[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 92 (Friday, May 12, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25708-25710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11724]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP95-228-000]


Mississippi River Transmission Corp.; Notice of Intent to Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Main Line System 1995 and 
1996 Modernization Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

May 8, 1995.
    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 proposed in the Main Line System 1995 and 1996 
Modernization Project.\1\ This EA will be used by the Commission in its 
decision-making process to determine whether an environmental impact 
statement is necessary and whether to approve the project.

    \1\Mississippi River Transmission 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

    Mississippi River Transmission Corporation (MRT) proposes to 
modernize and improve the reliability of its Main Line System under a 
16-year plan. The 16-year plan would address safety, system 
reliability, and rising operating cost. MRT is not seeking authority to 
implement its entire 16-year modernization plan. MRT seeks authority to 
implement only changes it proposes for 1995 and 1996. MRT indicates 
that its proposal would not affect the capacity of its Main Line System 
and service to any of its existing customers.
    MRT's Main Line System consists of three pipelines which run 
roughly parallel from Perryville, Louisiana to the vicinity of St. 
Louis, Missouri. Main Line No. 1 is the oldest of the three lines. MRT 
proposes to abandon in place 93 miles of its Main Line No. 1, and as a 
consequence, MRT also proposes to make certain changes on its Main Line 
System. MRT requests Commission authorization in Docket No. CP95-228-
000, for the following:
    <bullet> Abandon in place about 93 miles of its Main Line No. 1 
from milepost 214 in Jackson County, Arkansas to milepost 307 in Butler 
County, Missouri.
    <bullet> Cut and cap existing Main Line No. 1 within the Poplar 
Bluff Compressor Station yard at milepost 307 in Butler County, 
Missouri.
    <bullet> Retire one 1,000-horsepower (hp) compressor unit and 
replace it with a 5,850-hp compressor unit at the Biggers 
[[Page 25709]] Compressor Station at milepost 267 in Randolph County, 
Arkansas.
    <bullet> Retire two 625-hp compressor units and replace them with a 
5,850-hp compressor unit at the Tuckerman Compressor Station at 
milepost 220 in Jackson County, Arkansas.
    <bullet> Cut and cap existing Main Line No. 1 within the existing 
Diaz Compressor Station yard and remove the block gate assembly, at 
milepost 214 in Jackson County, Arkansas.
    <bullet> Relocate 13 delivery point laterals by extending the 
laterals across MRT's right-of-way from points (taps) of 
interconnection with Main Line No. 1 to Main Line No. 2 and/or Main 
Line No. 3, in Butler County, Missouri and Clay, Randolph, Lawrence, 
and Jackson Counties, Arkansas.
    <bullet> Abandon in place, cut, and cap a short pipeline segment 
(20 to 40 feet) between Main Line No. 1 and Natural Gas Pipeline 
Company of America's facility, at milepost 260 in Randolph County, 
Arkansas.
    <bullet> Abandon in place five short (20 to 40 feet) segments of 
pipe which serve as crossovers between Main Line No. 1 and Main Line 
No. 2, in Lawrence, Jackson, and Randolph Counties, Arkansas.
    <bullet> Abandon and remove valves and headers on the north and 
south sides of the Black River at milepost 261 in Randolph County, 
Arkansas.
    <bullet> Abandon and remove an orifice fitting at milepost 243 in 
Lawrence County, Arkansas.
    <bullet> Abandon and remove 10 block gate assemblies in Jackson, 
Lawrence, Randolph, and Clay Counties, Arkansas, and Ripley and Butler 
Counties, Missouri.
    The general location of the project facilities and specific 
locations for facilities are shown in appendix 1.\2\

    \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, Room 
3104, 941 North Capitol 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

    MRT indicates that no additional land would be required. All 
construction activities would occur within MRT's existing rights-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 
proposed abandonment under these general headings:
    <bullet> Soils.
    <bullet> Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
    <bullet> Vegetation and wildlife.
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species.
    <bullet> Cultural resources.
    <bullet> Air and noise quality.
    <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 
recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.

Currently Identified Environmental Issue

    We have already identified three issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by MRT. Keep in mind that this 
is a preliminary list. The list of issues may be added to, subtracted 
from, or changed based on your comments and our analysis. Issues are:
    <bullet> Residences are located within 50 feet of the proposed 
project.
    <bullet> Replacement of compressor units at the Biggers and 
Tuckerman Compressor Stations may increase ambient noise levels.
    <bullet> Federally listed or candidate plants may occur in the 
project area.

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 to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St., NE., Washington, 
DC 20426;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP95-228-000;
    <bullet> Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, EA 
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North 
Capitol St., NE., Room 7312, Washington, DC 20426; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 12, 1995.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Herman K. Der at the above address.

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 of 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 scoping comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. [[Page 25710]] Herman K. Der, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-
0896.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-11724 Filed 5-11-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M