[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 185 (Monday, September 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49403-49404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23659]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP95-614-000]


Paiute Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Paiute LNG Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

September 19, 1995.
    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 Paiute LNG Project. This EA will be used by 
the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether an 
environmental impact statement is necessary and whether to approve the 
project.\1\

    \1\ Paiute Pipeline Company's application was filed under 
Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Paiute Pipeline Company (Paiute) is seeking approval to construct 
and operate a 300-gallon-per-minute truck unloading facility at its 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility near Lovelock, Pershing 
County, Nevada. The purpose of the project is to give Paiute the 
ability to provide its LNG storage service customers with additional 
options for helping to meet their peak demand, emergency, or other 
requirements.
    The LNG truck unloading facility would include transfer piping, 
valves, and appurtenant facilities. The proposed truck unloading 
station would be able to unload six 10,000-gallon tankers per day for 
the equivalent of 5,000 MCF per day.
    The proposed project facilities would be designed, constructed, and 
maintained to comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal 
Safety Standards for Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities (49 CFR Part 
193). The facilities would also meet the National Fire Protection 
Association 59A LNG standards.
    LNG would be transported to the site by LNG tanker trucks. The 
preferred routing from eastern locations would be to exit Interstate 80 
(I-80) at exit 107 onto Cornell Avenue to 14th Street. The route would 
turn north on Central Avenue, continuing to Pitt Road. A westerly turn 
onto Pitt Road would lead the trucks directly to the LNG Plant. For 
traffic from the west, the preferred route would be to exit I-80 at 
exit 105, then continue through the commercial portion of Lovelock via 
Cornell Avenue to 14th Street, and then as above. This route would 
avoid any grade level crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks.
    As an alternative, all trucks could be routed off I-80 at exit 112, 
follow an alternative route that runs southwest on Upper Valley Road, 
and then west on Pitt Road. However, this route does require a grade 
level crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks at exit 112.
    The location of the project facilities is 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, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, or 
call (202) 208-1371. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those 
receiving this notice in the mail.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    The proposed facilities would be constructed within the 20-acre, 
previously-disturbed, fenced LNG plant site.

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:
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Cultural Resources
     Land Use
     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 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.

Public Participation and Scoping Meetings

    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 trucking 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. CP95-614-000;
     Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. James Dashukewich, EA 
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North 
Capitol St., NE, Room 7312, Washington, D.C. 20426; and
     Mail your comments so that they are received in 
Washington, D.C. on or before October 19, 1995.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to 

[[Page 49404]]
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) (see appendix 2).
    Filing of timely motions to intervene in this proceeding should be 
made on or before September 25, 1995. Once this date has passed, 
parties 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.

Environmental Mailing List

    This notice is being sent to all potential interested parties to 
solicit focused comments regarding environmental considerations related 
to the proposed project.
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
keep informed and receive copies of the EA, please return the 
Information Request (see appendix 3). If you do not return the 
Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. James Dashukewich, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0117.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-23659 Filed 9-22-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M