[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10376-10377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5360]



[[Page 10376]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-168-000]


Williams Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pampa Pipeline Abandonment 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 25, 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 abandonment of facilities, 
about 126.1 miles of various diameter pipeline, meter stations, and a 
compressor station, proposed in the Pampa Pipeline Abandonment 
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\ Williams 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

    Williams Natural Gas Company (Williams) proposes to abandon by sale 
to CPI Pipe and Tube, Inc. (CPI) about 126.1 miles of 12-, 16-, and 20-
inch-diameter pipeline, meter stations, and appurtenant facilities on 
its Pampa pipeline system in Hemphill County, Texas and Ellis, 
Woodward, and Woods Counties, Oklahoma. CPI, in turn, proposes to 
reclaim for salvage about 114.3 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline, 
about 0.7 mile of 16-inch-diameter pipeline, and about 0.5 mile of 12-
inch-diameter pipeline, and to abandon in place about 6.9 miles of 20-
inch-diameter, about 0.2 mile of 16-inch-diameter pipeline, and about 
3.5 miles of 12-inch-diameter pipeline. The meter stations along the 
pipeline route would be reclaimed with the pipeline.
    The pipeline would be abandoned in place at road and railroad 
crossings, all waterbody and wetland crossings, and any other 
environmentally sensitive locations. In addition, Williams would 
abandon in place the Higgins Compressor Station in Hemphill Country, 
Texas.
    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, D.C. 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 Abandonment by Removal

    The current permanent right-of-way width is 66 feet. No additional 
right-of-way would be required by CPI to remove and salvage the 
pipeline. Removal of the proposed facilities would require about 924 
acres of land. Upon completion of the removal project the current 
permanent right-of-way would no longer be required and the 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 
abandonment of the proposed project under these general headings.
     geology and soils
     water resources and wetlands
     vegetation and wildlife
     endangered and threatened species
     land use
     cultural resources
    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 at least two issues that we think 
deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by Williams. 
These issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     The project crosses potential lesser prairie-chicken 
habitat (Texas species of concern) along the route.

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, 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., 
NE., 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. CP98-168-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 30, 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 your 
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).

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    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 Sec. 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.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-5360 Filed 3-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M