[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4408-4410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1954]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP99-21-000]
Northern Border Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Project 2000 and Request for
Comments on Environmental Issues
January 22, 1999.
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 Project 2000 involving
construction and operation of facilities by Northern Border Pipeline
Company (Northern Border) in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.\1\ These facilities would
consist of about 34.4 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline, and about
53,000 horsepower (hp) of compression. 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. The application and
other supplemental filings in this docket are available for viewing on
the FERC Internet website (www.ferc.fed.us). Click on the ``RIMS''
link, select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the
instructions.
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\1\ Northern Border'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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Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website,
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and
follow the instructions.
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 pipeline 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
[[Page 4409]]
to produce an agreement, the pipeline company could initiate
condemnation proceedings in accordance with state law. A fact sheet
addressing a number of typically asked questions, including the use of
eminent domain, is attached to this notice as appendix 1.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888
First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, or call (202) 208-1371.
Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this
notice in the mail.
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Summary of the Proposed Project
Northern Border requests authorization to:
Construct about 34.4 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline
from Manhattan, Illinois to North Hayden, Indiana;
Construct two new compressor stations totaling 14,500 hp
at existing sites in Johnson County, Iowa and Bureau County, Illinois;
Increase compression totaling 38,500 hp at three existing
compressor stations in Roosevelt County, Montana, McKenzie County,
North Dakota, and Grundy County, Iowa;
Construct a new meter station in Lake County, Indiana; and
Construct four mainline valves and associated remote blow
down valves in Will County, Illinois.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 574.3
acres of primarily agricultural land (including all extra work spaces).
All facilities would be within or adjacent to existing rights-of-way.
Following construction, about 209.9 acres would be maintained as new
permanent pipeline right-of-way. About 44.1 acres would be retained for
the aboveground facilities, including 43.0 acres already owned by
Northern Border. All areas would be restored after construction, and
areas not needed for aboveground facilities would return to their
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.
We call this ``scoping.'' The main goal of the scoping process is to
focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By
this Notice of Intent, the Commission requests public comments on the
scope of the issues it will 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.
The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general
headings:
Geology and soils.
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
Vegetation and wildlife.
Endangered and threatened species.
Public safety.
Land use.
Cultural resources.
Air Quality and noise.
Hazardous waste.
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 the 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 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.
To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the
instructions in the public participation section below.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Northern Border. This
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and
our analysis.
Five federally listed threatened or endangered species may
occur in the proposed project area.
The project would cross 14 perennial streams classified as
warmwater fisheries.
The project would cross 10 wetlands.
The pipeline facilities would disturb about 485.6 acres of
agricultural land.
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/routes), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental
impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be.
Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments
are received in time and properly recorded:
Send two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E.,
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2;
Reference Docket No. CP99-21-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before February 22, 1999.
If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request
(appendix 4). 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 official party to the proceeding known as an
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors.
Likewise, each intervenor must provide 14 copies of its filings to the
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If
you want 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) (see appendix 3). Only intervenors have the
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding
has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file
[[Page 4410]]
late interventions must show good cause, as required by section
385.214(b)(3), why this time limitation should be waived. Environmental
issues have been viewed as good cause for late intervention. You do not
need intervenor status to have your environmental comments considered.
Additional information about the proposed project is available from
Mr. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202)
208-1088 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) using the ``RIMS''
link to information in this docket number. For assistance with access
to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2222. Access to
the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission with regard to
this docket, such as orders and notices, is also available on the FERC
website using the ``CIPS'' link. For assistance with access to CIPS,
the CIPS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-1954 Filed 1-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
