Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed East Tennessee Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP97-526-000]

Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed East Tennessee Expansion

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 1, 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 by the Southern Natural Gas Company (Southern)

for its East Tennessee Expansion 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\ Southern's application was filed with the Commission on May

15, 1997 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

Southern proposes to expand the capacity of certain of its

facilities in

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Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama to meet requests from 15 shippers for

firm transportation service totaling about 65,000 thousand cubic feet

per day of natural gas. Southern seeks authority to construct and

operate the following facilities:

East Tennessee Lateral--2.9 miles of 8-inch-diameter

pipeline, in Catoosa County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee.

Ocmulgee-Atlanta Loop \2\--8.0 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline, in Spalding and Henry Counties, Georgia.

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\2\ A loop is a segment of pipeline installed adjacent to an

existing pipeline and connected to the existing line on both ends.

The loop allows more gas to be moved through the pipeline system.

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2nd North Main Loop--2.8 miles of 24-inch-diameter

pipeline, in Pickens County, Alabama.

South Main 3rd Loop--4.6 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline, in Perry County, Alabama.

Macon Branch Loop Line--replace 10.0 miles of existing 12-

inch-diameter pipeline with 16-inch-diameter pipeline, in Fulton and

Clayton Counties, Georgia.

Cartersville Gate Regulator Station--new regulator station

at milepost (MP) 41.6 on Southerns Chattanooga Line in Floyd County,

Georgia.

East Tennessee Meter Station--new meter station at the

terminus of Southerns proposed East Tennessee Lateral, in Hamilton

County, Tennessee.

Cleveland Branch Meter Station--expand an existing mater

station at MP 21.1 on Southerns Cleveland Branch Line, in Bradley

County, Tennessee.

Rome Compressor Station--new 4,700 horsepower (hp)

compressor station at MP 51.2 on Southerns Chattanooga Line in Floyd

County, Georgia.

York Compressor Station--uprate two existing compressor

units from 6,500 hp each to 9,160 hp, in Sumter County, Alabama.

Auburn Compressor Station--uprate two existing compressor

units from 6,500 hp each to 9,160 hp, in Lee County, Alabama.

Bell Mills Compressor Station--add a new 1,600 hp

compressor unit to an existing compressor station, in Cleburne County,

Alabama.

Chattanooga Line--increase the maximum allowable operating

pressure from the existing 1,114 pounds per square inch gage (psig) to

1,200 psig in two segments, from about MP 0.8 to MP 41.6 and MP 51.2 to

MP 114.9.

The general location of the proposed project facilities are shown

in appendix 1.\3\ Southern indicated the project would cost

$52,179,005, and seeks an in-service date of November 1998.

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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'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 disturb a total of

about 353 acres. Of this, about 181 acres is currently existing

permanent right-of-way, and about 27 acres would be added as new

permanent right-of-way. The other 145 acres of temporary construction

right-of-way 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

Air quality and noise

Endangered and threatened species

Cultural resources

Land use

Public safety

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 make

recommendations to the Commission.

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

environmental information provided by Southern. These issues include:

Karst features, sinkholes, caves, and limestone deposits

in the vicinity of the East Tennessee Lateral and South Main 3rd Loop.

Potential for landslides or ground failure in the vicinity

of the East Tennessee Lateral and Rome Compressor Station.

Potential for paleontological resources in the vicinity of

the South Main 3rd Loop.

Prime farmland in the vicinity of the East Tennessee

Lateral, Ocmulgee-Atlanta Loop, 2nd North Main Loop, South Main 3rd

Loop, Rome Compressor Station, and East Tennessee Meter Station.

Crossing 32 perennial waterbodies, all classified as

warmwater fisheries, of which two streams (Cahaba River and a tributary

to the Cahaba) are over 100 feet wide.

Crossing 36 wetlands totaling 9.5 acres.

Crossing three streams with the potential for sensitive

mussel species.

Eleven archaeological sites identified along proposed

project components.

Eighteen residences within 50 feet of the construction

right-of-way.

This preliminary list of issues may be 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 and 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

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comments are received and properly recorded:

Send two copies of your comments to:

Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, D.C. 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP97-526-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before August 4, 1997.

Becoming an Intervenor

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

to become an official party to the proceeding, known as 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 on the Commission's service list for this

proceeding. 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, having ended June 23, 1997. 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.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-17691 Filed 7-7-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M