, Jasper, and Clarke Counties,

Mississippi. 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.

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 determine which

issues need to be evaluated in the EA.

Please note that the scoping period will

close on January 10, 2008. Details on

how to submit comments are provided

in the Public Participation section of

this notice.

This notice is being sent to affected

landowners; federal, state, and local

government agencies; elected officials;

Native American tribes; other interested

parties; and local libraries and

newspapers. State and local government

representatives are asked to notify their

constituents of this proposed project

and to encourage them to comment on

their areas of concern.

A fact sheet prepared by the FERC

entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas

Facility On My Land? What Do I Need

To Know?’’ addresses a number of

typically asked questions, including the

use of eminent domain and how to

participate in the Commission’s

proceedings. It is available for viewing

on the FERC Internet Web site (http://

www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

Leaf River proposes to:

• Construct four storage wells and

caverns with a total working gas

capacity of 32 billion cubic feet (Bcf);

• Install seven 4,800 horsepower gas

driven reciprocating compressor units at

its proposed compressor station/gas

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

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Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

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