Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 15, 2006 / Notices

13380

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 15, 2006 / Notices

Environmental Mailing List

If you do not want to send comments

at this time, but still want to remain on

our mailing list, please return the

attached Mailing List Retention Form

(Appendix 3). If you do not return the

form, you will be taken off the mailing

list.

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, click 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 1–202–502–8659. 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.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–3661 Filed 3–14–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

[Docket No. CP06–58–000]

Southern Natural Gas Company;

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed Southern Natural Gas

Company’s 2006 Abandonment and

Replacement Project Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

March 8, 2006.

The staff of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC or

VerDate Aug<31>2005

17:27 Mar 14, 2006

Jkt 208001

Commission) will prepare an

environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts of

Southern Natural Gas Company’s

(Southern) application for its 2006

Abandonment and Replacement Project.

Southern proposes to abandon, replace

and modify facilities associated with its

22-inch North Main Loop Line and

abandon its Pell City Compressor

Station Unit No. 3 as part of an

extensive pipeline integrity program.

Pipeline changes would occur on

Southern’s existing system in

Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

Abandonment of a compressor station

would occur in St. Clair County,

Alabama.

This notice announces the opening of

the scoping period that will be used to

gather environmental input from the

public and interested agencies on the

project. Scoping comments are

requested by April 10, 2006.

With this notice, the staff of the FERC

is asking other Federal, State, local and

tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or

special expertise with respect to

environmental issues to cooperate with

us in the preparation of the EA. These

agencies may choose to participate once

they have evaluated Southern’s proposal

relative to their responsibilities.

Agencies that would like to request

cooperating status should follow the

instructions for filing comments

described in Appendix 1.

This notice is being sent to potentially

affected landowners; Federal, state, and

local government agencies; elected

officials; environmental and public

interest groups; Native American Tribes,

other interested parties; local libraries

and newspapers. State and local

government representatives are asked to

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, 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 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 (http://

PO 00000

Frm 00049

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

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. It is

available for viewing on the FERC

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

Background

Pipeline Abandonment, Replacement

and Modification

Southern’s 22-inch McConnells North

Main Loop Line, which is part of its

North Main Line System in Tuscaloosa

County, Alabama, was commissioned in

1946 and is proposed for retirement as

part of the application. Because of a

reduction in contracted capacity in this

area due to capacity turnback and

capacity shift, this section of the line is

no longer needed. However, to continue

to provide reliable and safe gas supplies

to the western Alabama region,

Southern proposes to replace a section

of the abandoned 22-inch McConnells

North Main loop Line by extending the

existing 24-inch 2nd North Main Loop

Line.

Compressor Station Abandonment

The Pell City Compressor Station was

built in 1989 to deliver firm contract

volumes on the Gadsden Lateral Line.

Since the Gadsden Lateral Line has not

been operating at full contract capacity,

the Pell City Unit No. 3 has not been

required to deliver peak day demand on

the Gadsden Lateral Line. Recent

capacity turnback on the Gadsden

Lateral Line makes it possible to

abandon the Pell City Unit No. 3 since

it is no longer required to meet firm

peak day requirements.

Summary of the Proposed Project

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• Abandon in place 4.55 miles of the

McConnells 22-inch North Main Loop

Segment from Milepost 260.74 to

Milepost 265.29. This portion of the

McConnells North Main Loop Segment

would be pigged, filled with nitrogen,

and capped before being abandoned in

place.

• Abandon and remove 6.36 miles

from Milepost 265.29 to Milepost

271.65. Southern proposes to remove all

pipeline and associated piping

assemblies along this 6.36 mile route,

with the exception of the North River

crossing at Milepost 269.45 and any

uncased road crossings. The uncased

road crossing would be cut and capped

on each side of the road crossing and

filled with grout for abandonment in

place. The cased road crossings that are

left void would also be filled with grout

and abandoned in place.

E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM

15MRN1

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 15, 2006 / Notices

• Install a new anchor block and

blowoff/crossover assembly at Milepost

271.65, and, if necessary, continue

maintenance by installing sleeves on

coupled joints from Milepost 271.65 to

Milepost 271.73.

• Extend its 24-inch 2nd North Main

Loop Line by constructing, installing

and operating 6.1 miles of 24-inch

pipeline from Milepost 142.6 to

Milepost 148.7 (Tuscaloosa County,

Alabama). This segment of the 24-inch

2nd North Main Loop Line is parallel to

Milepost 265.3 to Milepost 271.6 of the

22-inch North Main Loop Line, which is

proposed to be abandoned above.

Installation of the proposed 2nd North

Main Loop Segment would be within

the same location and same ditch line

as Southern’s 22-inch North Main Loop

Line after the abandonment and removal

of the 6.36 miles described above.

• Connect the proposed 2nd North

Main Loop Segment to the existing 24inch 2nd North Main Loop Line by

removing the existing weld cap and

making a tie-in at Milepost 142.56. It

would also be necessary to install a new

blowoff/crossover assembly at Milepost

148.93, which would be connected to

the crossover assembly installed at

Milepost 271.65 on the 22-inch North

Main Loop Line as detailed above.

St. Clair County, Alabama

• Abandon in place its Pell City

Compressor Station Unit No. 3 (St. Clair

County, Alabama) at Milepost 352.8 on

Southern’s North Main and North Main

Loop Lines. All existing gas piping

systems would be disconnected

including fuel gas and blind flanges

would be installed at these points.

