[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28898-28899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13218]



[[Page 28898]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP01-260-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Columbia Line 
10357 Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 21, 2001.
    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 Columbia Line 10357 Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Columbia Gas 
Transmission Corporation (Columbia) in New Castle County, Delaware, and 
Delaware and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania.\1\ These facilities would 
consist of about 1.37 miles of pipeline and 12,000 horsepower (hp) of 
compression. 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\ Columbia'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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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that 
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if 
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline 
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with 
state law.
    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 Columbia 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 website 
(www.ferc.fed.us).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Columbia wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in Delaware 
and Pennsylvania to transport an additional 125,000 million British 
thermal units per day of natural gas to a planned FPL Energy Marcus 
Hook, L.P. 750-megawatt electric generating power plant to be built in 
the both New Castle County, Delaware and Delaware County, Pennsylvania. 
Columbia seeks authority to:
    <bullet> Construct 1.3 miles of 20-inch pipeline to be located in 
New Castle County, Delaware and Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
    <bullet> Construct a 6,000 hp electric driven compressor unit at 
existing Eagle Compressor Station located in Chester County, 
Pennsylvania.
    <bullet> Construct a 6,000 hp electric driven compressor unit at 
existing Downingtown Compressor Station located in Chester County, 
Pennsylvania.
    <bullet> Construct a new M&R Station on FPL Energy Marcus Hook 
Power Plant property to be located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
    <bullet> Abandon two 1,250 hp compressor units at Downingtown 
Compressor Station.
    Also, Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) would make minor 
modifications to its existing electricity delivery system at the Eagle 
and Downingtown Compressor Station locations. PECO would feed the 
Downingtown substation off of an existing powerline. One pole would be 
installed within the Downingtown Compressor Station lot to facilitate 
bringing the tie-in line into the substation. In addition, PECO would 
install a new line from its existing Crombie substation in Chester 
County, Pennsylvania to the Eagle Compressor Station. The new line 
would be installed on a combination of new and existing poles, and 
would be entirely within existing PECO rights-of-way. No new electric 
rights-of-way would be required.
    The exact locations of the project facilities are shown on maps in 
appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in Federal Register. Copies are available on the 
Commission's website at the ``RIMS'' link or from the Commission's 
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. For instructions 
on connecting to RIMS 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 Requirement for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 34.3 
acres of land. Following construction, about 21.1 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sits. The remaining 13.2 acres 
of land would be restored and allowed to revert to its former use.

 The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires 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 \3\ to discover and 
address concerns the public may have about proposals. We call this 
``scoping''. The main goal of the scooping 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.
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    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> Land use
<bullet> Water resources
<bullet> Cultural resources
<bullet> Vegetation and wildlife
<bullet> Air quality and noise
<bullet> Endangered and threatened species
<bullet> Hazardous waste
<bullet> Public safety

    We will not discuss impacts to the following resource areas since 
they are not present in the project area, or would not be affected by 
the proposed facilities.

<bullet> Fisheries and wetlands

    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

[[Page 28899]]

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 an issue that we think deserves 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Columbia and FPL Energy 
Marcus Hook, L.P. This preliminary issue may be changed based on your 
comments and our analysis.
    <bullet> There may be changes in noise impacts from the compressor 
unit additions at the existing compressor stations. We have not 
identified any other significant environmental issues.
    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts of the FPL Energy Marcus Hook, L.P. nonjurisdictional 
cogeneration plant facilities. We will briefly described its location 
and status in the EA.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentar, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations/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 an original and two copies of your letter to: David 
P. Boergers, 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 2.
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP01-260-000.
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 20, 2001.
    Comments, protests and interventions may also be filed 
electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. See 18 CFR 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instruction on the Commission's web site at 

http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/doorbell.htm under the link to the User's 
Guide. Before you can file comments you will need to create an account 
which can be created by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New 
User Account.''
    We may issue the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving 
it, please return the Information Request (appendix 3). If you do not 
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the processing 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 provide 14 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) (see appendix 2).\4\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \4\ Interventions may also filed electronically via the Internet 
in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing comments 
electronically.
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    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 about the proposed project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the 
FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) using the ``RIMS'' link to information 
in this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket #'' 
from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions. For assistance with 
access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2222.
    Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website, 
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``DOCKET #'' from the CIPS menu, and 
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS 
helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-13218 Filed 5-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M