[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 136 (Friday, July 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43745-43746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17816]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP00-36-000]


Guardian Pipeline, L.L.C.; Notice of Availability of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Guardian Pipeline 
Project

July 10, 2000.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this draft environmental impact statement 
(draft EIS) on natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by Guardian 
Pipeline, L.L.C. (Guardian) in the above-referenced docket.
    The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that approval of 
the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures as 
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact. The draft 
EIS evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system 
alternatives; route alternatives; and minor route variations.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities in Illinois and 
Wisconsin:
     140.2 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline extending from 
Joliet, Illinois to Ixonia, Wisconsin;
     8.5 miles of 16-inch-diameter lateral pipeline in Walworth 
and Waukesha Counties, Wisconsin (Eagle Lateral);
     A total of 0.16 mile of 30, 24, and 16-inch-diameter 
pipeline to connect the project to existing pipeline systems in Will 
County, Illinois;
     One 25,080-horsepower compressor station (Joliet 
Compressor Station) in Will County, Illinois;
     Seven new meter stations; and
     Associated pipeline facilities, including eight mainline 
valves.
    Wisconsin Gas Company (WGC) also proposes to construct about 35 
miles of 30-, 24-, and 16-inch diameter pipeline (WGC Lateral Line 
Project) extending eastward from the northern terminus of the Guardian 
Pipeline in Wisconsin. WGC's Lateral Line Project is under the 
jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW). 
Although these facilities are not under the jurisdiction of the FERC, 
they are analyzed in this draft EIS. The PSCW is participating in the 
EIS process as a cooperating agency, as is the Wisconsin Department of 
Natural Resources (WIDNR). FERC is coordinating the public comment 
process on the draft EIS and will share any comments on the WGC Lateral 
Line Project with the PSCW and WIDNR.
    The purpose of the Guardian Pipeline Project is to transport up to 
750,000 decatherms per day of natural gas from the Chicago Hub to 
markets in northern Illinois and Wisconsin. According to Guardian, the 
project would:
     Introduce a competitive alternative natural gas pipeline 
to markets in northern Illinois and Wisconsin;
     Provide area shippers with access to competing providers 
of transportation, storage, and related services at or upstream of the 
Chicago Hub; and
     Contribute toward increasing electric reliability in the 
upper Midwest by providing additional pipeline capacity to meet the 
growth in gas-fired electric generation plants.

Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is 
important that we receive your comments before the date specified 
below. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your 
comments are received in time and properly recorded:
     Send two copies of your comments to: Secretary, Federal 
Regulatory Energy Commission, 888 First St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, 
DC 20426;
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
DEER Gas Group 1, PJ 11.1;
     Reference Docket No. CP00-36-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before August 28, 2000.
    In addition to written comments, we will hold four public meetings 
in the project area to receive comments on the draft EIS. All meetings 
will begin at 7 p.m., and are scheduled as follows:

August 14, 2000

Joliet, Illinois, Fireside Resort Hotel, 4200 West Jefferson, (815) 
725-0111
DeKalb, Illinois, Northern Illinois University, Holmes Student Center, 
Normal & Lucinda Roads, (815) 753-1744

August 15, 2000

Delavan, Wisconsin, Lake Lawn Lodge, 2400 East Geneva St., (800) 338-
5253
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Olympia Conference Center, 1350 Royale Mile 
Road, (800) 558-9573

    Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and 
present oral comments on the environmental impact described in the 
draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings will be prepared.
    After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are 
investigated, and modifications are made to the draft EIS, a final EIS 
will be published and distributed by the staff. The final EIS will 
contain the staff's responses to timely comments filed on the draft 
EIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commenter a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to 
become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).
    Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this draft EIS. 
You must file your request to intervene as specified above. You do not 
need intervener status to have your comments considered.
    This draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public inspection at: Federal

[[Page 43746]]

Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 
888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, (202) 208-1371.
    A limited number of copies are available from the Public Reference 
and Files Maintenance Branch identified above. In addition, copies of 
the draft EIS have been mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, 
public interest groups, individuals who have requested the draft EIS, 
newspapers, and parties to this proceeding.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Paul McKee in the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (202) 
208-1088 or on the FERC Internet 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. Or 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. 00-17816 Filed 7-13-00; 8:45 am]
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