Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Distrigas of Massachusetts Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Tennessee Domac Projects; Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket Nos. CP96-164-000 and CP96-254-000]

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Distrigas of Massachusetts

Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment

for the Proposed Tennessee Domac Projects; Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

May 17, 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 Tennessee DOMAC Projects.\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 projects.

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\1\ Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's and Distrigas of

Massachusetts Corporation's applications 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 Projects

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (Tennessee) wants to expand the

capacity of its existing facilities to transport up to 90,000

dekatherms of natural gas per day on a firm basis for Distrigas of

Massachusetts Corporation (DOMAC). Tennessee requests Commission

authorization, in Docket No. CP96-164-000, to construct, operate, and

abandon upon the termination of Tennessee's contractual obligations to

DOMAC, the following facilities needed to transport those volumes:

7.56 miles of 20-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline in

Saugus, Revere, Malden, and Everett, Massachusetts;

One valve station at the northern end of the proposed

pipeline in Saugus, Massachusetts; and

A new meter station and odorization system at the southern

end of the proposed pipeline at DOMAC's existing liquefied natural gas

(LNG) facility in Everett, Massachusetts.

DOMAC wants to construct additional facilities at its LNG facility

in Everett, Massachusetts to increase reliability and meet the

anticipated need for increased vaporization capacity. DOMAC requests

Commission authorization, in Docket No. CP96-254-000, to construct and

operate the following facilities:

Two vaporization trains, each with a nominal capacity

rating of 75 million cubic feet per day;

[[Page 25864]]

About 0.1 mile of natural gas sendout pipeline; and

Auxiliary equipment located in separate buildings required

to operate the vaporization trains, including boilers, water

circulation pumps, electrical switchgear, and a distributed control

system.

DOMAC stated in its application that although the proposed

vaporization facilities are necessary to deliver vaporized LNG into

Tennessee's proposed pipeline, its need for additional vaporization

capacity is independent of Tennessee's proposal. Therefore, DOMAC

proposes to construct the vaporization facilities regardless of

Tennessee's action. The Commission staff has elected to analyze the two

proposals in the same EA because the Tennessee and DOMAC facilities

would be physically connected and would be built within the same

general timeframe.

The location of the proposed facilities is 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, Room

3104, 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, 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 Tennessee's facilities would require about 67.8

acres of land. About 90 percent of this land is within existing

Conrail, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), or New

England Power Company (NEPCO) rights-of-way. The railroad rights-of-way

range in width from 42.5 feet to 122 feet. Tennessee proposes to use

all available space in these rights-of-way during construction. The

NEPCO right-of-way is about 150 feet wide in the project area. In this

area, and where the proposed pipeline would be outside existing rights-

of-way, Tennessee proposes to use a 55-foot-wide construction right-of-

way. In addition, temporary extra work spaces would be required at

various locations adjacent to the construction right-of-way.

Following construction, about 15.0 acres, nearly all of which is

within existing rights-of-way, would be maintained as new permanent

right-of-way for the pipeline or aboveground facilities. The width of

the permanent easement within the railroad rights-of-way would be

determined based on negotiations with the MBTA and Conrail. Tennessee

proposes to maintain a 30-foot-wide permanent easement within the NEPCO

right-of-way and where the pipeline is outside existing rights-of-way.

The remaining land would be restored and allowed to revert to its

former use. DOMAC's proposed facilities would be constructed within the

existing fence lien of DOMAC's LNG facility.

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 staff requests public comments on

the scope of the issues it will address in the EA. The staff also

requests public comments on its decision to evaluate Tennessee's and

DOMAC's proposed facilities in the same 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 projects under these general

headings:

Geology and soils.

Water resources and wetlands.

Vegetation and wildlife.

Threatened and endangered species.

Land use.

Cultural resources.

Public safety.

Air quality and noise.

We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed

projects or portions of the projects, 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, newspapers,

libraries, and the Commission's official service list, and those groups

and individuals that have expressed an interest in these proceedings. 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 projects.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

We have already identified several issues that we think deserve

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities; our

attendance at the Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board public

hearings in Saugus, Revere, Malden, and Everett; and the environmental

information provided by Tennessee and DOMAC. This is a preliminary list

of issues and may be added to, subtracted from, or changed based on

your comments and our analysis. Issues are:

Effects of blasting on water wells, structures, septic

systems, and natural gas pipelines;

Crossing of 3 streams and 11 wetlands;

Crossing of Rumney Marsh, a state-designated Area of

Critical Environmental Concern;

Clearing of trees and disturbance of wildlife habitat;

Effects of construction on traffic, noise levels, and air

quality (particularly, dust);

Duration of construction;

Construction near residences along the construction right-

of-way and effects on existing and future land uses;

Right-of-way maintenance;

Crossing of a Coastal Zone Management Area;

Crossing of Conservation Land in the Town of Saugus;

Protection of cultural resources and historic properties;

Potential to expose contaminated soils;

Potential increase in shipping of LNG into, and trucking

of LNG out of the DOMAC LNG facility;

Public safety; and

Cumulative effect of the projects when combined with other

developments in the area.

Public Participation and Scoping Meeting

You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your

specific comments or concerns about the projects. You should focus on

the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to

the proposal (including alternative pipeline 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 Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426;

[[Page 25865]]

Reference Docket Nos. CP96-164-000 and/or CP96-254-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Ms. Lauren O'Donnell, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, NE, Room 72-57, Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before June 21, 1996.

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

from Ms. O'Donnell at the above address.

Beyond asking for written comments, we invite you to attend our

public scoping meeting that will be held on June 11, 1996, at 7:00

p.m., at the Saugus High School, Pierce Street, Saugus, Massachusetts.

This public meeting will provide you with more detailed information and

another opportunity to offer your comments on the proposals. We will

also be visiting the project location on June 11 and 12, 1996.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want

to become an official party to the proceedings 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 intervene in these

proceedings has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file late

interventions 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 projects is available

from Ms. Lauren O'Donnell, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0325.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-12915 Filed 5-22-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M