

[Federal Register: February 16, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 32)]
[Notices]               
[Page 7647-7648]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16fe07-77]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP07-067-000]

 
Dominion Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Ellisburg Replacement Well 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 9, 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 Ellisburg Replacement Well 
Project involving the installation and operation of two new injection/
withdrawal wells by Dominion Transmission, Inc. (DTI) within its 
Ellisburg Storage Field located in Potter County, Pennsylvania.\1\ 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.
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    \1\ DTI's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
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    This notice announces the opening of the public comment period that 
will be used to gather environmental input from the public and 
interested agencies on the project. Comments are requested by March 9, 
2007.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a 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 company could initiate condemnation 
proceedings in accordance with state law.
    A brochure 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 at 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

    DTI seeks authority to install and operate two new wells, EW-210 
and EW-326, located in its Ellisburg Storage Field. The new wells would 
replace two previously abandoned wells, EW-203 and EW-313. The previous 
well abandonments were completed under DTI's blanket certificate 
authorization in Docket No. CP06-419-000.
    The new well EW-210 would be installed approximately 32 feet 
northwest of EW-203, and the new EW-326 well would be located 
approximately 49 feet northeast of EW-313. In addition, DTI would 
connect the new wells to the existing storage pipeline network by 
installing approximately 230 feet of new well pipeline. The 
construction and operation of the new pipeline would be performed under 
DTI's existing blanket certificate authorization in Docket No. CP82-
537-000. The new wells are required to maintain the overall 
deliverability of the Ellisburg Storage Field.
    The general locations of the new wells are shown in Appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other 
than Appendix 2 (map), 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 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

    Construction of the new wells would require about 3.31 acres of 
land and includes access roads, staging areas and extra work areas. 
Each well site would require approximately 1.62 acres. Following 
construction, about 1.26 acres would be permanently maintained. The 
remaining 2.05 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

[[Page 7648]]

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.
    Our \3\ 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.
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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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 and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The 
more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please 
carefully follow the instructions below to ensure that your comments 
are received in time and properly recorded:
     Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie 
R. Salas, 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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP07-067-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 9, 2007.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of comments. 
Please refer to 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site 
at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' 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.''
    The determination of whether to distribute the EA for public 
comment will be based on the response to this notice. If you are 
interested in receiving a copy of the EA, please return the Information 
Request form (Appendix 2). An effort is being made to send this notice 
to all individuals 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.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding, or ``intervenor''. To 
become an intervenor, you must file a motion to intervene according to 
Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 
385.214). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the 
Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically 
submitted using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov. 

Persons without Internet access should send an original and 14 copies 
of their motion to the Secretary of the Commission at the address 
indicated previously. Persons filing Motions to Intervene on or before 
the comment deadline indicated above must send a copy of the motion to 
the Applicant. All filings, including late interventions, submitted 
after the comment deadline must be served on the Applicant and all 
other intervenors identified on the Commission's service list for this 
proceeding. Persons on the service list with email addresses may be 
served electronically; others must be served a hard copy of the filing.
    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 environmental comments considered.

Environmental Mailing List

    If you wish to remain on our environmental mailing list, please 
return the Information Request form included in Appendix 3. If you do 
not return this form, you will be removed from our 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 (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.

    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.


Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-2698 Filed 2-15-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
