36434 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

1Southern’s application was filed with the

Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act

and Part 157 of the Commission’s regulations.

2A loop is a segment of pipeline that is usually

installed adjacent to an existing pipeline and

connected to it at both ends. The loop allows more

gas to be moved through the system.

changed based on your comments and

our analysis.

• Impacts on local air environment as

a result of the operation of the new

compressor upgrades.

• Impacts on four noise-sensitive

areas (NSAs) located between 600 and

740 feet from the proposed compressor

building.

Public Participation

You can make a different 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., N.E., Room 1A, Washington,

DC 20426.

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of Gas 1.

• Reference Docket No. CP00–231–

000.

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before July 3, 2000.

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.

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.

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’’ 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 of the

FERC Internet website provides access

to the texts of formal documents issued

by the Commission, such as orders,

notices, and rulemakings. 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 helpline can be reached at (202)

208–2474.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14399 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP00–233–000]

Southern Natural Gas Company;

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed South System Expansion

Project and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

June 2, 2000.

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 South System Expansion Project

involving construction and operation of

facilities by Southern Natural Gas

Company (Southern) in several counties

in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.1

These facilities would consist of about

73 miles of various diameter pipeline

and 24,220 horsepower (hp) of

compression. 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.

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.

Therefore, if easement negotiations fail

to produce an agreement, the pipeline

company could initiate condemnation

proceedings in accordance with state

law.

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 Southern 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 website (www.ferc.fed.us).

Summary of the Proposed Project

Southern wants to expand the

capacity of its facilities in Alabama,

Mississippi, and Georgia to transport an

additional 335,800 thousand cubic feet

per day of natural gas to Southern

Company Services, Inc. (SCS), South

Carolina Pipeline Corporation (SCPC),

and the City of LaGrange, Georgia.

Southern proposes to construct the

project in two phases, with in-service

dates proposed for June 1, 2002 (Phase

I) and June 1, 2003 (Phase II),

respectively. Southern seeks authority

to construct and operate:

Phase I Facilities (2002)

• 5.67 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop 2 on its South Main 3rd

Loop Line System from milepost (MP)

67.230 to MP 72.889 in Clark County,

Mississippi (Loop 1);

• 5.0 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main Lop 3rd

Loop Line System from MP 102.845 to

MP 107.849 in Sumter County, Alabama

(Loop 2);

• 7.82 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 3rd

Loop Line System from MP 172.553 to

MP 175.630 in Perry County, Alabama

and from MP 175.630 to MP 180.357 in

Dallas County, Alabama (Loop 3);

• 7.97 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 3rd

Loop Line System from MP 185.157 to

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36435

3The appendices referenced in this notice are not

being printed in the Federal Register.Copies are

available on the Commission’s website at the

‘‘RIMS’’ link or from the commission’s Public

Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First

Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, or call

(202) 208–1371. For instructions on connecting to

RIMS, refer to the last page of this notice. Copies

of the appendices were sent to all those receiving

this notice in the mail.

MP 187.270 in Dallas County, Alabama

and from MP 187.270 to MP 193.130 in

Autagua County, Alabama (Loop 4);

• 5.96 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 4th

Loop Line System from MP 255.000 to

MP 260.963 in Macon County, Alabama

(Loop 5);

• 5.08 miles of 24-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 2nd

Loop Line System from MP 459.869 to

MP 464.950 in Jefferson County, Georgia

(Loop 6);

• 1.50 miles of 8-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its LaGrange Extension

Loop Line System from MP 14.250 to

15.750 in Lee County, Alabama (Loop

7); and

• One new meter station (Plant

Urquhart Meter Station) at MP 493.82

on Southern’s existing 16-inch-diameter

South Main Line and 16-inch South

Main Loop Line Systems in Aiken

County, South Carolina.

Southern also proposes to install

additional compression and make other

modifications at its following

compressor stations:

• One 4,445 horsepower (hp) unit at

the Enterprise Compressor Station (C.S.)

in Clarke County, Mississippi;

• One 4,700 hp unit at the York

Compressor Station in Sumter County,

Alabama;

• One 10,310 hp unit at the Auburn

C.S. in Lee County, Alabama; and

• One 4,445 hp unit at the Thomaston

C.S. in Upson County, Georgia.

As part of its Phase I facilities,

Southern proposes to construct dual 20-

inch taps at about MP 297.5 on

Southern’s 24-inch-diameter South

Main Loop Line and 30-inch-diameter

South Main 2nd Loop Line Systems in

Lee County, Alabama. This interconnect

would deliver natural gas to the planned

Goat Rock Plan in Lee County, Alabama.

Phase II Facilities (2003)

Southern also seeks authority to

construct and operate about:

• 10.39 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 3rd

Loop Line System extending Loop 1

from MP 72.899 to 81.65 in Clarke

County, Mississippi, and from MP 81.65

to MP 83.293 in Lauderdale County,

Mississippi;

• 10.54 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 3rd

Loop Line System extending Loop 2

from MP 107.849 to MP 118.386 in

Sumter County, Alabama;

• 8.06 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 3rd

Loop Line System extending Loop 4

from MP 193.30 to MP 201.193 in

Autauga County, Alabama; and

• 5.0 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline loop on its South Main 4th

Loop Line System extending Loop 5

from MP 250.00 to MP 252.77 in

Tallapoosa County, Alabama, and from

MP 250.00 to 255.00 in Tallapoosa and

Macon Counties, Alabama.

