[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 198 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55113-55115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27432]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-761-000]
Viking Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 1999 Expansion Project and
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
October 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 proposed in the Viking Gas Transmission Company's 1999
Expansion 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\ Viking Gas Transmission 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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If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted
by a Viking Gas Transmission Company (Viking) representative about the
acquisition of an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the
proposed facilities. Viking 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,
Viking 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 2.\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, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project
Viking proposes to construct the 1999 Expansion Project to provide
firm winter capacity to serve new loads at various delivery points and
to increase system reliability and flexibility for existing Viking
shippers. Viking seeks authority to construct and operate:
1. Five loops of 24-inch-diameter pipeline totaling 45.0 miles as
follows:
a. Hallock Loop--about 8.2 miles long, extending from milepost (MP)
2202-1+0.0 \3\ to MP 2202-1+8.2 in Kittson and Marshall Counties,
Minnesota;
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\3\ Viking's mileposting resets to 0.0 at each mainline valve.
Therefore, each pipeline section between Viking's mainline valves is
mileposted independently. For example: MP 2202-1-8.2 denotes a
physical location 8.2 miles downstream of mainline valve number
2201-1.
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b. Angus Loop--about 8.3 miles long, extending from MP 2204-1+11.8
to MP 2204-1+20.1 in Polk County, Minnesota;
c. Ada Loop--about 10.1 miles long, extending from MP 2208-1+0.0 to
MP 2208-1+10.1 in Clay County, Minnesota;
d. Frazee Loop--about 7.4 miles long, extending from MP 2210-1+0.0
to MP 2210-1+7.4 in Otter Tail County, Minnesota; and
e. Staples Loop--about 11.0 miles long,\4\ extending from MP
2213-1+9.9 to MP 2213-1+21.0 in Morrison County, Minnesota;
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\4\ The numerical discrepancy is due to rounding.
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2. Minor permanent aboveground ancillary facilities:
[[Page 55114]]
a. The installation of four mainline valves with crossover
assemblies at MPs 2204-1+20.1, 2208-1+0.0, 2210-1+0.0, and 2213-1+21.0
in Polk, Clay, Otter Tail, and Morrison Counties, respectively,
Minnesota;
b. The construction of four crossover valve assemblies at MPs
2202-1+8.2, 2208-1+10.1, 2210-1+7.4, and 2213-1+9.9 in Marshall, Clay,
Otter Tail, and Morrison Counties, respectively, Minnesota;
c. The removal of one existing cross-over valve site at MP
2204-1+11.8 in Polk County, Minnesota;
d. The installation of two pipeline drip assemblies at MP
2204-1+11.9 in Polk County and 2213-1+11.9 in Morrison County,
Minnesota;
e. The construction of taps for emergency tie-overs at three
existing meter stations at MPs 2208-1+4.6, 2213-1+14.9, and 2213-1+20.8
in Clay and Morrison Counties, Minnesota; and
f. The construction of the new Perham Meter station at MP
2210-1+0.0 in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
The locations of the project facilities are show in appendix 1.\2\
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write
to the Secretary of the Commission.
Land Requirements for Construction
Viking proposes to use a right-of-way width of 90 feet for
construction, with provisions for temporary extra work areas as
necessary for waterbody, highway, and railroad crossings. The proposed
loops would be installed about 20 feet west or southwest of Kining's
existing pipeline. the construction right-of-way would extend 90 feet
from the existing Viking pipeline which is centered in the existing 75-
foot-wide right-of-way. Therefore, about 52.5 feet of the construction
right-of-way would be temporary workspace. All of the proposed pipeline
and aboveground facilities would be located within Viking's existing
permanent right-of-way. The proposed City of Perham Meter Station would
be constructed within the existing fence line of Viking's Frazee
Compressor Station. No new permanent right-of-way will be required for
the project.
Construction of the proposed facilities, including the use of
temporary extra work areas, would disturb a total of about 513 acres of
land. About 206 acres of these lands are existing permanent right-of-
way. The remaining 307 acres of land disturbed for the project would be
allowed to revert to their 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.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the proposed project under the general
headings listed below. 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
Viking. This preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your
comments and our analysis.
Soils.
--Topsoil preservation
--Erosion control and right-of-way restoration
--Potential saline soil along Hallock Loop
Water Resources.
--Potential dewatering of saline water from trench
--Project proximity to known wellhead protection area
--Crossing perennial waterbodies and drainage ditches
Vegetation and Wildlife
--Effect of facility construction and operation on wildlife and
fisheries habitat, including state-listed threatened animal and plant
species and their habitats
--Impact on forested wetlands
--Effects on leased and owned Federal waterfowl production areas and
state wildlife management areas
Cultural Resources.
--Effect on historic and prehistoric sites
--Native American and tribal concerns
Land Use.
--Impact on crop production
--Crossing of Federal and state land
--Consistency with local land use plans
--Revegetation of specialized areas
--Crossing irrigation systems on the Frazee Loop
--Visual effect of aboveground facilities
Air Quality and Noise.
--Effect on local air quality and noise environment
Public Safety
--Assessment of hazards associated with natural gas pipelines
Cumulative Impact
--Assessment of the combined effect of the proposed project with other
projects which have been or may be proposed in the same region and
similar time frame
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 following public participation section.
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 locations
and 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,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE.,
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
[[Page 55115]]
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1.
Reference Docket No. CP98-761-000; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before November 9, 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 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.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-27432 Filed 10-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M