[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6751-6752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3239]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-132-000]
Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed D-Line Extension and Request
for Comments on Environmental Issues
February 4, 1998.
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, about 9.6 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline loop known
as the D-Line Extension Project.\1\ 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.
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\1\ Northern Natural Gas Company'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
Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) wants to expand the
capacity of its facilities in Steele and Rice Counties, Minnesota to
transport an additional 40,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu)
per day of natural gas to one industrial customer, Koch Energy
Services. Northern seeks authority to construct and operate:
9.6 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop between its Owatonna
and Fairbault Compressor Stations in Steele and Rice Counties,
Minnesota.
[[Page 6752]]
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write
to the Secretary of the Commission.
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\2\ The appendices reference 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) 208-1317.
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 require a total of
about 139 acres of land including extra work spaces for road crossings.
All of this land would revert to its former agricultural use following
construction. No new permanent right-of-way would be required.
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
hazardous waste
land use
cultural resources
endangered and threatened species
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 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 comments on the EA before we make our
recommendations to the Commission.
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. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
The productivity of a total of about 139 acres of
agricultural land (including 78 acres of prime farmland soils) could be
diminished due to the potential impacts of pipeline construction such
as rutting and compaction.
Agricultural drain tiles, if present, could be damaged.
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 affects of the proposal, alternatives to
the proposal (including alternative 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,
Acting 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. CP98-132-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before March 6, 1998.
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information please
write to the Secretary of the Commission.
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.
You do not need intervenor status to have your environmental
comments considered.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-3239 Filed 2-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
