[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 5620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-2468]


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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 public hearing.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides information concerning a public hearing 
to be held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 
Connecticut. The hearing involves an administrative appeal filed with 
the Department of Commerce by the Islander East Pipeline Company 
(Consistency Appeal of islander East Pipeline Company, L.L.C.).

DATES: NOAA will conduct the hearing during the public comment period 
for the appeal which runs through May 8, 2003. A specific date has not 
yet been confirmed. Additional information concerning the hearing will 
be available within approximately 30 days from the publication of this 
announcement.

ADDRESSES: A public hearing for the Islander East administrative appeal 
will take place in the State of Connecticut, at a site to be 
determined. The location will be announced in a subsequent Federal 
Register notice. Comments on issues relevant to the Secretary's 
decision of this appeal 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, 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 at the 
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, 
Hartford, CT.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Branden Blum, Senior Counselor, 
NOAA Office of the General Counsel, via email at 
[email protected], or at (301) 713-2967, extension 186.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Islander East Pipeline Company, L.L.C. 
(Islander East) filed a notice of appeal with the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 
as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq., asking that the Secretary override 
the State of Connecticut's objection to Islander East's proposed 
natural gas pipeline. The project 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.
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf of 
the Secretary of Commerce, will conduct a public hearing for the 
Islander East appeal, at a location in the State of Connecticut. The 
purpose of the hearing is to obtain information relevant to issues to 
be decided by the Secretary in the appeal. A summary of relevant 
issues, as well as additional background information concerning the 
appeal, appears in a January 24, 2003, Federal Register announcement. 
See 68 FR 3513. A copy of the announcement also can be found on the 
Department of Commerce CZMA Consistency Appeals Web site located at 
http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm.
    The public hearing is expected to be held during the Spring of 
2003. Initial details concerning the hearing, such as the date and a 
specific locale, should be available within approximately 30 days from 
the publication of this announcement, via the Internet at the Web site 
address listed above and through a subsequent Federal Register notice.
    Questions concerning the hearing may be sent via e-mail to 
[email protected] or made by telephone to (301) 713-2967, 
extension 186.

[Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog No. 11.419 Coastal Zone 
Management Program Assistance.]
    Dated: January 29, 2003.
James R. Walpole,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-2468 Filed 2-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M