CenterPoint EnergyMississippi River Transmission Corp.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Abandonment of the Mrt Main Line No. 1 Pipeline and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-334-000]

CenterPoint Energy--Mississippi River Transmission Corp.; Notice

of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed

Abandonment of the Mrt Main Line No. 1 Pipeline and Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

June 30, 2004.

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 proposed abandonment by

CenterPoint Energy--Mississippi River Transmission Corp. (MRT) of 307

miles of 22-inch-diameter pipeline, and 2 associated compressor

stations. The facilities which would be abandoned consist of the MRT

Main Line No. 1 running from Perryville, Louisiana, across the state of

Arkansas to Poplar Bluffs, Missouri.\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\ MRT's application was filed with the Commission under

Section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission(s

regulations.

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A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural

Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the

project notice MRT provided to landowners. This fact sheet addresses a

number of typically asked questions, including the use of eminent

domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. It is

available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site (http://

www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

MRT seeks authority to abandon approximately of 307 miles of

pipeline of which about 277.5 miles would be abandoned in place. MRT

would abandon by sale 18.3 miles of pipeline running from its Glendale

Compressor Station to the town of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The 18.3-mile

segment of pipe would be sold to CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission

Company which would continue service to the town of Pine Bluff.

MRT states that it contacted all landowners along its Main Line No.

1 and received a number of requests that the abandoned pipe be removed.

Segments planned for removal at landowner request currently total 11.2

miles.

Mainline No. 1 shares an easement with MRT's Mainlines No. 2 and 3

(which will remain in service). MRT would retain its current pipeline

easement.

MRT also proposes to abandon 2 obsolete compressor stations, the

Diaz and Sherrill Compressor Stations in (respectively) Jackson and

Jefferson Counties, Arkansas. All buildings and structures would be

removed except for two small communications sheds at the Diaz facility.

Above ground appurtenant facilities which would be removed include

valves and vents at 78 sites, crossover pipes at 23 sites, and a back

up interconnection to Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix

1.\2\

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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being

printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other

than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's website at

the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission(s Public Reference and

Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to

eLibrary refer to the last page of this notice. Copies of the

appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.

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Land Requirements for Abandonment

The Main Line No. 1 abandonment would require excavation at 167

work areas (including the compressor stations). MRT's work would

disturb 306.5 acres within MRT's existing ROW and facility yards. MRT

would retain the Main Line No. 1 easement after the Main Line No. 1

pipeline is abandoned. MRT would use existing access roads and plans no

new or permanently improved roads.

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\3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about

proposals. This process is referred to as ``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 staff

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

[[Page 41246]]

and local government representatives are encouraged to notify their

constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to comment on

their areas of concern.

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\3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff

of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).

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The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the

construction activities associated with the removal of the pipeline

under these general headings:

Geology and soils.

Land use.

Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.

Cultural resources.

Vegetation and wildlife.

Air quality and noise.

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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

The Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge and Missouri's Sand Pond

Conservation Area are crossed by Main Line No. 1 and the pipeline is

within a quarter mile of Arkansas' Stateline Sandponds Natural Area.

MRT is coordinating its proposed abandonment action with the

appropriate wildlife area managers.

The project would cross or is within a quarter mile of three

designated natural or scenic areas: Bayou Bartholomew (Louisiana

Natural Scenic River); Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (in

Arkansas); and the Black River (Arkansas Natural and Scenic River).

Twelve single family residences and a motel are located within 50

feet of Mainline No. 1.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by providing us with your specific

comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commenter, 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, 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 an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie

R. Salas, 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 Gas

Branch 2.

Reference Docket No. CP04-334-000.

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before July 30, 2004.

Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail

deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include

all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our

environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission

strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions

or protests to this proceeding. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a) (1) (iii) and

the instructions on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov

under the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to the User's Guide. Before

you can file comments you will need to create a free account which can

be created on-line.

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 paper 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).\4\ Only

intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's

decision.

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\4\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the

Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing

comments electronically.

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Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be

granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they

have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be

adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor

status to have your environmental comments considered.

Environmental Mailing List

An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals,

organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially

affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners whose

property may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes

within distances defined in the Commission's regulations of certain

aboveground facilities. By this notice we are also asking governmental

agencies, especially those in appendix 3, to express their interest in

becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.

Additional Information

Additional information about the project is available from the

Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC on the FERC

Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click

on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket

number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field. Be

sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance,

please contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or

toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called

eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances

and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time

you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with

notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to

the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the

Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/

EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

FR Doc. E4-1490 Filed 7-7-04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P