[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35997-35998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16900]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP97-168-003]


Alliance Pipeline L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Albert Lea Compressor Station 
Relocation Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 28, 1999.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts involved with Alliance Pipeline 
L.P.'s (Alliance) construction and operation of the Albert Lea 
Compressor Station at its new location in Freeborn Country, 
Minnesota.\1\ This facility would consist of 31,200 horsepower (hp) of 
compression and other appurtenant facilities.
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    \1\ Alliance's amended application was filed with the Commission 
under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the 
Commission's regulations. The original application in Docket No. 
CP97-168-000 was filed by Alliance on December 24, 1996.
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    The Albert Lea Compressor Station was originally proposed by 
Alliance as part of the 874-mile-long Alliance Pipeline Project 
extending between Sherwood, North Dakota at the Canadian border, to the 
Chicago, Illinois area. The staff of the Commission prepared and issued 
the Alliance Pipeline Project Final Environmental Impact Statement in 
August 1998. The Commission issued a Certificate of Public Convenience 
and Necessity to Alliance by an Order issued on September 17, 1999.
    Included in the Order was the approval of the construction and 
operation of the Albert Lea Compressor Station at pipeline milepost 
558.6 in Freeborn County, Minnesota. However, Alliance was unable to 
reach an agreement with the landowner to purchase the property at the 
compressor station's original location. Therefore, Alliance decided to 
relocate the station, rather than use the right of eminent domain 
granted by the Commission's certificate. The currently proposed 
location is at pipeline milepost 560.0, approximately 1.4 miles 
southeast of its original location (see appendix 1).\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printing 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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Land Requirements for Construction

    Alliance has purchased a 17.2-acre parcel of land for the 
Construction of the proposed compressor station. Following 
construction, the fenced compressor station, site landscaping, and 
access road would occupy 10.8 acres. The remainder of the property 
would be leased for agricultural use in 2001.

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.
     Cultural resources.
     Erosion control and revegetation.
     Public safety.
     Air quality and noise.
     Land use and visual impacts.
     Alternative site locations.
     Endangered and threatened species.
    We will also make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts 
on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented 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.

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 your comments 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., NE, 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental

[[Page 35998]]

Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;
     Reference Docket No. CP97-168-003; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 26, 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 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 
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. Click on the ``RIMS'' link, 
select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions. 
For assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at 
(202) 208-2222.
    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. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS 
helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-16900 Filed 7-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M