CNG Transmission Corporation and Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation; Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed South Oakford Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP95-668-000]

CNG Transmission Corporation and Texas Eastern Transmission

Corporation; Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed South Oakford Project and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

August 31, 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 South Oakford 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\ CNG Transmission Corporation and Texas Eastern Transmission

Corporation'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

CNG Transmission Corporation (CNG) and Texas Eastern Transmission

Corporation (Texas Eastern) want to abandon by removal their Jeannette

Compressor Station, to add compression at their South Oakford

Compressor Station, to construct storage pipelines, and to install

related facilities at the South Oakford Gate and the Earhart Gate, all

in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. CNG and Texas Eastern request

authorization to abandon:

All buildings, parking lots, drive ways, equipment,

piping, and 7,980 horsepower (hp) of compression at the Jeanette

Compressor Station;

A pig receiver near the Jeannette Compressor station;

75 feet of Line JP-40 within the Earhart Gate; and

A 20-inch mainline gate setting for Line JP-250 at the

Earhart Gate.

CNG and Texas Eastern request authorization to construct and

operate:

10,000 hp of electric motor-driven compression at the

South Oakford Compressor Station;

A pig receiver and barrel dip at the Earhart Gate;

3,158 feet of 30-inch-diameter storage suction pipeline

(Line JP-296) between the South Oakford Compressor Station and the

South Oakford Gate;

3,158 feet of 20-inch-diameter storage discharge pipeline

(Line JP-297) between the South Oakford Compressor Station and the

South Oakford Gate; and

Facilities to interconnect new Lines JP-296 and JP-297 to

existing Lines JP-250 and JP-40, respectively, at the South Oakford

Gate.

A nonjurisdictional West Penn Power owned and operated substation

(100 feet by 100 feet) would be constructed at the South Oakford

Compressor Station.

CNG and Texas Eastern want to construct the proposed facilities

between May and November 1996. Removal of the abandoned facilities at

the Jeannette Compressor Station would begin in the spring of 1997.

The general 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 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

Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 10

acres of land, all of which is on existing right-of-way or on property

owned by CNG and Texas Eastern. Construction of the pipelines would be

entirely within existing rights-of-way, but would disturb about 6.5

acres. All land disturbance at the South Oakford and Earhart Gates,

about 1 acre total, would be within the existing gate sites and

pipeline rights-of-way. The new West Penn Power substation would be

enclosed within the South Oakford Compressor Station by moving the

existing fence to surround the new substation. This would add about 2.5

acres to the existing 5-acre fenced 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 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

Public safety

Land use

Cultural resources

Air quality and noise

Hazardous waste

We will also evaluate possible alternative 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 one issue that we think deserves

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by CNG and Texas Eastern: The

addition of compression at the South Oakford Compressor Station may

increase noise levels at nearby residences.

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

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

Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the

impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities off the South Oakford

Compressor Station site. We will briefly describe their location and

status in the EA.

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 locations), and measures to avoid

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

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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. CP95-668-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Ms. Jennifer Goggin, 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 28, 1995.

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

from Ms. Goggin 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

fillings 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 as stated in the

Notice of Application issued on August 15, 1995, in this proceeding is

September 5, 1995. Parties 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

Ms. Jennifer Goggin, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-2226.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-22115 Filed 9-6-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M