[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 199 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55385-55387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27608]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-794-000]


Northwest Pipeline Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Fort Lewis/Chehalis 
Enhancement Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 8, 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 
9,400 horsepower of temporary compression and appurtenant facilities, 
proposed in the Fort Lewis/Chehalis Enhancement 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\ Northwest Pipeline 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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    This Notice of Intent is also being mailed to adjacent landowners 
to the

[[Page 55386]]

compressor station sites. 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, NE, 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

    Northwest Pipeline Corporation (Northwest) wants to construct and 
install temporary compressor units and appurtenant facilities at the 
existing Chehalis Compressor Station and at a proposed new Fort Lewis 
Compressor Station. Northwest indicates that the proposed project would 
supplement the existing permanent compression on Northwest's system and 
increase Northwest's off-peak south flow capacity through the Fort 
Lewis area by as much as 75 Mdth/d to 130 Mdth/d, depending upon 
upstream market conditions.
    Northwest states that it now owns two portable Solar Centaur 
compressor units which are currently dedicated to temporarily replacing 
out-of-service permanent compressor units under existing blanket 
certificate authority. In the instant application, Northwest requests 
additional blanket authority to establish a secondary function for 
these portable compressor units. Northwest requests blanket authority, 
with pre-granted abandonment, for temporary installation and operation 
of the existing portable compressor units, one each at the existing 
Chehalis Compressor Station and at the new Fort Lewis Compressor 
Station, but only when such portable units are not needed for their 
primary function of temporarily replacing out-of-service permanent 
compressor units. Northwest seeks authorization to install:
     A temporary portable 4,700-horsepower Solar Centaur T4700S 
turbine unit at the existing Chehalis Compressor Station in Lewis 
County, Washington; and
     A temporary portable 4,700-horsepower Solar Centaur T4700S 
turbine unit at the new Fort Lewis Compressor Station located within 
the Fort Lewis Military Reservation Training Area 11 in the western 
half of Section 14, Township 18 North, Range 3 East, Pierce County, 
Washington.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 3.\2\ 
If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write 
to the Secretary of the Commission.

Land Requirements for Construction

    No additional land would be required for the proposed temporary 
compressor unit at the existing Chehalis Compressor Station. 
Construction of the proposed new Fort Lewis Compressor Station and 
appurtenant facilities would require about 3.8 acres of land. Following 
construction, the Fort Lewis Compressor Station would be about a 2.1-
acre fenced site.

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 and wetlands
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Endangered and threatened species
     Land use
     Cultural resources
     Air quality and noise
     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 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 on page 4 of this 
notice.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified two issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Northwest. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     One federally-listed species, the northern spotted owl, 
could be present in the project area.
     The project would affect about 3.4 acres in the western 
hemlock zone, a state GAP Analysis Project high conservation priority 
area.

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 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 Street, 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. CP98-794-000; and

[[Page 55387]]

     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before November 12, 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 2). Only intervenors have the 
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
    The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding 
is on or before October 15, 1998. Parties 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 M. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External 
Affairs at (202) 208-1088.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-27608 Filed 10-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M