29204 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 117 / Friday, June 19, 2009 / Notices 

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time 

on July 1, 2009. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–14451 Filed 6–18–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP09–36–000; Docket No. 

CP09–40–000] 

Southern Natural Gas Company, 

Southeast Supply Header, LLC; Notice 

of Availability of the Environmental 

Assessment for the Proposed South 

System Expansion III Project and Joint 

Pipeline Expansion Phase II Project 

June 12, 2009. 

The staff of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC or 

Commission) has prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) on the 

natural gas pipeline facilities proposed 

by Southern Natural Gas Company 

(SNG) for the South System Expansion 

III Project (SSE III Project) and by 

Southeast Supply Header, LLC (SESH) 

for the Joint Pipeline Expansion Phase 

II Project (JPE Phase II Project) in the 

above-referenced dockets. 

The EA was prepared to satisfy the 

requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act. The staff 

concludes that approval of the proposed 

project, with appropriate mitigating 

measures, would not constitute a major 

federal action significantly affecting the 

quality of the human environment. 

The EA assesses the potential 

environmental effects of the 

construction and operation of the 

proposed natural gas pipeline facilities 

including: 

SSE III Project 

• The Thomaston-Griffin Branch 

Third Loop (Thomaston-Griffin Loop), 

31.2 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline 

loop in Upson, Lamar, and Spalding 

Counties, Georgia; 

• The South Atlanta-Austell 

Replacement, replacement of 10.9 miles 

of the existing 18-inch-diameter 

pipeline with 30-inch-diameter pipeline 

in Fulton and Clayton Counties, 

Georgia, and construction of the Plant 

McDonough Meter Station in Fulton 

County; 

• The South Main Third Loop Line 

(Gwinville Loop), 12.0 miles of 36-inchdiameter pipeline loop in Jefferson 

Davis and Simpson Counties, 

Mississippi; 

• The South Main Third Loop Line 

(Enterprise Loop), 7.7 miles of 36-inchdiameter pipeline loop in Lauderdale 

County, Mississippi, and Choctaw and 

Sumter Counties, Alabama; 

• An additional 10,310 horsepower 

(hp) of compression and associated 

ancillary facilities installed at SNG’s 

existing Bay Springs Compressor Station 

in Jasper County, Mississippi; 

• The South Main Third Loop Line 

(Bay Springs Loop), 2.4 miles of 36- 

inch-diameter pipeline in Clarke 

County, Mississippi; 

• The South Main Fourth Loop Line 

(Gallion Loop), 5.2 miles of 36-inchdiameter pipeline loop in Hale and 

Perry Counties, Alabama; 

• The South Main Replacement 

(Elmore Replacement), replacement of 

11.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline 

with 42-inch-diameter pipeline in 

Elmore County, Alabama; and 

• An additional 7,000 hp of 

compression and associated ancillary 

facilities at the existing Ellerslie 

Compressor Station in Harris County, 

Georgia. 

SNG would construct its proposed 

facilities in three phases beginning in 

the first quarter of 2010, and all 

facilities would be in service by the 

second quarter of 2012. 

JPE Phase II Project 

• An additional 12,891 hp (15,000 hp 

nominal) of compression and associated 

ancillary facilities at the existing Delhi 

Compressor Station near Delhi, 

Richland Parish, Louisiana; and 

• An additional 12,712 hp (15,000 hp 

nominal) of compression and associated 

ancillary facilities at the existing 

Gwinville Compressor Station near 

Gwinville, Jefferson Davis County, 

Mississippi. 

SESH would begin construction in 

October 2009, and proposes an inservice date in July 2010. 

The EA has been placed in the public 

files of the FERC. A limited number of 

copies of the EA are available for 

distribution and public inspection at: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, 

NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, 

(202) 502–8371. 

Copies of the EA have been mailed to 

Federal, State, and local agencies; 

public interest groups; interested 

individuals and affected landowners; 

Native American tribes; newspapers and 

libraries; and parties to this proceeding. 

Any person wishing to comment on 

the EA may do so. To ensure 

consideration prior to a Commission 

decision on the proposal, it is important 

that we receive your comments before 

the date specified below. 

