[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 70 (Friday, April 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17800-17801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9316]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP97-223-000]


Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Montgomery-Columbus 
Abandonment and Replacement Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

April 7, 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 abandonment of 87.4 miles of 
natural gas transmission pipeline and the construction and operation of 
5.5 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline, proposed in the 
Montgomery-Columbus Abandonment and Replacement 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\Southern Natural Gas Company'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

    Southern Natural Gas Company (Southern) wants to abandon certain of 
its facilities in Alabama and replace a portion of its facilities that 
have deteriorated. The proposed abandonment and construction will not 
affect Southern's service obligations. Southern seeks authority to 
abandon in place:
    <bullet> The 12-inch-diameter Montgomery-Columbus Mainline from 
milepost (MP) 79.709 to MP 143.289 in Dallas, Autauga, and Elmore 
Counties. This would include the removal of the East Flow Regulator/
Meter Station at MP 81.401, and block valves, gate valves, and taps 
along the mainline;
    <bullet> The 12-inch-diameter Montgomery-Columbus Loop between MP 
81.209 and MP 100.729 in Dallas, Autauga, and Elmore Countries. 
Southern would also remove a tap and gate valves; and

[[Page 17801]]

    <bullet> The 6-inch-diameter Selma Pipeline between MP 0.0 and MP 
4.338 in Dallas County.
    Southern seeks authority to construct and operate:
    <bullet> About 4.04 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop pipeline from MP 
261.00 to MP 265.04 along the South Main System in Macon County;
    <bullet> About 1.5 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop pipeline along 
the South Main System from MP 183.657 and MP 185.167 in Dallas County.
    <bullet> About 500 feet of 6-inch-diameter pipeline within the 
existing right-of-way to tie-in the Selma Tap and Selma Loop, and 
install a regulator at the Selma Tap at MP 83.420;
    <bullet> Gas heaters at MPs 109.733, 116.919, 120.963, and 142.970 
on the South Main System; and
    <bullet> Appurtenant facilities, including connecting active taps 
presently tied into the pipelines being abandoned to its adjacent 
pipelines (to maintain service).
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\ 
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information please write 
at 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, DC 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 facilities would require about 37.23 
acres of land. Following construction, about 14.69 acres would be 
maintained as new right-of-way. The remaining 22.54 acres of land would 
be restored and allowed to revert to its former use.

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 
certain.
    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:
    <bullet> Geology and soils;
    <bullet> Water resources, fisheries; and wetlands
    <bullet> Vegetation and wildlife;
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species;
    <bullet> Land use;
    <bullet> Cultural resources;
    <bullet> Air quality and noise;
    <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 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 Southern.
    <bullet> One residence is within 50 feet of the construction right-
of-way at MP 263.469.
    <bullet> Five perennial streams are crossed by the new facilities.
    <bullet> About 19.8 acres of forest (9.2 acres of upland forest, 
7.2 acres of pine plantation, and 3.4 acres of forested wetlands) would 
be cleared for construction of the new facilities.
    <bullet> About 35.4 acres of wetlands would be disturbed. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.

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, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The 
more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please 
follow the instructions below to ensure that your comments are received 
and properly recorded:
    <bullet> Address your letter (and send two copies) to: Lois 
Cashell, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP97-223-000; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 7, 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 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. 97-9316 Filed 4-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M