Egan Hub Partners, L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Egan Gas Storage Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP96-199-000]

Egan Hub Partners, L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Egan Gas Storage Expansion

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 7, 1996.

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 Egan Gas Storage 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.

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\1\ Egan Hub Partners, L.P.'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

Egan Hub Partners, L.P. (Egan) proposes to construct and operate a

second storage cavern and install about 6,260 horsepower of additional

compression at the storage facility site in Acadia Parish, Louisiana.

Egan indicates that the new storage facilities would provide up to

a total of about 4 billion cubic feet of working gas storage capacity.

The general location of the project facilities are 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 and Files Maintenance Branch, 888

First 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

No additional land would be required for the project.

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:

Land use.

Air quality and noise.

Public safety.

Cultural resources.

Endangered and threatened species.

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 two issues that we think deserves

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by Egan. Keep in mind that these

are preliminary issues.

Egan would develop an additional salt storage cavern which

would require fresh water withdrawal, saltwater disposal, and surface

disposal of insolubles.

Noise impacts would occur to nearby residences from the

operation of the compressors.

The list of issues may be added, subtracted from, 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 (including alternative locations or 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, 888 First St., N.E., Washington, DC

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP96-199-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St.,

N.E. PR-11.1, Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before June 17, 1996.

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).

[[Page 22048]]

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.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-11834 Filed 5-10-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M