Etowah LNG Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Etowah LNG Project; Request for Comments on Environmental Issues; and Notice of Site Visit, Public Scoping Meeting, and Technical Conference

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Commission

[Docket No. CP98-363-000]

Etowah LNG Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Etowah LNG Project; Request

for Comments on Environmental Issues; and Notice of Site Visit, Public

Scoping Meeting, and Technical Conference

June 23, 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 the construction and operation of

the liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage plant and associated pipeline

facilities proposed in the Etowah LNG 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\ Etowah LNG Company, L.L.C.'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 an Etowah LNG Company, L.L.C. (Etowah) representative about the

acquisition of an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the

proposed facilities. Etowah 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,

Etowah 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, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Etowah seeks authority to construct and operate an LNG storage

plant and associated pipeline facilities in Polk County, Georgia. The

proposed LNG plant would be located approximately 4.5 miles northeast

of Rockmart, Georgia and 40 miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia. The

purpose of the facilities is to meet winter peak shaving requirements,

including those of Atlanta Gas Light Company (AGLC) and the City of

Austell Gas System.

The primary components of the LNG plant would include:

A 750,000-barrel double-wall metal LNG storage tank with a

gas-equivalent capacity of 2.5 billion cubic feet;

A pretreatment and liquefaction system with a capacity of

15 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd);

A boil-off recompression system;

A vaporization and sendout system with a design capacity

of 300 MMcfd with standby vaporization capacity of up to 200 MMcfd;

Measurement facilities;

Associated control and hazard-protection sustems; and

A trucking system capable of loading 20,000 gallons per

hour..

Etowah also proposes to construct:

Approximately 12.5 miles of 12.75-inch-diameter pipeline

(Etowah pipeline) in Polk County, Georgia. The Etowah pipeline would be

adjacent to and overlap an existing utility right-of-way for 83 percent

of its route; and

A 1.3-mile-long permanent access road and new bridge

extending from the plant site northward to Davis Town Road.

The LNG storage tank would be approximately 149 feet in height and

250 in diameter. The LNG tank area would be surrounded by an earthen

berm that would slope towards an impoundment basin that together form

the spill containment system. The proposed project facilities would be

designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to comply with the U.S.

Department of Transportation Federal Safety Standards for Liquefied

Natural Gas Facilities (49 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 193).

The facilities constructed at the site would also meet the National

Fire Protection Association 59A LNG standards.

The following related nonjurisdictional facilities would be

constructed:

AGLC would construct and operate approximately 16.8 miles

of 24-inch-diameter pipeline (Etowah-Mars Hill Road pipeline) in Polk,

Paulding, and Cobb Counties, Georgia connecting the LNG plant to AGLC's

distribution system. The Etowah-Mars Hill Road pipeline would be

adjacent to and overlap an existing utility right-of-way for 95 percent

of its route; and

Georgia Power would construct and operate an approximately

0.9-mile-long 115 kilovolt (kV) overhead electric powerline collocated

with AGLC's pipeline, and a 0.4-acre 115 kV to 4,160 volt substation

connecting the LNG plant to the new Georgia Power electric powerline in

Polk County, Georgia.

All natural gas received at the LNG facility for liquefaction and

storage would be shipped from Southern Natural Gas Company's (Southern)

system through the Etowah pipeline. Vaporized natural gas would be

transported from the LNG facility either through the Etowah pipeline to

Southern's system or through the Etowah-Mars Hill Road pipeline to

AGLC's system.

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

If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write

to the Secretary of the Commission.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the LNG plant would affect approximately 50 acres

of an 833-acre site owned by Etowah. An additional 7.8 acres would be

disturbed during construction of the permanent access road to the site.

The 57.8 acres of land for the plant site and access road would be

permanently affected by the project.

Construction of the proposed Etowah pipeline would affect

approximately 132.3 acres of land, including temporary extra work

areas. Following construction, about 50.5 acres of land would be

maintained as new permanent right-of-way.

