[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65262-65263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32378]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-97-000]
Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Carlton
Delivery Looping Project and Request for Comments on Environmental
Issues
December 5, 1997.
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
about 3.9 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline
[[Page 65263]]
loop and appurtenant facilities proposed in the Carlton Delivery
Looping Project.\1\ This EA will be used by the Commission in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the
public convenience and necessity.
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\1\ Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership'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
Great Lakes Transmission Limited Partnership (Great Lakes) proposes
to expand the capacity of its facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin to
transport an additional 6,500 dekatherms per day of natural gas to the
City of Duluth, Minnesota and Northwest Natural Gas Company. Great
Lakes seeks authority to construct and operate:
About 2.1 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop from
mileposts (MP) 22.7 to 24.8 on Great Lake's existing mainline
facilities in Kittson County, Minnesota (Loop 1);
About 1.8 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop from MPs
226.4 to 228.2 on Great Lake's existing mainline facilities in Itasca
County, Minnesota (Loop 2);
Three downstream crossover assemblies to tie-in the new
loop facilities to Great Lake's existing loop and mainline facilities
at MPs 24.8, 226.4, and 228.2.
One new side tap to be located at an existing mainline
valve site in Douglas County, Wisconsin at MP 299.28. This sidetap
would include two aboveground tees and two aboveground valves, together
with piping and supports.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information please write
to the Secretary of the Commission.
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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, N.E., 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 about 57.3
acres of land. Operation of the proposed project facilities would
permanently affect 12.3 acres of land associated with the new permanent
pipeline right-of-way.
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.
Land use.
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
Cultural resources.
Vegetation and wildlife.
Public safety.
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 make
our recommendations to the Commission.
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. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
A total of 7.7 acres of wetlands would be affected during
construction of the proposed project.
A total of 7.0 acres of forest land would be cleared for
the proposed project.
No known nonjurisdictional facilities have been identified for this
project.
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 carefully follow these instructions to
ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded:
Send two copies of your letter to: Lois Cashell,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E.,
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;
Reference Docket No. CP98-97-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before January 5, 1998.
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).
You do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-32378 Filed 12-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M