[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 144 (Thursday, July 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39037-39039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18614]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

[FERC Docket Nos. CP01-22-000 and CP01-23-000; CA Clearinghouse No. 
2001011020; BLM Reference No. CACA-42662]


North Baja Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Availability/Completion of 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report and Draft Land Use Plan 
Amendment for the Proposed North Baja Pipeline Project

July 20, 2001.
    The staffs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission), the California State Lands Commission (CSLC), and the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have prepared this draft environmental 
impact statement/report (EIS/EIR) and draft land use plan amendment 
(plan amendment) to address natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by 
North Baja Pipeline, LLC (NBP).
    The draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment was prepared as required 
by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California 
Environmental Quality Act, and the Federal Land Management and Policy 
Act. Its purpose is to inform the public and the permitting agencies 
about the potential adverse and beneficial environmental impacts of the 
proposed project and its alternatives, and recommend mitigation 
measures that would reduce any significant adverse impacts to the 
maximum extent possible and, where feasible, to a less than significant 
level. The FERC, the CSLC, and the BLM staffs conclude that approval of 
the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating

[[Page 39038]]

measures as recommended, would have limited adverse environmental 
impact.
    The BLM is participating as a cooperating agency in the preparation 
of this document because the project would cross Federal land under the 
jurisdiction of the Palm Springs, El Centro, and Yuma Field Offices. 
The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is also a cooperating agency in the 
preparation of this document because lands administered by the BOR 
would be crossed by the project. This draft EIS/EIR and draft plan 
amendment will be used by the BLM to consider issuance of a right-of-
way grant for the portion of the project on lands managed by the BLM 
and the BOR. This draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment will also be 
used by the BLM to consider amending the California Desert Conservation 
Area (CDCA) Plan (as amended), which would be necessary for pipeline 
construction outside of designated utility corridors, as well as 
amending the Yuma District Resource Management Plan (Yuma District 
Plan), which would be necessary for pipeline construction across the 
Milpitas Wash Special Management Area. The BLM proposes to adopt this 
draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment per Title 40 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) Part 1506.3 to meet its responsibilities under NEPA 
and its planning regulations per Title 43 CFR Part 1610. The BLM 
Arizona and California State Directors have approved the draft plan 
amendments for their respective planning areas. The BLM will present 
its Record of Decision for the North Baja Pipeline Project after the 
issuance of the final EIS/EIR and proposed plan amendment.
    The draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment addresses the potential 
environmental effects of the construction and operation of the 
following facilities in Arizona and California:
     About 79.9 miles of 36-inch-diameter (11.8 miles) and 30-
inch-diameter (68.1 miles) natural gas pipeline (North Baja pipeline) 
extending from an interconnection with El Paso Natural Gas Company (El 
Paso) 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 new compressor station (Ehrenberg Compressor Station) 
consisting of three gas-fired centrifugal compressor units for a total 
horsepower ranging from 18,810 to 21,600 (with one additional spare 
unit) at the El Paso interconnect in La Paz County, Arizona;
     Two meter stations, one at the interconnect with El Paso 
at the Ehrenberg Compressor Station site (Ehrenberg Meter Station) and 
one in Imperial County, California near the interconnect at the 
international border (Ogilby Meter Station);
     A pig launcher facility at the Ehrenberg Compressor 
Station site; a pig receiver facility at the Ogilby Meter Station site; 
and a separate pig launcher/receiver facility (Rannells Trap) in 
Riverside County, California; and
     Seven mainline valves, one each at the Ehrenberg 
Compressor Station site, Rannells Trap, and Ogilby Meter Station site, 
and another four spaced as required along the proposed pipeline route.

Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS/EIR and draft plan 
amendment may do so. Please carefully follow these instructions to 
ensure that your comments are received in time and are properly 
recorded:
     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

    Note: The FERC will provide copies to the BLM for review. The 
BLM will prepare any appropriate responses relative to the plan 
amendments.


     Reference Docket No. CP01-22-000;
     Label one copy of your comments for the attention of the 
Gas Group 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 October 25, 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 FERC's website under 
the ``e-Filing'' link.
    In addition to written comments, the FERC, the CSLC, and the BLM 
will hold public meetings in the project area to receive comments on 
the draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment. All meetings will begin at 
7 p.m., and are scheduled as follows:

Dates and Locations

August 22, 2001
Blythe City Council Chamber, 235 North Broadway, Blythe, California 
92225, (760) 922-6161
August 23, 2001
    Vacation Inn, 2000 Cottonwood Circle, El Centro, California 92243, 
(760) 352-9523

    Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and 
present oral comments on the draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment. 
Transcripts of the meetings will be prepared.
    After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are 
investigated, and necessary modifications are made to the draft EIS/EIR 
and draft plan amendment, a final EIS/EIR and proposed plan amendment 
will be published and distributed. The final EIS/EIR and proposed plan 
amendment will contain the FERC, the CSLC, and the BLM staffs' 
responses to timely comments received on the draft EIS/EIR and draft 
plan amendment.
    Comments will be considered by the FERC, the CSLC, and the BLM 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 Procedure (Title 18 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 385.214). 
Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this draft EIS/EIR. 
You must file your request to intervene as specified above. You do not 
need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
    Federal, state, and local agencies; elected officials; Native 
American groups; newspapers; public libraries; intervenors to the 
FERC's proceeding; and other interested parties who provided scoping 
comments, comments on the draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment, or 
who previously asked to remain on the mailing list will receive a copy 
of the final EIS/EIR and proposed plan amendment. If you are not 
described by one of these categories but wish to receive a copy of the 
final EIS/EIR and proposed plan amendment, you must write to the 
Secretary of the FERC indicating this request. Individuals who do not 
indicate their desire to receive the final EIS/EIR and proposed plan 
amendment will only receive a Notice of Availability/Notice of 
Completion of the final EIS/EIR and proposed plan amendment.
    The draft EIS/EIR and draft plan amendment has been placed in the 
public files of the FERC and the CSLC and is available for public 
inspection at:
    Federal Regulatory Energy Commission, Public Reference and Files 
Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A, Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 208-1371 and California State Lands Commission, 100 Howe 
Avenue, Suite 100 South, Sacramento, CA 95825-8202, (916) 574-1889

[[Page 39039]]

    A limited number of copies of the draft EIS/EIR and draft plan 
amendment are available from the FERC's Public Reference and Files 
Maintenance Branch identified above. Copies may also be obtained from 
Goodyear K. Walker, CSLC, at the address above. The draft EIS/EIR and 
draft plan amendment is also available for viewing on the FERC, CSLC, 
and BLM websites at the Internet addresses below.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Goodyear K. Walker at the CSLC at (916) 574-1893, or on the CSLC 
website at http://www.slc.ca.gov, or from the FERC's Office of External 
Affairs at (202) 208-1088, or on the FERC website at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket#'' and follow the 
instructions (call (202) 208-2222 for assistance). Access to the texts 
of formal documents issued by the Commission with regard to these 
dockets, such as orders and notices, is also available on the FERC 
website using the ``CIPS'' link. For assistance with access to CIPS, 
the CIPS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.
    Information concerning the proposed CDCA and Yuma District Plan 
amendments and the involvement of the BLM in the EIS/EIR and plan 
amendment process is available from Lynda Kastoll, BLM Project Manager, 
at (760) 337-4421, or on the BLM website at http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro/northbaja.

David Boergers,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
[FR Doc. 01-18614 Filed 7-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P