[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33898-33900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1348]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-345-000]


Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C.; Notice Of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment For The Proposed Cheyenne Plains 
2005 Expansion Project And Request for Comments On Environmental Issues

June 9, 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 Cheyenne Plains 2005 Expansion 
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Cheyenne 
Plains Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (CPG) in Weld County, Colorado.\1\ 
These facilities would consist of 10,310 horsepower (hp) of compression 
and appurtenant facilities for connection. This EA will be used by the 
Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether the 
project is in the public convenience and necessity.
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    \1\ CPG'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

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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 CPG 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 website (www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    CPG proposes to add 10,310 hp of compression at the 20,320-hp 
Cheyenne Plains Compressor Station currently under construction to 
deliver an additional 170,000 decatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas 
(increased from 560,000 Dth/d to 730,000 Dth/d).
    The 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 website 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 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 proposed facilities would require about 7 acres 
of land. Following construction, about 4 acres would be maintained as a 
new aboveground facility site on previously disturbed land within the 
Cheyenne Plains Compressor Station.

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 
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 staff 
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to 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.
    In the EA we\3\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:

    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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 Air quality and noise

    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.

 Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands

    Further, since the addition of compression would be at a station 
currently under construction and which has been reviewed and cleared 
for the following issues, they will not be discussed:

 Geology and soils
 Land use
 Cultural resources
 Vegetation and wildlife
 Endangered and threatened species
 Hazardous waste
 Public safety

    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 noise impact as an issue that we think 
deserves attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by CPG. This 
preliminary issue may be changed based on your comments and our 
analysis.

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 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. CP04-345-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 13, 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.
    We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving 
it, please return the Information Request (appendix 3). If you do not 
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.

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

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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

    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.

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, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected].
    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.

Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-1348 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P