Blue Sky Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Blue Sky Gas Storage Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 32149-32150 [E9-15893]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32149-32150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15893]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP09-428-000]


Blue Sky Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Blue Sky Gas Storage Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 26, 2009.
    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 Blue Sky Gas Storage Project 
involving the construction and operation of facilities by Blue Sky Gas 
Storage, LLC (Blue Sky) in Logan County, Colorado. The Blue Sky Gas 
Storage Project involves the conversion of a depleted natural gas 
storage reservoir to a natural gas storage facility. This EA will be 
used by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine 
whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.
    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 determine which issues need to be 
evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping period will close on 
July 27, 2009.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project, which includes affected landowners; 
Federal, State, and local government representatives and agencies; 
elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native 
American tribes; parties to this proceeding; and local libraries and 
newspapers. State and local government representatives are asked to 
notify their constituents of this proposed project and to 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 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 Blue Sky 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 Web site (https://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Blue Sky proposes to convert a depleted underground natural gas 
production reservoir to a natural gas storage facility located 
approximately 16 miles north of the town of Sterling, in Logan County, 
Colorado. Blue Sky also proposes to construct 5.3 miles of 16-inch-
diameter header pipeline extending north from the storage facility to 
interconnect with Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC, and Trailblazer 
Pipeline, LLC's interstate pipeline systems. In addition, Blue Sky 
proposes to construct 9.8 miles of 16-inch-diameter header pipeline 
extending southwest to interconnect with Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas 
Transmission, LLC's interstate pipeline system. Blue Sky would 
construct one metering station at each of the two proposed 
interconnections. The Blue Sky Storage Project would have a working gas 
storage capacity of approximately 4.4 billion cubic feet and be capable 
of delivering gas at a rate of approximately 100 million cubic feet per 
day (MMcf/d).
    Activities at the storage facility would include:
     Drilling 10 new natural gas storage wells;
     Converting one existing well to a water disposal well;
     Converting two abandoned wells to observation wells;
     Re-entering 18 abandoned exploration and production wells 
to confirm proper plugging and abandonment; and
     One 2,370 horsepower compressor station.
    High West Energy would construct and operate a non-jurisdictional 
electrical distribution line upgrade and extension. To service the Blue 
Sky facilities, a one mile new section of new electrical distribution 
line would be built eastward of the existing electrical distribution 
line across County Road 33 into the Blue Sky facility.
    Maps showing the location of the proposed project are included as 
appendix 1.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The appendix referenced in this notice is not being printed 
in the Federal Register. Copies of the appendix are available on the 
Commission's website at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, or by calling (202) 502-8371. For instructions 
on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the ``Additional Information'' 
section of this notice. Copies of the appendix were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail. Requests for detailed maps 
of the proposed facilities should be made directly to Blue Sky.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    The proposed storage facility would occupy a subsurface area of 
about 2,757 acres. Construction of the proposed facilities would 
temporarily disturb a total of 263.7 acres of land for the aboveground 
facilities and the pipeline. Following construction, about 36.1 acres 
would be maintained for permanent operation of the project's 
facilities; the remaining acreage would be restored and allowed to 
revert to former uses.

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, the Commission staff requests 
public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All 
comments received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
    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:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Geology and soils;
     Land use;

[[Page 32150]]

     Water resources, fisheries and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Threatened and endangered species; and
     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 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 those on our environmental mailing list (see 
discussion on how to remain on our environmental mailing list on page 
5). A comment period will be allotted for the 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.
    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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified issues we think deserve attention based 
on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the 
environmental information provided by Blue Sky. This includes potential 
cumulative impacts associated with another storage project in the same 
general area of Logan County that has been proposed by East Cheyenne 
Gas Storage, LLC (docket number PF09-12).

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 in your comments 
so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before July 27, 
2009.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. 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 at https://www.ferc.gov under the link 
called ``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, that is listed under the ``Documents and Filings'' link. 
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 with the Commission via mail by 
sending an original and two copies of your letter to:
    Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    In all instances please reference the project docket number (CP09-
428-000) with your submission. Label one copy of the comments for the 
attention of Gas Branch 1, PJ-11.1.

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 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 certain distances of the 
aboveground facilities (as defined in the Commission's regulations).
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on the environmental mailing list, please return the Information 
Request (appendix 2). If you do not return the Information Request, you 
will be taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement 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 a Commission 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 1-866-208-FERC or on the 
Internet at https://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Click on 
the eLibrary link, then on ``General Search'' and enter the docket 
number excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP09-428) 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 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, any 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-15893 Filed 7-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P