East Tennessee Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed ETNG 1997 Open Season Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP96-696-000]

East Tennessee Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare

an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed ETNG 1997 Open Season

Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 15, 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 ETNG 1997 Open Season 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\ East Tennessee 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

East Tennessee Natural Gas Company (ETNG) wants to expand the

capacity of its facilities in Tennessee to transport an additional

31,902 Dekatherms per day to various shippers along its system. ETNG's

facilities would be constructed in Tennessee and would consist of:

About 2.52 miles of 12-inch-diameter pipeline loop in

Sullivan County, commencing at the discharge side of Compressor Station

No. 3309 at milepost (MP) 3308-1+17.18 and ending at MP 3308-1+19.70;

About 2.00 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline loop in

Bedford County, commencing at MP 3207-2+3.25 and ending at MP 3207-

2+5.25;

About 1.54 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline loop in

Franklin County, commencing at the discharge side of Compressor Station

No. 3209 at MP 3209-1+0.00 and ending at MP 3209-1+1.54;

A new meter station in Franklin County, at MP 3209-1+6.28;

A new meter station in Marion County, at MP 3211-1+0.001;

Four new valve stations in Bedford, Franklin, and Sullivan

Counties, as appurtenances to the loop segments;

Three modified valve stations in Franklin and Sullivan

Counties, as appurtenances to the loop segments;

A 360-horsepower (hp) uprate of existing compressor units

at ETNG's Compressor Station No. 3107 in Putnam County, Tennessee;

A 650-hp uprate of existing compressor units at ENTG's

Compressor Station No. 3201 in Perry County, Tennessee;

A 340-hp uprate of existing compressor units at ETNG's

Compressor Station No. 3206 in Marshall County, Tennessee;

A 230-hp uprate of existing compressor units at ETNG's

Compressor Station No. 3209 in Franklin County, Tennessee; and

A 240-hp uprate of existing compressor units at ETNG's

Compressor Station No. 3217 in Monroe County, Tennessee.

The general location of the project facilities and specific

locations for facilities on new sites 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

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 138.8

acres of land. Following construction, about 45.4 acres of existing

right-of-way (ROW) would continue to be maintained as permanent ROW. An

additional 0.4 acre of new ROW would be maintained for new aboveground

facility sites. The remaining 93 acres of land would be restored and

allowed to revert to its former use.

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 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 ETNG.

This preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

Two federally listed endangered or threatened species may

occur in the proposed project area.

Two cultural resource sites that may be eligible for

inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places may be affected

by the project.

One wetland (palustrine broad-leaved deciduous forest) and

three small perennial streams would be affected.

There are 31 residences located within 50 feet of the Loop

3309 construction ROW.

[[Page 54640]]

There may be additional noise impact on nearby noise-

sensitive areas from the uprate in compression at the five compressor

stations.

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 instruction 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., NE., Washington, DC 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP96-696-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Rafael Montag, EA

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

NE., [PR-11.1], Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before November 14, 1996.

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

from Mr. Montag 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 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. Rafael Montag, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0985.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-26864 Filed 10-18-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M