Document ID: FERC-2011-1007-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Dominion Transmission, Inc., Woodhull Natural Gas Storage Pool, Steuben County, NY
Posted Date: 2011-07-07T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39865-39867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16998]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP11-493-000]

Dominion Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Woodhull Storage Pool 

Boundary Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    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 proposed Woodhull Storage Pool 

Boundary Project (Project) involving Dominion Transmission, Inc.'s 

(Dominion) extension of the certificated boundary of the Woodhull 

Natural Gas Storage Pool in Steuben County, New York. The EA will be 

used by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine 

whether the

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project is in the public convenience and necessity.

    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 

Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 

agencies on the Project Amendment. Your input will help the Commission 

staff determine what issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note 

that the scoping period will close on July 29, 2011.

    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 

mailing list for the Project Amendment. State and local government 

representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this project 

and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 

by a Dominion representative about the acquisition or modification of 

an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed 

facilities. The 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, Dominion could 

initiate condemnation proceedings where compensation would be 

determined in accordance with state or federal law.

    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 

Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for 

viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). 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.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Dominion is proposing to extend the perimeter of its Woodhull 

Natural Gas Storage Pool (Pool) existing boundary by an additional 

2,000 feet, impacting 5,472.27 acres below ground surface (bgs). 

Located in the Oriskany Sandstone geologic formation 3,995 feet bgs and 

capped by Marcellus Shale and Onondaga Limestone Formations 30 feet 

above, Dominion contends that extending the perimeter would protect the 

Pool from encroachment from third parties drilling into the Marcellus 

Shale and potentially jeopardizing the sealing/trapping geology of the 

natural gas storage zone.

Land Requirements

    No facilities would be constructed; therefore there would be no 

impact on the surface. Dominion's proposal would only enlarge the 

Pool's current boundary by 2,000 feet creating a buffer zone around the 

Pool.

    The general location of the proposed facilities is shown in 

Appendix 1.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 

Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 

result from the issuance or amendment of a Certificate of Public 

Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us \1\ to discover and 

address concerns the public may have about proposals. This process is 

referred to as ``scoping''. The main goal of the scoping process is to 

focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By 

this notice, the Commission requests public comments on the scope of 

the issues to be addressed in the EA. All comments received will be 

considered during the preparation of the EA.

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    \1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 

of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.

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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 

the storage field extension. We will also evaluate possible 

alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the project.

    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 

The EA will be placed in the public record, and depending on the 

comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 

distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 

is published for review. We will consider all comments on the EA before 

we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments 

are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 

Participation section beginning on page 4.

    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 

special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 

cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may 

choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to 

their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 

agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments 

provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 

comments or concerns about the 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 your comments so 

that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before July 29, 

2011.

    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 number (CP11-493-000) with your 

submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and 

has expert eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 

efiling@ferc.gov.

    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 

feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an 

easy method for interested persons to submit brief, 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 Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling, you 

can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a 

file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an 

account by clicking on ``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 a paper copy of your comments at the following 

address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local 

government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 

environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other 

interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also 

includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's 

regulations) who are owners of property interests and are within the 

area of the proposed expansion of a storage field, and anyone who 

submits comments on the project. We will update the environmental 

mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the 

information related to this environmental review to

[[Page 39867]]

all individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in 

and/or potentially affected by the proposed project.

    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 

environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would 

prefer to receive a paper copy of the document or would like to remove 

your name from the mailing list, please return the attached Information 

Request (Appendix 1).

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to participating in the EA scoping process, you may 

want to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the 

Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 

process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 

by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 

An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 

request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 

included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 

Commission's Web site.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the 

Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the 

FERC Web site at 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 

(i.e., CP11-159). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. 

For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 

FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (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.

    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 

Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: June 30, 2011.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2011-16998 Filed 7-6-11; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P