[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7931-7933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-645]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-45-000]


TransColorado Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Expansion 
Project And Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 9, 2005.
    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 North Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by TransColorado Gas 
Transmission Company (TransColorado) in Rio Blanco County and Mesa 
County, Colorado.\1\ These facilities would consist of about 2,200 feet 
of 24-inch diameter pipeline, 4,670 horsepower (hp) ISO-rated of 
compression, and meter replacements. 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\ TransColorado'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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    The FERC will be the lead federal agency for the preparation of the 
EA. The document will satisfy the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The U.S. Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) has also agreed to participate as a cooperating agency in the 
preparation of the EA to satisfy its NEPA responsibilities. It is the 
goal of the FERC and the BLM to avoid duplication of effort and prepare 
a single EA that can be used to satisfy their NEPA responsibilities.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    TransColorado proposes to:
     Construct and operate a new Greasewood Compressor Station, 
in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, comprised of two 1,000 hp compressor 
units and one 2,061 hp compressor unit;
     Construct about 2,200 feet of 24-inch diameter pipeline 
and one 12-inch bidirectional turbine meter on the discharge side of 
the proposed Greasewood Compressor Station; and
     Replace two existing 10-inch orifice meters with two new 
12-inch turbine meters at the Raccoon Hollow Meter Station in Mesa 
County, Colorado.
    Also, TransColorado indicates it would construct and operate, under

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Section 2.55(a), the following ancillary facilities at the proposed 
Greasewood Compressor Station site: one emergency power generator, a 
station supervisory control system, and a motor control center 
building.
    In support of its application TransColorado indicates that the 
proposed facility would enable it to deliver up to 300,000 decatherms 
per day of gas to the Greasewood Hub. TransColorado states that the 
proposed project would significantly enhance market access for 
developing natural gas supplies in the Piceance Basin.
    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 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 
Additional Information section 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 15.0 
acres of land. Following construction, about 5.8 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 9.2 acres 
of land would be restored and allowed to revert to its former use. All 
of these facilities to be constructed at the Greasewood Compressor 
Station are located on federal land managed by the BLM. The facilities 
to be modified at the Raccoon Hollow Meter Station are located on 
private land. All disturbed areas not required for operation at the 
compressor station and new meter site would be properly reclaimed, 
including spreading of any salvaged topsoil and reseeding using BLM-
approved seed mix.

The EA Process

    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:
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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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     Geology and soils
     Land use
     Cultural resources
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Air quality and noise
     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 air and noise impacts as issues that we 
think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by TransColorado. 
This preliminary list of issues 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. CP05-45-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 11, 2005.
    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 must send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's eFiling system) or 14 paper 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

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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.

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] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link 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. E5-645 Filed 2-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P