[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5533-5535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-187]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-51-000]


ANR Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Eastleg Expansion Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues and Notice of Site Visit

January 29, 2004.
    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 Eastleg Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by ANR Pipeline 
Company (ANR) in Washington, Brown and Ontoco Counties, Wisconsin.\1\ 
These facilities would consist of about 8 miles of various diameter 
pipelines and one gas cooler at a compressor station. 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\ ANR'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 
State 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 ANR 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 (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    ANR wants to expand the capacity of its natural gas pipeline 
facilities to transport an additional 143,400 million British Thermal 
Units per day of natural gas along its 30-inch-diameter mainline in 
Wisconsin that would in turn serve two recently approved power plants 
under construction. ANR seeks authority to construct and operate:
     4.7 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline to 
replace 4.7 miles of 14-inch-diameter pipeline, to be abandoned by 
removal, in Washington County, Wisconsin, including one new pig 
launcher and two new pig receivers (Mainline Replacement);
     3.5 miles of 8-inch-diameter pipeline looping in 
Brown County, Wisconsin, including one new pig launcher and receiver 
and two tie-in facilities (Denmark Lateral Loop); and
     Modifications on its existing Mountain 
Compressor Station in Ontoco County, Wisconsin, including re-wheeling 
of a compressor unit and addition of a gas cooler and new piping and 
appurtenant facilities.
    The general location of the project facilities is 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 Web site 
at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 
502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to page 6 
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 proposed facilities would require about 125 
acres of land, of which 38 acres is currently in permanent right-of-way 
(ROW) easement and 87 acres would be temporary ROW easement. Following 
construction, about 10 acres of the temporary ROW easement would be 
converted to new permanent right-of-way for maintenance of the Denmark 
Lateral Loop. The remaining 77 acres of

[[Page 5534]]

temporary ROW would be restored and allowed to revert to its former 
use.

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:
     Geology and soils
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Endangered and threatened species
     Cultural resources
     Air quality and noise
     Hazardous waste
     Public safety
     Land use
    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:
     Sole source aquifers
     Prime farmland
    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 beginning on this 
page.

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 ANR. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Four state-protected aquifers occur in the 
project area, including the Sand and Gravel Aquifer, the Eastern 
Dolomite Aquifer, the Sandstone Aquifer, and the Crystalline Bedrock 
Aquifer.
     Approximately twenty water wells may be within 
150 feet of the construction work area.
     Approximately 5.5 miles of cropland would be 
crossed by the pipelines.
     Approximately 2,000 feet of wetlands would be 
crossed by the pipelines.
     The Fox River would be crossed by drilling 
underneath the river.
     Two federally threatened species may occur in 
the proposed project area.
     Residential subdivisions occur along the 
pipeline replacement and looping, with at least 12 residences within 50 
feet of the construction work area.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commenter, 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 pipeline 
alignments, 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:
     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.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention 
of Gas Branch 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP04-051-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received 
in Washington, DC on or before March 1, 2004.
    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.
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request 
(appendix 4). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
taken off the mailing list.

Notice of Site Visit

    The OEP staff will conduct a site visit on February 17 and February 
18, 2004, to inspect ANR's proposed pipeline replacement and looping 
for the Eastleg Expansion Project. The areas will be inspected by 
automobile. Representatives of ANR will accompany the OEP staff. Anyone 
interested in participating in the February 17 site visit for the 
Mainline Replacement in Washington County should meet at the Hawthorn 
Inn & Suites, W227 N16890 Tillie Lake Court, Jackson, Wisconsin 53037, 
at 2 p.m. Anyone interested in participating in the February 18 site 
visit for the Denmark Lateral Loop in Brown County should meet at the 
Riverside Shell gas station, 1010 S Broadway, DePere, Wisconsin 54115, 
at 12 p.m. Participants must provide their own transportation.
    For additional information, contact the Commission's Office of 
External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC.

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 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

[[Page 5535]]

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

    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners who are 
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily 
for project purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the 
Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities. 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.

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 Web site 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, public meetings or site visits 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. E4-187 Filed 2-4-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P