[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 198 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63412-63413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25976]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-37-002]


Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company; Notice of Amendment

October 7, 2002.
    Take notice that on September 27, 2002, Williston Basin Interstate 
Pipeline Company (Williston Basin), P.O. Box 5601, Bismarck, North 
Dakota 58506-5601, filed an amendment to its pending application filed 
on November 30, 2001, in Docket No. CP02-37-000, pursuant to sections 
7(c) and 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), to modify the construction 
of the Grasslands Project by proposing 72 miles of reroutes, modifying 
facility construction to reduce the proposed maximum firm daily design 
delivery capacity from 120,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day to 
80,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day and abandoning certain 
facilities, all as more fully set forth in the amendment which is on 
file with the Commission and open to public inspection. This filing is 
available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or 
may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov. 
using the ``FERRIS'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last 
three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For 
Assistance, call (202) 502-8222 or for TTY (202) 502-8659.
    Specifically, Williston Basin states that it no longer requests 
authorization to construct and operate the Cabin Creek South and 
Recluse compressor stations. Williston Basin further states that it 
will no longer be necessary to construct an amine treatment facility as 
part of its proposal.
    In addition, Williston Basin seeks authority in the amended 
proposal to:
    [sbull] Install an additional 1,200 horsepower (hp) compressor unit 
at the existing Cabin Creek compressor station;
    [sbull] Install electric coolers at the proposed Manning compressor 
station instead of running the coolers off the horsepower produced at 
the station;
    [sbull] Increase the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) on 
28 miles of the existing 8-inch diameter Bitter Creek supply lateral in 
Wyoming from 1,203 psig to 1,440 psig;
    [sbull] Replace three existing underground road crossings on the 
existing 8-inch Bitter Creek supply lateral with heavier grade pipeline 
to meet Department of Transportation requirements and to abandon in 
place the three existing underground road crossings being replaced;
    [sbull] Modify the pipeline route by proposing 72 miles of pipeline 
re-routes due to landowner, environmental and construction concerns;
    [sbull] Construct an alternate route, referred to as the Gunsite 
Pass Route, should Williston Basin not be able to utilize its 
originally proposed route;
    [sbull] Change the method of calculating the volume-pressure 
relationship from the Panhandle Eastern method to the Colebrook method; 
and
    [sbull] Defer $1.0 million of depreciation expense annually for the 
first three and one-half years of the Grasslands Project to be 
recovered over the following three and one-half years.
    Williston Basin also proposes to revise its original construction 
schedule and construct the project in three phases with the option to 
construct Phase II and/or Phase III earlier than scheduled should 
Williston Basin determine that sufficient additional requests for 
capacity justify the earlier construction. It is stated that Williston 
Basin currently plans to construct Phase I to be in service effective 
November 1, 2003, Phase II to be in service effective November 1, 2004 
and Phase III to be in service effective November 1, 2005.
    Any questions regarding the amendment should be directed to Keith 
A. Tiggelaar, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Williston Basin 
Interstate Pipeline Company, P.O. Box 5601, Bismarck, North Dakota 
58506-5601, at (701) 530-1560, or E-mail: [email protected].
    There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of 
this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by 
becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, on or 
before October 28, 2002, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, a motion to 
intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's rules 
of practice and procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the 
Regulations under the NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party 
status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary 
of the Commission and will receive copies of all documents filed by the 
applicant and by all other parties. A party must submit 14 copies of 
filings made with the Commission and must mail a copy to the applicant 
and to every other party in the proceeding. Only parties to the 
proceeding can ask for court review of Commission orders in the 
proceeding.
    However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have 
comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with 
the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and 
two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. 
The Commission will consider these comments in determining the 
appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will 
not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's 
rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project 
provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly 
involved in the protest.
    Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of 
this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments 
to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commenters will be 
placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive 
copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings 
associated with the Commission's environmental review process. 
Environmental commenters will not be required to serve copies of filed 
documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commenters will 
not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or issued by 
the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental documents 
issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek court 
review of the Commission's final order.
    The Commission may issue a preliminary determination on non-
environmental issues prior to the completion of its review of the 
environmental aspects of the project. This preliminary determination 
typically considers such issues as the need for the project and its 
economic effect on existing customers of the applicant, on other 
pipelines in the area, and on landowners and communities. For example, 
the Commission considers the extent to which the applicant may need to 
exercise eminent domain to obtain rights-of-way for the proposed

[[Page 63413]]

project and balances that against the non-environmental benefits to be 
provided by the project. Therefore, if a person has comments on 
community and landowner impacts from this proposal, it is important 
either to file comments or to intervene as early in the process as 
possible.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. Comments, 
protests and interventions may 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 under the ``e-Filing'' link.
    If the Commission decides to set the amendment for a formal hearing 
before an Administrative Law Judge, the Commission will issue another 
notice describing that process. At the end of the Commission's review 
process, a final Commission order approving or denying a certificate 
will be issued.
    All persons who have heretofore filed need not file again.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-25976 Filed 10-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P