[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 200 (Friday, October 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55599-55600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27762]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-538-000]


Midwestern Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed GPC Sales Tap Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 9, 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 Midwestern Gas Transmission 
Company's (Midwestern) proposal to construct 2.84 miles of 8-inch-
diameter pipeline in Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana; one hot tap in 
Knox County; and one meter station in Daviess County. The EA will also 
address the issues raised by other parties in the original prior notice 
filing.\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\ Midwestern filed a prior notice under Section 157.211 of the 
Commission's regulations. It converted to a Section 7 filing due to 
protests filed during the comment period.
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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, 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

    Midwestern wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in 
Indiana to transport an additional 10,000 dekatherms per day of natural 
gas to Grain Processing Corporation (GPC). Midwestern seeks authority 
to construct and operate:
     One 8-inch hot tap on its existing, 30-inch-diameter 2100 
Line in Knox County, Indiana;
     2.84 miles of 8-inch-diameter pipeline (lateral) extending 
from the hot tap in Knox County to the GPC Plant in Daviess County, 
Indiana; and
     One meter station with dual 6-inch orifice meter runs and 
electronic gas measurement equipment on a site provided by GPC, Daviess 
County, Indiana.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
2.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require 36.94 acres 
of land. Midwestern proposes to use 100 feet for its construction 
right-of-way for the pipeline. The construction work area would be 
reduced to a 50-foot permanent right-of-way corridor through wetlands 
areas. Midwestern has not proposed a permanent right-of-way width for 
non-wetland areas.
    Following construction, 0.25 acre would be maintained as new 
aboveground facilities. The meter station would require 0.23 acres. The 
hot tap facilities would require 900 square feet and would be 
surrounded by a 3-inch pipe cattle fence.

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.
     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 several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on: (a) a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities; (b) the environmental information provided by Midwestern; 
and (c) concerns raised by other commentors. This preliminary list

[[Page 55600]]

of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     One federally listed endangered species, the Indian Bat 
may occur in the proposed project area.
     Two streams and six wetlands would be crossed by the 
pipeline.
     A total of 7.3 acres of forested wetlands, including about 
6.4 acres of bottomland forest, would be cleared for the new right-of-
way.
     An alternative pipeline route has been identified by 
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company.

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/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;
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1
     Reference Docket No. CP98-528-000; 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 later 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. 98-27762 Filed 10-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M