[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22047-22048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11834]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP96-199-000]


Egan Hub Partners, L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Egan Gas Storage Expansion 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 7, 1996.
    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 Egan Gas Storage Expansion 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.
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    \1\ Egan Hub Partners, L.P.'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

    Egan Hub Partners, L.P. (Egan) proposes to construct and operate a 
second storage cavern and install about 6,260 horsepower of additional 
compression at the storage facility site in Acadia Parish, Louisiana.
    Egan indicates that the new storage facilities would provide up to 
a total of about 4 billion cubic feet of working gas storage capacity.
    The general location of the project facilities are shown in 
appendix 1.\2\
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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

    No additional land would be required for the project.

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 proposed project under these general 
headings:
    <bullet> Land use.
    <bullet> Air quality and noise.
    <bullet> Public safety.
    <bullet> Cultural resources.
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species.
    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 Issues

    We have already identified two issues that we think deserves 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Egan. Keep in mind that these 
are preliminary issues.
    <bullet> Egan would develop an additional salt storage cavern which 
would require fresh water withdrawal, saltwater disposal, and surface 
disposal of insolubles.
    <bullet> Noise impacts would occur to nearby residences from the 
operation of the compressors.
    The list of issues may be added, subtracted from, or 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 (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 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, 888 First St., N.E., Washington, DC 
20426;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP96-199-000;
    <bullet> Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, EA 
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., 
N.E. PR-11.1, Washington, DC 20426; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 17, 1996.
    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).

[[Page 22048]]

    You do not need intervenor status to have your scoping comments 
considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. Herman K. Der, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0896.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-11834 Filed 5-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M