[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16103-16104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8128]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP01-384-000 and CP01-387-000]


Islander East Pipeline Company, L.L.C., Algonquin Gas 
Transmission Company; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Proposed Islander East Pipeline Project

March 29, 2002.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
on the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by Islander East 
Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Islander East) and by Algonquin Gas 
Transmission Company (Algonquin) in the above-referenced dockets.
    The DEIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that approval of the 
proposed project with the appropriate mitigating measures as 
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact. The DEIS 
also evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system 
alternatives, major route alternatives, and route variations, and 
requests comments on them.
    The DEIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities in New Haven 
County, Connecticut and Suffolk County, New York:
     A new 12,028 horsepower Cheshire Compressor Station north 
of Cheshire, Connecticut in New Haven County operated by Algonquin;
     The removal of two launchers from an existing Algonquin 
mainline valve and interconnect facility northeast of Cheshire, 
Connecticut by Algonquin;
     Retest and upgrade along the C-1 and C-lL lines of about 
27.4 miles of existing Algonquin mainline from Cheshire Compressor 
Station to North Haven, Connecticut;
     An anomaly investigation along the C-1 lines of about 0.1 
mile of existing Algonquin mainline from Cheshire Compressor Station to 
North Haven, Connecticut;
     About 44.8 miles of new 24-inch-diameter Islander East 
Pipeline from the North Haven Meter Station just south of North Haven, 
Connecticut;
     About 5.6 miles of new 24-inch diameter pipeline (the 
Calverton Lateral) from the Islander East Pipeline near Wading River, 
New York, through the Towns of Brookhaven and Riverhead, New York to a 
planned power plant in Calverton, New York;
     A new meter station within the North Haven Meter Station 
Site, just south of North Haven, Connecticut;
     A new meter station in Brookhaven, New York and in 
Calverton, New York at the terminus of the Islander East Pipeline and 
the Calverton Lateral, respectively; and
     Five new mainline valves along the proposed pipeline route 
(two in Connecticut and three in New York).
    The purpose of the Islander East Pipeline Project is to provide 
transportation service for 285,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas 
from supply areas in the northeast United States to energy markets in 
Connecticut; and Long Island and New York City, New York.

Specific Comment Request

    Area residents, local or state governments, intervenors, and other 
interested parties are asked to provide specific comments on whether 
the following alternatives and variations are reasonable and 
practicable and environmentally preferable to the proposed facilities. 
Comments should also address any effect on project timing and related 
cost/benefits. The staff has identified and evaluated the details of 
the following system alternatives:
     The One-Pipe System Alternative, which combines the 
volumes for both the Islander East Project and the Iroquois Gas 
Transmission System, L.P. (Iroquois) Eastern Long Island (ELI) 
Extension Project (CP02-52-000), in one pipeline. This would be an 
alternative to building both the ELI Extension Project and the Islander 
East Project, using the route for the ELI Extension Project with 
additional modifications. This alternative would transport the

[[Page 16104]]

total volume of gas proposed in both projects, about 435,000 Mcf per 
day;
     The ELI System Alternative, which could use the ELI 
Extension Project instead of the Islander East Project to deliver 
260,000 Mcf per day, in the event that the Commission decides that 
there is a market for only one pipeline to serve eastern Long Island; 
and
     The Long Island System Alternative, which combines both 
Islander East and the ELI Extension projects in a joint pipeline on 
Long Island only.
    The staff has also examined eight route alternatives and nine other 
route variations to the proposed facilities. The staff has recommended 
the use of two of the route variations to minimize impacts on Branford 
Land Trust property in Connecticut and Core Preservation Areas of the 
Central Pine Barrens in New York. See section 4 of the DEIS for details 
on alternatives.

Comment Procedures and Public Meeting

    Any person wishing to comment on the DEIS 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 properly recorded:
     Send an original and two copies of your comments to: 
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 2, PJ11.2
     Reference Docket Nos. CP01-384-000 and CP01-387-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 19, 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 a 
free account which can be created by clicking on ``Login to File'' and 
then ``New User Account.''
    We will announce in a future notice, the location and time of one 
local public meeting in Connecticut, and one in New York, to receive 
comments on the DEIS.
    After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are 
investigated, and modifications are made to the DEIS, a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will be published and distributed 
by the staff. The FEIS will contain the staff's responses to timely 
comments filed on the DEIS.
    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 Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).
    Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this DEIS. 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 DEIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is 
available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 
888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-1371.
    A limited number of copies are available from the Public Reference 
and Files Maintenance Branch identified above. In addition, copies of 
the DEIS have been mailed to Federal, state and local agencies, public 
interest groups, individuals who have requested the DEIS, 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 Internet 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. 02-8128 Filed 4-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P