Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation; CNG Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Flex-X/CNG Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP94-6-001; CP94-89-000]

Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation; CNG Transmission

Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment

for the Proposed Flex-X/CNG Project and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

October 5, 1994.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the

Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts of the construction and operation of

facilities proposed in the Flex-X/CNG Project.\1\ This EA will be used

by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether

an environmental impact statement is necessary and whether to approve

the project.

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\1\Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation's and CNG Transmission

Corporation's applications were filed with the Commission under

Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's

regulations.

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Summary of the Proposed Project

Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation (Texas Eastern) has an

existing natural gas pipeline system consisting of various diameter

pipe that extends from the State of Texas and offshore Louisiana

through the Appalachian area to the Eastern Seaboard in the

Philadelphia and New York area. Texas Eastern wants to expand and

modify its facilities to transport an additional 105,000 dekatherms of

natural gas per day (Dthd) to CNG Transmission Corporation (CNG) and

wants Commission authorization to construct and operate the following

facilities needed to transport those volumes:

13.9 miles of 36-inch-diameter replacement pipeline in two

segments in Pennsylvania:

Uniontown Discharge mileposts (Mps) 1048.47 to 1058.18 for 9.7

miles in Fayette and Somerset Counties.

Bedford Discharge Mps 1106.65 to 1110.87 for 4.2 miles in Bedford

County.

6,500 horsepower (hp) of compression at its existing

Uniontown Compressor Station in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

The Texas Eastern pipeline facilities were originally proposed as

part of the Liberty Pipeline Project in Docket Nos. CP92-720-000 and

CP92-720-001. These facilities were discussed in our Notices of Intent

dated January 22 and December 22, 1993. The Liberty Project

applications were dismissed by the Commission without prejudice on

August 12, 1994.

CNG wants to provide transportation of 105,000 Dthd from Texas

Eastern to three utilities, an electric generation plant, and a

cogeneration developer. To provide this transportation, CNG wants

Commission authorization to construct and operate about 8,000 hp of

compression (two 4,000-hp electric motor-driven compressor units) at a

new station to be known as CNG's Chambersburg Compressor Station, in

Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix

1.\2\

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\1\The appendices referenced in this notice are not being

printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the

Commission's Public Reference Room, Room 3104, 941 North Capitol

Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20246, or call (202) 208-1371. Copies

of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in

the mail.

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Land Requirements for Construction

Texas Eastern's proposed replacements would be built adjacent and

parallel to existing rights-of-way. Texas Eastern intends to use an 85-

foot-wide construction right-of-way. About 60 feet of the planned 85-

foot width would use existing right-of-way. Consequently, about 25 feet

of new clearing would be required in most areas. Following

construction, the disturbed area would be restored and the 25 feet of

new clearing would be allowed to revert to its former land use.

Additional working space would be required adjacent to the planned

construction right-of-way at areas of steep side slopes, and in most

areas where topsoil would be segregated (agricultural and residential

areas). Additional working space would also be required adjacent to

road and stream crossings.

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

to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals.

We call this ``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 requests public comments on the

scope of the issues it will address in the EA. All comments received

are considered during the preparation of the EA. State and local

government representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents

of this proposed action and encourage them to comment on their areas of

concern.

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

Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands

Vegetation and wildlife

Endangered and threatened species

Land use

Cultural resources

Hazardous waste

Air quality and noise

We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project

or portions of the project, 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

recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

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 Texas Eastern and CNG. Keep

in mind that this is a preliminary list. The list of issues may be

added to, subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our

analysis. Issues are:

The proposed pipelines would cross five perennial

waterbodies.

The proposed pipelines would cross 15 wetlands, 3 of which

are greater than 500 feet wide at the crossing location.

The proposed new compressor station would convert about

17.0 acres of agricultural land to industrial use.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your

specific comments or concerns about the project. You should focus on

the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to

the proposal (including alternative routes), and measures to avoid or

lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more

useful they will be. Please follow the instructions below to ensure

that your comments are received and properly recorded:

Address your letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol Street NE., Washington,

D.C. 20426;

Reference Docket Nos. CP94-6-001, et al.;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Jeffrey Gerber, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North

Capitol Street NE., Room 7312 Washington, D.C. 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before November 4, 1994.

If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one

from Mr. Gerber at the above address.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want

to become an official party to the proceeding or become an

``intervenor''. Among other things, intervenors have the right to

receive copies of case-related Commission documents and filings by

other intervenors. Likewise, each intervenor must provide copies of its

filings to all other parties. If you want 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) attached

as appendix 2.

The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding

has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file late interventions

must show good cause, as required by Section 385.214(b)(3), why this

time limitation should be waived. Environmental issues have been viewed

as good cause for late intervention. You do not need intervenor status

to have your scoping comments considered.

Additional information about the proposed project is available from

Mr. Jeffrey Gerber, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1121.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 94-25134 Filed 10-11-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P