2012-27014. Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed A-Line Abandonment Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the A-Line Abandonment Project proposed by Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) in the above-referenced docket. Northern requests authorization to abandon by sale to DKM Enterprises, LLC (DKM) for salvage certain facilities known as the A-Line. These facilities are located in Ochiltree, Hansford, Hutchinson, and Carson Counties, Texas; Beaver County, Oklahoma; and Kiowa and Clark Counties, Kansas. They consist of about 126 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities. Northern would separate the abandoned A-Line at valve settings or compressor stations at eight locations.

The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the abandonment of the A-Line Abandonment Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

The proposed A-Line Abandonment Project includes the separation of the abandoned A-Line by Northern at valve settings or compressor stations at these locations:

• Cabot Carbon Interconnect, Carson County, Texas, milepost (MP) 7.75;
• A-Line Block Valve 5, Hutchinson County, Texas, MP 29.75;
• Spearman Compressor Station, Ochiltree County, Texas, MP 38.47;
• Beaver Compressor Station, Beaver County, Oklahoma, MP 0.00;
• Northern/CNG Interconnect, Beaver County, Oklahoma, MP 10.35;
• Englewood Branch Line, Clark County, Kansas, MP 37.91;
• McCaustland Gathering System, Clark County, Kansas, MP 71.10; and
• Mullinville Compressor Station, Kiowa County, Kansas, MP 87.98.

Northern would abandon by sale to DKM for salvage two segments of its A-Line. The Skellytown to Spearman A-Line is about 38 miles long and extends from Northern's abandoned Skellytown Station near Skellytown, Carson County, Texas, to its Spearman Compressor Station in Spearman, Ochiltree County, Texas. The second segment, the Beaver to Mullinville A-Line, is about 88 miles long and extends from Northern's Beaver Compressor Station near Beaver, Oklahoma, to it's Mullinville Compressor Station near Mullinville, Kansas. It also includes abandonment of four lateral pipelines that are 4 or 8 inches in diameter: Compressed Natural Gas Lateral, line number OKB57701; Wilson Lateral, line number KSG74401; McColm Lateral, line number KSG66601; and Huck Lateral, line number KSG68801. The salvage activities conducted by DKM would be nonjurisdicational.

The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site at www.ferc.gov using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies of the EA are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, [phone].

Copies of the EA have been mailed to federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; and parties to this proceeding.

Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. 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 properly recorded and considered prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is important that the FERC receives your comments in Washington, DC on or before November 30, 2012.

For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the project docket number (CP12-469-000) with your submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has dedicated eFiling expert staff available to assist you at [phone] or [e-mail].

(1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an easy method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a project;

(2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling, you can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on “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.

Although your comments will be considered by the Commission, simply filing comments will not serve to make the commenter a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).^[1] Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.

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 comments considered.

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 (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., CP12-469). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll free at [phone], or for TTY, contact [phone]. 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 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 www.ferc.gov/​esubscribenow.htm.

Dated: October 31, 2012.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Interventions may also be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing comments electronically.