[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66860-66862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33270]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-49-000]
K N. Wattenberg Transmission Limited Liability Company; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Front
Runner Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental
Issues
December 17, 1997.
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 construction and operation of
the facilities proposed by K N Wattenberg Transmission Limited
Liability Company (KNW) as the Front Runner Pipeline Project.\1\ This
EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to
determine whether an environmental impact statement is necessary and
whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.
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\1\ KNW'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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Summary of the Proposed Project
KNW proposes to construct, acquire, and operate new and existing
pipeline facilities to establish a new natural gas transportation
system along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in north central
Colorado. KNW would interconnect three segments (about 75 miles) of new
pipeline with two segments (about 33.5 miles) of existing pipeline,
providing new capacity for transporting gas between the Rockport ``gas
hub'' in northern Weld County and natural gas processors, users, and
transporters in southern Weld and northern Adams County (northern
Denver). The new pipeline would have the capacity to provide users at
the southern end with 250 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas per
day, and gas producers at the southern end with the ability to
transport 80 MMcf per day to new markets accessible via several
existing interstate carriers whose facilities converge at Rockport.\2\
Specifically, KNW seeks authority to construct and operate:
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\2\ Pipeline carriers having facilities at Rockport include K N
Interstate Gas Transmission Company, Colorado Interstate Gas
Company, Trailblazer Pipeline Company, Williams Natural Gas Company,
and Wyoming Interstate Company.
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About 45.2 miles of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline
extending from Rockport (in northern Weld County) south to northern
Johnstown;
[[Page 66861]]
About 10.6 miles of new 16-inch-diameter pipeline
extending from the Pan Energy-Mark Mewbourne Gas Processing Plant
westward towards an area northwest of Platteville; and
About 19.3 miles of new 6- and 12-inch-diameter pipeline
extending eastward from the Erie area in southern Weld County.
To complete the new system, KNW would also acquire existing
gathering and related facilities from its affiliate K N Gas Gathering
Company (KNGG). These facilities, which KNGG no longer needs to meet
its current level of service requirements in Colorado, include:
About 9.5 miles of 16-inch-diameter unprocessed gas
pipeline extending from northern Johnstown to an area northwest of
Platteville; and
About 24 miles of 12-, 10-, and 8-inch-diameter processed
gas pipeline extending south from the Amoco gas processing plant near
Platteville to an area southeast of Brighton in northern Adams County.
(This segment is essentially 21 miles of 12-inch-diameter mainline with
three short, small-diameter laterals extending to nearby customers.)
KNW would need to clean and dry the 9.5-mile-long segment of
unprocessed gas pipeline before converting it to processed gas service.
KNW also plans to construct/install mainline valves, interconnects,
metering and valving at gas delivery/receipt points, and pigging
facilities along the system.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\3\
If you are interested in obtaining more detailed maps of a specific
portion of the project, or procedural information, please write to the
Secretary of the Commission.
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\3\ The appendices referred 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, NE,
Washington, DC 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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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 698
acres of land overall, based on a typical 75-foot-wide pipeline
construction right-of-way and including extra work spaces needed
temporarily at waterbody, road, and railroad crossings. Following
construction, about 458 acres would be maintained as new permanent
pipeline rights-of-way (typically 50-feet-wide) or aboveground facility
sites. (This figure excludes existing easements associated with the
pipeline segments that KNW would acquire from KNGG.) The remaining 240
acres of land disturbed during construction would be restored and
allowed to revert to its former uses.
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
will be 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;
Land use;
Cultural resources;
Air quality and noise;
Public safety.
We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen
or avoid impact on the various resource areas.
Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented 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.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified two issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by KNW. This preliminary list
may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
Eleven federally listed endangered or threatened species
may occur in the proposed project area.
The proposed facilities would require at least three
waterbody crossings which would impact associated wetland and riparian
vegetation which are considered sensitive resources in the project
area.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your
specific comments or concerns about the project. You should focus on
the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to
the proposal (including alternative routes/locations), 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: Lois Cashell,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE.,
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
Label one copy of your comments for the attention of the
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;
Reference Docket No. CP98-49-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before January 16, 1998.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding or become an
``intervenor.'' 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 copies of its
filings to all other parties. 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 2).
The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding
has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file 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.
[[Page 66862]]
You do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-33270 Filed 12-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
