[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43695-43697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20759]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP99-576-000]


Williams Gas Pipelines Central, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Empire District Electric 
Company State Line Plant Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

August 5, 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 Empire District Electric 
Company State Line Plant (Empire) Project involving construction and 
operation of facilities by Williams Gas Pipelines Central, Inc. 
(Williams) in Kay, Osage, and Washington Counties, Oklahoma; Labette 
and Cherokee Counties, Kansas; and Jasper County, Missouri.\1\ These 
facilities would require the replacement of various minor facilities 
along about 84.3 miles of its Blackwell-Cotton

[[Page 43696]]

Valley pipeline (Blackwell-Cotton Uprate); the installation of about 
36.8 miles of pipeline loop (Southern Trunk Loop); and the construction 
of measurement facilities at the Empire Electric Power Plant (Empire 
Facilities). 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\ Williams' 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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    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

    Williams wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in 
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri to transport an additional 55,000 
decatherms per day of natural gas to Empire District Electric Company's 
(Empire) State Line Plant. (This would result in a total of 83,800 
decatherms per day of natural gas to the State Line Plant.) Williams 
seeks authority to:
     Reclaim three mainline valves and two mainline drips, 
replace fine mainline valves and one mainline drip, replace 11 road 
crossings, and install a 16-inch-diameter pig launcher and appurtenant 
piping along the existing 16-inch-diameter, 85-mile-long Blackwell-
Cotton Valley pipeline in Kay, Osage, and Washington Counties, 
Oklahoma;
     Upgrade 14 domestic meters, which would include upgrading/
replacing regulators and valves as needed, along with Blackwell-Cotton 
Valley pipeline in Kay, Osage, and Washington Counties, Oklahoma;
     Increase the maximum allowable pressure along the 
Blackwell-Cotton Valley pipeline from 500 psig to 690 psig in Kay, 
Osage, and Washington Counties, Oklahoma;
     Extend the existing 20-inch-diameter Southern Trunk Loop 
an additional 36.8 miles in Labette and Cherokee Counties, Kansas;
     Relocate the existing 20-inch-diameter pig receiver to the 
end of the 36.8-mile Southern Trunk Loop and install two mainline 
valves in Cherokee County, Kansas;
     Install a dual 6-inch regulator setting, a dual 8-inch 
turbine meter setting, an 8-inch flow control setting, and about 450 
feet of 16-inch-diameter pipeline at a new location within the existing 
Empire property area in Jasper County, Missouri; and
     Install a 4-inch flow control setting at Empire's existing 
site in Jasper County, Missouri.
    The general location of the project facilities as well as a 
detailed version of the Southern Trunk Loop are shown in appendix 2.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed Blackwell-Cotton Uprate, Southern 
Trunk Loop, and Empire Facilities would require a total construction 
area of about 3.5, 401.5, and 1.2 acres of land respectively. The 
Blackwell-Cotton Uprate and the Southern Trunk Loop have no aboveground 
facilities associated with them. Construction of the Blackwell-Cotton 
Uprate would temporarily effect 3.5 acres. No new right-of-way would be 
created. Construction of the Southern Trunk Loop would disturb about 
401.5 acres. Of this, only about 111.5 acres would convert to permanent 
right-of-way. Following construction, about 0.9 acre of the Empire 
Facilities would be maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The 
remaining 0.35 acre of the Empire Facilities land would be restored and 
allowed to revert to its 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
     Public safety
     Land use
     Cultural resources
     Air quality and noise
     Hazardous waste
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed 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 beginning on page 5.

Currently 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 Williams. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Five streams would be crossed (using either horizontal 
directional drill or horizontal boring methods) by the Southern Trunk 
Loop; and
     One federally listed species may be present in the Neosho 
River. Among the five streams to be crossed, the Neosho River is 
designated as critical habitat for the federally threatened Neosho 
madtom.

[[Page 43697]]

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;
     Lable one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;
     Reference Docket No. CP99-576-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before September 7, 1999.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding know as an 
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
Among other things, intervenros have the fight 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 
Procedures (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. Click on 
the ``RIMS'' links, 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.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-20759 Filed 8-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M