Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, South Carolina Public Service Authority; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Southcoast Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP-99-392-000, CP00-17-000 and CP00-19-000]

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, South Carolina Public

Service Authority; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental

Assessment for the Proposed Southcoast Expansion Project and Request

for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 17, 1999.

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 SouthCoast Expansion Project

involving construction and operation of facilities by Transcontinental

Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco) in Choctaw, Marengo, Coosa, Coweta,

and Chilton Counties, Alabama and Walton, Gwinnett, and Henry Counties,

Georgia.\1\ These facilities would consist of about 44.3 miles of

various diameter pipeline and 31,500 horsepower (hp) of compression. In

addition, Santee Cooper, a power generating company, would construct

about 5 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline to its planned power

generating plant in Anderson County, South Carolina. 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\ Tranco'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 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. There, 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, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Transco wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in Alabama

and Georgia to transport an additional 204,099 million British thermal

units per day of natural gas to twelve shippers including one electric

generating plant. Transco seeks authority to construct and operate:

11.31 miles of 42-inch-diameter loop and a pig launcher

and receiver in Choctaw County, Alabama;

13.94 miles of 48-inch-diameter loop and to relocate an

existing pig receiver in Marengo County, Alabama;

19.01 miles of 24-inch-diameter loop (North Georgia Loop)

and a pig launcher and receiver in Walton and Gwinnett Counties,

Georgia;

A new 15,000 horsepower (hp) gas turbine-powered

compressor unit at Compressor Station 105 in Coosa County, Alabama;

A new 16,500 hp electric motor driven compressor unit and

gas coolers at Compressor Station 115 in Coweta County, Alabama;

A rewheeled Compressor Unit 16 at Compressor Station 120

in Henry County, Georgia; and

New suction piping at Compressor Station 100 in Chilton

County, Alabama, to allow sufficient gas flow to Compressor Unit 10.

In addition, South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee

Cooper), a power generating company plans to construct about 2.1 miles

of 16-inch-diameter pipeline to its planned power generating plant

called the John S. Rainey Generating Station in Anderson County, South

Carolina including associated water pipelines and intake/discharge

facilities near the plant. It would also construct about two

approximately 30 mile-long 230 kilowatt electric transmission lines

from the power plant to an existing Greenwood County, South Carolina

switching station near Hodges, South Carolina.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix

2. If you are interested in obtaining maps of a specific portion of the

project, write to the Office of External Affairs and include the form

in appendix 4.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 577.7

acres of land. Following construction, about 107.5 acres would be

maintained as new permanent right-of-way and aboveground facility

sites. The remaining 470.2 acres of land would be restored and allowed

to revert to its former use.

[[Page 65695]]

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 ``scooping''. The main goal of the scooping 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 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 scooping 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 beginning on page 5.

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 Transco. This preliminary

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

69 perennial streams would be crossed in Alabama and

Georgia.

Two waterbodies over 100 feet wide would be crossed in

Alabama, the Tombigbee River and Tuckabum Creek. The Tombigbee River

would be directionally drilled and Tuckabum Creek would be crossed by

the open-cut method.

Three federally listed endangered or threatened species

may occur in the project area. Several state listed endangered or

threatened species may be affected.

About 33.2 acres of wetlands would be disturbed during

construction and about 9.8 acres of wetlands would be maintained as

permanent right-of-way.

About 252.9 acres of forest land would be cleared.

Cultural resources sites may potentially be impacted by

the project.

Fourteen residences would be located within 50 feet of the

construction work area on the 24-inch-diameter North Georgia Loop.

Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the

impacts of nonjurisdictional Santee Cooper electric power plant, the

related water pipeline facilities, and the electric transmission lines.

Environmental review of these nonjurisdictional facilities is being

conducted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. We will briefly

describe their location and status in the EA.

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,

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

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. CP99-392-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before December 17, 1999.

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 scooping 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.

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 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) using the ``RIMS''

link to information in this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link,

select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions.

For assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at

(202) 208-2222.

Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides

access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such

as orders, notices, and rulemaking. From the FERC Internet website,

click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and

follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS

[[Page 65696]]

helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-30483 Filed 11-22-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M