[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 61 (Thursday, March 31, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16498-16499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-1424]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-88-000]


Northern Border Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Chicago III Expansion Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 24, 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 Chicago III Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Northern Border 
Pipeline Company (NBPL) in Johnson and Scott Counties, Iowa and Bureau 
County, Illinois.\1\ These facilities would consist of a new 16,000-
horsepower (hp) electric compressor station, installation of additional 
gas cooling equipment, and changing internals and wheel of compressors. 
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\ NBPL'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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    NBPL proposes to construct, modify, install and operate the 
following facilities:
    1. Compressor Station No. 16--Install one new 16,000-hp electric 
driven compressor unit at the existing launcher-receiver station site 
located in Section 17, Township 77 North, Range 5 West, Johnson County, 
Iowa.
    2. Compressor Station No. 17--Install additional gas-cooling 
equipment and replace the compressor wheel and internals on the 
existing centrifugal compressor unit located in Section 13, Township 79 
North, Range 4 East, Scott County, Iowa. The proposed modification 
would not result in a change in hp rating.
    3. Compressor Station No. 18--Replace the compressor wheel and 
internals on the existing centrifugal compressor unit located in 
Section 1, Township 17 North, Range 10 East, Bureau County, Illinois. 
The proposed modification would not result in a change in hp rating.
    NBPL indicates that it would also ``certain install related 2.55(a) 
auxiliary facilities.''
    NBPL indicates that in order to provide the electric power to 
operate Compressor Station 16, Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) 
would construct about 1.8 miles of a 69-kilovolt transmission line from 
its existing transmission line north of Compressor Station 16. NBPL 
indicates that CIPCO's planned power line would be regulated by the 
Iowa Utilities Board and CIPCO would need to file for and obtain the 
necessary permits and environmental clearances for its planned power 
line 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 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 occur on previously 
disturbed land within each of the three compressor station sites owned 
by NBPL.
    The 16,000-hp electric driven compressor would be installed on a 
currently designated 10.3-acre Compressor Station 16 site which 
currently contains an existing NBPL launcher/receiver facility and 
microwave tower. NBPL would also construct and maintain a new access 
road to the compressor station.
    The proposed modifications for the compressor wheels and internals 
at Compressor Stations 17 and 18 would occur within the compressor 
buildings. The proposed gas-cooling equipment at Compressor Station 17 
would be installed in a previously disturbed area.
    NBPL indicates that CIPCO plans to construct a new 1.8-mile long 
69-kilovolt transmission line (to provide electrical power to 
Compressor Station 16) ``within state and county road easements 
utilizing aboveground and ``narrow profile'' construction methods to 
minimize land requirements, potential private landowner concerns, and 
environmental impacts that may be associated with CIPCO's project. 
Ground disturbance will generally be limited to the areas immediately 
surrounding the base of the power line poles.''

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:
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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,
     Water resources and fisheries.
    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

[[Page 16499]]

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.

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. CP05-88-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before April 25, 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 online.
    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 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 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] 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. E5-1424 Filed 3-30-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P