Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 126 / Friday, June 28, 1996 / Notices 33729

1Algonquin LNG, Inc.’s application was filed

with the Commission under Section 7 of the Natural

Gas Act and Parts 157 and 284 of the Commission’s

regulations.

2The 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, NE,

Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208–1371.

Copies of the appendices were sent to all those

receiving this notice in the mail.

Commission and are available for public

inspection.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–16567 Filed 6–27–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

[Docket No. CP96–517–000]

Algonquin LNG, Inc.; Notice of Intent

To Prepare an Environmental

Assessment for the Proposed

Algonquin LNG Modifications Project

and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

June 24, 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 Algonquin

LNG Modifications Project. This EA will

be used by the Commission in its

decision-making process to determine

whether an environmental impact

statement (EIS) is necessary and

whether to approve the project.1

Summary of the Proposed Project

Algonquin LNG, Inc. (ALNG) seeks

Commission authorization to expand its

existing liquefied natural gas (LNG)

facility in Providence, Rhode Island and

construction of pipeline facilities in East

Providence, Rhode Island. The purpose

of the proposed facilities are to provide

natural gas liquefaction, LNG storage,

LNG trucking, and LNG vaporization

services on a firm and interruptible,

open access, blanket basis.

Existing Facilities

ALNG owns and operates a 600,000-

barrel LNG storage facility on the west

side of the Providence River. The

facility has been in operation for over 20

years, and is exclusively supplied with

LNG delivered by truck. Upon demand,

LNG is either redelivered in liquid form

into trucks supplied by its customers, or

vaporized into Providence Gas

Company’s (PGC) distribution system.

ALNG states that the usefulness of the

facility is limited by its lack of

liquefaction capabilities and direct

access to the interstate pipeline grid.

PGC currently receives gas from

Algonquin Gas Transmission

Company’s (AGT) East Providence

Meter Station (among other points)

which is located on the east side of the

Providence River about 1.7 miles

southeast of the site. After delivery at

the meter station, PGC transports the gas

in a northerly direction in a 12-inchdiameter pipeline to a manifold of three

10-inch-diameter pipelines that cross

the Providence River. These three

pipelines converge into a 12-inchdiameter pipeline on the west side of

the Providence River that ultimately

feeds PGC’s Allens Avenue Plant

located adjacent to the ALNG site.

Proposed Facilities

ALNG’s proposes to construct the

following facilities on or near its

existing LNG storage facility:

• A liquefaction facility with a

capacity of 40,000 million British

thermal units per day (MMbtu/d);

• LNG pumps and vaporizers with a

capacity of 375,000 MMbtu/d;

• Boil-off gas compressors;

• 1.05 miles of 20-inch-diameter

pipeline;

• 0.25 mile of 10.75-inch-diameter

pipeline;

• Metering facilities;

• Inspect the existing 600,000-barrel

LNG storage tank, and install new

instrumentation; and

• Miscellaneous construction

including water/glycol system, feed gas

compressors, odorant injection, control

systems, and fire protection system

additions.

ALNG also requests authorization:

• To acquire two existing 0.45-milelong, 10.75-inch-diameter pipeline

crossings of the Providence River;

• To abandon three existing

vaporizers and related facilities;

• To abandon its present LNG

services;

• To provide an enhanced, open

access LNG handling service; and

• For a blanket certificate to construct

eligible facilities.

AGT proposes to reconstruct the East

Providence Meter Station to

accommodate lower natural gas

deliveries as a result of PGC transferring

volumes to the ALNG Interconnect.

Construction would occur under AGT’s

subpart F Blanket Certificate and

associated environmental requirements.

PGC would construct limited nonjurisdictional facilities on its property in

association with the proposed project.

These include:

• Construction of a regulator station

to accept gas from ALNG; and

• Retirement of PGC boil-off

compressors and certain structures.

The proposed Algonquin LNG

Modifications Project is shown in

appendix 1.2

Land Requirements for Construction

The proposed facilities have been

sited within existing industrial areas,

and within or along roadway and utility

rights-of-way. In general, the

construction of the proposed LNG

facilities would be confined to the

existing 16.5 acre ALNG plant area

leased from PGC, and an additional

adjacent 4.2 acres to be leased from

PGC. A proposed valve site and

interconnections to the PGC system

would require work immediately

adjacent to the ALNG site on PGC

properties that are currently used for gas

distribution activities. These areas are

currently graded and covered with

gravel.

