Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Jackson Prairie Storage Field Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP98-250-000]

Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Jackson Prairie Storage Field

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 27, 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

facilities proposed in the Jackson Prairie Storage Field 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\ Puget Sound Energy, Inc'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

Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (Puget), as project operator,\2\ proposes

to construct the following facilities at the Jackson Prairie Storage

Field in Lewis County, Washington:

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\2\ The storage field is owned in equal one-third undivided

interests by Puget, Northwest Pipeline Corporation, and Washington

Water Power Company.

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Eight new Zone 2 withdrawal/injection wells installed at

three new and four expanded existing well pads;

About 1,093 feet of new 8-inch and 10-inch-diameter well

lateral pipeline;

A new 24-inch-diameter pipeline to be installed within the

existing right-of-way, extending 9,235 feet between the Jackson Prairie

Compressor Station and the Jackson Prairie valve/manifold tie-in

station located adjacent to Northwest Pipeline Corporation's Chehalis

Compressor Station;

One new 6,960-horsepower compressor unit and associated

facilities at the existing Jackson Prairie Compressor Station; and

New metering equipment, filter separator, and piping

modifications to be installed inside the existing fenced area at the

Jackson Prairie Meter Station.

The location of the storage field is shown in appendix 1.\3\

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\3\ 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, 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

The new 24-inch-diameter pipeline would be constructed within an

existing 50-foot-wide permanent right-of-way and would disturb about

10.6 acres of land. Additional work areas (each 50 feet by 100 feet)

located outside the existing pipeline right-of-way would be required on

both sides of the right-of-way at a road crossing at the intersection

of Meier Road and Meier Road East.

The eight new withdrawal/injection wells would require a total of

about 4.7 acres of land for construction. The well pads range in size

from 75 feet by 200 feet to 150 feet by 250 feet. Each of the eight

wells would require either 8-inch or 10-inch-diameter lateral pipelines

to connect the new wells to the existing pipeline gathering and lateral

system. At the four new well sites that are adjacent to existing wells,

no new rights-of-way would be needed because all of the pipeline would

be within the well pad area. At Well Nos. 74, 75, 78, and 79, new 50-

foot-wide construction and permanent rights-of-way would be established

for the lateral pipelines outside the proposed well pads totaling about

0.26 acres.

Well Nos. 73, 74, and 75 would require new access roads to connect

the new well sites to existing project roads. Well No. 73 would require

a 250-foot-long gravel road within an existing 16-inch pipeline right-

of-way to access the new well pad. Well Nos. 74 and 75 would require a

25-foot road extension.

The additional comprehension facilities would occupy 1.4 acres

directly adjacent to the existing Jackson Prairie Compressor Station.

At the existing Jackson Prairie Meter Station construction would be

within the existing fenced area.

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

concern.

To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the

instructions in the public participation section on page 4 of this

Notice.

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 and wetlands

*vegetation and wildlife

*endangered and threatened species

*land use

*cultural resources

*air and noise

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 Puget. These issues may be

changed based on your comments and our analysis.

A total of about 5.3 acres of wetlands would be affected

by construction.

About 2.6 acres of young Douglas-fir trees within an

existing tree farm would be permanently removed.

There may be additional noise impact on nearby noise-

sensitive areas resulting from the additional compressor unit.

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

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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. CP98-250-000; and

*Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC

on or before April 24, 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 385.214) (see appendix 2). 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 having ended on March 26, 1998. 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 in the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202)

208-1088.

David P. Boergers,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-8619 Filed 4-1-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M