Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Hockessin Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP96-97-000]

Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Hockessin Expansion Project

and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 16, 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 Hockessin 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.

\1\ Eastern Shore 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

Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (ESNG) seeks to:

(1) Provide additional firm contract demand sales and storage

service to several of its existing customers;

(2) Abandon firm sales service to one of its existing customers;

and

(3) Construct and operate certain new pipeline and compressor

facilities required to stabilize capacity on its system and to provide

the additional firm sales and storage service.

ESNG indicates that the proposed project (1) would stabilize system

capacity and integrity of declining inlet gas pressure at the Hockessin

meter and regulating station, and (2) enable ESNG to provide 4,796 Mcf

of additional firm daily capacity on ESNG's system.

ESNG seeks authority to:

construct and operate a 2,170-horsepower (hp) Delaware

City Compressor Station (C.S.), with a 1,085-hp back-up unit, in New

Castle County, Delaware;

construct and operate 0.89 mile of 16-inch-diameter

pipeline in New Castle County, Delaware to tie the suction side of the

proposed Delaware C.S. into the Hockessin Line;

uprate the maximum allowable operating pressure from 500

pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to 590 psig on 28.7 miles of the

Salisbury Lateral from the outlet of ESNG's existing Bridgeville C.S.

in Sussex County, Delaware to the Citizens Meter and Regulatory Station

in Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland; and

abandon 100 Mcfd of firm sales service to Playtex Apparel,

Inc., a direct sales customer.

The general location of the project facilities and specific

locations for facilities on new sites are shown in appendix 1.\2\

\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being

printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the

Delaware's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First

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

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 4.8

acres of land for the proposed pipeline and about 2.7 acres for the new

compressor station. About 0.9 acre would be fenced around the

compressor station facilities.

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

[[Page 1570]]

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.

Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.

Air quality and noise.

Cultural resources.

Public safety.

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 one issue that we think deserves

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by Transwestern:

The proposed compressor station may increase ambient noise levels.

Keep in mind that this is a preliminary issue. Issues may be added,

subtracted, 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 Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP96-97-000;

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

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street

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

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before February 20, 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).

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.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-656 Filed 1-19-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M