[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57426-57427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24832]


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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: Supplemental notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides scheduling information concerning a 
public hearing to be held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration in New Haven, Connecticut. The hearing involves an 
administrative appeal filed with the

[[Page 57427]]

Department of Commerce by the Islander East Pipeline Company 
(Consistency Appeal of Islander East Pipeline Company, L.L.C.).

DATES: The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on November 5, 
2003. Speaker registration begins at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the 
hearing. Public comments on the appeal must be received by November 20, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing and speaker registration will be held at 
the Omni New Haven Hotel, 155 Temple Street, New Haven, Connecticut. 
Written comments may be submitted at the hearing. All e-mail comments 
on issues relevant to the Secretary's decision of this appeal may be 
submitted to [email protected]. Apart from the hearing, 
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 to 
the appeal are to be available for review at the Connecticut Department 
of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, Connecticut.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Islander East Pipeline Company filed an 
administrative appeal with the Department of Commerce, pursuant to the 
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), as amended, asking that the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) override the State of Connecticut's 
(State) objection to Islander East's proposed natural gas pipeline. The 
pipeline would extend from near North Haven, Connecticut, 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 February 4, 2003, NOAA published a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing that it would hold a public hearing concerning the 
Islander East appeal at a location to be determined in the State of 
Connecticut. See 68 FR 5620. The notice also indicated the hearing was 
expected to be held in the Spring of 2003. Subsequently, proceedings in 
the appeal were temporarily halted at the request of one or both 
parties in order to accommodate settlement negotiations and then to 
allow the State of Connecticut to reconsider its objection to the 
pipeline project. On August 19, 2003, a Federal Register notice advised 
that processing of the appeal had resumed and that details concerning 
the previously announced public hearing would be forthcoming. See 68 FR 
49760. This notice provides scheduling information for the hearing.
    The hearing, to be held on November 5, 2003, will begin at 9:30 
a.m. at the Omni New Haven Hotel, and continue throughout the day with 
afternoon and evening sessions. Intermissions are expected near noon 
and in the late afternoon (approximately 4:30 p.m.). In addition, a 
temporary recess may be scheduled for periods when all registered 
speakers have had an opportunity to testify. Typically the evening 
session is crowded, and it is suggested that, if possible, speakers 
attend the morning or afternoon sessions. Speakers must register on the 
day of the hearing, on site, at the hotel. Registration of speakers 
will begin at 8:30 a.m. Each organization that registers should expect 
to receive a total of five minutes for its representatives to present 
oral comments. Individuals from the general public who register will 
receive approximately three minutes to speak. Speakers will be 
recognized in the order in which they register (a first-come-first-
serve basis), alternating between individuals from the general public 
and those representing organizations. A specific period is also 
expected to be designated during the morning and afternoon sessions for 
remarks by elected officials.
    Written comments may be submitted to NOAA at the hearing by any 
person in attendance. For submissions at the hearing, we request, but 
do not require, that you provide three copies for inclusion into the 
administrative record. Apart from the hearing, written comments may be 
submitted by e-mail to [email protected] or forwarded via 
mail to NOAA's Office of the General Counsel for Ocean Services. 
Comments must be submitted by November 20, 2003, the close of the 
public comment period. Comments will be made available to the parties; 
they are also expected to be posted on the Department of Commerce's 
CZMA appeals Web site at http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm.
    This hearing is being held to obtain information on issues the 
Secretary will likely consider in deciding Islander East's appeal. A 
summary of relevant issues as well as additional background on the 
appeal appears in a January 24, 2003 Federal Register notice announcing 
the filing of the appeal (see 68 FR 3513), a copy of which can be found 
on the Internet at http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm.
    Questions concerning the hearing may be sent via e-mail to 
[email protected] or made by telephone to 301 713-2967, extension 
186.

    Dated: September 26, 2003.
James R. Walpole,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-24832 Filed 10-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P