[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65316-65318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30712]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket Nos. CP66-111-003 and CP96-26-000]
Great Lakes Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed St. Clair River Crossing
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
December 13, 1995.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an
[[Page 65317]]
environmental assessment (EA) that will discuss the environmental
impacts of the construction and operation of the facilities proposed in
the St. Clair River Crossing 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\ Great Lakes Transmission Limited Partnership's application
was filed with the Commission under section 3 of the Natural Gas
Act, sections 153.10 through 153.12 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedure, and Executive Order 10485 (as amended by
Executive Order 12038 and Secretary of Energy Delegation Order No.
0204-112).
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Summary of the Proposed Project
Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership (Great Lakes)
seeks authority to amend its Presidential Permit (under Docket No.
CP66-111-003) and construct, connect, operate, and maintain (under
Docket No. CP96-26-000) about 1,500 feet of 36-inch-diameter pipeline
loop at the international border between the United States and Canada,
in St. Clair County, Michigan.
Great Lakes states that the proposed border facilities would be
used to provide 50,000 thousand cubic feet per day of winter firm
transportation service to TransCanada Pipelines Limited (TransCanada).
Great Lakes indicates that the facilities, along with additional
facilities TransCanada would build on its system, would provide
TransCanada with greater system security and reliability of service.
The proposed river crossing would be directionally drilled. Great
Lakes proposes to operate the drill rig on the United States side of
the river, on land owned by Great Lakes. The pipeline would be strung
and staged on the Canadian side.
The general 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, 888
First 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
Construction of the proposed facilities would require a staging
area about 150 feet by 250 feet. No additional permanent right-of-way
would be required after construction. An existing cleared area north of
Puttygut Road would be used as a contractor yard. This area was used
for this purpose during construction of the RG&E III Project (Docket
No. CP92-595-000).
Permanent aboveground facilities would consist of a mainline valve
and a ``pig launcher'' in the vicinity of Great lakes' existing
mainline valve.
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:
Geology and soils.
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
Land use.
Cultural resources.
Vegetation and wildlife.
Endangered and threatened species.
Air quality and noise.
Hazardous waste.
We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed
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 Great Lakes. Keep in mind
that this is a preliminary list:
Noise generated during the continuous operation of the
directional drill rig used to install the pipeline under the St. Clair
River may significantly impact nearby residences.
Drilling mud and fluids must be handled and disposed of
properly or significant impact on the St. Clair River and nearby
wetland could result.
Construction activities may impact the wetland located
near the proposed staging area.
There may be visual impacts associated with the permanent
aboveground facilities.
The list of issues may be added to, subtracted from, 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 St., N.E., Washington, D.C.
20426;
Reference Docket Nos. CP66-111-003 and CP96-26-000;
Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Howard Wheeler, EA
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St.,
N.E., PR-11.2, Washington, D.C. 20426; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, D.C. on or before January 19, 1996.
If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one
from Mr. Wheeler 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
[[Page 65318]]
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. Howard Wheeler, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-2299.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-30712 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]
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