[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38095-38096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-13657]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP98-150-002]


Millennium Pipeline Company, L.P; Notice Requesting Comments on 
Environmental Issues for a Route Variation in the City of Mount Vernon, 
NY on the Millennium Pipeline Project

May 24, 2002.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) is requesting comments on environmental issues related to 
the impacts of constructing and operating the Mount Vernon Variation 
for the Millennium Pipeline Project (Project) proposed by Millennium 
Pipeline Company (Millennium) in New York.\1\ The Mount Vernon 
Variation would substitute 0.67 mile of pipeline for about 1.2 miles of 
the Project in the City of Mount Vernon, New York.
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    \1\ Millennium Pipeline Company, L.P. and Columbia Gas 
Transmission Corporation filed their applications with the 
Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of 
the Commission's regulations.
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    The route was modified pursuant to the Commission's December 19, 
2001 Interim Order for the Project in which the Commission asked 
representatives from Millennium, the City of Mount Vernon, other 
interested parties, and the citizens of Mount Vernon to work toward 
reaching an agreement on a route for the Project through Mount Vernon 
to an interconnection with Consolidated Edison Company of New York, 
Inc.'s (Con Edison) high pressure line. The parties reached an 
agreement about routing in Mount Vernon from the meter station at Oak 
Street and MacQuesten Parkway. Millennium filed a request that the 
Commission authorize this route, called the Mount Vernon Variation, on 
May 6, 2002. The modified route would change the final portion of the 
pipeline routing for the Project.
    Most of the route variation would require in-street construction 
generally affecting a curb to curb area within the road right-of-way. 
Therefore, if you are a landowner receiving this notice, construction 
may occur in the street next to your property. However, along South 
Street, the variation would deviate from the road right-of-way so that 
construction across Metro North's New Haven Line railroad tracks may be 
completed as a bored crossing. Millennium would use the parking areas 
on both sides of the railroad for staging and the bore pits. Therefore, 
the parking lot landowners 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?'' 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 website (www.ferc.gov).
    We are seeking environmental comments on the portion of the route 
along the Mount Vernon Variation. Your comments will be part of the 
environmental review of the Project that will be used by the Commission 
in its decision-making process to determine whether approval of this 
portion of the Project instead of the original route is in the public 
convenience and necessity.

Summary of the Mount Vernon Variation

    Millennium has proposed the Mount Vernon Variation which would 
replace about 1.2 miles of the Project between approximate mileposts 
(MPs) 421.8 and 423.0. The route variation is proposed to minimize 
construction within the City of Mount Vernon. These facilities would 
transport up to 350,000 dekatherms per day of gas for shippers to Mount 
Vernon, New York. Millennium seeks authority to construct and operate 
the following facilities on the Mount Vernon Variation:

     About 0.67 mile of 24-inch-diameter pipeline in Mount 
Vernon, New York.

    The location of the Mount Vernon Variation is shown in appendix 1. 
The Mount Vernon Variation would extend to the southwest along the west 
side of MacQuesten Parkway from the intersection with Oak Street to 
South Street. At this point it would turn to the southeast on South 
Street for about 300 feet. Near the Metro North Railroad crossing, the 
variation would move out of the road right-of-way and into a parking 
area along the south side of the road and northwest of the railroad. 
The railroad crossing would be completed as a bored crossing from this 
parking area to the parking area on the southeast side of the railroad. 
Therefore, about 400 feet of the variation would be constructed 
parallel to the South Street road right-of-way, rather than under the 
road surface. After the bored crossing of the railroad, the variation 
would continue to the southeast through the parking area to Beach 
Street. At Beach Street the variation would turn to the southwest again 
and would be installed beneath the Beach Street Road surface for a 
distance of about 500 feet. The variation would end at the Bronx/Mount 
Vernon border at a new interconnection with high pressure facilities of 
Con Edison.

Land Requirements and Construction Procedures

    Most of the pipeline construction along the variation would be 
within streets. The pipe would be installed using stove-pipe 
construction techniques and a 35-foot-wide construction work area 
between the curbs. Millennium does not anticipate using any sidewalk 
areas. MacQuesten Parkway is a divided, 4-lane street and Millennium 
would use the entire west side of the divided road for construction. 
In-street construction on South and Beach Streets would occupy the 
entire road surface. The segment of the streets needed for construction 
would be closed to vehicle traffic which would be routed around the 
work area. The length of the construction segment would vary, but would 
typically be between 200 and 500 feet to allow for trenching, staging 
and welding of the pipe, and backfill. Construction would require about 
2.8 acres of land for in-street construction plus about 0.74 acre 
needed for extra workspaces for the bored railroad crossings. All 
intersecting roads would be open cut. Millennium is required to restore 
all road surfaces immediately after backfilling the trench.
    The Interim Order requires certain construction procedures that 
Millennium must use when constructing the Project in the City of Mount 
Vernon. These requirements will apply to Project construction anywhere 
in the City of Mount Vernon, as appropriate, including along the Mount 
Vernon Variation if the Commission approves this route. These 
requirements include:

     Preparing site-specific construction and mitigation plans;
     Providing affected parties with information about 
construction related issues, including construction schedules, timing, 
and traffic detours around construction activities;
     Providing alternate parking locations for loss of parking 
spaces;
     Maintaining access to businesses and residential 
buildings;

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     Properly maintaining construction equipment to reduce air 
and noise pollution; and
     Having appropriate utility repair crews and materials on 
site at all times during construction to facilitate repairs to damaged 
utilities, if needed.

The 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 
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 on the important environmental issues. By this 
Notice, the Commission requests public comments on the scope of the 
issues related to the Mount Vernon Variation. All comments received are 
considered. 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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section.

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 Millennium along the Mount 
Vernon Variation. This preliminary list of issues may be changed based 
on your comments and our analysis.
     In-street construction would be required.
     Construction may temporarily affect traffic.
     Access to businesses and residences could be affected.
     In-street construction may affect the buried utility 
infrastructure.
     Construction activities are noisy.
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives, if any, to the Mount 
Vernon Variation or portions of it, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.

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 and considered by the Commission. You should 
focus on the potential environmental effects of the Mount Vernon 
Variation, alternatives to the variation, 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: Ms. 
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.
     Reference Docket No. CP98-150-002.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 24, 2002.
    Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in 
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.''

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the 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).\2\ Only intervenors have the right to seek 
rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \2\ 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

    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. Additional information about the 
proposed project is also 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.
    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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-13657 Filed 5-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P