You can make a difference by 

providing us with your specific 

comments or concerns about the SSE III 

Project or the JPE Phase II Project. Your 

comments should focus on the potential 

environmental effects, reasonable 

alternatives, and measures to avoid or 

lessen environmental impacts. The more 

specific your comments, the more useful 

they will be. To ensure that your 

comments are timely and properly 

recorded, please send in your comments 

so that they will be received in 

Washington, DC on or before July 13, 

2009. 

For your convenience, there are three 

methods which you can use to submit 

your comments to the Commission. In 

all instances please reference the project 

docket numbers CP09–36–000 or CP09– 

40–000 with your submission. The 

docket numbers can be found on the 

front of this notice. The Commission 

encourages electronic filing of 

comments and has dedicated eFiling 

expert staff available to assist you at 

202–502–8258 or efiling@ferc.gov. 

(1) You may file your comments 

electronically by using the Quick 

Comment feature, which is located on 

the Commission’s Internet Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov under the link to 

Documents and Filings. A Quick 

Comment is an easy method for 

interested persons to submit text-only 

comments on a project; 

(2) You may file your comments 

electronically by using the eFiling 

feature, which is located on the 

Commission’s Internet Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov under the link to 

Documents and Filings. eFiling involves 

preparing your submission in the same 

manner as you would if filing on paper, 

and then saving the file on your 

computer’s hard drive. You will attach 

that file as your submission. New 

eFiling users must first create an 

account by clicking on ‘‘Sign up’’ or 

‘‘eRegister.’’ You will be asked to select 

the type of filing you are making. A 

comment on a particular project is 

considered a ‘‘Comment on a Filing;’’ or 

(3) You may file your comments via 

mail to the Commission by sending an 

original and two copies of your letter to: 

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 

20426. 

Label one copy of the comments for 

the attention of Gas Branch 2, PJ11.2. 

Comments will be considered by the 

Commission but will not serve to make 

the commentor a party to the 

proceeding. Any person seeking to 

become a party to the proceeding must 

file a motion to intervene pursuant to 

Rule 214 of the Commission’s Rules of 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 117 / Friday, June 19, 2009 / Notices 29205 

1 Interventions may also be filed electronically via 

the Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous 

discussion on filing comments electronically. 

Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 

385.214).1 Only intervenors have the 

right to seek rehearing of the 

Commission’s decision. 

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 

comments considered. 

Additional information about the 

project is available from the 

Commission’s Office of External Affairs, 

at 1–866–208–FERC or on the FERC 

Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) 

using the eLibrary link. Click on the 

eLibrary link, click on ‘‘General Search’’ 

and enter the docket number excluding 

the last three digits in the Docket 

Number field. Be sure you have selected 

an appropriate date range. For 

assistance, please contact FERC Online 

Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov 

or toll free at 1–866–208–3676, or for 

TTY, contact (202) 502–8659. The 

eLibrary link also provides access to the 

texts of formal documents issued by the 

Commission, such as orders, notices, 

and rulemakings. 

In addition, the Commission now 

offers a free service called eSubscription 

which allows you to keep track of all 

formal issuances and submittals in 

specific dockets. This can reduce the 

amount of time you spend researching 

proceedings by automatically providing 

you with notification of these filings, 

document summaries and direct links to 

the documents. Go to http:// 

www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–14452 Filed 6–18–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Bonneville Power Administration 

Central Ferry–Lower Monumental 

Transmission Line Project 

AGENCY: Bonneville Power 

Administration (BPA), Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

and notice of floodplain and wetlands 

involvement. 

SUMMARY: BPA intends to prepare an EIS 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on 

the construction, operation, and 

maintenance of a proposed 500-kilovolt 

(kV) transmission line in Garfield, 

Columbia, and Walla Walla counties, 

Washington. The proposed line would 

extend west from a new BPA 500-kV 

Central Ferry Substation (separately 

proposed to be built in northwestern 

Garfield County, Washington to 

interconnect proposed wind projects in 

that area), to BPA’s existing 500-kV 

Lower Monumental Substation in Walla 

Walla County, Washington. BPA is 

considering two routing alternatives for 

the proposed Central Ferry–Lower 

Monumental transmission line; portions 

of both routes would parallel existing 

BPA lines in the area. One routing 

alternative for the transmission line is 

about 38 miles long, and the other is 

about 40 miles long. The proposed 

transmission line is needed to increase 

transmission capacity to respond to 

requests for transmission service in this 

area. 

