[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57220-57221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22838]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Federal Consistency Appeal by Millennium Pipeline Company From an 
Objection by the New York Department of State

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce (Commerce).

ACTION: Notice of appeal, request for comments, notice of availability 
of appeal documents, and notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Millennium Pipeline Company has filed an administrative 
appeal with the Department of Commerce asking that the Secretary of 
Commerce override the State of New York's objection to Millennium's 
proposed natural gas pipeline. The pipeline would extend from the 
Canadian border in Lake Erie and cross the Hudson River, affecting the 
natural resources or land and water uses of New York's coastal zone. 
This document: (a) Provides public notice of the appeal; (b) announces 
an opportunity for public comment on the appeal; (c) identifies 
locations where documents comprising the appeal record will be 
available for review; and (d) provides notice of a public hearing for 
the appeal.

DATES: Public comments on the appeal must be received by December 2, 
2002. A public hearing for the appeal is scheduled for November 13, 
2002.

ADDRESSES: All email comments on issues relevant to the Secretary's 
decision of this appeal may be submitted to 
[email protected]. Comments may also be sent by mail to the 
Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Ocean Services, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Materials from the 
appeal record will be available at the Internet site http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm and at the Office of the Assistant General 
Counsel for Ocean Services. Also, public filings made by the parties to 
the appeal may be available at the offices of the New York Department 
of State, Office of General Counsel, 41 State Street, 8th Floor, 
Albany, NY. The public hearing will be held at the Hilton Tarrytown 
Hotel, 455 South Broadway, Tarrytown, New York.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl Gleaves, Assistant General 
Counsel for Ocean Services, via email at [email protected], or at 
301-713-2967, extension 186.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of Appeal

    Millennium Pipeline Company, L.P. (Millennium or Appellant) filed a 
notice of appeal with the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) pursuant to 
section 307(c)(3)(A) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 
as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq., and the Department of Commerce's 
implementing regulations, 15 CFR Part 930, Subpart H, (revised, 
effective January 8, 2001). The appeal is taken from an objection by 
the New York Department of State (State) to Millennium's consistency 
certification for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission permits to construct and operate a natural gas 
pipeline. The certification indicates that the project is consistent 
with the State's coastal management program. The project would traverse 
Lake Erie and cross the Hudson River, affecting the natural resources 
or land and water uses of New York's coastal zone.
    The Appellant requests that the Secretary override the State's 
consistency objections for a procedural reason, concerning the timing 
of the State's objection to the Millennium

[[Page 57221]]

project. The Appellant also requests an override of the State's 
objection on the two substantive grounds provided in the CZMA. The 
first ground requires the Secretary to determine that the proposed 
activity is ``consistent with the objectives'' of the CZMA. To make 
this determination, the Secretary must find that: (1) The proposed 
activity furthers the national interest as articulated in section 302 
or 303 of the CZMA, in a significant or substantial manner; (2) the 
national interest furthered by the proposed activity outweighs the 
activity's adverse coastal effects, when those effects are considered 
separately or cumulatively; and (3) no reasonable alternative is 
available that would permit the proposed activity to be conducted in a 
manner consistent with the enforceable polices of the State of New 
York's coastal zone management program. 15 CFR 930.121.
    The second substantive ground for overriding a State's objection 
considers whether the proposed activity is necessary in the interest of 
national security. To reach this conclusion, the Secretary must find 
that a national defense or other national security interest would be 
significantly impaired if the activity in question was not permitted to 
go forward as proposed. 15 CFR 930.122.

II. Public Comments

    Public comments are invited on any of the issues that the Secretary 
must consider in deciding this appeal. Comments must be received by 
December 2, 2002, and may be submitted by email to 
[email protected]. Comments may also be sent by mail to the 
Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Ocean Services, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Comments will be made 
available to the Appellant and the State; they are also expected to be 
posted on a Department of Commerce website identified below.

III. Appeal Documents

    The Secretary has required that Millennium file its initial brief 
and supplementary information on August 12, 2002, and that the State of 
New York file its initial brief and supplementary material on September 
30, 2002. NOAA intends to provide the public with access to all 
materials and related documents comprising the appeal record via the 
Internet at http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm, except that certain 
materials or documents or portions thereof may be withheld if they 
contain confidential materials, critical energy infrastructure 
information, national security information or other types of 
information that would be inappropriate for public release. Likewise, 
these public materials and documents also will be available during 
business hours at the NOAA Office of the Assistant General Counsel for 
Ocean Services. In addition, the State of New York may make copies of 
public filings by the parties available for review during business 
hours at the office of the New York Department of State.

IV. Public Hearing Notice

    A public hearing has been scheduled to obtain information relevant 
to issues to be decided by the Secretary in the Millennium appeal. The 
public hearing will be held on Wednesday, November 13, 2002, at the 
Hilton Tarrytown Hotel. Further details concerning the hearing will be 
available via the Internet at http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm or 
through other forms of public notice.

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog No. 11.419 Coastal Zone 
Management Program Assistance)
    Dated: August 30, 2002.
James R. Walpole,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 02-22838 Filed 9-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M