[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 17620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9264]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP96-477-000]


K N Interstate Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Availability 
of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pony Express Pipeline 
Project

April 4, 1997.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this environmental assessment (EA) on the 
natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by K N Interstate Gas 
Transmission Company (KNI) in the above-referenced docket.
    The EA was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that approval of the 
proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not 
constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality 
of the human environment.
    The primary components of the project include:
     Conversion of approximately 804 miles of existing crude 
oil pipeline from the Lost Cabin, Wyoming area east to Freeman, 
Missouri (the Pony Express Mainline), including removal and/or 
replacement of oil pipeline valves, pig launcher/receiver sets, and 
interconnections along the length of the pipeline;
     Construction of four short segments of new pipeline 
(totaling 10.2 miles) to connect existing KNI facilities to the Pony 
Express Mainline and to route the mainline around the Casper, Wyoming 
area;
     Installation of additional and new compression facilities 
totaling 50,500 horsepower at five locations along the Pony Express 
Mainline in Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas;
     Construction of a new 62.6-mile-long lateral extending 
between the Pony Express Mainline in southwest Nebraska and northern 
Colorado; and
     Upgrading 26 segments of an existing KNI pipeline at road 
crossings in southwest Nebraska to allow the pipeline to operate at a 
higher pressure.
    The existing pipeline, which extends 914 miles between Riverton, 
Wyoming and Freeman, Missouri, was previously owned and operated by 
Amoco Pipeline Company (Amoco) and used to transport crude oil. K N 
Energy Incorporated (KNI's parent company) is acquiring the existing 
Amoco pipeline, and is presently displacing the oil, cleaning the 
pipeline's interior, and hydrostatically testing the pipeline by 
segments. Following FERC certification, approximately 804 miles of the 
Amoco pipeline would be transferred to KNI. Activities to convert the 
pipeline to natural gas service would begin following receipt of the 
necessary authorizations from the various Federal, state, and local 
authorities.
    Also included in this EA is a review of facilities which KNI plans 
to construct in the Kansas City area under section 311 of the Natural 
Gas Policy Act. These facilities include about 36.4 miles of 12-, 16-, 
and 20-inch-diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities in Miami and 
Johnson Counties, Kansas, and Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri. The 
project is designed to deliver up to 230,700 MMBtu of natural gas per 
day to Missouri Gas Energy and Western Resources Inc., two local 
distribution companies which serve Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas 
City, Kansas, respectively.
    The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC. A limited 
number of copies of the EA are available for distribution and public 
inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference 
and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 208-1371.
    Copies of the EA have been mailed to Federal, state, and local 
agencies; public interest groups; interested individuals; local 
libraries and newspapers; and parties to this proceeding.
    Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. To ensure 
consideration prior to a Commission decision on this proposal, it is 
important that we receive your comments before the date listed below. 
Please carefully follow the instructions below to ensure that your 
comments are received in time and properly recorded:
     Reference Docket No. CP96-477-000.
     Send two copies of your comments to: Lois Cashell, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
     Please mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 5, 1997.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commentor a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to 
become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).
    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 late intervention. You do not need intervenor status 
to have your comments considered.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-9264 Filed 4-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M