[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 222 (Friday, November 17, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57704-57705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28426]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP96-10-000]


Transwestern Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed San Juan Expansion Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 13, 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 
the facilities proposed in the San Juan Expansion Project.\1\ 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\ Transwestern Pipeline 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

    Transwestern Pipeline Company (Transwestern) proposes to:

 construct a 10,000-horsepower (hp) electric driven Bisti 
Compressor Station (C.S.) in San Juan County, New Mexico;
 add a 7,000-hp electric driven compressor to the existing 
Bloomfield C.S. in San Juan County, New Mexico;
 operate an existing 4,132-hp gas compressor at the 
Bloomfield C.S. originally certificated as a back-up compressor;
 adjust its capacity on its mainline and San Juan Lateral 
facilities on a flexible basis in response to market demands for San 
Juan gas. This would require changing the pressure in its mainline 
facilities from the current level of 950 pounds per square inch 
gauge (psig) to as low as 800 psig, to the extent required to meet 
reduced market demand for firm transportation capacity to 
California, but high demand for San Juan gas in Arizona, California 
and Transwestern's eastern markets; and
 purchase from Northwest Pipeline Corporation (Northwest) a 
77.7 percent ownership interest in Northwest's south end mainline 
extension facilities extending from the Ignacio C.S. near Ignacio, 
Colorado to the Blanco Hub near Bloomfield, New Mexico.

    The location of the 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, 888 
First Street NW., 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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    Transwestern would bring electrical power to the compressor 
stations to operate the electrical driven compressors.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the new Bisti C.S. would require about 3.5 acres of 
land. Transwestern would fence about 2.1 acres for the compressor site 
facilities. No additional land would be required for the proposed 
facilities at the existing Bloomfield C.S.

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:

 land use
 water resources, fisheries, and wetlands \3\

    \3\ According to the applicant, the project will not affect any 
waters of the United States. We will report any potential impacts, 
or their absence, under this heading.
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 cultural resources
 public safety
 air quality and noise
 endangered and threatened species

    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 one issue that we think deserves 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Transwestern:


[[Page 57705]]

    The proposed compressor station and additional compression 
proposed at the existing compressor stations may increase ambient 
noise levels.
    Keep in mind that this is a preliminary issue. Issues may be 
added, subtracted, or changed based on your comments and our 
analysis.

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 locations), 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, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 
20426;
 Reference Docket No. CP96-10-000;
 Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, EA 
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
St., NE., 7th Floor (PR11.1), Washington, DC 20426; and
 Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 20, 1995.

    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Herman K. Der 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 of 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. Herman K. Der, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0896.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-28426 Filed 11-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M