East Tennessee Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Virginia Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

East Tennessee Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare

an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Virginia Expansion Project

and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 5, 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 facilities proposed in the Virginia Expansion Project.\1\ This EA

will be

[[Page 1452]]

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\ East Tennessee 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

East Tennessee Natural Gas Company (East Tennessee) proposes to

expand the capacity of its facilities in Tennessee and Virginia to

transport an additional 10,300 dekatherms (Dth) per day of natural gas

to Roanoke Gas Company. Specifically, East Tennessee seeks authority

to:

Construct about 9.95 miles of 12-inch-diameter pipeline in

Washington, Smyth and Wythe Counties, Virginia;

Hydrostatically test piping at three compressor stations

in Robertson, Trousdale, and Putnam Counties, Tennessee, 10.88 miles of

22-inch-diameter pipeline in Smith and Overton Counties, Tennessee, and

20.95 miles of 8-inch diameter pipeline in Washington County, Virginia;

and

Construct 20 feet of 22-inch-diameter pipeline at six

manifold locations for tie-ins in Smith and Overton Counties,

Tennessee, and Washington County, Virginia.

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

Commision'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 153.3

acres of land. Following construction, about 60.3 acres would be

maintained as new permanent right-of-way. The remaining 93.0 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 impact 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 constituent

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

endangered and threatened species

vegetation and wildlife

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 Commissions' 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 one issue that we think deserves

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by East Tennessee. This

preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and

our analysis.

Four residences are located within 50 feet of the proposed

construction right-of-way

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 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: 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. CP98-40-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before February 11, 1998.

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.

David P. Boergers,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-521 Filed 1-8-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M