Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Main Line System Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP95-505-000]

Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Main Line System

Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

August 16, 1995.

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

the facilities proposed in the North Main Line System Expansion

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.

\1\ Southern Natural Gas Company'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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Southern Natural Gas Company (Southern) proposes to construct,

install, modify, and operate compressor stations, meter stations, and

related appurtenant facilities. Specifically, Southern requests

Commission authorization to:

Construct a new 5,680-horsepower (hp) East Tuscaloosa

Compressor Station at milepost 286.24 of the North Main Line at the

border of Tuscaloosa and Jefferson Counties, Alabama;

Add a 1,452-hp turbine compressor to the existing Pell

City Compressor Station at milepost 352.478 of the North Main Line in

St. Clair County, Alabama;

Uprate an existing turbine compressor from 1,080 hp to

1,200 hp at the existing DeArmanville Compressor Station at milepost

380.629 of the North Main Line in Calhoun County, Alabama;

Add compressor unloaders to two engine units at the

existing Tarrant Compressor Station at milepost 321.947 of the North

Main in Jefferson County, Alabama;

Increase operating pressure at the (1) Dora Meter Station

at milepost 11.281 of the Cordova Branch Line in Walker County,

Alabama, and (2) Gadsden Branch Line in St. Clair County, Alabama; and

Install overpressure protection at the existing:

1. Ashville Meter Station at milepost 16.2 of the Gadsden Branch

Line in St. Clair County, Alabama;

2. Boaz No. 2 Meter Station at milepost 25.12 of the Gadsden Branch

Line in Etowah County, Alabama;

3. Gadsden No. 5 Meter Station at milepost 25.12 of the Gadsden

Branch Line in Etowah County, Alabama;

4. Marshall No. 1 Meter Station at milepost 27.42 of the Gadsden

Branch Line in Etowah Country, Alabama;

5. Gadsden No. 4 Meter Station at milepost 31.292 of the Gadsden

Branch Line in Etowah County, Alabama; and

6. Gadsden No. 1 Meter Station at milepost 33.309 of the Gadsden

Branch Line in Etowah County, Alabama.

7. Ragland Branch Line Tie-in at milepost 9.233 and Siberton Tap

Line Tie-in at milepost 27.318 of the Gadsden Branch Line in St. Clair

and Etowah Counties, Alabama.

The general location of the project facilities and specific

locations for facilities are 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, 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

Southern indicates that 65 to 70 acres of additional and would be

required for the new compressor station. All other construction

activities would occur within the existing rights-of-way and existing

compressor stations and would not require additional land.

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

proposed abandonment under these general headings:

Soils.

Cultural resources.

Water resources and wetlands.

Public safety.

Air and noise quality.

Endangered and threatened species.

Vegetation.

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

[[Page 43593]]

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 Issue

We have already identified one issue that we think deserves

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by Southern:

The proposed compressor station and additional compression proposed

at the existing compressor stations may increase ambient noise levels.

Keep in mind that this is a preliminary issue. Issues may be added,

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

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 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 Capital St., NE., Washington,

DC 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP95-505-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, 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 September 15, 1995.

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

Mr. Herman K. Der 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 of 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. Herman K. Der, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0896.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-20710 Filed 8-21-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M