Avoca Natural Gas Storage; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Avoca Gas Storage Field Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP94-161-000]

Avoca Natural Gas Storage; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Avoca Gas Storage Field

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 1, 1994.

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

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

discuss environmental impacts of the construction and operation of

facilities proposed in the Avoca Gas Storage Field 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 or not to approve the project.

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\1\Avoca Natural Gas Storage's (Avoca) 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Avoca Natural Gas Storage (Avoca) wants Commission authorization to

construct and operate a new underground natural gas storage field near

the town of Avoca in Steuben County, New York. Avoca proposes to

solution mine 10 caverns out of a bedded salt formation. The caverns

would have 6.72 billion cubic feet (BCF) of storage capacity (5 BCF

working gas capacity). Avoca would construct the following facilities

to use these caverns for natural gas storage:

10 solution-mined cavern wells;

3 water source wells;

6 brine disposal wells;

5,100 feet of 20-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;

900 feet of 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;

7,000 feet of 12-inch-diameter water withdrawal pipeline;

15,400 feet of 12-inch-diameter water injection pipeline;

15,400 feet of 12-inch-diameter brine return pipeline;

25,600 feet of 12-inch-diameter brine disposal pipeline;

15,400 feet of 2-inch-diameter diesel injection pipeline;

A new 25,000-horsepower compressor station;

An electric-motor driven pumping station (leach plant);

A 0.23-acre, double-lined, brine settling pond;

Gas dehydration facilities; and

Storage tanks for coolant water, glycol, lube oil,

hydrocarbons, methanol, and diesel fuel.

Schedule

Avoca would develop the proposed project in three stages (referred

to below as Phase 1, 2, and 3) over a period of 3 to 4 years.

Phase 1 would include the construction of all solution mining, gas

handling, water production, and brine disposal facilities. Phase 1

would also include the development and operation of four storage

caverns--with approximately 2 BCF of storage capacity. Completion of

Phase 1 would take about 18 to 20 months.

Phase 2 would include the development of four additional storage

caverns (another 2 BCF of storage capacity).

Phase 3 would include the development of the final 2 caverns (with

1 BCF of storage capacity). Phases 2 and 3 would each take about 1 year

to complete.

The general location of these facilities is shown in appendix

1.2

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\2\The appendices referenced in this notice are not being

printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the

Commission's Public Reference Branch, room 3104, 941 North Capitol

Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, 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

Avoca would use 200 acres of land for the Avoca Gas Storage Field

Project. Of this total, 60 acres are associated with surface facilities

such as the well pads, leach plant, compressor station, and brine

ponds. The remaining 140 acres would be disturbed by activities related

to gas, water supply, and brine disposal pipelines. Any temporary work

areas, storage yards, etc., would be contained within the area

designated for gas handling facilities.

Following completion of construction, approximately 70 of the total

200 acres would be allowed to revert to preconstruction conditions.

Avoca proposes to use a 100-foot-wide construction right-of-way for

its gas, water, and brine pipelines. Avoca's permanent rights-of-way

for the pipelines outside the site property would vary from 25 to 50

feet wide, depending on the number of pipelines in the easement: 25

feet wide for single pipelines and 50 feet wide for multiple pipelines.

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 taken into account 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;

Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;

Vegetation and wildlife;

Endangered and threatened species;

Land use;

Cultural resources;

Air quality and noise;

Hazardous waste.

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 environmental issues that we

think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed

facilities and the information provided by Avoca. Keep in mind that

this is a preliminary list. The list of issues will be added to,

subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our analysis.

The list of environmental issues:

Avoca would drill a total of 19 new wells in Steuben

County, New York: 10 solution-mined cavern, 3 water source, and 6 brine

disposal wells. These facilities have a potential for groundwater and

surface impact.

Whether the structural geology of the area is sufficient

to contain solution-mined caverns.

Avoca proposes to use 2,000,000 gallons of water per day

for the solution-mining process during the first 2 years of operation

at the Avoca Gas Storage Field. This may have an impact on groundwater

availability. Testing of wells in the local aquifers indicate that the

water supply recharges up to 14,600,000 gallons of water per day.

Avoca's pipelines would cross two perennial streams: Neils

Creek and Cotton Creek. Both of these creeks are high-quality trout

streams, classified as trout-spawning grounds by New York.

Avoca's brine disposal pipelines would cross 16 wetlands.

Avoca would construct a new compressor station and pumping

facility. The nearest noise-sensitive area to Avoca's new compressor

station and pumping facility is 2,400 feet to the northeast. There is

the potential for air and noise quality impacts.

Possible impact on federally listed threatened or

endangered species.

Possible impact on cultural resources.

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 St., NE., Washington,

DC 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP94-161-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Steven G. Grape, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North

Capitol St., NE. room 7312, Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before March 1, 1994.

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

from Mr. Grape 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 Sec. 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 Questions?

Additional information about the proposed project is available from

Mr. Steven G. Grape, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0812.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 94-2742 Filed 2-4-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P