[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 77 (Friday, April 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20895-20896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-1897]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-73-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Waconia Pig Launcher Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

April 15, 2005.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) on Northern 
Natural Gas Company's (Northern Natural) proposed Waconia Pig Launcher 
Project. Northern Natural's proposal involves construction and 
operation of two pig launchers at a site in Carver County, Minnesota. 
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process that will be 
used to gather environmental input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Please note that the scoping period will close 
on May 16, 2005.
    This notice is being sent to potentially affected landowners; 
Federal, State, and local government agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; 
parties on the Commission's official service list for this proceeding; 
and local libraries and newspapers. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this proposed 
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a Northern Natural representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facility. 
Northern Natural 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, Northern Natural 
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?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet 
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including how to 
participate in the Commission's proceedings.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    A pipeline ``pig'' is a device used to clean or inspect the inside 
of a pipeline. A pig launcher is an aboveground facility where pipeline 
pigs are inserted or retrieved from the pipeline. Northern Natural \1\ 
seeks the authority to construct and operate two pig launchers and 
appurtenant equipment at a location where the Waconia Branchlines 
diverge from the Willmar Branchline, about 4 miles south-southwest of 
Waconia in Carver County, Minnesota. The proposed pig launchers would 
enable Northern Natural to insert internal inspection pigs into each of 
the branchlines in order to perform risk and integrity assessments. 
Northern Natural is required to conduct these studies to comply with 
the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 and the Department of 
Transportation's Final Integrity Management Rule for High Consequence 
Areas.
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    \1\ Northern Natural's application was filed with the Commission 
under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the 
Commission's regulations.
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    The Waconia Branchlines are two parallel pipelines, 6 and 8 inches 
in diameter, which carry natural gas between the Willmar Branchline and 
Waconia, Minnesota. An aboveground mainline valve is presently located 
at the site where the pig launchers would be installed. The general 
location of the project 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 (map), 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 
Additional Information section below. Copies of the appendices were 
sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements

    About 1.43 acres of agricultural land (i.e., a parcel measuring 250 
feet by 250 feet) would be disturbed during construction. Northern 
Natural's current easement for the valve site would need to be 
increased by about 0.08 acre (100 feet by 35 feet) to accommodate the 
proposed pig launcher.

[[Page 20896]]

The EA Process

    We \3\ are preparing the EA to comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which 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 and to ensure 
those issues and concerns are analyzed in the EA. 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 and 
reasonable alternatives. By this notice, we are requesting public 
comment on the scope of the issues to be addressed in the EA. All 
comments received will be considered during the preparation of the EA. 
To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the Public Participation section on the following page.
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    \3\ ''We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects.
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    By this notice, we are also asking Federal, State, and local 
agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues to formally cooperate with us in the preparation 
of the EA. Agencies that would like to request cooperating status 
should follow the instructions for filing comments provided on the next 
page.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. 
Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA 
may be published and mailed to those entities receiving this notice and 
any other interested parties identified during our review of Northern 
Natural's project. 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.

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, reasonable and practicable 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:
     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 1;
     Reference Docket No. CP05-73-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before May 16, 2005.
    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 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 official 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.

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. To register for this service, go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-1897 Filed 4-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P