[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 90 (Monday, May 11, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25850-25851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12359]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-315-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 1998 Line KA 
Replacement Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 5, 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 
facilities proposed in the 1998 Line KA Replacement 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\ Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation'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

    Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (Columbia) proposes to 
abandon and replace about 5.5 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Pike County, Kentucky. About 4.9 miles of the existing pipeline would 
be abandoned by removal and replaced within Columbia's existing right-
of-way. The remaining 0.6 mile of pipeline would be abandoned in place 
and replaced on newly acquired right-of-way to avoid steep slopes.
    The project location is shown in appendix 2.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Columbia would use a 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way for the 
entire project. Where the pipeline would be replaced on existing right-
of-way, 50 feet of Columbia's existing right-of-way and 25 feet of 
temporary right-of-way would be used for construction. Where the 
pipeline would be replaced on newly acquired right-of-way. Columbia 
would obtain a permanent 50-foot-wide easement and a 25-foot-wide 
temporary right-of-way. The new permanent right-of-way would be about 
3.6 acres. Additional work areas would be required for road and stream 
crossings, access roads, staging areas, and pipeyards. The area of 
disturbance for the entire project would total about 77.4 acres.

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

[[Page 25851]]

them to comment on their areas of concern.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section on pages 3 and 4 of 
this Notice.
    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:
     Endangered and threatened species.
     Water resources and wetlands.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Land use.
     Cultural resources.
     Geology and soils.
    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 Columbia. These issues may be 
changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Eight residences are located within 50 feet of the 
construction right-of-way.
     One prehistoric site that is potentially eligible for the 
National Register of Historic Places lies within the project's area of 
potential effect.
     Most of the project area is underlain by deep coal mines.

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. CP98-315-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 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 known as an 
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of 
case-related Commission documents and filing 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 
Procedures (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 having ended on April 29, 1998. 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 in the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 
208-1088.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-12359 Filed 5-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M