[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 218 (Monday, November 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28005]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 14, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket CP94-765-000]

 

Questar Pipeline Co.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Questar Pipeline Company's Proposed 
Main Line No. 68 Replacement Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

November 7, 1994.
    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 
facilities proposed in the Main Line No. 68 Replacement Project. This 
EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process.\1\ 
Because federally administered lands would be crossed, the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), White River Resource Area (Meeker, Colorado), 
has agreed to act as a cooperating agency with the FERC staff in the 
preparation of the EA.
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    \1\Questar Pipeline Company's application was filed with the 
Commission pursuant to section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 
of the Commission's regulations.
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Summary of the Proposed Facilities

    Questar Pipeline Company (Questar) proposes to replace 26.4 miles 
of its existing 10-inch-diameter Main Line No. 68 pipeline with 14-
inch-diameter pipe. The proposed project would begin at milepost (MP) 
50.57 in Section 29, Township 2 South, Range 95 West, Rio Blanco 
County, Colorado, and ending at Questar's Clough valve assembly located 
at MP 24.21 in Section 34, Township 5 South, Range 93 West, Garfield 
County, Colorado. The general location of the project 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 Room, 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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    Questar indicates that the existing segment of 10-inch-diameter 
pipe would be abandoned in place, purged with an inert gas, and capped. 
Questar also states that the proposed 14-inch-diameter pipeline would 
transport 40 million cubic feet of gas per day.
    Questar proposed this replacement principally because of the 
deteriorated condition of the pipe coating. Furthermore, the 10-inch-
diameter segment would be replaced with 14-inch-diameter pipe to match 
the existing pipe diameter on either end, reduce operating problems, 
and reduce operating pressure to enable producers to deliver gas into 
this portion of Questar's system at a lower pressure.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Questar proposes to install the replacement pipeline in a parallel 
trench, 10 to 15 feet offset from its existing Main Line No. 68. It 
would use a 70-foot-wide right-of-way during construction, which would 
partially overlap with its existing right-of-way. Areas requiring 
additional width during pipeline construction (such as for excessive 
side hill cuts or at stream crossings) would be identified during the 
analysis and approved before use. At present, Questar has identified 
eight such areas along the pipeline right-of-way averaging 200 feet by 
150 feet each. Questar would also require additional work space for 
staging areas at each end of the project. These two areas measure 2.3 
and 2.8 acres apiece. Overall, approximately 234 acres are expected to 
be disturbed by construction.
    While no new permanent access roads would be required to construct 
the replacement facilities, temporary access roads could be needed. If 
new temporary access roads are required, they will be identified during 
the environmental analysis and the land would be restored to its 
original condition following construction.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission and the BLM to take into account the environmental impacts 
that could result from an action whenever they consider the issuance of 
a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity or a right-of-way 
grant, respectively. NEPA also requires us to discover an 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 taken into account during 
the preparation of the EA.
    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.
     Land Use.
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Endangered and threatened species.
     Cultural resources.

    As resource conflicts are identified, 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, 
newspaper, libraries, the Commission's official service list for this 
proceeding, and interested entities identified by the BLM. A comment 
period will be allotted for review if the EA is published. We will 
consider all comments on the EA before we recommend that the Commission 
approve or not approve the project.

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), 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. CP94-765-000.
     Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Laurence J. Sauter, 
Jr., 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 December 12, 1994.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Sauter 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 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), 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 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 scoping comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. Sauter, Project Manager, at (202) 208-0205.
Lois Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-28005 Filed 11-10-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M