[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65268-65270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-00300]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-12-000]


TransColorado Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Compression 
Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 12, 2003.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Compression Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by TransColorado Gas 
Transmission Company (TransCo) in various counties in Colorado.\1\ 
These facilities would consist of three new compressor stations, 
additional compression at one existing compressor station, and an 
upgrade at one existing compressor station, providing a total of 20,120 
additional horsepower. The new compression facilities would provide 
TransCo the ability to transport an additional 125,000 dekatherms per 
day. This EA will be used by the Commission in its decisionmaking 
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience 
and necessity.
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    \1\ TransCo's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, 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 
Colorado law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice TransCo provided to landowners. This fact sheet 
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of 
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. 
It is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site 
(www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    TransCo seeks authority to construct three new compressor stations; 
install additional compression at one existing compressor station; and 
make an upgrade at one existing compressor station. All facilities 
would be in Colorado. Specifically, TransCo would:
    [sbull] Construct one new compressor station (Whitewater) in Mesa 
County and install one 4,735-horsepower (hp) compressor;
    [sbull] Construct one new compressor station (Redvale) and 692 feet 
of 10-inch-diameter pipeline in Montrose County, and install one 4,735-
hp compressor;
    [sbull] Construct one new compressor station (Mancos) in Montezuma 
County and install two 3,550-hp compressors;
    [sbull] Install one 3,550-hp compressor at an existing compressor 
station (Dolores) in Dolores County;
    [sbull] Re-wheel a compressor at an existing compressor station 
(Olathe) in Montrose County, with no change in horsepower; and
    [sbull] Construct, modify, and operate certain ancillary facilities 
entirely within or immediately adjacent to TransCo's existing 
facilities or those proposed in this application.
    The general location of all project facilities as well as more 
detailed locations of the proposed new

[[Page 65269]]

compressor stations are shown in appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other 
than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's website at 
the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission(s Public Reference and 
Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to 
eLibrary refer to the last page of this notice. Copies of the 
appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the new compressor stations (including access 
roads) would require about 17.8 acres of land. Of this, about 1.2 acres 
would revert to previous use while the rest would be maintained for 
operation of the new facilities. In addition, upgrades at the existing 
compressor stations would affect about 6.7 acres of land already in use 
for natural gas transmission.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (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 
\3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping.'' The main goal of 
the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission requests 
public comments on the scope of the issues it will address in the EA. 
All comments received are considered during the preparation of the EA. 
State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify 
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to 
comment on their areas of concern.
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    \3\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:

[sbull] Geology, soils, and groundwater
[sbull] Land use and visual quality
[sbull] Cultural resources
[sbull] Socioeconomics
[sbull] Vegetation and wildlife (including threatened and endangered 
species)
[sbull] Air quality and noise
[sbull] Reliability and safety

    We will not discuss impacts to the following resource areas since 
they are not present in the project area, or would not be affected by 
the proposed facilities.

[sbull] Surface water resources, fisheries, and wetlands

    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending 
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be 
published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, public 
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for 
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA 
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make 
our recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by TransCo. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    [sbull] Visual impacts on Federal land, including National Forest.
    [sbull] Noise impacts on nearby residents.

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 EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations), 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 in time 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] Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 1.
    [sbull] Reference Docket No. CP04-12-000.
    [sbull] Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 12, 2003.
    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 
strongly 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 on-line.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor.'' Intervenors play a more formal role in the Commission's 
proceedings. 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 of the Commission 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) (see appendix 2).\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.
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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 which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your environmental comments considered.

Environmental Mailing List

    This notice is being sent to individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
proposed project. By this notice we are also asking governmental 
agencies, especially those in appendix 3, to express their interest in 
becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA. The U.S.

[[Page 65270]]

Bureau of Land Management and the U.S Forest Service have already 
agreed to be cooperating agencies.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the 
FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. 
Click on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the 
docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number 
field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For 
assistance with eLibrary, the eLibrary helpline can be reached at 1-
866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at [email protected]. The 
eLibrary link on the FERC Internet website also provides access to the 
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time 
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to 
the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, any public meetings or site visits conducted as part of 
our review of this project will be posted on the Commission's calendar 
located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with 
other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E3-00300 Filed 11-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P