With this Notice of Intent, BPA is 

initiating the public scoping process for 

the EIS. BPA is requesting comments 

about potential environmental impacts 

that it should consider as it prepares the 

EIS for the proposed project, as well as 

comments on the proposed routes for 

the transmission line and suggestions 

about other route options that may meet 

the technical requirements of the 

transmission system. 

In accordance with DOE regulations 

for compliance with floodplain and 

wetlands environmental review 

requirements, BPA will prepare a 

floodplain and wetlands assessment to 

avoid or minimize potential harm to or 

within any affected floodplains and 

wetlands. The assessment will be 

included in the EIS. 

DATES: Written scoping comments are 

due to the address below no later than 

August 3, 2009. Comments may also be 

made at the EIS scoping meeting to be 

held on July 13, 2009, from 4 p.m. to 7 

p.m. at the addresses below. 

ADDRESSES: Send letters with comments 

and suggestions on the proposed scope 

of the Draft EIS, and requests to be 

placed on the project mailing list, to 

Bonneville Power Administration, 

Public Affairs Office—DKE–7, P.O. Box 

14428, Portland, OR 97293–4428, or by 

fax to (503) 230–3285. You also may call 

BPA’s toll free comment line at (800) 

622–4519 and leave a message (please 

include the name of this project); or 

submit comments online at http:// 

www.bpa.gov/comment. BPA will post 

all comment letters in their entirety on 

BPA’s Web site at http://www.bpa.gov/ 

comment. 

On Monday, July 13, 2009, an openhouse style scoping meeting will be 

held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Starbuck 

School Gymnasium in Starbuck, 

Washington. At this informal meeting, 

we will provide maps and other 

information about the project and have 

members of the project team available to 

answer questions and accept oral and 

written comments. You may stop by 

anytime during the open house. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tish 

Eaton, Environmental Coordinator, 

Bonneville Power Administration— 

KEC–4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 

97208–3621; toll-free telephone 1–800– 

282–3713; direct telephone 503–230– 

3469; or e-mail tkeaton@bpa.gov. You 

may also contact Theresa Berry, Project 

Manager, Bonneville Power 

Administration—TEP–3, P.O. Box 3621, 

Portland, Oregon 97208–3621; toll-free 

telephone 1–800–282–3713; direct 

telephone 360–619–6313; or e-mail 

tmberry@bpa.gov. Additional 

information can be found at BPA’s Web 

site: http://www.efw.bpa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2008, 

BPA conducted a Network Open Season 

(NOS) process to help manage its list of 

requests for long-term transmission 

service. During the NOS process, 

utilities and power generators 

(including wind generators and power 

marketers) requested the use of BPA’s 

transmission system to transmit their 

power. To determine if BPA could offer 

the service requested, BPA studied the 

transmission system and identified 

where existing capacity was available 

and where the system needed upgrades. 

The studies found that there was not 

enough available transmission capacity 

to accommodate all requests for longterm service from the Lower Snake area 

in southeast Washington to load centers 

west of the Cascades and to major 

transmission lines serving the regions 

growing energy needs. Wind generation 

facilities built and proposed in this area 

will increase the amount of power being 

produced in southeast Washington. 

Further studies revealed that building a 

new 500-kV line from a point along 

BPA’s existing Little Goose-Lower 

Granite lines to BPA’s Lower 

Monumental Substation would allow 

BPA to accommodate the requests for 

transmission service from proposed 

wind generation facilities in this area. 

BPA must respond to these requests 

for transmission service under its Open 

Access Transmission Tariff. This tariff, 

which is generally consistent with the 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission’s pro forma open access 

tariff, has procedures that provide 

access to BPA’s transmission system for 

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