[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14400-14401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7016]


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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 on Environmental Protection

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

ACTION: Notice of stay of appeal proceedings.

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SUMMARY: This notice: (1) Announces that processing of Islander East's 
administrative appeal (Consistency Appeal of Islander East Pipeline 
Company, L.L.C.) has been suspended, at the request of Islander East 
Pipeline Company and the State of Connecticut, through May 1, 2003; and 
(2) provides information about procedural aspects of the appeal that 
are affected by the stay of appeal proceedings.

DATES: The stay of appeal proceedings extends through May 1, 2003. The 
public comment period ends on May 8, 2003, but will extended assuming 
processing of the appeal resumes. The federal agency comment period has 
been extended to run through May 1, 2003, and will be further extended 
after the appeal has recommended.

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 
are available at the Internet site http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm and 
at the Office of the General Counsel for Ocean Services. Also, public 
filings made by the parties of the appeal are to be available for 
review 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 e-mail at 
[email protected], or at 301-713-2967, extension 186.

[[Page 14401]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In November 2002, the Islander East Pipeline 
Company, L.L.C. (Islander East) filed a notice of appeal with the 
Department of Commerce, pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 
1972 (CZMA), as amended, 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 near North Haven, 
Connecicut, across the Long Island Sound to a terminus in Suffolk 
County (Long Island), New York. Connecticut's objection is based on the 
project's potential effects on the natural resources or land and water 
uses of Connecticut's coastal zone.
    On March 14, 2003, Islander East requested, on behalf of itself and 
the State of Connecticut, that the Department's processing of the 
appeal be stayed in order to allow settlement negotiations to occur 
between the parties. The requested stay on March 17, 2003.
    In addition to announcing the stay, this Federal Register notice 
provides information concerning procedural aspects of the Islander East 
appeal that are affected by the stay. The public comment period, which 
runs through May 8, 2003, will remain open during the stay. The federal 
agency comment period, which is scheduled to close on April 14, 2003, 
will remain open and be extended through May 1, 2003. After processing 
of the appeal resumes, both comment periods will be extended for a 
period generally commensurate with the length of the stay, taking into 
account the filing date for the State of Connecticut's initial brief. 
(The State's brief had been due on March 24, 2003. In light of the 
stay, the State's brief is now due 45 days after the appeal has 
recommenced.)
    The scheduling of a public hearing on the appeal will be delayed 
until after processing of the appeal resumes, consistent with the 
request of Islander East and the State. A previous Federal Register 
notice indicated the location and date for the hearing would be 
announced in early March 2003. See 68 FR 5620.
    A summary of relevant issues as well as additional background on 
the appeal appears in a January 24, 2003 Federal Register announcement, 
68 FR 3513, a copy of which can be found at the Department of Commerce 
CZMA appeals Web site, http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma/htm. The Web site 
also provides access to documents from the appeal record, such as the 
request to stay the proceedings of Islander East's appeal, and general 
information concerning the appeal process.
    Questions about the stay for the Islander East appeal may be sent 
to NOAA via e-mail ([email protected])or made by telephone (301-
713-2967, extension 186).

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog No. 11.419 Coastal Zone 
Management Program Assistance)
    Dated: March 19, 2003.
James R. Walpole,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-7016 Filed 3-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M