Additionally, electric power would be

disconnected from the unit such that all

control systems would be inoperable.

The unit would then be purged with

nitrogen and prepared for long term

storage in place.

The location of the project facilities is

shown in Appendix 2.1

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

Land Requirements

Abandonment, replacement and

modification of the proposed facilities

would require the temporary

disturbance of about 105.24 acres of

land, the majority of which is within

Southern’s existing 100-foot right-ofway. Additional extra work spaces of

1 The appendices referenced in this notice are not

being printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all

appendices, other than appendix 1 (maps), are

available on the Commission’s Web site at the

‘‘eLibrary’’ link or from the Commissions Public

Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington,

DC 20426, or call (202) 502–8371. For instructions

on connecting to eLibrary refer to the last page of

this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to

all those receiving this notice in the mail.

VerDate Aug<31>2005

17:27 Mar 14, 2006

Jkt 208001

10.32 acres) would be required at road

and waterbody crossings.

Following construction, permanent

land acquisition of 0.16 acres would be

maintained as part of the right-of-way

for the maintenance of the 24-inch 2nd

North Main Loop Line Replacement

section. The remaining acreage required

during construction would be restored

and allowed to revert to its former land

uses.

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 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. 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 of Intent, the

Commission staff requests public

comments on the scope of the issues to

address in the EA. All comments

received are considered during the

preparation of the EA. 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. Agencies that would like to

request cooperating status should follow

the instructions for filing comments

below.

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 Commissions 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.

Currently Identified Environmental

Issues

In the EA, we will discuss impacts

that could occur as a result of the

construction and operation of the

project. We will also evaluate

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

environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects

(OEP).

PO 00000

Frm 00050

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

13381

reasonable alternatives to the proposed

project or portions of the project.

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

Southern. This preliminary list of issues

may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

Project-related impact on:

• 7 residences/structures within 50

feet of the construction workspace.

• 1 active private well within 32 feet

of the construction workspace.

• 2.6 acres of upland forest.

• Four federally-listed threatened and

endangered species potentially in the

project area.

• 9 emergent wetland crossings 3.5

acres.

• 23 water body crossings.

• Road crossings.

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 and 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 an original and two copies of

your letter to: Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room

1A, Washington, DC 20426.

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of Gas Branch 3.

• Reference Docket Number CP06–

58–000.

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before April 10, 2006.

Please note that the Commission

encourages electronic filing of

comments. See 18 Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) 385.2001(a)(1)(iii)

and the instructions on the

Commission’s Web site at http://

www.ferc.gov under the ‘‘e-Filing’’ 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

E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM

15MRN1

13382

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 15, 2006 / Notices

filing you are making. This filing is

considered a ‘‘Comment on Filing.’’

The determination of whether to

distribute the EA for public comment

will be based on the response to this

notice. If you are interested in receiving

it, please return the Information

Requested (Appendix 3). An effort is

being made to send this notice to all

individuals affected by the proposed

project. This includes all landowners

who are potential right-of-way grantors,

whose property may be used

temporarily for project purposes, or who

own homes within distances defined in

the Commission’s regulations of certain

aboveground facilities.

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’’.

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 electtronically 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

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.

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

Environmental Mailing List

If you wish to remain on our

environmental mailing list, please

return the Information Request Form

VerDate Aug<31>2005

17:27 Mar 14, 2006

Jkt 208001

included in Appendix 3. If you do not

return this form, you will be removed

from our mailing list.

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, click 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 TYY,

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.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–3669 Filed 3–14–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

Transmission Company’s prior-period

adjustments to its gas compressor fuel

and lost and unaccounted for balances,

as discussed in the February 15, 2006

order.1

FERC conferences are accessible

under section 508 of the Rehabilitation

Act of 1973. For accessibility

accommodations please send an e-mail

to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free

(866) 208–3372 (voice) or 202–502–8659

(TTY), or send a fax to 202–208–2106

with the required accommodations.

All interested persons are permitted

to attend. For further information please

contact Abraham Silverman at (202)

502–6444 or e-mail

abraham.silverman@ferc.gov.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–3664 Filed 3–14–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

Meetings; Sunshine Act

March 9, 2006.

The following notice of meeting is

published pursuant to section 3(a) of the

government in the Sunshine Act (Pub.

L. No. 94–409), 5 U.S.C 552b:

AGENCY HOLDING MEETING: Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission.

DATE AND TIME: March 16, 2006, 10 a.m.

PLACE: Room 2C, 888 First Street NE.,

Washington DC 20426.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

STATUS: Open.

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Agenda.

*Note—Items listed on the agenda

may be deleted without further notice.

[Docket No. RP06–151–000]

Kern River Gas Transmission

Company; Notice of Technical

Conference

March 8, 2006.

Take notice that the Commission will

convene a technical conference on

Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at 9:30 a.m.

(EST), in a room to be designated at the

offices of the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,

Washington DC 20426.

The technical conference will deal

with issues related to Kern River Gas

PO 00000

Frm 00051

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Telephone

(202) 502–8400. For a recorded listing

item stricken from or added to the

meeting, call (202) 502–8627.

This is a list of matters to be

considered by the Commission. It does

not include a listing of all papers

relevant to the items on the agenda;

however, all public documents may be

examined in the Public Reference Room.

1 Kern River Gas Transmission Co., 114 FERC

¶61,162 (2006).

E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM

15MRN1