[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3690-3691]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1536]



[[Page 3690]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP99-46-000]


Algonquin Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed EMI-Tiverton 
Transportation Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 19, 1999.
    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 proposed EMI-Tiverton 
Transportation Project to deliver natural gas to a gas fired electric 
generating facility to be constructed near Tiverton, Rhode Island.\1\ 
This project would involve uprating the pipeline pressure of 
Algonquin's mainline pipeline from 750 to 900 Pounds per Square Inch 
Gauge (PSIG) Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) between 
Burrillville, Rhode Island and Mendon, Massachusetts. It would include 
the replacement of approximately 2.3 miles of various diameter 
pipeline, the construction of a new meter station at Tiverton, Rhode 
Island, and the uprating of turbine compressors at the Chaplin 
Compressor Station in Chaplin, Connecticut. 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. 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\ Algonquin 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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    Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website, 
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and 
follow the instructions.
    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

    Algonquin Gas Transmission Company (Algonquin) wants to expand the 
capacity of its facilities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to provide 
up to 46,000 Dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of service to Tiverton Power 
Associates Limited Partnership's (Tiverton) natural gas-fired electric 
generation facility being constructed in Tiverton, Rhode Island. 
Algonquin seeks authorization to:
      Uprate pressure of approximately 20 miles of Agonquin's 
mainline pipeline from 750 to 900 PSIG MAOP.
      Replace 7,710 feet of 30-inch-diameter pipeline beginning 
east of Albee Road in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, to west of Hill Street 
in Millville, Massachusetts (between MP 9.85 and MP 11.31);
      Replacement of 1,520 feet of 30-inch-diameter pipeline 
between Sherman Road in Burrillville, Rhode Island, and Douglas Pike in 
Uxbridge, Massachusetts (between milepost [MP] 5.19 and MP 5.48);
      Replace 2,211 feet of the 10-inch-diameter G-13 Pipeline 
west of Thayer Road in Mendon, Massachusetts (between MP 14.86 and MP 
15.28);
      Construct a 8-inch tap, new regulator, approximately 545 
feet of 10-inch-diameter tie-in, and meter station on the Tiverton 
power plant site in Tiverton, Rhode Island.
    Uprate the horsepower of two Solar Turbines Incorporated Taurus 70S 
turbines at the Chaplin Compressor Station in Chaplin, Connecticut, 
from 6,500 horsepower (hp) to 6,950 hp each;
      Replace numerous short lengths of 30-inch diameter 
pipeline at: Cemetery Road in Uxbridge, Massachusetts (near MP 5.93); 
at two crossings of King Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts (near 5.93 
and MP 6.35); at Chester Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts (near MP 
7.94); at Albee Road in Uxbridge, Massachusetts (near MP 9.75); at 
Mendon Street in Blackstone, Massachusetts (near MP 12.25); at Thayer 
Road in Mendon, Massachusetts (near MP 15.37).
      Install a regulator at Valve 38A-2 (Ocean State Tap) 
located west of Douglas Pike in Burrillville, Rhode Island (near MP 
5.41);
      Remove and replace Mainline Valve 39-2 located east of 
Kempton Road in Millville, Massachusetts (near MP 10.41);
      Install a new mainline regulator valve upstream of the G-
1 Tap along the 30-inch-diameter loop west of Thayer Street in Mendon, 
Massachusetts (near MP 15.28); and
    2. The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix.

Land Requirements for Construction

    The proposed pipeline replacement sections would require the use of 
Algonquin's existing rights-of-way and at some locations require an 
additional 20-foot-wide temporary work space to facilitate 
construction. The total lands necessary for the project will be 
approximately 36 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 the 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.
     Public Safety.
     Land Use.
     Cultural Resources.
     Air Quality and Noise.

[[Page 3691]]

    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 below.

Currrently 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 Algonquin. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Seven waterbodies and thirteen wetlands would be crossed 
by the project.
     Approximately 4.0 acres of upland forest would be cleared.
     The new meter station would be constructed within the 
watershed for Stafford Pond, a Special Resource Protection Water for 
Rhode Island.

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 St., N.E., 
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. CP99-46-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 18, 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.
    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 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. Access to 
the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission with regard to 
this docket, such as orders and notices, is also available on the FERC 
website using the ``CIPS'' link. For assistance with access to CIPS, 
the CIPS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-1536 Filed 1-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M