Colorado Interstate Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Totem Storage Field Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 25290-25291 [E7-8538]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 86 (Friday, May 4, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25290-25291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8538]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF07-6-000]


Colorado Interstate Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Totem Storage Field Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

April 30, 2007.
    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 Totem Storage Field Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Colorado 
Interstate Gas Company (CIG) in Adams County, Colorado.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process we will 
use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the 
project. Your input will help the Commission staff determine which 
issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping 
period will close on May 30, 2007.
    This notice is being sent to affected landowners; Federal, State, 
and local government representatives and agencies; environmental and 
public interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested 
parties in this proceeding; and local libraries and newspapers. We 
encourage government representatives to notify their constituents of 
this planned 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 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 CIG 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 Web site (https://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    CIG proposes to convert a depleted natural gas production field in 
eastern Adams County, Colorado located 34 miles northeast of the City 
of Denver into the proposed Totem Storage Field Project. The storage 
field design would have a total gas inventory of approximately 10.7 
Bcf, comprised of 7.0 Bcf of working gas and 3.7 Bcf of base gas. CIG 
seeks authority to:
     Construct and operate a 9,400 horsepower compressor 
station in Adams County, Colorado;
     Reenter 16 abandoned wells and replug 10 of the 16 wells 
and convert the remaining six wells to observation wells;
     Plug and abandon three of seven currently operational oil 
and gas wells and convert the remaining four operational oil and gas 
wells to observation wells;
     Drill eight horizontal injection withdrawal wells from 
three separate well pad locations. Horizontal wells (Nos. 1, 2. and 3) 
would be drilled at Site Pad No. 1 near the north end of the field in 
the vicinity of an existing well pad (Well No. 8-10); horizontal well 
(Nos. 4, 7, and 8) would be grouped at Site Pad No. 2 located in the 
center of the field; and horizontal wells (Nos. 5 and 6) would be 
drilled at Site Pad No. 3 in the south central portion of the field in 
the vicinity of an existing well pad location (Well No. 48-2);
     Drill one salt water disposal well; and
     Construct about 3 miles of 6-inch-diameter gathering 
pipeline and 1.5 miles of 4-inch-diameter saltwater pipeline.
    The gathering lines would be high-pressure, steel line. The brine 
disposal line would be high-pressure, fiberglass line. Fiberglass pipe 
will also be used to collect brine and other fluids from the individual 
well head separators and dehydrators and will conduct these fluids to 
the dew point control plant located at the compressor station site. 
These pipes will occupy the same trench as the main gathering lines, 
fuel gas lines, electrical and communication lines.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other 
than Appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's Web site 
at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 
502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary 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 Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 442.5 
acres of land. Following construction, about 29.9 acres would be 
maintained as permanent pipeline right-of-way, well sites, or new 
aboveground facility sites. The remaining 412.6 acres of land would be 
restored and allowed to revert to its former use.

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. 
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 of Intent, the Commission staff 
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to 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.
    In the EA we \2\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'' ``our'' refer to the environmental staff of 
the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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     Geology and soils.
     Land use.
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
     Cultural resources.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Air quality and noise.
     Endangered and threatened species.
     Hazardous waste.

[[Page 25291]]

     Public safety.
    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 make 
our recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by CIG. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Federally listed endangered or threatened species may 
occur in the proposed project area.
     Cultural resources may be affected by the project.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA/EIS 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:
     Send 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.
     Reference Docket No. PF07-6-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 30, 2007.
    Please note that the Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and 
the instructions on the Commission's Internet Web site at https://www.ferc.gov under the ``eFiling'' link and the link to the User's 
Guide. Prepare your submission in the same manner as you would if 
filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard drive. Before you 
can file comments you will need to create an account by clicking on 
``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.'' You will be asked to 
select the type of filing you are making. This filing is considered a 
``Comment on Filing.''
    When CIG submits its application for authorization to construct and 
operate the Totem Storage Field Project, the Commission will publish a 
Notice of Application in the Federal Register and will establish a 
deadline for interested persons to intervene in the proceeding. Because 
the Commission's Pre-Filing Process occurs before an application to 
begin a proceeding is officially filed, petitions to intervene during 
this process are premature and will not be accepted by the Commission.

Environmental Mailing List

    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners who are 
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily 
for project purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the 
Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities. By this 
notice we are also asking governmental agencies, especially those in 
Appendix 2, to express their interest in becoming cooperating agencies 
for the preparation of the EA.
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request 
(Appendix 3). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
taken off the mailing list.

Additional Information

    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 (https://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 https://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at https://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Philis J. Posey,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-8538 Filed 5-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P