Steuben Gas Storage Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Thomas Corners Gas Storage Field Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP95-119-001]

Steuben Gas Storage Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Thomas Corners Gas Storage

Field Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 8, 1995.

On April 18, 1995, Steuben Gas Storage Company (Steuben) filed an

amendment to its application which substantially changed the routing of

its proposed 12-inch-diameter gathering header. The beginning and

ending points and the approximate length of the gathering header, as

well as all other aspects of Steuben's proposal remain unchanged by

this amendment. This notice supplements the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission's (FERC or Commission) ``Notice of Intent to Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Thomas Corners Gas Storage

Field Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues'' issued

March 3, 1995 (March 3 Notice).

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 construction and operation of

facilities proposed in the Thomas Corners 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.

\1\Steuben's application was filed with the Commission under

section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Parts 157 and 284 of the

Commission's regulations.

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Summary of the Proposed Project

Steuben requests Commission authorization to convert a depleted

natural gas production field to storage use in Steuben County, New

York. It proposes to construct and operate:

13 injection/withdrawal wells (11 new wells drilled from

one central location and two converted from existing gas production

wells);

One observation well;

0.6 mile of 4-inch-diameter well laterals;

0.3 mile of 12-inch-diameter well laterals;

A 3,284 horsepower compressor station;

6.5 miles of 12-inch-diameter gathering header including a

pipeline drip and storage tank; and

Dehydration facilities.

Steuben indicates that the proposed storage field, when fully

developed, would have a working gas capacity of 5,300,000 thousand

cubic feet of gas. Customers interested in using Steuben's storage

service would have to arrange for their own transportation. Steuben's

existing facilities are interconnected with the facilities of CNG

Transmission Corporation (CNG) in the town of Woodhull, Steuben County,

New York. The 6.5 miles of gathering header would connect the Thomas

Corners Gas Storage Field to Steuben's existing facilities.

Steuben states that the storage facility would be developed in the

nearly depleted Thomas Corners gas production reservoir. It lies about

3,530 feet below the surface. The aerial extent of the reservoir is

about 430 acres.

The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\

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

printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the

Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, Room

3104, 941 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 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

Steuben proposes to use a nominal 70-foot-wide right-of-way for

construction of the 6.5 miles of 12-inch-diameter pipeline. Following

construction, a 50-foot-wide easement would be permanently maintained;

the remaining 20 feet would be restored and allowed to revert to its

former use.

Additional working right-of-way width would be needed in areas of

steep side slopes and in agricultural areas where topsoil would be

segregated. Additional working space would also be needed adjacent to

road and stream crossings. About 60 acres would be required for

construction of the 12-inch-diameter gathering header.

A total of 37 acres would be needed for construction of the Thomas

Corners Gas Storage Field. All new injection/withdrawal wells would be

directionally drilled from one central pad area covering approximately

31 acres. The wells would be drilled at 150-foot centers around the

perimeter of the pad area. All of the 4- and 12-inch-diameter well

laterals would be constructed within the central well pad area.

An additional 6-acre work space would be required adjacent to the

pad area for drilling, completion, maintenance operations, and

equipment staging. After construction is complete, this area would be

used for the dehydration facilities.

The proposed compressor station would be located on Steuben's

existing Adrian Compressor Station site.

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. 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.

Public safety.

Land use.

Cultural resources.

Hazardous waste.

Air and noise quality.

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. [[Page 25711]]

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 Steuben. 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 project would cross three perennial streams: Mud

Hollow Brook, the Canisteo River, an unnamed tributary of the Canisteo

River.

The 12-inch-diameter header would be constructed within

Catatunk Road and Canisteo River Road between approximately mileposts 1

and 2.6 (see appendix 1).

About 25 acres of upland forest would be disturbed.

A 3,284 horsepower compressor station would be constructed

adjacent to Steuben's existing Adrian Compressor Station which may

increase existing sound levels.

In addition, the following concerns were raised in response to our

March 3 Notice:

The EA should include standards required for slope

stabilization and erosion control during and after pipeline

construction.

Prime agricultural lands should be identified.

Restoration should include monitoring of agricultural

lands.

Fishery resources of the streams crossed should be

identified.

The EA should identify any threatened or endangered

species potentially found along the proposed route.

Safety features to ensure that no gas leaks during all

aspects of operation should be described.

All residences potentially affected during construction

should be identified.

All active or abandoned hazardous waste sites should be

identified.

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 you letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St., N.E., Washington,

D.C. 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP95-119-001;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Howard J. Wheeler, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North

Capitol St., N.E., Room 7312, Washington, D.C. 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before June 12, 1995.

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

from Mr. Wheeler 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) (see

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. Howard Wheeler, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-2299.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-11725 Filed 5-11-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M