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Welcome to the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of proposed construction of
the Wild Goose Storage, LLC (Wild Goose) Phase 3 Gas Storage Expansion
Project. An application for this project was submitted to the CPUC on
April 24, 2009 (Application
A.09-04-021). This site provides access to
public documents and information relevant to the CEQA review process.
Background
Wild Goose has filed an application with the CPUC to construct the
Phase 3 Gas Storage Expansion Project. The CPUC is the CEQA lead
agency.
The Phase 3 Gas Storage Expansion Project, as proposed by Wild Goose,
includes the expansion of the existing Wild Goose Natural Gas Storage
Facility (Wild Goose Facility) beyond its currently certificated
capabilities to more fully use the injection, withdrawal, and storage
capacity of the natural gas storage reservoirs in the Wild Goose Gas
Field, located in Butte County, California. The Phase 3 Gas Storage
Expansion Project would follow the first development of the gas field
(Phase 1 Project), which took place from 1997 to 1999, and a later
expansion (Phase 2 Project), which took place starting in 2002. The
Phase 3 Gas Storage Expansion Project includes the expansion of the
Wild Goose Facility’s Remote Facility Site, modifications to the
Delevan Interconnect Site, and installation of a new hot-tap connection
to PG&E’s Line 401.
The existing Remote Facility Site would be expanded westward by
approximately 540 feet, resulting in an increase in the facility
footprint from approximately 12.2 acres to approximately 16.7 acres.
The expansion would occupy an area currently used for farm equipment
and parking during the hunting season. The westward expansion would
also result in the filling and conversion of approximately 4.5 acres of
agricultural wetland (rice fields) to industrial use. Four new gas
compressor units would be installed as part of the Phase 3 Gas Storage
Expansion Project, increasing total compression from approximately
20,700 Horsepower (HP) (six compressor units) to approximately 35,000
HP (10 compressor units). Two new process trains (for a total of five
trains) and two new dehydration units and associated equipment would be
installed to provide the proposed injection and withdrawal
capabilities.
The modifications at the Delevan Interconnect Site would be made
entirely within the 0.6-acre facility, and would include the
installation of a new PG&E custody transfer meter and
associated piping, valves, and instrumentation; and the installation of
new piping, valves, and instrumentation for the Wild Goose
interconnection pipeline. Wild Goose would also install a new hot-tap
connection pipeline, approximately 30 feet in length, from the existing
Line 400 Connection Pipeline to PG&E’s Line 401 transmission
pipeline, located approximately 700 feet to the west of the Delevan
Interconnect Site.
The Phase 3 Gas Storage Expansion Project would be located near the
center of the Sacramento Valley, approximately 60 miles northwest of
Sacramento in Butte and Colusa Counties (See Figure 1). The Remote
Facility Site lies north of West Liberty Road, approximately 1.1 miles
west of its intersection with Pennington Road in Butte County. The
Remote Facility Site lies within a predominantly agricultural area
dedicated mainly to rice production, and is bordered to the north,
east, and west by active rice fields. The Gray Lodge Wildlife Area,
managed by the California Department of Fish and Game, lies south of
the site across West Liberty Road. The Delevan Interconnect Site is
located within annual grasslands at the base of the Coast Range
foothills, approximately 25 miles west of the Remote Facility Site. The
Glenn Colusa Canal lies 0.25 miles east of the Delevan Interconnect
Site. Both facilities are located within the relatively flat terrain of
the Sacramento Valley floor.
Wild Goose’s continuing objective for the Wild Goose Facility is to
provide highly flexible natural gas storage services to a variety of
customers, which includes gas utilities, electric utilities,
independent electric generators, gas marketers, gas producers, the
core, industrial gas users, and other wholesale and retail gas
customers. Working towards this objective will help provide increased
gas reliability, the potential for reduced energy price volatility, and
the potential for more efficient gas transmission service. The purpose
of the Phase 3 Gas Storage Expansion Project is to capture the
incremental storage, injection and withdrawal capacity of the natural
gas storage facility to meet customer demands into the foreseeable
future.
Wild Goose’s proposed date to begin construction is April 2010, and
proposed online date is April 2012.
Figure 1: Project Location Map shows an overview of the project area,
including the location of the Remote Facility Site and the Delevan
Interconnect Site.
Application and Proponent’s Environmental
Assessment (PEA)
The application and PEA for the Wild Goose Phase 3 Gas Storage
Expansion Project is under review by the CPUC and will be made
available to the public after it has been determined complete.
Other Documents Available
Notice of
Preparation
(October 7, 2009)
Application Deemed Complete Letter
(TBD)
Notice of Availability
(TBD)
For Additional Information
The CPUC, through its Environmental Review Team, is conducting an
environmental review of the project. To request additional information
or to be added to the mailing list, please contact us by email, fax, or
phone, as follows:
Project
email: wildgoose3@ene.com
Project voicemail: (877) 551-3669
Project fax: (415) 981-0801
The CPUC’s Project Manager is:
Eric Chiang,
CPUC Project Manager
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel.: (415) 703-1956
Fax: (415) 703-1758
Email: eyc@cpuc.ca.gov
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