Southern also proposes to install one

10,310 hp compressor and make other

modifications at Southern’s existing

Selma C.S. in Dallas County, Alabama.

As part of its Phase II facilities,

Southern would also construct one 20-

inch- tap and connection crossover

(Autaugaville Tap) at MP 201.19 to

connect Southern’s 24-inch-diameter

South Main Loop Line, 26-inchdiameter South Main Loop Line, 26-

inch-diameter South Main 2nd Loop

Line, and the proposed 30-inchdiameter South Main 3rd Loop Line

Systems in Autauga County, Alabama.

This interconnect would deliver natural

gas to the planned Autaugaville Plant in

Autagua County, Alabama.

The general location of Southern’s

proposed project facilities is shown on

the map attached as appendix 1.

Appendix 1 also includes a more

detailed description of the facilities.3

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities

would require about 889 acres of land,

including the construction right-of-way

and pipe storage yards, staging areas,

and warehouse sites. For the

construction of the 30-inch-diameter

loop segments, Southern proposes to

use a 95-foot construction right-of-way,

which includes a 40- to 55-foot overlap

of the existing right-of-way for

workspace and temporary spoil storage.

For the smaller diameter pipelines,

Southern proposes to use either a 50- or

75-foot-wide construction right-of-way,

which includes a 30- to 60-foot overlap

of existing right-of-way. Because of the

use of Southern’s existing right-of-way

for construction, Southern indicats that

only 25 acres would be maintained as

new permanent right-of-way.

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.

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 beginning on page 6.

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

Southern. This preliminary list of issues

may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

• Geology and Soils

—Erosion control and right-of-way

restoration.

—Potential for mixing of topsoil and

subsoil.

• Water Resources and Wetlands

—A total of 52 perennial waterbodies

would be crossed.

—A total of 24 wetlands, including

84.53 acres of forested, 12.79 acres of

scrub/shrub, and 8.09 acres of

emergent, would be crossed.

• Biological Resources

—Impacts on 28 federally threatened

and/or endangered species that may

be present in the project area.

—Impacts on about 234 acres of upland

forest or woodland habitat.

—Impact on the Kinterbish Wildlife

Management Area in Sumter County,

Alabama.

• Cultural Resources

36436 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

—Impacts on prehistoric and historic

sites.

—Native American concerns.

• Land Use

—Impacts on 158 acres of planted pine.

—Impacts on residential area.

—Visual effect of the aboveground

facilities on surrounding areas.

—Impacts on 4 residences within 50 feet

of the proposed construction work

area.

• Air and Noise Quality

—Impacts on local air and noise

environment as a result of the

operation of the new compressor

upgrades.

• Alternatives

—Evaluate possible alternatives to the

proposed projects or portions of the

projects, and make recommendations

on how to lessen or avoid impacts on

the various resource areas.

• Nonjurisdictional Facilities

—Consideration of effects of

construction of the associated

facilities that may be constructed by

SCS and SCPC, including the planned

Goat Rock and Autaguaville Power

Plants, and those associated laterals

and meter stations which are planned

to interconnect to Southern’s facilities

proposed herein.

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., N.E., Room 1A, Washington,

DC 20426

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of Gas 1.

• Reference Docket No. CP00–233–

000.

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before July 3, 2000.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA

scoping process, you may want to

become an official party to the

proceeding known at 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.

Affected landowners and parties with

environmental concerns 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.

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 of the

FERC Internet website provides access

to the texts of formal documents issued

by the Commission, such as orders,

notices, and rulemakings. 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 helpline can be reached at (202)

208–2474.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14400 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–07–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP00–47–000]

Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline, L.P.,

Notice of Availability of the

Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed Trans-Union Interstate

Pipeline Project

June 2, 2000.

The staff of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) has prepared an

environmental assessment (EA) on the

natural gas pipeline facilities proposed

by Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline, L.P.

(Trans-Union) in the above referenced

docket.

The EA was prepared to satisfy the

requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act. The staff

concludes that approval of the proposed

project, with appropriate mitigating

measures, would not constitute a major

Federal action significantly affecting the

quality of the human environment. The EA assesses the environmental

effects of the construction and operation

of the proposed facilities in Claiborne

and Union Parishes, Louisiana and

Union County, Arkansas. These

facilities would consist of about 41.7

miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline, two

mainline valves, and launcher/receiver

facilities at the beginning and end of the

pipeline. The pipeline would supply 430,000

decatherms per day of natural gas to the

planned nonjurisdictional electric

power generation facility being

developed by Union Power Partners

(UPP) in Union County, Arkansas. In

addition, Gulf States Pipeline Company

plans to construct about 30.4 miles of

16- and 20-inch-diameter pipeline in

Louisiana under section 311(a)(2) of the

Natural Gas Policy Act which would

provide a secondary supply as well as

serve other customers.

The EA has been placed in the public

files of the FERC. A limited number of

copies of the EA are available for

distribution and public inspection at:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

Public Reference and Files Maintenance

Branch, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A,

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–1371. copies of the EA have been mailed to

Federal, state and local agencies, public

interest groups, interested individuals,

newspapers, and parties to this

proceeding. Any person wishing to comment on

the EA may do so. To ensure

consideration prior to a Commission

decision on the proposal, it is important

that we receive your comments before