[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69759-69760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29098]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[(OR-120-5101 ER-H019) (2-0200)]


Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) on a Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline Right-of-Way

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), DOI.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Coos Bay 
District, directed the preparation of an EIS by Biological Information 
Specialists, Inc., a third party contractor, on the impacts of a 
proposed natural gas pipeline from near Roseburg in Douglas County, 
Oregon, to Coos Bay in Coos County, Oregon. BLM received a right-of-way 
application from the Coos County Board of Commissioners, under Section 
501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of October 21, 1976, 
(43 U.S.C. 1737) on May 17, 2000. The proposed pipeline will cross 
approximately 60 miles of public and private lands in Coos and Douglas 
Counties, Oregon. This notice initiates the public review process on 
the FEIS. The public is invited to review and comment on the range and 
adequacy of the alternatives and associated environmental effects.

DATES: The FEIS will be distributed and made available to the public 
approximately November 19, 2002, for a 30-day review period. Copies of 
the FEIS will be mailed to individuals, agencies, or companies who 
previously requested copies or who responded to the Bureau of Land 
Management on the Draft EIS. No decisions on the proposed action shall 
be made until at least 30 days after publication of a Notice of 
Availability by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Bob Gunther, Project 
Coordinator, Coos Bay District, BLM, 1300 Airport Lane, North Bend, OR 
97459. Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Coos 
Bay District Office in North Bend, Oregon and local libraries. The FEIS 
will also be available electronically at the BLM Coos Bay District Web 
site (http://www.or.blm.gov/coosbay) and the Coos County web site 
(http://www.co.coos.or.us). Comments, including names and street 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
Coos Bay District Office during regular business hours 7:45 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual 
respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your 
name or street address from public review or from disclosure under the 
Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the 
extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations and 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Gunther, Project Coordinator, at 
address above or telephone (541-751-4295), fax: 541-751-4303, or e-mail 
comments to the attention of [email protected]. For Technical 
Information contained in the EIS contact Melanie Little, Biologist, 
Biological Information Specialists, Inc., P.O. Box 27, Camas Valley, 
Oregon 97416, Telephone: (541) 445-2008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coos County Board of Commissioners has 
applied for a right-of-way proposing to contract construction of a 12-
inch natural gas transmission pipeline to be buried within the existing 
rights-of-ways of the Pacific Corp. (PP&L) and Bonneville Power 
Administration (BPA) electric transmission lines, and within the 
existing roadbed of the Coos Bay Wagon Road. The total length of the 
pipeline is approximately 60 miles, with approximately 3.0 miles 
located on lands administered by the BLM. The proposed pipeline would 
connect to the Williams Gas Pipeline at a meter facility southwest of 
Roseburg, in or near Section 33 Township 27 South, Range 6 West in 
Douglas County and would terminate at Ocean Boulevard in the city of 
Coos Bay (Section 27 Township 25 South, Range 13 West).
    The natural gas transmission pipeline will deliver gas to 
distribution facilities built by Northwest Natural Gas in the 
communities of Coos Bay and North Bend. Smaller 6-inch or 4-inch 
laterals will be built off the mainline to serve the cities of 
Coquille, Myrtle Point, and perhaps Bandon at a later date. The 
location of the laterals has not been finalized, but they are 
anticipated to follow the location of existing powerline, State 
highway, or railroad rights-of-way. Locations of the distribution lines 
within the city limits are not known at this time, but are anticipated 
to be located within existing road rights-of-way.
    The proposed pipeline will fall under the jurisdiction of U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), as a natural gas transmission 
pipeline. It will be built and operated to all current specifications 
in 49 CFR Part 192 (Natural Gas Pipelines) and other relevant sections. 
The Oregon Public Utility Commission will administer DOT Pipeline 
Safety regulations for this pipeline.
    The proposed pipeline will be designed with the appropriate design 
safety factors. The mainline is proposed as a welded steel pipeline 
with a Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) of 1,000 pounds per 
square inch (psi). The finished pipeline will be pressure tested to at 
least 150% of MAOP, to detect leakage or failure.
    All construction will be done during daylight hours. Mainline 
construction will take about 6 months. Applicant plans to construct in 
the relatively dry summer months of April through October.
    Pipeline construction will require a working space up to 60 feet 
wide. DOT requires a minimum of 30'' of cover in normal soils, 18'' in 
consolidated rock, 36'' under roads. The pipe will be installed to a 
target depth of 48'' to top of pipe. Some grading will be required to 
install the pipe, but shall be substantially restored to original grade 
before revegetation. All earth disturbance operations shall be subject 
to an erosion control plan to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) guidelines.
    In sections along electrical transmission lines, the contractor 
shall be required to have and follow a plan to continuously ground the 
pipe, to protect workers from shock from induced currents.
    Coos County plans to contract pipeline operations with an 
experienced pipeline operator. The County and its operator are required 
under DOT to formulate and use an Operations and Maintenance Plan 
specifically for this pipeline. The Operations and Maintenance Plan 
will include an Emergency Plan for specific procedures

[[Page 69760]]

and notifications in case of an emergency.
    Coos County plans to provide cathodic protection against corrosion, 
as required by DOT. Magnesium anodes will be placed at regular 
intervals along the pipeline, to sacrificially corrode and protect the 
coated steel pipe. This method normally mitigates most induced 
alternating current (AC). In sections near electrical transmission 
lines, supplemental anodes and other measures will be taken as 
necessary to minimize induced AC on the pipeline.
    Long-term pipeline operation will require approximately 40 feet of 
space to be kept clear of larger brush and trees. Access roads to the 
BPA corridor will be restored as needed for pipeline construction and 
access for Operations and Maintenance.
    After the initial pipeline construction period, there is no need to 
ever excavate any particular segment of pipe. Annual maintenance 
consists of checking depth of pipe in roadways, repairing any soil 
erosion, controlling brush, replacing line markers, painting and 
operating block valves, conducting leak surveys, and checking the 
effectiveness of the corrosion control system.
    The Draft EIS was issued in December 2001. EPA published its Notice 
of Availability on January 25, 2002, with the formal public comment 
period closing on March 25, 2002. Thirty-nine comment letters were 
received. Comments have been analyzed, and appropriate changes have 
been made in the FEIS. Public comments have been summarized and printed 
in the FEIS along with BLM's responses.
    A Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision on the project 
will be published at a later date.

Mark E. Johnson,
Acting District Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-29098 Filed 11-18-02; 8:45 am]
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