Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Line 1-A Reactivation Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP97-276-000]

Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Line 1-A

Reactivation Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 19, 1997.

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 Line 1-A Reactivation Project.\1\ This

EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to

determine whether the project is in the public convenience and

necessity.

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\1\ Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation'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

Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation (Texas Eastern) proposes to

reactivate an existing inactive pipeline, Line 1-A, and to construct

new facilities associated with operation of the reactivated Line 1-A in

Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania. This would enable Texas

Eastern to deliver on a firm basis up to 120,000 dekatherms per day

(Dth/d) of natural gas to PECO Energy Company (PECO) and 8,000 Dth/d to

Mobil Oil Corporation (Mobil). Texas Eastern seeks authority to:

Reactivate about 22.7 miles of the 20-inch-diameter Line

1-A in Chester and Delaware Counties, which includes:

--Investigation and repair, if needed, of 180 anomaly sites

(irregularities in the pipe wall which are typically caused by

mechanical damage or corrosion); and

--Hydrostatically test the pipeline.

Install the following:

--New regulating facilities and a pig launcher at the Eagle Compressor

Station (milepost (MP) 0.0);

--Delivery tap off of Line 1-A for Texas Easterns existing Planebrook

Measurement and Regulation (M&R) Station (MP 6.8) \2\

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\2\ Mileposts are approximate.

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--Mainline valves at MP 6.8, MP 12.6, and MP 16.0;

--Delivey taps off Lines 1-H and 1-A (MP 10.0) for the Hershey Mills

M&R to be constructed by PECO; and

--Delivery taps off Line 1-A and 1-H, and a pig receiver at the new

Brookhaven M&R Station at Chester Junction (MP 22.7).

The proposed facilities would cost about $12,800,000.

The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\3\

If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write

to the Secretary of the Commission.

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\3\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being

printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the

Commission 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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Nonjurisdictional Facilities

PECO plans to construct a new meter station near MP 10 on Line 1-A,

regulation and heating facilities at the new Brookhaven M&R Station,

and a new 24-inch-diameter distribution line, of an unspecified length,

downstream from the Brookhaven M&R Station to connect its existing

distribution pipeline.

Land Requirements for Construction

a. Line 1-A Upgrading

The repair of the anomaly sites would temporarily disturb 91 areas

within the existing permanent right-of-way, totaling about 30.94 acres.

Hydrostatic testing of Line 1-A would disturb six manifold sites within

the existing permanent right-of-way, totaling about 2.04 acres. Each of

these 97 areas would be about 75-feet-wide and 200-feet-long.

A 5.2-acre staging area, a 3.0-acre wareyard, and a 0.12-acre

staging area would be required at off-right-of-way locations. These

areas would be temporarily disturbed, and would be restored to their

original grade and reseeded.

b. Aboveground Facilities

Regulating and pig launching facilities would be installed at the

existing Eagle Compressor Station. A 150-foot by 150-foot area (0.52

acre) would be disturbed to install the Brookhaven M&R Station, that

includes a pig receiver, within the existing Chester Junction Facility

aboveground site. The proposed mainline valves would require 20 feet by

30 feet within the existing right-of-way (0.014 acre each).

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, 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 Commissions 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 make

our recommendations to the Commission.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

We have already identified several issues that we think deserve

attention

[[Page 34255]]

based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the

environmental information provided by Texas Eastern. This preliminary

list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.

Three state designated high-quality coldwater fisheries

and three waterbodies used by migratory fishes would be crossed.

A total of 12.03 acres of wetlands would be temporarily

affected and 0.2 acre of wetlands would be permanently affected.

Certain anomaly locations possess a high probability of

containing prehistoric or historic archaeological sites or historic

structures.

Line 1-A is part of the War Emergency Pipeline System

which has been determined to be eligible for the National Register of

Historic Places.

Twenty-eight residences are within 100 feet of the

pipeline centerline.

The Ridley State Park and a private golf course associated

with the Hershey Mills Retirement Community would be crossed.

The bog turtle (a candidate for Federal listing) may be

affected.

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, 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:

Send two copies of your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE.,

Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP97-276-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC, on or before July 21, 1997.

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 comments

considered.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-16622 Filed 6-24-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M