[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 54 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13699-13701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6725]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF03-1-000]


El Paso Corporation; Notice of Pre-Filing Environmental Review 
and Scoping for the Cheyenne Plains Pipeline Project and Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues

March 14, 2003.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC or Commission) 
staff has begun a pre-filing environmental review for El Paso 
Corporation's (El Paso) planned Cheyenne Plains Pipeline Project.\1\ El 
Paso is planning a 380-mile-long, 30-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline 
which would extend from northeastern Colorado into western Kansas. This 
project is currently in an early design stage. As a stakeholder in this 
process, we invite you to assist us in our review. Specifically, you 
can provide us with written comments which identify potential 
environmental impacts of constructing and operating the project.
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    \1\ The El Paso Corporation would actually file with the 
Commission an application under a new subsidiary to construct the 
Cheyenne Plains Project. The Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Company 
has recently been formed by its parent corporation, El Paso. El Paso 
has also indicated that the new facilities would be operated by 
Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG), also a subsidiary of El Paso. 
After the certificate application is filed, we will refer to the 
proponent of the project as Cheyenne Plains Pipeline Company.
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    The Commission staff is currently planning to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for El Paso's project\2\. This EIS 
will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to 
determine whether or not the project is in the public convenience and 
necessity.
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    \2\ El Paso's preliminary environmental information for this 
project is filed in Docket No. PF03-1-000. El Paso's certificate 
application would be given a ``CP'' docket number filing designation 
when it is filed with the Commission. This application should fall 
under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the 
Commission's regulations.
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    If you are an affected property owner receiving this letter, you 
may be contacted by an El Paso representative about the acquisition of 
an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the planned facilities. 
You may have already been contacted by El Paso about the Cheyenne 
Plains Pipeline Project, or may have attended the Open Houses recently 
sponsored by El Paso in February 2003. El Paso would seek to negotiate 
a mutually acceptable agreement. However, if the project is filed with 
the Commission and is ultimately approved, 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 preliminary route has been established by El Paso, however, if 
minor reroutes or variations are required to avoid or minimize impacts 
to certain features on your property, this is your opportunity to 
assist us and El Paso in identifying those specific areas of concern on 
your property. Provided as Appendix 2 is a Fact Sheet for your 
information. It includes information on how to contact El Paso. It also 
further describes the Commission's National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA)-pre-filing process.
    El Paso has initiated a Public Participation Plan to provide a 
means of communication for participating stakeholders and has 
established a toll-free telephone number for communicating with El Paso 
representatives (1-877-598-5263). See Appendix 2 for additional 
information on how to contact El Paso. If you have any further 
questions for El Paso regarding its planned project, we encourage you 
to contact their representatives to answer your questions and address 
your concerns.
    This notice is being mailed to landowners whose properties are 
currently within the Cheyenne Plains Pipeline Project's 200-foot-wide 
corridor along the planned route; Federal, State, and local government 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Native American tribes; and local libraries and newspapers. We 
encourage government representatives to notify their constituents of 
this planned action and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern.
    The Commission is the lead Federal agency for conducting the 
environmental review, pursuant to NEPA. The following State and Federal 
agencies and organizations have agreed to participate in this pre-
filing process:
    U.S. Forest Service, Pawnee National Grasslands;

[[Page 13700]]

    National Park Service, Long Distance Trails Office;
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kansas and Colorado Field Offices;
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Colorado and Kansas Districts;
    Kansas State Historic Preservation Office;
    Colorado State Historic Preservation Office;
    Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks;
    Colorado Division of Wildlife; Santa Fe Trail Association.
    Other agencies or organizations who are interested in participating 
should indicate this in a written request to the Secretary of the 
Commission (Secretary). Please carefully follow the instructions in the 
``Public Participation'' section of this notice. All participating 
agencies are encouraged to take part in the scoping process and provide 
us written comments. Agencies are also welcome to suggest format and 
content changes that will make it easier for them to adopt the EIS. 
However, we will decide what modifications will be adopted in light of 
our production constraints.

