CNG Transmission Corporation, Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Seasonal Service Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket Nos. CP96-492-000, CP96-492-002, and CP96-606-000]

CNG Transmission Corporation, Texas Eastern Transmission

Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment

for the Proposed Seasonal Service Expansion Project and Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

December 6, 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 Seasonal Service Expansion Project.\1\

The total project involves the construction of about 43.6 miles of

pipeline, five salt caverns, four brine injection wells, one new

compressor station, and additional facilities at an existing compressor

station; use of five existing caverns at a storage facility; and

hydrostatic testing of existing pipeline for operation at higher

pressure. The facilities would be in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New

York, Maryland, and Virginia. (See appendix 1 for location maps of the

proposed facilities.)\2\ 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\ CNG Transmission Corporation's and Texas Eastern

Transmission Corporation's applications were filed with the

Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of

the Commission's regulations.

\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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Summary of the Proposed Projects

CNG Transmission Corporation (CNG) in Docket No. CP96-492-000

(``SSE Project'') and Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation (Texas

Eastern) in Docket No. CP96-606-000 (``Winternet Project'') (together

these projects are referred to as the ``Seasonal Service Expansion

Project'') want to expand the capacity of their facilities.\3\

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\3\ CNG filed a related application in Docket No. CP96-493-000.

The staff will prepare a separate environmental assessment for that

project.

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For the SSE Project, CNG proposes facilities to provide 103,000

dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of transmission service and 9.3 billion

cubic feet (Bcf) of storage capacity for various customers. CNG seeks

authority to:

[[Page 65384]]

construct about 15.1 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline in

Wetzel County, West Virginia (Line TL-492 Extensions 1 and 2);

construct a 4,000 horsepower (hp) addition to the existing

Chambersburg Compressor Station in Franklin County, Pennsylvania;

conduct hydrostatic testing of five segments of the

existing 30-inch-diameter Line PL-1 in Loudoun County, Virginia;

Frederick and Washington Counties, Maryland; and Franklin County,

Pennsylvania, and to increase the maximum allowable operating pressure

of those pipeline segments to 1,250 pounds per square inch gauge

(psig);

construct a new compressor station (Bath Compressor

Station) with three 3,200 hp compressors in Steuben County, New York;

construct metering and regulating facilities at the Bath

Compressor Station;

construct about 20.4 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline in

Steuben County, New York, connecting CNG's Woodhull Compressor Station

to the Bath Compressor Station (Line TL-504);

lease from Texas Eastern 64,000 Dth/d of transmission

capacity on the CRP Line in Pennsylvania from November 1, 1997, through

October 31, 1999; and

lease, operate, convert, and develop (over a period of

four years) salt cavern storage facilities near the Town of Bath, New

York, at the Bath Petroleum Storage Inc. (Bath Petroleum) storage

facility including:

--conversion of five existing liquid hydrocarbon storage caverns to gas

storage caverns (well numbers 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7);

--development of five gas storage caverns (well numbers 9, 10, 11, 12,

and 14);

--drilling or four brine disposal wells (wells 1BD, 2BD, 3BD, and 4BD)

and use of an existing brine disposal well (well 8BD); and

--construction of various lengths of 16-, 12-, and 8-inch-diameter

pipeline to connect the 10 storage wells to the Bath Compressor

Station.

Bath Petroleum, acting as a contractor for CNG, would convert the

caverns to gas storage and construct the additional salt caverns and

pipelines within its existing storage facility.

For the Winternet Project, Texas Eastern proposes to lease to CNG

64,000 Dth/d of transmission capacity on the CRP Line (jointly-owned by

Texas Eastern and CNG) in Pennsylvania from November 1, 1997, through

October 31, 1999. After October 31, 1999, this capacity would be

committed to Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation pursuant to a

pending application in Docket No. CP96-559-000. In order to provide CNG

with continued transmission capacity after October 31, 1999, Texas

Eastern proposes to construct additional capacity in 1999 on the CRP

Line including:

4.96 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline on the discharge

of the Uniontown Compressor Station from mileposts (MPs) 1071.64 to

1076.60 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, replacing 24-inch-diameter

idled pipeline;

3.13 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline on the discharge

of the Bedford Compressor Station from MPs 1123.73 to 1126.86 in Fulton

County, Pennsylvania, replacing 24-inch-diameter idled pipeline; and

the following aboveground facilities:

--mainline, crossover, and blowoff piping and valving;

--pressure regulating devices;

--pig launchers and receivers; and

--associated pipeline and valves for operating and maintenance

purposes.

Land Requirements for Construction

The following table summarizes the acres of land required for the

projects by docket.

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Disturbed areas CP96-492-000 CP96-606-000

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Temporary Work Space.................... 246 79

Permanent Right-of-way.................. 194 60

New Aboveground Facilities.............. 44 0

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Total (by project).................. 484 139

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Construction of all facilities proposed by CNG and Texas Eastern

would require about 623 acres of land. Following construction, about

254 acres would be maintained as new permanent right-of-way and about

44 acres as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 325 acres of

land would be restored and allowed to revert to its former use.

Additional temporary work spaces may be required at road, stream,

and wetland crossings. Access to most of the project would be along

existing roads that may require widening and/or grading. A few new

access roads may be constructed.

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

[[Page 65385]]

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 CNG and Texas Eastern.

This preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

About 8 acres of prime farmland would be taken permanently

out of agricultural production by the expansion at the Chambersburg

Compressor Station.

Hydrostatic testing of the Myersville segment, Frederick

County, Maryland, is within the South Mountain State Park.

Federally listed endangered or threatened species may

occur in the proposed project area.

The crossing of the Canisteo River requires a Section 401

permit and a site specific crossing plan.

Increase in noise and emissions would occur due to the

construction of the Bath Compressor Station and the expansion of the

Chambersburg Compressor Station.

A total of 39 wetlands would be crossed.

A total of 41 streams (18 perennial and 23 intermittent)

would be crossed. Four of the perennial streams in West Virginia are

classified as high quality streams. Six perennial streams in

Pennsylvania and six in New York are classified as cold water

fisheries.

The use of the Bath Petroleum storage facility would

involve:

--conversion of existing liquid petroleum products storage caverns to

natural gas storage;

--development by solution mining (leaching) of new storage caverns;

--drilling and use of brine disposal wells;

--withdrawal of groundwater to use in the leaching process;

--disposal of brine and solid wastes created by the leaching process;

and

--long-term operation issues involved in using salt caverns.

Public Participation

Your 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/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 Nos. CP96-492-000, CP96-492-002, and

CP96-606-000;

Also, send a copy of your letter to: Ms. Jennifer Goggin,

EA Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First

St., N.E., PR-11.2, Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before January 6, 1997.

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

from Ms. Goggin at the above address by using the form attached as

Appendix 3.

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).

Your do not need intervenor status to have your scoping comments

considered.

Additional procedural information about the proposed project is

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

2226.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-31520 Filed 12-11-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M