erjones on PROD1PC68 with NOTICES

erjones on PROD1PC68 with NOTICES

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 2006 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 11858–002]

[Docket No. CP06–66–000]

The Nevada Power Company, Inc.;

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water

District; California; Notice of Intention

To Hold Public Meetings for

Discussion of the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement for the Lake Elsinore

Advanced Pumped Storage Project

Port Barre Investments, L.L.C. (d/b/a

Bobcat Gas Storage); Notice of Intent

To Prepare an Environmental

Assessment for the Proposed Bobcat

Gas Storage Project and Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

March 1, 2006.

The staff of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an

environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts of a

proposal by Port Barre Investments,

L.L.C. (d/b/a Bobcat Gas Storage

(Bobcat)) to construct a new salt cavern

natural gas storage facility in St. Landry

Parish, Louisiana.1 The Bobcat Gas

Storage Project would provide

approximately 12 billion cubic feet of

working natural gas storage capacity,

capable of injecting gas at maximum

rates of up to 900 million cubic feet per

day (MMcfd) and delivering gas at

maximum rates of up to 1,200 MMcfd.

The facilities would include two

solution mined storage caverns, a 37,880

horsepower (hp) compressor station, a

leaching plant, brine disposal facilities,

approximately 18.1 miles of pipeline,

and metering and regulating stations.

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. Please note that the scoping

comments are requested by March 31,

2006.

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

Bobcat company representative about

the acquisition of an easement to

construct, operate, and maintain the

proposed facilities. The 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

On February 17, 2006, the

Commission staff delivered the Lake

Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage

(LEAPS) Project Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (draft EIS) to the

Environmental Protection Agency and

mailed it to resource and land

management agencies, interested

organizations, and individuals.

The draft EIS was noticed in the

Federal Register on February 24, 2006,

(71 FR 9819) and comments are due

April 25, 2006. The draft EIS evaluates

the environmental consequences and

developmental benefits of issuing an

original license for building, operating

and maintaining the LEAPS Project,

located in Riverside County, California.

The project would occupy 2,412 acres of

federal lands, including lands managed

by the Cleveland National Forest.

Besides evaluating the applicant’s

proposal, the draft EIS evaluates a FERC

staff proposal and the no-action

alternative.

Two public meetings, which will be

recorded by an official stenographer, are

scheduled as follows.

Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2006.

Time: 7–10 p.m. (PST).

Place: San Juan Capistrano

Community Center, 25925 Camino del

Avion, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.

Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2006.

Time: 7–10 p.m. (PST).

Place: Lake Elsinore Cultural Center,

183 N. Main Street, Lake Elsinore, CA

92530.

At these meetings, resource agency

personnel and other interested persons

will have the opportunity to provide

oral and written comments and

recommendations regarding the DEIS for

the Commission’s public record.

For further information, please

contact Jim Fargo at e-mail address

james.fargo@ferc.gov, or by telephone at

(202) 502–6095.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

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1 Bobcat’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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eminent domain. Therefore, if easement

negotiations fail to produce an

agreement, the natural gas 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://

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 Proposed Project

Bobcat proposes to construct, own,

and operate a high-deliverability natural

gas storage project on an 84-acre parcel

of land leased by Bobcat, located about

2.2 miles east of the Town of Port Barre,

Louisiana. Two caverns would be

solution mined in the Port Barre Salt

Dome in four phases, over an

approximate five-year time span. The

project would include construction of

the following:

(1) Gas Storage Site, including:

• Eight (8) 4,735 horsepower

compressors, dehydration and

appurtenant facilities (Bobcat

Compressor Station);

• A leaching plant;

• 0.5 mile of non-jurisdictional

electric distribution line;

• 2 freshwater and 2 cavern wells;

and

• 0.5 mile of 16-inch-diameter

freshwater pipeline.

(2) Brine Disposal Site, including

three brine disposal wells;

(3) 1.5 miles of 16-inch-diameter brine

disposal pipeline;

(4) 16.1 miles of 24-inch-diameter

natural gas pipeline and appurtenances;

and

(5) 5 interstate and 1 intrastate

pipeline system interconnects, each

with a regulator/meter station.

The location of the project facilities is

shown in Appendix 1.2

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities

would require about 261.9 acres of land.

Following construction, about 104.3

acres would be maintained as new

aboveground facility sites and right-of2 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 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 last page of

this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to

all those receiving this notice in the mail.

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