Etowah LNG Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Etowah LNG Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory 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 and

Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 28, 1998.

On June 23, 1998, the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission (FERC or Commission) issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to

prepare an

[[Page 41246]]

environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed Etowah LNG Project. As a

result of comments we have expanded our mailing list and are reissuing

the NOI with an extended time period for comments. If you have already

provided comments on the proposed project, you do not need to resubmit

them.

The Commission's staff will prepare an 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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 systems; 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 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 feet 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 883-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 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

[[Page 41247]]

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.

Cumulative 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. CP98-363-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before August 27, 1998.

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 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 intervention. 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.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-20564 Filed 7-31-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M