[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 233 (Thursday, December 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 64223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31767]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP97-331-000]


Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation; Notice of 
Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Cherokee 
Expansion Project

November 28, 1997.
    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 Transcontinental Gas Pipe 
Line Corporation (Transco) 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 addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities:
    <bullet> construction of about 11.2 miles of 48-inch-diameter 
natural gas pipeline loop (Alabama Mainline Loop) in Marengo County, 
Alabama;
    <bullet> uprating of the 16-inch-diameter Georgia Extension 
(Georgia Extension Uprating) in Walton and Gwinnett Counties, Georgia 
from a maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of 780 pounds per 
square inch (psi) to a MAOP of 960 psi. The uprating would include:
    a. replacement of about 3.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline;
    b. expansion and/or uprating of four metering and regulating (M&R) 
stations;
    c. hydrostatic testing of about 26.9 miles of 16-inch-diameter 
pipeline; and
    d. abandonment in place of about 0.1 mile of 16-inch-diameter 
pipeline.
    <bullet> construction of a new 15,000 horsepower (HP) compressor 
station in Coweta County, Georgia (Compressor Station 115);
    <bullet> installation of two 4,000-HP compressor units at an 
existing compressor station in Walton County, Georgia (Compressor 
Station 125);
    <bullet> rewheeling compressor units at existing compressor 
stations in Chilton County, Alabama (Compressor Station 100) and in 
Henry County, Ceorgia (Compressor Station 120); and
    <bullet> installation of additional gas cooling capacity at an 
existing compressor station in Randolph County, Alabama (Compressor 
Station 110).
    The purpose of the proposed facilities is to provide additional 
firm transportation capacity of up to 87,070 dekatherms per day of 
natural gas to two existing customers.
    The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is 
available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First 
Street, N.E., Room 2A, Washington, D.C. 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 the date specified 
below. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your 
comments are received in time and properly recorded:
    <bullet> Send two copies of your comments to: Lois Cashell, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
    <bullet> Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch II, PR-11.2;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP97-331-000; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 29, 1997.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commentor a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to 
become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).
    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 comments considered.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-31767 Filed 12-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M