

[Federal Register: October 29, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 208)]
[Notices]               
[Page 61125-61127]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29oc07-45]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP08-8-000]

 
Leaf River Energy Center, LLC; Notice of Applications

October 23, 2007.
    Take notice that on October 9, 2007, as supplemented on October 22, 
2007, Leaf River Energy Center, LLC (Leaf River), 61 Wilton Road, 
Westport, CT, 06880, filed an application under section 7 of the 
Natural Gas Act for authorization to construct and operate a new 
underground natural gas storage and pipeline header facility to be 
located in Smith, Jasper, and Clarke Counties, Mississippi. This filing 
is available for review at the Commission

[[Page 61126]]

in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web 
site at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 

docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number 
field to access the document. 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. Questions concerning this 
application may be directed to James F. Bowe, Jr., Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, 
975 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004, and (phone) 202-862-1000.
    Leaf River seeks: (1) A certificate of public convenience and 
necessity that would authorize Leaf River to construct, own, operate 
and maintain a high-deliverability salt cavern gas storage facility 
that will accommodate the injection, storage and subsequent withdrawal 
of natural gas for redelivery in interstate commerce; (2) a blanket 
certificate pursuant to Subpart G of 18 CFR Part 284 that will permit 
Leaf River to provide open-access firm and interruptible natural gas 
storage services on behalf of others in interstate commerce with pre-
granted abandonment of such services; (3) a blanket certificate 
pursuant to Subpart F of 18 CFR Part 157 that will permit Leaf River to 
construct, acquire, operate, rearrange and abandon certain facilities 
following construction of the proposed project; (4) authorization to 
provide the proposed storage services at market-based rates; and (5) 
approval of a pro forma FERC Gas Tariff, under which Leaf River will 
provide open-access natural gas storage services in interstate 
commerce.
    Leaf River states that the Project will include four storage 
caverns with a total working gas capacity of 32 billion cubic feet 
(Bcf), supported by cushion gas capacity of 9.9 Bcf. Leaf River also 
states that the Project will be capable of withdrawing and delivering 
gas at a rate of up to 2.5 Bcf per day and of receiving and injecting 
gas at a rate of up to 1.0 Bcf per day. Leaf River proposes that the 
Project will include a natural gas pipeline header system to 
interconnections with five interstate gas transmission pipelines. Leaf 
River states that the Project's header system will include dual bi-
directional 24-inch natural gas pipelines and a length of single 24-
inch gas pipeline, which will follow the corridor to be occupied by the 
proposed Gulf South Southeast Expansion Project for about 37 miles. 
Leaf River represents that construction and operation of the Project 
will have minimal impacts on the natural environment and on adjacent 
landowners.
    Leaf River states that the market power study included with its 
Application demonstrates that Leaf River will not have market power in 
any relevant market. It asserts that the Commission can therefore 
conclude that Leaf River will be unable to charge or collect rates for 
its services that exceed just and reasonable levels. Leaf River states 
that its proposed pipeline header system will include no end-user 
interconnections and will function exclusively as the means by which 
Leaf River provides storage and wheeling services nominated by its 
customers.
    Leaf River also requests that the Commission waive the requirements 
of (i) 18 CFR 157.6(b)(8) and 157.14(a)(13), (14), (16), (17) (which 
relate to the filing of information required to justify rates on a 
cost-of-service basis, given that Leaf River proposes to charge market-
based rates for the services it will provide); (ii) 18 CFR 
157.14(a)(10) (which requires a showing regarding accessible gas 
supplies that is not applicable to a storage project to which third 
parties will deliver their gas); (iii) 18 CFR 260.2 and Part 201 
(accounting and reporting requirements appropriate for a cost-of-
service rate structure); and (iv) 18 CFR 284.7(e) and 284.10 (which 
impose requirements relating to the design of rates that are not 
applicable to market-based rates).
    Leaf River states that the Project would provide necessary natural 
gas infrastructure in furtherance of the Commission's policies 
supporting the development of new natural gas storage capacity. 
According to Leaf River, the Project will increase the reliability of 
natural gas supply during periods of production and transportation 
interruptions and will enhance the reliability of the interstate 
pipeline grid.
    Pursuant to section 157.9 of the Commission's rules, within 90 days 
of this Notice the Commission staff will either: Complete its 
environmental assessment (EA) and place it into the Commission's public 
record (eLibrary) for this proceeding, or issue a Notice of Schedule 
for Environmental Review. If a Notice of Schedule for Environmental 
Review is issued, it will indicate, among other milestones, the 
anticipated date for the Commission staff's issuance of the final 
environmental impact statement (FEIS) or EA for this proposal. The 
filing of the EA in the Commission's public record for this proceeding 
or the issuance of a Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review will 
serve to notify federal and state agencies of the timing for the 
completion of all necessary reviews, and the subsequent need to 
complete all federal authorizations within 90 days of the date of 
issuance of the Commission staff's FEIS or EA.
    Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this 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 comment date. 
Anyone filing a motion to intervene or protest must serve a copy of 
that document on the Applicant. On or before the comment date, it is 
not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons 
other than the Applicant.
    However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have 
comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with 
the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and 
two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. 
The Commission will consider these comments in determining the 
appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will 
not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's 
rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project 
provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly 
involved in the protest.
    Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of 
this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments 
to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commenters will be 
placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive 
copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings 
associated with the Commission's environmental review process. 
Environmental commenters will not be required to serve copies of filed 
documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commenters will 
not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or issued by 
the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental documents 
issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek court 
review of the Commission's final order.
    The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and 
interventions in lieu of paper using the

[[Page 61127]]

``eFiling'' link at http://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.
    Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time, November 14, 2007.

 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-21230 Filed 10-26-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
