Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Montgomery-Columbus Abandonment and Replacement Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP97-223-000]

Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Montgomery-Columbus

Abandonment and Replacement Project and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

April 7, 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 abandonment of 87.4 miles of

natural gas transmission pipeline and the construction and operation of

5.5 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline, proposed in the

Montgomery-Columbus Abandonment and Replacement 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 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

Southern Natural Gas Company (Southern) wants to abandon certain of

its facilities in Alabama and replace a portion of its facilities that

have deteriorated. The proposed abandonment and construction will not

affect Southern's service obligations. Southern seeks authority to

abandon in place:

The 12-inch-diameter Montgomery-Columbus Mainline from

milepost (MP) 79.709 to MP 143.289 in Dallas, Autauga, and Elmore

Counties. This would include the removal of the East Flow Regulator/

Meter Station at MP 81.401, and block valves, gate valves, and taps

along the mainline;

The 12-inch-diameter Montgomery-Columbus Loop between MP

81.209 and MP 100.729 in Dallas, Autauga, and Elmore Countries.

Southern would also remove a tap and gate valves; and

[[Page 17801]]

The 6-inch-diameter Selma Pipeline between MP 0.0 and MP

4.338 in Dallas County.

Southern seeks authority to construct and operate:

About 4.04 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop pipeline from MP

261.00 to MP 265.04 along the South Main System in Macon County;

About 1.5 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop pipeline along

the South Main System from MP 183.657 and MP 185.167 in Dallas County.

About 500 feet of 6-inch-diameter pipeline within the

existing right-of-way to tie-in the Selma Tap and Selma Loop, and

install a regulator at the Selma Tap at MP 83.420;

Gas heaters at MPs 109.733, 116.919, 120.963, and 142.970

on the South Main System; and

Appurtenant facilities, including connecting active taps

presently tied into the pipelines being abandoned to its adjacent

pipelines (to maintain service).

The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\

If you are interested in obtaining procedural information please write

at 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, 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 37.23

acres of land. Following construction, about 14.69 acres would be

maintained as new right-of-way. The remaining 22.54 acres of land 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

certain.

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;

Land use;

Cultural resources;

Air quality and noise;

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

our 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

the environmental information provided by Southern.

One residence is within 50 feet of the construction right-

of-way at MP 263.469.

Five perennial streams are crossed by the new facilities.

About 19.8 acres of forest (9.2 acres of upland forest,

7.2 acres of pine plantation, and 3.4 acres of forested wetlands) would

be cleared for construction of the new facilities.

About 35.4 acres of wetlands would be disturbed. 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, 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 (and send two copies) to: Lois

Cashell, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First

St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP97-223-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before May 7, 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).

The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding

has passed. 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 comments considered.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-9316 Filed 4-10-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M