[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28160-28161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12788]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[FERC Docket Nos. CP01-22-000 and CP01-23-000; CSLC EIR No. 703; State 
Clearinghouse No. SCH2001011020; BLM Reference No. CACA-42662]


North Baja Pipeline, LLC; Supplement to the Notice of Intent/
Preparation to Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact Statement/Report 
for the Proposed North Baja Pipeline Project and Request for Comments 
on Environmental Issues Related to the Bureau of Land Management's 
Consideration of an Amendment to the Yuma Resource Management Plan

May 16, 2001.
    On December 12, 2000, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC or Commission) and the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) 
issued a Notice of Intent/Preparation (NOI/NOP) to jointly prepare an 
environmental impact statement/report (EIS/EIR) that will discuss the 
environmental impacts of North Baja Pipeline, LLC's (NBP) proposed 
North Baja Pipeline Project in La Paz County, Arizona, and Riverside 
and Imperial Counties, California. The FERC will be the lead Federal 
agency in the preparation of the EIS/EIR while the CSLC will be the 
State Lead Agency for California. The joint document will satisfy the 
requirements of both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
the California Environmental Quality Act.
    The North Baja Pipeline Project would involve the construction and 
operating of a new 18,810-horsepower compressor station in La Paz 
County, Arizona, and about 80.0 miles of 36- and 30-inch-diameter 
pipeline extending from an interconnection with El Paso Natural Gas 
Company in La Paz County, Arizona, through Riverside and Imperial 
Counties, California, to an interconnection at the international border 
between the United States and Mexico. A total of 48.2 miles of the 
proposed pipeline and one new meter station would be on lands managed 
by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the jurisdiction of the 
Palm Springs, El Centro, and Yuma Field Offices. The BLM has agreed to 
meet its NEPA responsibilities in considering NBP's application to 
cross these Federal lands by participating as a cooperating agency in 
the preparation of the EIS/EIR.
    The December 12, 2000 NOI/NOP stated that the BLM will use the EIS/
EIR to consider a plan amendment, which may be necessary for pipeline 
construction outside of the designated utility corridors as described 
in the California Desert Conservation Area Plan, 1980 (as amended). The 
BLM has recently informed us that it will also use the EIS/EIR to 
consider an amendment to the Yuma Resource Management Plan (RMP), which 
may be necessary for pipeline construction across the Milpitas Wash 
Special Management Area.
    By this notice, we \1\ are specifically seeking public comments on 
the BLM's consideration of an amendment to the Yuma RMP. This 
supplemental NOI/NOP does not reopen the general scoping period for the 
EIS/EIR. Please carefully follow the instructions below to ensure that 
your comments are received in time and properly recorded.
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    \1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the staff of the FERC's 
Office of Energy Projects and the CSLC.
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     Send an original and two copies of your letter to: David 
P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
     Reference Docket No. CP01-22-000;
     Label one copy of you comments for the attention of the 
Gas Group 1, PJ-11.1;
     Send an additional copy of your letter to the following 
individual: Goodyear K. Walker, California State Lands Commission, 100 
Howe Ave., Suite 100 South, Sacramento, CA 95825;
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 18, 2001.
    Comments, protests and interventions may also be filed 
electronically via the internet in lieu of paper. See 18 CFR 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's website at 
http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/doorbell.htm under the link to the User's 
Guide. Before you can file comments you will need to create an account 
by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.''

Availability of Additional Information

    Additional information abut the proposed project is available from 
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,

[[Page 28161]]

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.
    Information concerning the involvement of the CSLC in the EIS/EIR 
process may be obtained from Kirk Walker, EIR Project Manager, at (916) 
574-1893, or on the California State Lands website at http://www.slc.ca.gov.
    Information concerning the involvement of the BLM in the EIS/EIR 
process may be obtained from Lynda Kastoll, Project Manager at (760) 
337-4421, or on the BLM website at http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-12788 Filed 5-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M