[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68265-68266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32778]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP99-7-000]


ANR Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Washington County Replacement 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 4, 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 replacement of about 0.55 mile 
of 20-inch-diameter pipeline, proposed in the Washington County 
Replacement Project.\1\ The application and other supplemental filings 
in this docket are available for viewing on the FERC Internet website 
(www.ferc.fed.us). Click on the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from 
the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions.
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    \1\ ANR Pipeline 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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    This EA will be used by the Commission in its decisionmaking 
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience 
and necessity.
    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

    ANR Pipeline Company (ANR) seeks authority to:
     Abandoned and remove 0.6 mile of 20-inch-diameter pipeline 
(Line 1-301);
     Install in the same trench about 0.6 mile of 20-inch-
diameter replacement pipeline, using the existing right-of-way (ROW) 
plus 25 feet on the western edge as part of the construction work area;
     Use, as temporary staging areas, 1.1 acres of land located 
outside the existing ROW;
     Extend Ash Road about 100 feet in an easterly direction 
for ROW access; and
     Use about 2.5 acres of its Germantown Compressor Station 
site as a contractor yard.
    Line 1-301 was installed in 1956 as a loop to Line 301, a 14-inch-
diameter pipeline. The recent and ongoing construction of Brookstone 
Crossing, a residential development, has increased the population 
density along a segment of Line 1-301. Consequently, ANR must upgrade 
this segment from a Class 2 to Class 3 pipeline to maintain compliance 
with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) regulations.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2. The 
proposed construction area would start about 820 feet south of Sherman 
Road and extend northward to Ash Drive. 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 9.4 
acres of land. In addition, a 2.5-acre pipeyard would be used. No new 
permanent ROW would be acquired. All temporary construction areas 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.
    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
     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 some issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by ANR. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     The crossing of Cedar Creek could potentially impact rare 
fish and mussel species.
     Construction may affect a residential area.

[[Page 68266]]

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 
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-11.2
     Reference Docket No. CP99-007-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 4, 1999.

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.
    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 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) 
using the ``RIMS'' link to information in this docket number. For 
assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at 
(202) 208-2222.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-32778 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M