[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 240 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64413-64414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30796]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP01-176-000 and CP01-179-000]


Georgia Strait Crossing Pipeline LP; Notice of Availability of 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Georgia 
Strait Crossing Project

December 7, 2001.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
on natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by Georgia Strait Crossing 
Pipeline LP (GSX-US) in the above-referenced dockets.
    The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The staff concludes that 
approval of the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures 
as recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact. The 
draft EIS also evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system 
alternatives, route alternatives, and route variations.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities in Whatcom and 
San Juan Counties, Washington:
     About 32.0 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline (onshore 
mainline pipeline) extending from the interconnect facilities at the 
international border between the United States and Canada near Sumas, 
Washington, across Whatcom County, to a new compressor station (Cherry 
Point Compressor Station) near Cherry Point, Washington;
     About 1.1 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline (onshore 
mainline pipeline) extending from the Cherry Point Compressor Station 
to the beginning of the marine portion of the pipeline at the edge of 
the Strait of Georgia;
     About 13.9 miles of 16-inch-diameter marine pipeline 
(offshore mainline pipeline) extending from the edge of the Strait of 
Georgia near Cherry Point, Washington to the international border 
between the United States and Canada at a point about midway between 
the west end of Patos Island (Washington) and the east end of Saturna 
Island (British Columbia) in Boundary Pass;
     Interconnect facilities including a receipt point meter 
station, pig launcher, interconnect piping, and associated valves 
(Sumas Interconnect Facility) adjacent to the existing Sumas Compressor 
Station in Whatcom County, Washington;
     A new compressor station (Cherry Point Compressor Station) 
consisting of one 10,302-hp two-stage compressor unit, pig launcher/
receiver facilities, and associated valves near Cherry Point in Whatcom 
County, Washington;
     Six mainline valves (MLV), one each at the Sumas 
Interconnect Facility and Cherry Point Compressor Station and four 
valves along the proposed pipeline route; and
     An onshore and an offshore tap valve.
    The purpose of the GSX-US project is to provide a natural gas 
transportation system to supply the growing demand for natural gas on 
Vancouver Island.

Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the EIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, 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 are properly recorded:
     Send an original and two copies of your comments to: 
Linwood A. Watson, Jr., Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Reference Docket Nos. CP01-176-000.
     Label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas 
Group 2, PJ-11.2.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 4, 2002.
    Comments 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 Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' 
link and 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.''
    Due to current events, we cannot guarantee that we will receive 
mail on a timely basis from the U.S. Postal Service, and we do not know 
how long this situation will continue. However, we continue to receive 
filings from private mail delivery services, including messenger 
services in a reliable manner. The Commission encourages electronic 
filing of any comments on this draft EIS. We will include all comments 
that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our environmental 
analysis of this project.
    We will announce in a future notice, the location and time of at 
least one local public meeting to receive comments on the draft EIS.
    Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and 
present oral comments on the environmental impacts 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 as necessary, 
a final EIS will be published and distributed by the staff. The final 
EIS will contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on 
the draft EIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commentor 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 practices and 
procedures (18 CFR 385.214).

[[Page 64414]]

    Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this draft EIS. 
You must file your request to intervene as specified above.\1\ You do 
not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
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    \1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
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    The draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public inspection at: Federal Regulatory Energy 
Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First 
Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-1371.
    A limited number of copies of the draft EIS are available from the 
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch identified above. In 
addition, the draft EIS has been mailed to Federal, state, and local 
agencies, elected officials, public interest groups, individuals, and 
affected landowners who requested a copy of the draft EIS; public 
libraries; newspapers; and parties to this proceeding.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the 
FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the ``RIMS'' link to information in 
the docket numbers. 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.
    Similarily, 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 Web site, 
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. 01-30796 Filed 12-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P