Avoca Natural Gas Storage; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Avoca Gas Storage Project Supplement and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP94-161-006]

Avoca Natural Gas Storage; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Avoca Gas Storage Project

Supplement and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 10, 1997.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate

the environmental impacts of the construction of about 87.6 miles of

various diameter pipeline and related facilities proposed in the Avoca

Gas Storage Project Supplement.\1\ This EQ 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\ Avoca Natural Gas Storage'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

Avoca Natural Gas Storage (Avoca) received a certificate

authorizing the development of gas-storage caverns in an order issued

on September 20, 1994. In conjunction with the construction of the

storage caverns, Avoca wants to construct facilities to transport brine

from the Avoca Storage Field (under development) near Avoca, New York,

to two salt recovery facilities, Akzo Nobel Salt Company (Akzo) and

Cargill, Inc. (Cargill), near and within Watkins Glen, New York,

respectively. The brine would be created during the solution mining (or

leaching) of the underground salt caverns that will be used to store

natural gas. In that order, Avoca was authorized to use brine injection

wells to dispose of the brine created during the cavern leaching

process. However, the aquifers into which the brine injection wells

were completed do not have the capability to receive the brine at the

planned design rate of production. Therefore, Avoca would transport the

brine via the proposed brine pipeline to the two salt recovery

facilities. Specifically Avoca proposes to construct:

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About 36.9 miles of 10-inch-diameter brine pipeline;

About 5.5 miles of 8-inch-diameter brine pipeline (from

about milepost [MP] 36.9 to the Akzo facility);

About 2.83 miles of 6-inch-diameter brine pipeline (from

about MP 36.9 to the Cargill facility);

A valve station (at MP 36.9);

A brine storage tank, pipeline pigging equipment, residual

water storage tank, associated valves, and piping at the Avoca

facility;

Electric pumps, associated valves, pipeline pigging

equipment, and aboveground residual water and brine storage tanks at

the Akzo facility; and

42.4 miles of 6-inch-diameter processed water return

pipeline (from the Akzo facility back to the Avoca facility for reuse)

that would be installed in the same ditch as the 36.9-mile-long 10-

inch-diameter and the 5.5-mile-long 8-inch-diameter brine pipelines.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix

1.\2\ If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a specific

portion of the project, or procedural information, please write to the

Secretary of the Commission.

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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 474.5

acres of land including land that would be used for extra workspaces at

stream and road crossings and warehouse and staging areas. About 308.1

acres of this land would be within existing utility, road, and railroad

rights-of-way. About 134.6 acres would be required for the new

permanent right-of-way and about 31.8 acres of land would be restored

and allowed to revert to its former use. The proposed pipeline would

follow existing rights-of-way for about 90 percent of the route.

Avoca would use a 75- to 100-foot-wide right-of-way to construct

most of the project in non-agricultural and agricultural areas,

respectively. However, a narrower right-of-way would be used in some

areas.

Avoca would install only the brine pipeline (i.e., no water return

pipeline) to the Cargill facility, so the right-of-way would be 40 feet

wide or less in non-agricultural areas and 55 feet wide in agricultural

areas. Also, the portion of the pipeline right-of-way along the Conrail

railroad right-of-way leading to the Akzo facility would be about 30-

feet-wide.

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 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 Avoca. This preliminary list

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

42 private wells, 1 privately-owned community well, and 1

state-regulated non-municipal well would be within 150 feet of

construction work areas;

46 perennial streams and 42 intermittent streams would be

crossed;

3 of the perennial streams contain protected fisheries;

Goff Creek and the Cohocton River would be crossed by

directional drilling;

54 wetlands would be crossed;

About 3.92 miles of State Reforestation Lands would be

crossed;

About 9.79 miles of agricultural land would be crossed;

Proposed construction right-of-way would be wide for this

size pipeline;

The area into which an existing gravel mining operation

plans to expand would be crossed;

Finger Lakes Trail would be crossed at MPs 7.47, 22.39,

26.62, and 39.60 (Queen Catherine Marsh Trail);

About 2.93 miles of New York State Forest land would be

crossed including land within Moss Hill, Birds Eye Hollow, Groundry

Hill, Sugar Hill, and Coon Hollow State Forests;

The access road for the Sanford Lake Day Use Area, a

public recreation area, would be crossed near MP 19.97;

Watkins Glen State Park would be crossed by using the

existing Conrail railroad trestle across Glen Creek Gorge for about 450

feet or, alternatively, Watkins Glen State Park may be crossed at

another location entirely by directional drill; and

6 residences are located within 50 feet of construction

work areas.

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/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 No. CP94-161-006; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before April 9, 1997.

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If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to

remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request

(appendix 3). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be

taken off the mailing list.

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.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-6440 Filed 3-13-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M