Columbia Gas Transmission Corp.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Majorsville/Crawford Storage Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket Nos. CP95-61-000 and CP95-62-000]

Columbia Gas Transmission Corp.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Majorsville/Crawford Storage

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 24, 1995.

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 Majorsville/Crawford Storage Project.\1\

This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process

to determine if an environmental impact statement is necessary and

whether to approve the project.

\1\Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation's applications in

Docket Nos. CP95-61-000 and CP95-62-000 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

In Docket No. CP95-61-000, Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation

(Columbia) requests Commission authorization to temporarily deactivate

the storage operations at its Majorsville-Heard Storage Complex to

allow coal mining operations by the Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company

and/or its affiliates. Columbia needs to deactivate its storage

facilities when the coal mining operation is nearby since ``long wall

mining'' typically causes surface subsidence which could result in

adverse impact on the wells and pipelines. Once mining has ended,

Columbia would determine if the facility can be reactivated or should

be permanently abandoned.

At the Majorsville/Heard Storage Complex in Greene and Washington

Counties, Pennsylvania and Marshall County, West Virginia, Columbia

proposes to temporarily deactivate portions of the storage field for at

least the next 13 years. This would include:

Abandoning up to 238 wells; and

Abandoning up to 60 miles of existing pipeline.

In Docket No. CP95-62-000, Columbia requests Commission

authorization to increase its natural gas storage capability and to

construct and operate additional facilities at its Crawford Storage

Field and Crawford Compressor Station to offset the temporary

deactivation of the Majorsville-Heard Storage Complex. Columbia

proposes to increase:

The storage capability of the Crawford Storage Field by 5

billion cubic feet (Bcf) to 52 Bcf;

The annual withdrawals by 8.15 Bcf to 17.65 Bcf; and

The design day deliverability by 67.2 million cubic feet

per day (MMcfd) to 232.2 MMcfd.

At the Crawford Storage Field in Hocking County, Ohio, Columbia

proposes to:

Drill four new wells;

Construct about 5.01 miles of pipeline, including:

--2.30 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline replacing 1.40 mile of 16-

inch-diameter pipeline and 0.90 mile of 10- and 8-inch-diameter

pipeline;

--0.80 mile of 10-inch-diameter pipeline replacing 0.80 mile of 4-inch-

diameter pipeline;

--0.76 mile of 10-inch-diameter new pipeline;

--0.36 mile of 8-inch-diameter pipeline replacing 0.40 mile of 4-inch-

diameter pipeline;

--0.45 mile of 8-inch-diameter new pipeline;

--0.32 mile of 6-inch-diameter pipeline replacing 0.30 mile of 4-inch-

diameter pipeline; and

--0.02 mile of 6-inch-diameter new pipeline.

Install other appurtenant facilities, including:

--Wellhead measurement stations at four new and two existing wells;

--Electric measurement cables within the right-of-way to the four new

wells;

--Up to 10 pig launching/receiving facilities; and

--Valve replacement sets at six existing and one new well.

[[Page 11663]] At the Crawford Compressor Station in Fairfield

County, Ohio, Columbia proposes to:

Add a third dehydration contactor and related reboiler and

piping;

Add a gas cooler to each of the three existing compressor

units;

Replace a compressor cylinder on one of the existing

compressor units; and

Add a gas cleaner and make other changes.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix

1. Specific locations of the proposed Crawford Storage Field facilities

are shown in appendix 2.\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

Majorsville/Heard Storage Complex

The temporary deactivation of the Majorsville/Heard Storage Complex

facilities would require some construction activity. Abandonment of the

pipelines (either in place or by removal) would occur within the

existing right-of-way. Abandonment and plugging of the wells would

require some disturbance in the immediate area of the well.

Crawford Storage Field

Construction and operation of the four proposed new well sites

would disturb a total of about 2.8 acres of land.

columbia intends to use its existing 50-foot-wide right-of-way for

removal of the existing pipelines and construction of the small

diameter (less than 18-inch-diameter) replacement pipelines. All new

pipelines would be constructed within a 50-foot-wide right-of-way. For

the 20-inch-diameter replacement pipeline, Columbia proposes to use a

75-foot-wide construction right-of-way, of which 50 feet would be

existing right-of-way and 25 feet would be new temporary right-of-way.

All of the replacement pipelines would be built in about the same

location as the existing pipelines. All other appurtenant facilities

would be constructed within the right-of-way for the new and

replacement pipelines. Construction of the pipelines would affect about

43.1 acres of land.

Extra temporary work space would be also required for staging areas

for topsoil segregation; for road, wetland and stream crossings;

equipment mobilization; and contractor and pipe storage yards. Columbia

estimates that these extra work spaces would temporarily disturb about

7.1 acres of land.

Following construction, the new and replacement pipelines would be

within a 50-foot-wide permanent right-of-way centered on the pipeline.

All temporary construction right-of-way and extra workspaces would be

restored and allowed to revert to their former use. About 7.5 acres of

land would be required for the new permanent right-of-way.

Crawford Compressor Station

Construction of the additional facilities at the Crawford

Compressor Station would take place entirely within the existing

station fenceline.

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.

Air quality.

Public safety.

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 Columbia. 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:

Crawford Storage Field

The pipelines would cross three perennial waterbodies and

eight non-forested wetlands.

The pipelines may cross or be near historic structures and

archeological sites.

Two pipeline segments would cross a state scenic highway

(State Route 374).

Construction of one pipeline segment would take place

within 50 feet of three residences.

Some of the pipeline segments would possibly cross

potential habitat for the Indiana bat, a federally listed endangered

species.

Increasing the capacity of the storage field may increase

the potential for leakage.

Crawford Compressor Station

Some of the additional facilities would be within a 100-

year floodplain.

The reboiler for the dehydration contactor would slightly

increase the NOX emission levels of the station.

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., N.E., Washington,

D.C. 20426. [[Page 11664]]

Reference Docket Nos. CP95-61-000 and CP95-62-000.

Send a copy of your letter to: Ms. Laura Turner, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North

Capitol Street., N.E., Room 7312, Washington, D.C. 20426.

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before April 3, 1995.

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

Ms. Turner at the above address.

Becoming and 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 3).

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 information about the proposed project is available from

Ms. Laura Turner, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0916.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-5111 Filed 3-1-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M