[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42118-42119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20526]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP97-92-001]


Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Mobile Bay Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 30, 1997.
    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 
the facilities, about 75.66 miles of 24- and 30-inch-diameter pipeline, 
30,000 horsepower (hp) of compression, an offshore junction platform 
and connecting facilities at another (nonjurisdictional) platform, 
proposed in the Mobile Bay 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\ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation'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

    Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco) wants to 
expand the capacity of its facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama 
to transport an additional 350 million cubic feet of natural gas per 
day (Mmcfd) to the interstate market from sources offshore in the Gulf 
of Mexico. Transco seeks authority to construct and operate:

<bullet> 15,000 horsepower (hp) of compression at new Compressor 
Station 83 in Mobile County, Alabama;
<bullet> 15,000 hp of additional compression at Compressor Station 82 
in Mobile County, Alabama;
<bullet> 19.08 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline from existing 
Compressor Station 82 in Mobile County, Alabama to a new offshore 
junction platform in Mobile Block 822 (this segment involves 
approximately 4.00 miles of onshore pipeline);
<bullet> a new offshore junction platform in Mobile Block 822, 
including a 24-inch-sphere launcher and appurtenant facilities;
<bullet> 56.58 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline from the new offshore 
junction platform in Mobile Block 822 to a new platform (owned by SOCO 
Offshore, Inc. (SOCO)) in Main Pass Viosca Knoll Block 261; and
<bullet> a 24-inch-sphere launcher, measurement equipment, riser pipe 
and appurtenant facilities on SOCO's new platform in Main Pass Viosca 
Knoll Block 261.

    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\ 
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write 
to the Secretary of the Commission.
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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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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed onshore facilities would require about 
56.4 acres of land. Following construction, about 15.7 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 40.7 acres 
of land would be restored; 17.4 acres would be allowed to revert to its 
former use and 23.3 acres would be permanent pipeline 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.
    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the onshore portion of the proposed 
project under these general headings: \3\
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    \3\ The Commission intends to adopt the environmental documents 
created by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management 
Service (MMS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) for the 
offshore facilities.

<bullet> Geology and soils
<bullet> Land use
<bullet> Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
<bullet> Cultural resources
<bullet> Vegetation and wildlife
<bullet> Air quality and noise
<bullet> Endangered and threatened species
<bullet> Public safety

    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

[[Page 42119]]

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

<bullet> Two federally listed endangered or threatened species may 
occur in the onshore portions of the proposed project area.
<bullet> A total of 16.3 acres of agricultural land would be affected.
<bullet> There is the potential for noise impact due to the new 
compression at the new and existing stations.
<bullet> A nonjurisdictional processing plant will be constructed in 
conjunction with the interstate pipeline facilities.

    We expect to adopt the environmental reviews done by the COE and 
the MMS covering wetland and offshore issues. The COE will also be 
addressing the crossing of Dauphin Island by directional drilling.

Nonjurisdictional Facilities

    Williams Field Services Company (WFS) will construct and operate a 
600 MMcfd nonjurisdictional processing plant (including a 350 MMcfd 
separation facility) immediately upstream of Compressor Station 82. The 
plant will be designed to remove liquids and liquefiables from the 
offshore pipeline and deliver interstate pipeline quality natural gas 
to the suction side of Transco's Compressor Station 82.
    SOCO will construct a new production/gathering platform in Main 
Pass Viosca Knoll Block 261. We will not be addressing this facility in 
our EA because we will adopt the analysis done by the MMS.

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 (including alternative locations or 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:

<bullet> Send two copies of your letter to: Lois Cashell, 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 the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2;
<bullet> Reference Docket No. CP97-92-001; and
<bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, D.C. on or before August 29, 1997.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding or become an 
``intervenor''. 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 copies of its 
filings to all other parties. 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).
    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 Sec. 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 comments considered.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-20526 Filed 8-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M