[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67400-67402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28168]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-436-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Project Max and Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues

October 30, 2002.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of Project MAX involving construction 
and operation of facilities by Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) 
in several counties of Minnesota.\1\ These facilities would consist of 
about 4.6 miles of 8-inch-diameter pipeline, a new compressor station, 
and modifications to 10 different town border stations. This EA 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\ Northern's 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 Northern 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).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    The incremental capacity attained by the proposed facilities 
(summarized below) would be utilized to serve high priority 
residential, commercial, and industrial customer market growth in 
Northern's Market Area. The construction of the proposed facilities 
would increase the peak day capacity on Northern's Market Area mainline 
by approximately 16,200 million cubic feet per day. These facilities 
are required to meet shipper requests for firm capacity that Northern 
received during its open season. Northern's proposed facilities are as 
follows:
    (1) Construct 4.6 miles of 8-inch-diameter loop on its Alexandria 
Branchline in Morrison County, Minnesota;
    (2) Relocate existing tie-over and blowdown valves from the end of 
the existing Alexandria Branchline Loop to the end of the proposed 
branchline loop in Morrison County Minnesota;
    (3) Construct a new electric compressor station on its Minnesota 
Interconnecting Line MNB 77501 near Popple Creek, in Benton County, 
Minnesota;
    (4) Install a new regulator and valve at its Farmington Compressor 
Station in Dakota County, Minnesota;
    (5) Upgrade 10 existing town border stations (TBS) in Douglas, 
Wright, Stearns, Dakota, Sherburne and Pope counties of Minnesota; and
    (6) Install a valve operator on the existing C to B tie-over valve 
located at the St. Paul TBS 1T in Washington County, 
Minnesota.

[[Page 67401]]

    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\2\ If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a specific 
portion of the project, send your request to Micheal T. Loeffler, 
Director, Certificates and Community Relations, Northern Natural Gas 
Company, 111 South 103rd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1000.
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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 Web site at the ``FERRIS'' link or from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For 
instructions on connecting to FERRIS 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 59.7 
acres of land. Following construction, about 15.9 acres would be 
maintained as new operational right-of-way and aboveground facility 
sites. The remaining 43.8 acres of land would be restored and allowed 
to revert to its former use.

The EA 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. This process is referred to as ``scoping''. The main goal of 
the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA 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 EA. 
All comments received are considered during the preparation of the EA. 
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 EA 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
--Land use
--Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
--Cultural resources
--Vegetation and wildlife
--Air quality and noise
--Endangered and threatened species
--Hazardous waste
--Public safety

    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 EA. Depending 
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA 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 EA 
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make 
our recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below.

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 EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations/routes), 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., NE., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
--Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 2 Branch.
--Reference Docket No. CP02-436-000.
--Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on 
or before November 29, 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 
strongly 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 may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving 
it, please return the Information Request (appendix 4). 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 EA 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).\4\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \4\ 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.

Environmental Mailing List

    This notice is being sent to individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
proposed project. It is also being sent to all identified potential 
right-of-way grantors. By this notice we are also asking governmental 
agencies, especially those in appendix 3, to express their interest in 
becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the

[[Page 67402]]

Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the 
FERC Internet Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the FERRIS link. Click on 
the FERRIS link, enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected an 
appropriate date range. For assistance with FERRIS, the FERRIS helpline 
can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at 
[email protected]. The FERRIS link on the FERC Internet Web 
site also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by 
the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-28168 Filed 11-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P