[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 126 (Friday, June 30, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34239-34240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16098]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP95-531-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 1995 Line L 
Replacement Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 26, 1995.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) and operation 
of the facilities proposed in the 1995 Line L Replacement 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\ Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation'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

    Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (Columbia) wants to construct 
and operate 5.8 miles of pipeline replacement to provide continued 
service to its existing customers. Columbia's proposed facilities would 
consist of 5.8 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline and appurtenances in 
9 sections that replaces approximately 0.5 mile of 12-inch and 5.2 
miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline on Line L in Ashland, Medina, and 
Wayne Counties, Ohio.
    The locations of these facilities are shown in appendix 1.\2\

    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance 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.

[[Page 34240]]

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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 116 
acres of land consisting of 35 acres of existing right-of-way (ROW), 60 
acres of temporary ROW and staging areas, 18 acres of new permanent 
ROW, and a 3-acre contractor's yard. Following construction, the ROW 
would be restored and the temporary ROW would be allowed to revert to 
its former land use.

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 taken into account 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.
     Hazardous waste.
     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 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 Columbia. 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. Issues are:
     Twelve wetlands (palustrine/emergent and palustrine 
forested) and 6 intermittent streams at 9 locations would be affected.
     There is one residence and one business located within 50 
feet of the construction ROW.
     There are trees in the project area that may be suitable 
habitat for the Indiana Bat, a federally listed endangered species.

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), 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, 835 North Capitol St., NE., Washington, 
DC 20426;
     Reference Docket No. CP95-531-000;
     Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. John Wisniewski, 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 July 31, 1995.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Wisniewski 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) (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 later intervention. You do not need intervenor status 
to have your scoping comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. John Wisniewski, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1073.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-16098 Filed 6-29-95; 8:45 am]
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