[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70592-70594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29855]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP03-2-000]


Energy West Development, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Shoshone Pipeline Conversion 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 19, 2002.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the potential environmental impacts of a proposal by Energy 
West Development, Inc. (EWD) to convert a 30-mile-long segment of an 
existing pipeline to natural gas service.\1\ This pipeline, referred to 
as the ``Shoshone Pipeline,'' is 6 inches in diameter and extends 
between a point north of Cody, Parker County, Wyoming, and a point 
northwest of Warren, Carbon County, Montana.\2\ 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\ EWD's application was filed with the Commission under 
Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
    \2\ The pipeline was constructed in 1960 to transport liquid 
petroleum products. It was previously owned by Montana Power 
Company, and has not been in use for at least the last 7 years.
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    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 EWD provided to affected 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

[[Page 70593]]

available for viewing on the FERC Internet website (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    EWD wants to convert about 30 miles of an existing pipeline in 
northern Wyoming and southern Montana to natural gas service. The 
conversion would enable EWD to transport about 13,500 million Btus of 
natural gas per day between an interconnection with Energy West Wyoming 
at the north city gate of Cody, Wyoming, and an interconnection with a 
pipeline owned by Montana Power Company northwest of Warren, Montana. 
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\3\ EWD states that it already owns and possesses all necessary 
rights-of-way for operation of the Shoshone Pipeline.
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    \3\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on the 
Commission's website 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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    The only construction associated with the conversion project would 
be the installation of a metering facility at the northern terminus of 
the pipeline. The metering facilities would be located in an area 
measuring about 30 feet wide by 80 feet long on EWD's existing right-
of-way in section 17, township 8 south, range 25 east in Carbon County, 
Montana. The facilities would consist of a meter, related aboveground 
equipment, and an aboveground skid-mounted building to house 
electronics. The meter itself would be installed between two existing 
flanged risers. The area would be fenced and gravel applied to the 
ground surface. No excavations would be required.

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 
\4\ 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 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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    \4\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    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, 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:
    [sbull] Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie 
R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    [sbull] Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 1, 
PJ-11.1.
    [sbull] Reference Docket No. CP03-2-000.
    [sbull] Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 20, 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.''

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).\5\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \5\ 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

    This notice is being sent to individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
proposed project. Additional information about the project is available 
from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or 
on the FERC Internet website (http://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 
website also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by 
the

[[Page 70594]]

Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-29855 Filed 11-22-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P