[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 70 (Monday, April 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18001-18002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9602]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-247-000]


Midcoast Interstate Transmission Inc.; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Colbert County 
Loop Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

April 7, 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 7.38 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline, proposed 
in the Colbert County Loop 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\ Midcoast Interstate Transmission Inc.'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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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that 
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if 
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline 
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with 
state law. A fact sheet addressing a number of typically asked 
questions, including the use of eminent domain, is attached to this 
notice as 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, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Midcoast Interstate Transmission, Inc. (Midcoast) wants to expand 
the capacity of its facilities in Colbert County, Alabama to transport 
an additional 12,350 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas to seven 
local customers and to provide revised transportation service of 6,156 
Dth/d to four existing customers. Midcoast seeks authority to construct 
and operate 7.38 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline and related 
facilities all in Colbert County, Alabama.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2. If 
you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write to 
the Secretary of the Commission.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 50 
acres of land, all of which is currently maintained by Midcoast as 
permanent pipeline rights-of-way. Following construction, no new land 
would be converted to permanent pipeline rights-of-way. All affected 
land would be allowed to revert to its previous 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.
     Public safety.
     Land use.
     Cultural resources.
     Air quality and noise.
     Hazardous waste.
    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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below on this page.

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 Midcoast. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Thirty residences would be located within 50 feet of the 
construction work area, with 6 located within 25 feet of the 
construction work area.
     The crossing of Little Bear Creek.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. 
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: 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. CP98-247-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 8, 1998.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in

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the process. 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 14 copies of its 
filings to the Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its 
filings to all other parties on the Commission's service list for this 
proceeding. 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 3). Only 
intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's 
decision.
    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. Additional information about the proposed project 
is available from Mr. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External 
Affairs at (202) 208-1088.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-9602 Filed 4-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M