[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 185 (Monday, September 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49764-49765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24256]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP96-690-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Mississippi River Crossing--
Minnesota Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

September 17, 1996.
    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 Mississippi River Crossing--Minnesota 
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.
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    \1\ Northern Natural Gas 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

    Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) wants to increase its 
pipeline system's reliability by looping a crossing of the Mississippi 
River in Dakota and Washington Counties, Minnesota. Northern seeks 
authority to construct and operate about 3.03 miles of new 30-inch-
diameter pipeline. This pipeline would interconnect with Northern's 
existing system that is already looped on the north and south sides of 
the

[[Page 49765]]

river. The 3.03 miles of pipeline would include:
     7,425 feet in Dakota County;
     4,750 feet in an open cut crossing of the Mississippi 
River; and
     3,825 feet in Washington County.
    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 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 loop would require about 48.6 acres of 
land. Following construction, about 36.7 acres would be maintained as 
permanent right-of-way. The remaining 11.9 acres of land would be 
restored and allowed to revert to its former 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 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
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Endangered and threatened species
     Land use
     Cultural resources
     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 loop and the 
environmental information provided by Northern. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Three Federally listed endangered or threatened species 
may occur in the proposed project area.
     Northern plans to open cut the Mississippi River for 4,750 
feet.
     The Mississippi River at the crossing location is 
designated as the Mississippi National River & Recreational Area.

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, 888 
First St., NE., Washington, DC 20426;

     Reference Docket No. CP96-690-000;
     Send a copy of your letter to:

Ms. Dawn Deibert Neumann, EA Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First St., NE., PR-11.2, Washington, DC 20426; and

     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before October 21, 1996.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Ms. Deibert Neumann 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 interevene 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 
Ms. Dawn Deibert Neumann, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1046.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-24256 Filed 9-20-96; 8:45 am]
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