[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 30 (Monday, February 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3354]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 14, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP93-672-000]
Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for Proposed Amarillo Upgrade Project and
Request for Comments
February 8, 1994.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss environmental impacts of the construction and operation of new
facilities and the abandonment of existing facilities proposed in the
Amarillo Upgrade Project.\1\ This EA will be used by the Commission in
its decision-making process to determine whether an environmental
impact statement is required and whether or not to approve the project.
\1\Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America'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
Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (Natural) wants Commission
authorization to:
Abandon about 490 miles of the Amarillo No. 1 mainline
between Compressor Station 111 in Hutchinson County, Texas, and
Compressor Station 198 in Marion County, Iowa;
Abandon one 12,000-horsepower (hp) compressor engine at
Compressor Station 195 in Washington County, Kansas;
Construct and operate about 9.41 miles of new 30-inch-
diameter pipeline in Hutchinson County, Texas (Segment 1);
Construct and operate about 5.1 miles of new 36-inch-
diameter pipeline in Ford County, Kansas (Segment 2);
Construct and operate about 4.1 miles of new 36-inch-
diameter pipeline in Lincoln County, Kansas (Segment 3);
Construct and operate about 9.46 miles of new 36-inch-
diameter pipeline in Otoe County, Nebraska (Segment 4); and
Add 2,500 hp of compression by retrofitting an existing
12,500-hp engine at Compressor Station 195, in Washington County,
Kansas.
The general location of these facilities is shown in 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 Branch, room 3104, 941 North Capitol
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
Natural proposes to abandon about 490 miles of 24-inch-diameter
Amarillo No. 1 mainline and to remove it over a 4- to 5-year period.
Natural proposes to leave the pipe in place in sensitive areas (such as
waterbody crossings, wetland crossings, and areas of cultural and
sensitive biological resources) where it believes removal activities
could result in significant environmental impacts.
The Amarillo No. 1 mainline is next to the Amarillo No. 4 mainline.
The segments of proposed new pipeline would loop\3\ the Amarillo No. 4
mainline. The segments of proposed new pipeline would generally be
placed in the same trench as the Amarillo No. 1 mainline after the
segments of that pipeline are removed.
\3\A loop is a segment of pipeline that is installed adjacent to
an existing pipeline and connected to it at both ends. The loop
allows more gas to be moved through the pipeline system at the
location in which the loop is installed.
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Natural proposes to use a 75-foot-wide to 100-foot-wide
construction right-of-way, at least partly within existing rights-of-
way. Areas of steep slope, staging areas, and other areas where
additional right-of-way would be needed to permit safe construction
would be identified on a site-specific basis. No new permanent right-
of-way would be required. Abandonment of all 490 miles of pipe by
removal and construction of the replacement pipeline would disturb
about 5,900 acres. Most of the acreage disturbed would consist of
existing pipeline right-of-way.
One storage yard, about 4 acres in size, would be required for each
of the four segments of new pipeline. Storage yards, about 6 acres in
size, would be required about every 50 miles for the removal of the
abandoned Amarillo No. 1 mainline. Private roads/lanes would be used to
access the pipeline during construction and removal. These roads may
require repair and upgrading to support increased traffic.
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
the Notice of Intent, the Commission requests public comments on the
scope of the issues it will address in the EA. All comments received
are taken into account during the preparation of the EA.
The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction, operation, and abandonment of the proposed project
facilities under these general headings:
Geology and soils
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
Vegetation and wildlife
Endangered and threatened species
Land use
Cultural resources
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
these proceedings. A comment period will be allotted for review if the
EA is published. We will then consider all comments on the EA before we
recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.
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 Natural. Keep in mind that
this is a preliminary list; the list of issues will be added to,
subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our own
analysis. The currently identified issues are:
The removal of abandoned pipeline and construction of new
pipeline could affect 30.42 acres of wetlands.
The project could cross habitat of the least tern, bald
eagle, and whooping crane (federally listed endangered species) and of
the piping plover (a federally listed threatened species).
The project could cross habitat of the Arkansas darter,
Arkansas river shiner, snowy plover, and eastern spotted skunk (Federal
candidate species).
Pipeline would be abandoned within the Fort Larned
National Historic Site (a National Historic Landmark).
The abandoned pipe may be coated with materials that
contain asbestos.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by sending a letter with 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 for the loops), and measures to
avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments,
the more useful they will be. Please follow the instructions below to
ensure that your comments are received and properly recorded:
Address your letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St., NE., Washington,
DC 20426;
Reference Docket No. CP93-672-000;
Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Mark Jensen, EA Project
Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St.,
NE., room 7312, Washington, DC 20426; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before March 10, 1994.
If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one
from Mr. Mark Jensen of the Commission staff at the above address.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding or 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) attached as 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 Sec. 385.214(b)(3), why this time
limitation should be waived. In certain cases environmental issues have
been viewed as good cause for late intervention. Section 385.214(d)
applies to grants of late intervention. You do not need intervenor
status to have your scoping comments considered.
Additional information about the proposed project is available from
Mr. Mark Jensen, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1121.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-3354 Filed 2-11-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
