[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 67 (Monday, April 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17549-17550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6558]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP07-81-000]


Petal Gas Storage, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Petal No. 3 Compressor 
Station Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

April 3, 2007.
    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 Petal No. 3 Compressor Station 
Project, involving construction and operation of facilities by Petal 
Gas Storage, L.L.C. (Petal) in Forrest County, Mississippi. The EA will 
be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine 
whether or not to authorize the project.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping period that will 
be used to gather environmental input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff 
determine which issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on May 3, 2007.
    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, Native American Tribes, and government entities 
interested in and/or potentially affected by the proposed project. This 
includes all landowners who are potential right-of-way grantors, 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. We encourage government representatives to 
notify their constituents of this planned project and encourage them to 
comment on their areas of concern.
    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 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

    Petal proposes to construct a new compressor station consisting of 
three 5,000-horsepower, electric-drive compressor units at its existing 
Petal Storage Facility in Forrest County, Mississippi. Petal would 
construct a new 60-foot by 200-foot building to house the proposed 
units and other appurtenant facilities. In addition, a 1,605-foot-long, 
20-inch-diameter pipeline would be constructed in order to connect the 
proposed compressor station to Petal's existing gas storage 
operations.\1\
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    \1\ Petal's application in Docket No. CP07-81-000 was filed with 
the Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act.
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    Petal currently has an estimated working storage capacity of 18 
billion cubic feet of natural gas in four storage caverns. The Petal 
Storage Facility is capable of delivering natural gas into five 
interstate pipeline systems. The proposed addition of the Petal No. 3 
Compressor Station would allow Petal to utilize the full storage 
capacity of the Petal Storage Facility.
    The general location of Petal's proposed facilities is shown on the 
map attached as 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 (map), are available on the Commission's Web site at 
the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, 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 Construction

    Construction of the proposed Petal No. 3 Compressor Station Project 
would affect a total of about 21.1 acres of land. Following 
construction, about 12.1 acres of land would be allowed to revert to 
its previous conditions. Disturbance associated with aboveground 
facilities would comprise about 6.7 acres of permanently affected land. 
A new 1,485-foot-long access road would be constructed surrounding the 
compressor station building, permanently disturbing 0.5 acre of land.
    A 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way is proposed for the 
associated pipeline. Petal would maintain a 50-foot-wide permanent 
right-of-way for operation and maintenance of the proposed facilities. 
Permanent disturbance of the pipeline would total about 1.8 acres. All 
land that would be affected by the proposed compressor station, 
pipeline, and access road is owned by Petal.

The EA Process

    We are preparing the EA to comply with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) which 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. 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 to address in the EA. All comments received are 
considered during the preparation of the EA.
    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 and libraries in the project area, 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.

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. 
Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects of 
the proposal, reasonable alternatives to the proposal (including 
alternative locations and routes), and measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful

[[Page 17550]]

they will be. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that 
your comments are received in time and properly recorded:
    <bullet> Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Philis 
J. Posey, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    <bullet> Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 1;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP07-81-000;
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 3, 2007.
    Please note that the Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) 
and the instructions on the Commission's Internet Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``eFiling'' link and the link to the User's 
Guide. Prepare your submission in the same manner as you would if 
filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard drive. Before you 
can file comments you will need to create an account by clicking on 
``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.'' You will be asked to 
select the type of filing you are making. This filing is considered a 
``Comment on Filing.''

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 send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's e-Filing system) or 14 paper 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). 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

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208 FERC (3372) or on 
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the 
``eLibrary'' link, select ``General Search'' from the eLibrary menu, 
enter the selected date range and ``Docket Number'' (i.e., CP07-81-
000), and follow the instructions. For assistance with access to 
eLibrary, the helpline can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-
8659, or at FERCOnlineSupport@ ferc.gov. The eLibrary link on the FERC 
Internet Web site also provides access to the texts of formal documents 
issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rule makings.
    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.

Philis J. Posey,
Acting Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-6558 Filed 4-6-07; 8:45 am]
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