[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6751-6752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3239]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-132-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed D-Line Extension and Request 
for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 4, 1998.
    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, about 9.6 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline loop known 
as the D-Line Extension 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\ 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 expand the 
capacity of its facilities in Steele and Rice Counties, Minnesota to 
transport an additional 40,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) 
per day of natural gas to one industrial customer, Koch Energy 
Services. Northern seeks authority to construct and operate:
     9.6 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop between its Owatonna 
and Fairbault Compressor Stations in Steele and Rice Counties, 
Minnesota.

[[Page 6752]]

    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 reference 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, D.C. 20426, or call (202) 208-1317. 
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 total of 
about 139 acres of land including extra work spaces for road crossings. 
All of this land would revert to its former agricultural use following 
construction. No new permanent right-of-way would be required.

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
     hazardous waste
     land use
     cultural resources
     endangered and threatened species
     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 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 Northern. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     The productivity of a total of about 139 acres of 
agricultural land (including 78 acres of prime farmland soils) could be 
diminished due to the potential impacts of pipeline construction such 
as rutting and compaction.
     Agricultural drain tiles, if present, could be damaged.

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 affects 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: David P. Boergers, 
Acting 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-11.2
     Reference Docket No. CP98-132-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 6, 1998.
    If you are interested in obtaining procedural information please 
write to the Secretary of the Commission.

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 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 environmental 
comments considered.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-3239 Filed 2-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M