Construction of the related nonjurisdictional facilities would

affect approximately 106.4 acres of land. Of this, about 0.4 acre would

be required for the substation, 4.2 acres would be required for the

powerline, and 101.8 acres would be required for the Etowah-Mars Hill

Road pipeline. Following construction, about 4.6 acres would be

required for the substation and permanent right-of-way for the

powerline and 61.1 acres would be required for the permanent right-of-

way for the Etowah-Mars Hill Road pipeline.

The EA Process/Environmental Issues

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the

Commission to take into account the environmental

[[Page 35210]]

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 the general

headings listed below. 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

Etowah. This preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

Geology and Soils:

--Effect of blasting and disposal of blast rock.

--Landslide potential (moderate incidence with high susceptibility).

--Erosion control.

--Facility site and right-of-way restoration.

Water Resources and Fisheries:

--Groundwater withdrawal and discharge to surrounding surface waters.

--Effect of blasting on potable water sources.

--Effect of permanent access road and bridge on Hills Creek.

--Crossings of 35 perennial waterbodies.

--Impact on Silver Creek, a secondary trout stream.

--Hydrostatic test water rates and discharge locations.

Vegetation and Wildlife:

Effect of facility construction and operation on wildlife and fisheries

habitat, including federally and state-listed threatened and

endangered, or sensitive animal and plant species and their habitats.

--Impact on forested wetlands.

--Clearing of upland forest.

Cultural Resources:

--Effect on historic and prehistoric sites.

--Native American and tribal concerns.

Socioeconomics:

--Impact of a peak workforce of about 300 workers on housing and

demands for services in the surrounding area.

--Impact of timber removal on landowners.

--Long-term effects of increased employment and tax benefits on the

local economy.

Land Use and Transportation:

--Crossing of one recreation area leased by the Georgia Department of

Natural Resources.

--Effect on 18 residences within 50 feet of the construction work area.

--Visual effect of the storage tank on the surrounding area.

--Impact on future county plans (e.g., schools, roads).

--Consistency with local land use plans and zoning

--Impact of construction and operation traffic

Air Quality and Noise:

--Air quality and noise impacts associated with construction and

operation.

Public Safety:

--Compliance with 49 CFR 193 for exclusion zones (thermal and vapor gas

dispersion), siting criteria, seismic criteria, and cryogenic criteria.

--Consequences of a major spill.

--Design and operation of the firewater system.

--Assessment of hazards associated with natural gas pipelines.

Cummulative Impact:

--Assessment of the combined effect of the proposed project with other

projects which have been or may be proposed in the same region and

similar time frame.

We will also evaluate possible site, routing, and system

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 of this notice.

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 sites and

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-11.1;

Reference Docket No. CP98-363-999; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before July 24, 1998.

Beyond asking for written comments, we invite you to attend our

public scoping meeting that will be held on July 13, 1998, at 7:00 p.m.

at the Rockmart Community Center, 604 Goodyear Street, Rockmart,

Georgia. This public meeting will be designed to provide you with more

detailed information and another opportunity to offer your comments on

the proposed project. The staff will also visit the proposed LNG plant

site and pipeline routes on July 13, 1998.

On July 14, 1998, at 8:30 a.m., the FERC staff will meet with

representatives of Etowah to conduct a cryogenic design and engineering

review of the proposed LNG facilities. This technical conference will

be held at the Northwest Atlanta Hilton, 2055 South Park Place,

Atlanta, Georgia. The discussion will initially be limited to the staff

and members of the applicant's staff who have expertise in the given

topics. Other attendees will be given the opportunity to ask questions

on the above issues after the initial discussions have concluded.

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''.

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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 services 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.

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 internvention. You do not need intervenor status

to have your environmental comments considered.

Additional information about the proposed project, site visit, and

technical conference is available from Mr. Paul McKee of the

Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-17183 Filed 6-26-98; 8:45 am]

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