Summary of the Project

    El Paso states that its project would transport up to 540,000 
dekatherms per day from the hub at Cheyenne to major pipelines in the 
Midwest. The preliminary facilities include:
    [sbull] About 380 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline in Weld, 
Morgan, Washington, Yuma, and Kit Carson Counties, Colorado; and 
Sherman, Wallace, Logan, Scott, Lane, Finney, Hodgeman, Ford, and Kiowa 
Counties, Kansas;
    [sbull] An additional 32,675 horsepower to be installed at CIG's 
existing Cheyenne Compressor Station in Weld County, Colorado;
    [sbull] Two new meter stations to be installed at the Cheyenne 
Compressor Station for Wyoming Interstate Gas Company and CIG. A new 
amine processing facility is also planned;
    [sbull] Up to six meter stations/interconnects with various other 
major pipeline companies' facilities at the termination of the 
mainline; and
    [sbull] Various aboveground facilities, such as pig launchers and 
receivers, and block valves placed about every 15 to 18 miles.
    El Paso plans to construct this project in the third quarter of 
2004, to be placed in-service by mid-2005. A general location map of 
the project facilities is shown in Appendix 2.\3\
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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 Web site at the ``FERRIS'' link or from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 
First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, or call 1-866-208-
3676. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this 
notice in the mail.
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    Construction of the planned pipeline would require about 4,700 
acres including the pipeline construction right-of-way (ROW) and 
additional temporary work spaces. Following construction, about 2,300 
acres would be retained as new permanent ROW for the pipeline. The 
remaining 2,400 acres of temporary work space would be restored and 
allowed to revert to its former use. Construction at the existing 
Cheyenne Compressor Station would occur on the existing site.

The EIS Process

    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 to solicit and address concerns the public may have 
about proposals. We call this ``scoping.'' The main goal of the scoping 
process is to focus the EIS on the important environmental issues. With 
this notice, the Commission is continuing to seek public comments on 
the scope of the issues it will address in the EIS. All comments 
received are considered during the preparation of the EIS. State and 
local government representatives are encouraged to notify their 
constituents of this planned project and encourage them to comment on 
their areas of concern.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have identified several issues that we think deserve attention 
based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities and the 
environmental information provided by El Paso. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on our analysis:
    [sbull] Federally listed endangered or threatened species, may 
occur in the project area.
    [sbull] The Pawnee National Grasslands is crossed.
    [sbull] Numerous streams and wetlands are crossed.
    [sbull] Agricultural fields and pastures are crossed, including 
those that are actively cultivated and irrigated.
    [sbull] Rangelands, including those that are actively grazed, are 
crossed.
    [sbull] The Santa Fe Trail is crossed in Ford County, Kansas.
    Our evaluation will also include possible alternatives to the 
proposed project or portions of the project, and we will make 
recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various 
resource areas of concern.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will result in the 
publication of a draft EIS that will be mailed to Federal, State, and 
local government agencies; Native American tribes; elected officials; 
public interest groups; interested individuals; interested affected 
landowners; newspapers; libraries; and the Commission's official 
service list for this proceeding. A 45-day comment period will be 
allotted for review of the draft EIS. We will consider comments on the 
draft EIS and revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a final 
EIS. The final EIS will include our response to comments received on 
the draft EIS and will be used by the Commission in its decision-making 
process to determine whether or not to approve the project.

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 EIS and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative locations 
and 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 and properly recorded:
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] Refer to Docket No. PF03-1-000;
    [sbull] Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 1, PJ-11.1.
    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 
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.''

[[Page 13701]]

    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Mailing List Retention 
Form included in Appendix 1. If you do not return the form, you will be 
taken off the mailing list.

The Pre-Filing NEPA Process

    FERC has initiated work on evaluating the Cheyenne Plains Pipeline 
Project using the Pre-Filing NEPA Process. FERC has assigned a Pre-
Filing Docket Number (PF01-3-000). When El Paso files an application, 
it will be assigned a ``CP'' docket number, and all information filed 
under Docket No. PF03-1-000 will be become part of the record for the 
``CP docket.'' All comments received during the pre-filing period will 
be considered during the preparation of the EIS.

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once El Paso files a certificate application at the FERC for the 
Cheyenne Plains Pipeline Project, 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 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).\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. See www.ferc.gov for more information.
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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 that would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your environmental comments considered.
    Parties cannot intervene in this project until a certificate 
application is filed at the FERC. The company will mail a notice of 
this filing to affected landowners shortly after it occurs.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-6725 Filed 3-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P