[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12560-12562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6557]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-52-000]


Iroquois Gas Transmission System, L.P.; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Eastern Long 
Island Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

March 13, 2002.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that 
will discuss the environmental impacts of the Eastern Long Island 
Expansion Project (ELI Project) involving construction and operation of 
facilities by Iroquois Gas Transmission System, L.P. (Iroquois) in 
Fairfield and New Haven Counties, Connecticut, and Dutchess and Suffolk 
Counties, New York.\1\ These facilities would consist of about 29.1 
miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline, including 17.1 miles offshore in 
Long Island Sound; and 20,000 horsepower (hp) of compression. This EIS 
will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to 
determine whether the project is in the public convenience and 
necessity.
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    \1\ Iroquois' application was filed with the Commission under 
Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that 
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if 
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline 
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with 
state law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice that Iroquois provided to landowners. This fact sheet 
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of 
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. 
It is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site, 
www.ferc.gov.

[[Page 12561]]

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Iroquois wants to expand the capacity of its natural gas facilities 
in Connecticut and New York to transport an additional 175,000 
dekatherms per day of firm transportation service to expanding markets 
on Long Island, New York. Iroquois seeks authority to construct and 
operate:
     29.1 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline in New Haven 
County, Connecticut, and Suffolk County, New York;
     a new meter station along the proposed ELI pipeline at 
about milepost (MP) 29.1;
     ancillary facilities including a marine tap 
interconnection and facilities for the attachment of a pig launcher in 
Long Island Sound in Connecticut state waters; three mainline valves 
(MPs 17.5, 22.7, and 29.1), and one pig receiving facility housed 
within the meter station layout at the project terminus at MP 29.1;
     a new 20,000 horsepower compressor station at Iroquois' 
existing mainline valve site in Milford, Fairfield County, Connecticut;
     new piping, compressor and piping modifications, and 
ancillary facilities to accept natural gas from the Algonquin Gas 
Transmission (AGT) Company's AGT System at a proposed new Iroquois 
compressor station in Brookfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut (note: 
Iroquois is currently pursuing a separate FERC Certificate for the 
compressor station under Docket No. CP96-687-000);
     a discharge gas cooler to be added to the proposed new 
compressor station in Dover, Duchess County, New York (note: Iroquois 
is pursuing a separate FERC Certificate for the compressor station 
under Docket No. CP00-232-000); and
     temporary pipe and storage yards, staging areas, access 
roads, etc., to be used only during construction of the proposed 
facilities.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on the 
Commission's website at the ``RIMS'' link or from the Commission's 
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, 
N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. For 
instructions on connecting to RIMS refer to the last page of this 
notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving 
this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 369.0 
acres of land, including 140.4 acres onshore and 228.6 acres offshore. 
This includes about 3.9 acres to construct the proposed aboveground 
facilities. Following construction, about 135.1 acres would be 
maintained as permanent/operational right-of-way (ROW). This includes 
about 72.9 acres onshore (including 0.2 acres for new aboveground 
facilities), and 62.2 acres for offshore ROW. The remaining 233.9 acres 
of land used only temporarily during construction would be restored and 
allowed to revert to its former use.
    Iroquois proposes to use a 75-foot-wide ROW to construct most of 
its onshore pipeline, including 50 feet that would be maintained as 
permanent ROW. About 90 percent of the 12 miles of onshore construction 
would be within or adjacent to existing ROW. For offshore construction, 
Iroquois proposes to use a ROW that would be either 100, 200, or 300 
feet wide for specific segments, and would include 30 feet to be 
maintained as permanent ROW.

The EIS Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us 
\3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. We call this ``scoping''. The main goal of the scoping 
process is to focus the analysis in the EIS on the important 
environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission requests 
public comments on the scope of the issues it will address in the EIS. 
All comments received are considered during the preparation of the EIS. 
State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify 
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to 
comment on their areas of concern.
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    \3\ ''We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    The EIS will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:
     geology and soils
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
     vegetation and wildlife
     endangered and threatened species
     public safety
     land use
     cultural resources
     air quality and noise
     hazardous waste
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EIS. 
Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EIS 
may be published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, 
public interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for 
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the 
EIS is published. We will consider all comments on the EIS before we 
make our recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section beginning on page 6.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Iroquois. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     FERC is currently evaluating another project known as the 
Islander East Pipeline Project (Docket numbers CP01-384-000 and CP01-
387-000), that would involve construction and operation of facilities 
proposed by Islander East Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Islander East), and 
related facilities to be constructed and operated by Algonquin Gas 
Transmission Company (Algonquin). The facilities proposed within 
Suffolk County, New York would be within the same ROW proposed for use 
by Islander East.\4\
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    \4\ Although Iroquois believes its proposed ELI Project 
facilities could replace and are superior to the facilities proposed 
by Islander East, we note that the filed applications have different 
proposed customers. This means these projects could potentially 
serve mutually exclusive needs, and we must evaluate them each on 
their own merits. It is equally possible that the Commission could 
issue a Certificate for only one proposal, or it could approve both 
of them. Therefore, if you are a potentially affected landowner on 
Long Island, there is a possibility that both projects could be 
built, and the proposed ELI Project facilities would require 
permanent ROW in addition to what is proposed by Islander East. This 
issue will be described and evaluated in the EIS we prepare for the 
ELI Project.
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     About 17.1 miles of Long Island Sound would be crossed, 
with potential impacts to shellfish resources, sediments and benthic 
organisms, and potential essential fish habitat (EFH) for

[[Page 12562]]

up to 37 federally managed species with designated EFH.
     Seven residences would be located within 50 feet of the 
construction work area.
     About 79.1 acres of the Central Pine Barrens would be 
disturbed, with 53.0 acres retained as permanent ROW.
     A total of 2 perennial and 1 intermittent waterbodies 
would be crossed.
     About 1.8 acres of wetlands would be disturbed during 
construction, with about 1.2 acres maintained as permanent ROW.
     About 78.4 acres of upland forest would be cleared during 
construction, including about 26.9 acres that would be maintained as 
permanent ROW.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EIS and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative routes or 
facility sites), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. 
The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please 
carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments are 
received in time and properly recorded:
     Send an original and two copies of your letter to:
    Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First St., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP02-52-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before April 12, 2002.
    Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail 
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include 
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our 
environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission 
encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions or 
protests to this proceeding. 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 which can be created 
by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.''
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request 
(appendix 3). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EIS scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of 
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors. 
Likewise, each intervenor must provide 14 copies of its filings to the 
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all 
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If 
you want to become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene 
according to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) (see appendix 2).\5\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \5\ 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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    Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be 
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your environmental comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 (direct 
line) or you can call the FERC operator at 1-800-847-8885 and ask for 
External Affairs. Information is also available on the FERC website, 
www.ferc.gov, 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, 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) 208-2222.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-6557 Filed 3-18-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P