The proposed new pipeline in East

Providence would typically require a

50-foot-wide permanent right-of-way

and a 25-foot-wide temporary

construction workspace. A reduced

right-of-way and construction

workspace would be utilized along the

Veterans Memorial Parkway to avoid

and/or minimize impacts. The proposed

permanent right-of-way would

encompass an area of about 3.59 acres.

The construction workspace would

require an additional 4.53 acres. With

exception to the Veterans Memorial

Parkway, these areas are all industrial

land that has been previously disturbed.

Access to the proposed facilities

would be from existing public and

private roadways. No new access roads

would be required.

The EA Process/Environmental Issues

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 and whether an

EIS is necessary. 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.
33730 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 126 / Friday, June 28, 1996 / Notices

The EA will discuss impacts that

could occur as a result of the

construction and operation of the

proposed project under these general

headings:

• Geology and Soils

—Erosion control.

—Facility site and right-of-way

restoration.

—Soil contamination.

• Water Resources

—Potential to affect water quality and

riparian resources.

—Cooling water discharge into the

Providence River.

• Biological Resources

—Effect of facility construction and

operation on wildlife and fisheries

habitat, including wintering

waterfowl.

—Effect on wetland habitats.

• Cultural Resources

—Effect on historic and prehistoric

sites.

—Native American and tribal

concerns.

• Socioeconomics

—Impact of a peak workforce of about

225 workers on the surrounding

area.

• Land Use

—Impact on state areas of critical

environmental concern.

—Impact on residences and recreation

areas.

• Air Quality and Noise

—Air quality and noise impacts

associated with construction.

—Impact on regional air quality and

noise-sensitive areas associated

with operation of the proposed LNG

facility.

• Public Safety

—Compliance with 49 CFR 193.

We will also evaluate possible

pipeline and technology 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.

Public Participation/Scoping Meeting

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 pipeline 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:

• Address your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First St., NE,

Washington, D.C. 20426;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–517–

000;

• Send a copy of your letter to: Mr.

Chris Zerby, EA Project Manager,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First St., NE, Room 72–55,

Washington, D.C. 20426; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, D.C. on

or before July 26, 1996.

Beyond asking for written comments,

we will hold a public scoping meeting

during the week of July 15, 1996 (time,

date and location will be noticed at a

late date). This public meeting will be

designed to provide you with more

detailed information and another

opportunity to offer your comments on

the proposed project.

At a later date (time, date and location

will be noticed at a later date) the FERC

staff will meet with representatives of

ALNG to conduct a cryogenic design

and engineering review of the proposed

LNG facilities.

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 caserelated 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 fling 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.

Chris Zerby, EA Project Manager, at

(202) 208–0111.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–16532 Filed 6–27–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

[Docket No. CP96–569–000, et al.]

Michigan Gas Storage Company, et al.;

Natural Gas Certificate Filings

June 21, 1996.

Take notice that the following filings

have been made with the Commission:

1. Michigan Gas Storage Company

[Docket No. CP96–569–000]

Take notice that on June 13, 1996, as

supplemented on June 20, 1996,

Michigan Gas Storage Company

(Michigan Gas), 212 West Michigan

Avenue, Jackson, Michigan 49201, filed

in Docket No. CP96–569–000, a request

pursuant to Sections 157.211 and

157.216 of the Commission’s

Regulations under the Natural Gas Act

(18 CFR 157.211 and 157.216) for

authorization to install two delivery

taps and abandon one delivery tap in

Oakland County, Michigan, in order to

serve Consumers Power Company

(Consumers), under the blanket

certificate issued in Docket No. CP84–

451–000, pursuant to Section 7(c) of the

Natural Gas Act, all as more fully set

forth in the request which is on file with

the Commission and open to public

inspection.

Specifically, Michigan Gas states it

plans to install a 22-inch tap at the

Squirrel Road Valve Site in Orion

Township, and a 20-inch tap at the

Dutton Road Valve Site in Oakland

Township, both on its Line 600 in

Oakland County, Michigan. Michigan

Gas explains that Consumers has

requested these delivery taps be

constructed in conjunction with a new

transmission line being built on

Consumers’ system under a certificate

granted by the Michigan Public Service

Commission in Case U–10925.

Michigan Gas explains that deliveries

through these taps will be made to and

from Michigan Gas’ system dependent

upon the time of year and whether

Consumers is withdrawing or injecting

gas from its nearby storage fields.

Michigan Gas states that these new

delivery taps, in conjunction with

Consumers’ new transmission line, will

increase the peak day capacity of the

integrated system by about 400 MMcf/

d, in order to meet the design peak loads

of Consumers’ sales and end use