[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 61 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17194-17195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7808]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-120-01-7122PB-9021:01-0129]


Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline; Douglas County, OR

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), DOI.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and notice of scoping on a proposed natural gas pipeline right-
of-way application.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Coos Bay 
District, will be directing the preparation of an EIS by a third party 
contractor on the impacts of a proposed natural gas pipeline from near 
Roseburg in Douglas County, Oregon, to the Coos Bay city limits in Coos 
County, Oregon. BLM received a right-of-way application under Section 
501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of October 21, 1976, 
(43 U.S.C. 1737) on May 17, 2000. The proposed pipeline will cross 
approximately 55 miles on public and private lands in Coos and Douglas 
Counties, Oregon.

DATES: This notice constitutes the beginning of the 30-day public 
scoping process. Interested individuals, organizations, and other 
agencies are encouraged to review the proposal and provide written 
comments by April 30, 2001, to the address below. A public scoping 
meeting will be held beginning at 7:30 on April 4, 2001 at the Coos Bay 
City Hall Council Chambers, 500 Central, Coos Bay.

ADDRESSES: Sue E. Richardson, District Manager, Coos Bay District, BLM, 
1300 Airport Lane, North Bend, OR 97459.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Gunther, Project Coordinator, at 
address above or telephone (541-751-4295), fax: 541-751-4303, or e-mail 
comments to the attention of [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coos County Board of Commissioners has 
applied for a right-of-way proposing to contract construction of a 12 
inch natural gas trunk line to be buried within the existing rights-of-
ways of the Pacific Corp. (PP&L) and Bonneville Power Administration 
(BPA) electric transmission lines, and within the existing roadbed of 
the Coos Bay Wagon Road. The total length of the pipeline is 
approximately 55 miles, with approximately 4.5 miles located on lands 
administered by the BLM. The proposed pipeline would connect to the 
Williams Gas Pipeline at a meter facility southwest of Roseburg, in or 
near Section 33 Township 27 South, Range 6 West in Douglas County. The 
exact location of the endpoint is not finalized (at the Coos Bay city 
limits in or near Section 27 Township 25 South, Range 13 West).
    The natural gas transmission pipeline will deliver gas to 
distribution facilities built by Northwest Natural Gas in the Coos Bay 
and North Bend communities. Smaller 6" or 4" laterals will be built off 
the mainline to serve the towns of Coquille, Myrtle Point, and perhaps 
Bandon. The location of the laterals has not been finalized, but is 
anticipated to follow the location of existing powerline, State 
highway, or railroad right-of-ways. Locations of the distribution lines 
within city limits are not known at this time, but are anticipated to 
be located within existing road right-of-ways.
    The proposed pipeline will fall under the jurisdiction of US 
Department of Transportation (DOT), as a gas transmission pipeline. It 
will be built and operated to all current specifications in 49 CFR Part 
192 (Natural Gas Pipelines) and other relevant sections. The Oregon 
Public Utility Commission will administer US DOT Pipeline Safety 
regulations for this pipeline.
    The proposed pipeline will be designed with the appropriate design 
safety factors. The mainline is proposed as welded steel pipeline with 
a Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) of 100 psig. The finished 
pipeline will be pressure tested to at least 15% of MAOP, to detect 
leakage or failure.
    All construction is done during daylight hours. Mainline 
construction will take about 6 months. Applicant plans to construct in 
the relatively dry summer months of April through October.
    Pipeline construction will require a working space up to 60 feet 
wide. DOT requires a minimum of 30" of cover in normal soils, 18" in 
consolidated rock, 36" under roads. The pipe will be installed to a 
target depth of 48" to top of pipe. Some grading will be required to 
install the pipe, but shall be substantially restored to original grade 
before revegetation. All earth disturbance operations shall be subject 
to an erosion control plan to comply with US Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) guidelines.
    In sections along electrical transmission lines, the contractor 
shall be required to have and follow a plan to continuously ground the 
pipe, to protect workers from shock from induced currents.
    Coos County plans to contract pipeline operations with an 
experience pipeline operator. The County and its operator are required 
under DOT to formulate and use an Operations and Maintenance Plan 
specifically for this pipeline. The Operations and Maintenance Plan 
includes an Emergency Plan for specific procedures and notifications in 
case of an emergency.
    Coos County plans to provide cathodic protection against corrosion, 
as required by DOT. Magnesium anodes will be placed at regular 
intervals along the pipeline, to sacrificially corrode and protect the 
coated steel pipe. This method normally mitigates most induced AC 
current. In sections near electrical transmission lines, supplemental 
anodes and other measures will be taken as necessary to minimize 
induced AC on the pipeline.
    Long-term pipeline operation will require 40 feet of space to be 
kept clear of larger brush and trees. Access roads to the BPA corridor 
will be restored as needed for pipeline construction and access for 
Operations and Maintenance.

[[Page 17195]]

    After the initial pipeline construction period, there is no need to 
ever excavate any particular segment of pipe. Annual maintenance 
consists of checking depth of pipe in roadways, repairing any soil 
erosion, controlling brush, replacing line markers, painting and 
operating block valves, leak surveys, and checking the effectiveness of 
the corrosion control system.
    The BLM will consider issues and concerns identified during the 
scoping process in the preparation of the draft EIS. Comments which 
have been previously received as input for the preparation of the 
environmental assessment will be considered as comments for the EIS. 
The preliminary issues identified include: socio-economics impacts 
associated with the proposed project; soil erosion; water quality; 
wildlife and fish; potential impacts to traditional Native American 
uses of the area, archaeological sites, noxious weeds. Those 
individuals, organizations, and agencies with a known interest in the 
proposal have been sent a scoping letter requesting comments on the 
proposal. Persons wishing to be added to the mailing list for this EIS 
may do so by contacting the Coos Co. Pipeline Project Office, 1309 W. 
Central Blvd., Coquille, OR 97423.
    The comment period on the draft EIS will last 60 days from the date 
the U.S. EPA Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register. 
The draft EIS is expected to be available for review in June 2001. 
Because of recent court rulings, it is very important that those 
interested in the proposed action participate during the scoping and 
draft EIS review processes, so that any substantive comments are 
provided at a time when the BLM can meaningfully consider them. 
Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the Coos Bay District office during 
regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, 
except holidays) and may be published as part of the EIS or other 
related documents. Individuals may request confidentiality. If you wish 
to withhold your name or address from public review or from disclosure 
under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this promptly at 
the beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to 
the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: March 13, 2001.
Terry Richards,
Acting District Manager.
[FR Doc. 01-7808 Filed 3-28-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-M