Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed RIPX Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP98-546-000]

Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed RIPX Project and

Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 18, 1998.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts of Columbia Gas Transmission

Corporation's (Columbia) proposal to abandon its Derricks Creek Storage

Field in Kanawha County, West Virginia and replace it with working gas

capacity and deliverability at the Ripley Storage Field in Jackson

County, West Virginia.

The abandonment of the Derricks Creek Storage Field in Kanawha

County, West Virginia includes 13.1 miles of pipeline. In addition, the

project would require the construction and operation of 3.5 miles of

various diameter storage pipeline at the Ripley Storage Field, drilling

six new storage wells, improving the deliverability of nine existing

wells, and increasing the capacity of the Ripley Storage Field in

Jackson County, West Virginia. This EA on the RIPX Project \1\ 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\ Columbia Gas 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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If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted

by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an

easement to abandon, construct, operate, and maintain the proposed

facilities. The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually

acceptable agreement. However, if the project is approved by the

Commission, that approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain.

Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the

pipeline company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance

with state law. A fact sheet addressing a number of typically asked

questions, including the use of eminent domain, is attached to this

notice as appendix 1.\2\

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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, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Columbia seeks authorization for the following:

Abandonment in place of the Derricks Creek Storage Field

in its entirety consisting of 13.1 miles of various diameter pipeline

and 20 active storage wells;

Construction of approximately 3.5 miles of various

diameter storage pipeline, drilling six new storage wells, and

improving the deliverability of nine existing wells at the Ripley

Storage Field;

Increase the capacity of the Ripley Storage Field by 0.8

billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas;

Conversion of two observation wells to active injection/

withdrawal wells, and conversion of three very low performance wells to

observation wells; and

Abandonment by sale of up to 5.4 BCF of base gas within

the two storage fields.

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

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 66.2

acres of land. Following construction, about 18.8 acres would be

maintained as permanent pipeline right-of-way and about 20.0 acres

would be required for new well sites and aboveground facilities. The

remaining 27.4 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

[[Page 34379]]

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 make

our recommendations to the Commission.

To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the

instructions in the public participation section on pages 4 and 5 of

this notice.

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 Columbia. This preliminary

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

A total of about 18.9 acres of forest would be disturbed.

The project would cross two perennial streams, eight

intermittent streams and 4 wetlands.

Blasting may be required in some areas.

Three private water wells are located within 150 feet of

the construction work area.

Wells may need to be plugged at Derricks Creek Storage

Field.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by providing us with your specific

comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your

concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.

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 carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments

are received in time and properly recorded:

Send two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers,

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

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

Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the

Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2;

Reference Docket No. CP98-546-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before July 20, 1998.

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 4). 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 known as an

``intervenor.'' Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.

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 14 copies of its filings to the

Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy 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 3). Only intervenors have the

right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision. You do not need

intervenor status to have your environmental comments considered.

Additional information about the proposed project is available from

Mr. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202)

208-1088.

David P. Boergers,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-16708 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M