Northern Natural Gas Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, and Enterprise Field Services, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System Abandonment Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 42432-42433 [2010-17732]

Download as PDF 42432 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 21, 2010 / Notices Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2010–17729 Filed 7–20–10; 8:45 am] [Docket No. PR10–55–000] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DCP Guadalupe Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Compliance Filing erowe on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES July 14, 2010. Take notice that on July 1, 2010, DCP Guadalupe Pipeline, LLC (Guadalupe) filed a revised Statement of Operating Conditions for Transportation Services (SOC) reflecting the rates approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Letter Order issued June 10, 2010 in Docket No. PR05–17–006. Any person desiring to participate in this rate filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the date as indicated below. Anyone filing an intervention or protest must serve a copy of that document on the Applicant. Anyone filing an intervention or protest on or before the intervention or protest date need not serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the ‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at https://www.ferc.gov, using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link and is available for review in the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an ‘‘eSubscription’’ link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call (866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659. VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:19 Jul 20, 2010 Jkt 220001 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP10–82–000] Northern Natural Gas Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, and Enterprise Field Services, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System Abandonment Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues July 14, 2010. 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 Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System Abandonment Project (Project) which would include the abandonment of facilities by Northern Natural Gas Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, and Enterprise Field Services, LLC, collectively referred to as the Applicants, in Refugio County and offshore Texas. 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 the Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the project. 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 August 13, 2010. Further details on how to submit written comments are provided in the Public Participation section of this notice. This notice is being sent to the Commission’s current environmental mailing list for this project. State and local government representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern. PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Summary of the Proposed Project The Applicants propose to abandon in place certain facilities known as the Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System (MOPS) located both onshore in Refugio County, Texas, and in State and federal waters offshore Texas. These facilities would include about 86.9 miles of various diameter pipeline, a dehydration plant, and various interconnects located in Texas. The 86.9 miles of pipeline to be abandoned include about 60.3 miles of offshore pipeline and 26.6 miles of onshore pipeline. The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.1 Land Requirements for Construction Since the Applicants propose abandoning these facilities in place, there would be no new land use requirements. The project would be, therefore, entirely within the existing offshore and onshore rights-of-way. However, there would be some ground disturbance associated with offshore disconnects within federal waters. 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 2 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 address in the EA. All comments received will be considered during the preparation of the EA. In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the proposed abandonment project under these general headings: • Land use; • Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands; • Cultural resources; • Vegetation and wildlife; • Endangered and threatened species; and 1 The appendices referenced in this notice are not being printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at https:// www.ferc.gov using the link called ‘‘eLibrary’’ 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. 2 ‘‘We’’, ‘‘us’’, and ‘‘our’’ refer to the environmental staff of the Commission’s Office of Energy Projects. E:\FR\FM\21JYN1.SGM 21JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 21, 2010 / Notices • Public safety. We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the project, including abandonment by removal of the pipeline and aboveground facilities, and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas. 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. erowe on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s implementing regulations, we are using this notice to solicit the views of the public on the project’s potential effects on historic properties.3 We will document our findings on the impacts on cultural resources and summarize the status of consultations under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in our EA. 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 3 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic Places. VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:19 Jul 20, 2010 Jkt 220001 your comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before August 13, 2010. 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 (CP10–82–000) 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 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 to your submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on the links called ‘‘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 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) whose property may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of aboveground facilities, 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 all individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the proposed project. PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 42433 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 instead of the CD version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please return the attached Information Request (Appendix 2). 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 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 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 (i.e., CP10–82–000). 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 text 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. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2010–17732 Filed 7–20–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P E:\FR\FM\21JYN1.SGM 21JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42432-42433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17732]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP10-82-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, 
Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line 
Company, LLC, and Enterprise Field Services, LLC; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Matagorda Offshore 
Pipeline System Abandonment Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

July 14, 2010.
    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 Matagorda Offshore Pipeline 
System Abandonment Project (Project) which would include the 
abandonment of facilities by Northern Natural Gas Company, Southern 
Natural Gas Company, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, and Enterprise Field 
Services, LLC, collectively referred to as the Applicants, in Refugio 
County and offshore Texas. 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 the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. 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 August 13, 2010. Further details on 
how to submit written comments are provided in the Public Participation 
section of this notice.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned 
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    The Applicants propose to abandon in place certain facilities known 
as the Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System (MOPS) located both onshore 
in Refugio County, Texas, and in State and federal waters offshore 
Texas. These facilities would include about 86.9 miles of various 
diameter pipeline, a dehydration plant, and various interconnects 
located in Texas. The 86.9 miles of pipeline to be abandoned include 
about 60.3 miles of offshore pipeline and 26.6 miles of onshore 
pipeline.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
https://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    Since the Applicants propose abandoning these facilities in place, 
there would be no new land use requirements. The project would be, 
therefore, entirely within the existing offshore and onshore rights-of-
way. However, there would be some ground disturbance associated with 
offshore disconnects within federal waters.

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 
\2\ 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 address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the proposed abandonment project under these general headings:
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Endangered and threatened species; and

[[Page 42433]]

     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
project or portions of the project, including abandonment by removal of 
the pipeline and aboveground facilities, and make recommendations on 
how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    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.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations, we are using this notice to solicit the views 
of the public on the project's potential effects on historic 
properties.\3\ We will document our findings on the impacts on cultural 
resources and summarize the status of consultations under section 106 
of the National Historic Preservation Act in our EA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic 
Places.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 August 13, 
2010.
    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 (CP10-82-000) 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 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 to your submission. 
New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on the links 
called ``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 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) whose property may be used temporarily for project 
purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of aboveground 
facilities, 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 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 instead of the CD 
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please 
return the attached Information Request (Appendix 2).

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 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 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 
(i.e., CP10-82-000). 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 
text 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-17732 Filed 7-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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