[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 16 (Friday, January 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3513-3514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1634]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Federal Consistency Appeal by Islander East Pipeline Company From 
an Objection by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection

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

ACTION: Notice of appeal, request for comment, and notice of 
availability of appeal documents.

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SUMMARY: The Islander East Pipeline Company has filed an administrative 
appeal with the Department of Commerce (Consistency Appeal of Islander 
East Pipeline Company, L.L.C.) asking that the Secretary of Commerce 
override the State of Connecticut's objection to Islander East's 
proposed natural gas pipeline. The pipeline would extend from an 
interconnection with an existing pipeline near North Haven, 
Connecticut, to a terminus on Long Island, New York, affecting the 
natural resources or land and water uses of Connecticut's coastal zone. 
This document: (a) Provides public notice of the appeal; (b) announces 
an opportunity for public comment on the appeal; and (c) identifies 
locations where documents comprising the appeal record will be 
available for review.

DATES: Public comments on the appeal must be received by May 8, 2003.

ADDRESSES: All e-mail 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 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 www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm and at 
the Office of the General Counsel for Ocean Services. Also, public 
filings made by the parties to the appeal will be available for review 
at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm 
Street, Hartford, CT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Branden Blum, Senior Counselor, via e-
mail at [email protected], or at 301-713-2967, extension 186.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of Appeal

    Islander East Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Islander East 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 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection 
(State) to Islander East'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 is 
required to indicate that the project is consistent with the State's 
coastal management program. The project would cross portions of the 
Long Island Sound, affecting the natural resources or land and water 
uses of Connecticut's coastal zone.
    The Appellant request that the Secretary override the State's 
consistency objections 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 policies of the State of 
Connecticut'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

    Written public comments are invited on any of the issues that the 
Secretary must consider in deciding this appeal. Comments must be 
received by May 8,

[[Page 3514]]

2003, and may be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. 
Comments may also be sent by mail to the Office of the General Counsel 
for Ocean Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA). Comments will be made available to the Appellant and the State; 
they will also be posted on a Department of Commerce website identified 
below.

III. Appeal Documents

    The Secretary has required that Islander East file its initial 
brief and supplementary information on February 10, 2003, and that the 
State of Connecticut file its initial brief and supplementary material 
on March 24, 2003. NOAA intends to provide the public with access to 
all materials and related documents comprising the appeal record via 
the internet at 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. In addition, technical constraints 
may limit the internet availability of certain documents, such as 
oversized maps or exceedingly lengthy publications. All public 
materials and documents will be available during business hours at the 
NOAA Office of the General Counsel for Ocean Service. In addition, the 
State of Connecticut will make copies of public filings by the parties 
available for review during business hours at the office of the 
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog No. 11.419 Coastal Zone 
Management Program Assistance)

    Dated: January 21, 2003.
James R. Walpole,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-1634 Filed 1-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M