[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 130 (Friday, July 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39504-39505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3609]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP04-413-000, CP04-414-000, and CP04-415-000]


Entrega Gas Pipeline Inc.; Notice of Availability of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Entrega Pipeline 
Project

July 1, 2005.
    The environmental staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC or Commission) has prepared a final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on the interstate natural gas pipeline transmission 
facilities proposed by Entrega Gas Pipeline Inc. (Entrega) in the 
above-referenced dockets.
    The final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Its purpose is to inform the 
Commission, the public, and other permitting agencies about the 
potential adverse and beneficial environmental impacts associated with 
the proposed project and its alternatives, and to recommend practical, 
reasonable, and appropriate mitigation measures which would avoid or 
reduce any significant adverse impacts to the maximum extent 
practicable and, where feasible, to less than significant levels. The 
final EIS concludes that approval of the proposed project, with 
appropriate mitigating measures as recommended, would have limited 
adverse environmental impact.
    The Entrega Pipeline Project involves the construction and 
operation of a new interstate natural gas pipeline system that would 
extend between a proposed Meeker Hub in Rio Blanco County, Colorado; to 
Wamsutter, in Sweetwater County, Wyoming; and continuing on to the 
Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, Colorado. The final EIS assesses the 
potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of 
the following facilities in Colorado and Wyoming:
     About 328.1 miles of new pipeline of 36- and 42-inch-
diameter pipeline--

--136.3 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline, with 86.1 miles in Colorado 
(Rio Blanco and Moffat Counties) and 50.2 miles in Wyoming (Sweetwater 
County); and
--191.8 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline, with 183.1 miles in Wyoming 
(Sweetwater, Carbon, Albany, and Laramie Counties) and 8.7 miles in 
Colorado (Larimer and Weld Counties);

     Three new compressor stations (the Meeker Hub and Bighole 
Compressor Stations in Colorado, the Wamsutter Compressor Station in 
Wyoming);
     Seven meter stations at interconnections with other 
pipeline systems (three associated with the new compressor stations, 
one of which would be constructed by Wyoming Interstate Company), four 
at the new Cheyenne Hub Metering Station in Wyoming;
     Four pig launchers and four pig receivers (six associated 
with compressor and metering stations, one launcher and one receiver at 
the new Arlington Pigging Station in Wyoming);
     22 mainline valves (5 valves at compressor and metering 
stations, 17 valves along the pipeline ROW); and
     Other associated facilities, such as access roads and 
powerlines.
    The proposed project would be capable of transporting up to 1.5 
billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Meeker Hub 
Compressor Station to interconnections at:
     Wamsutter, Wyoming with the Colorado Interstate Gas 
Company (CIG) and Wyoming Interstate Company transmission systems that 
serve markets east and west of Wamsutter; and
     The Cheyenne Hub (Weld County, Colorado) with CIG, 
Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Company, Trailblazer Pipeline Company, and 
Public Service Company of Colorado. These systems would transport gas 
to markets in the Midwest and Central U.S. and the Eastern Slope south 
of the Cheyenne Hub.
    The purpose of the Entrega Pipeline Project is to transport natural 
gas from supply basins in the central Rocky Mountains to interstate 
pipelines at Wamsutter and the Cheyenne Hub. From these points, the gas 
could be transported to markets in the West, the Midwest, or the 
Central United States, depending on the delivery location specified by 
the shipper. The need for the project arises from the current and 
projected increase of natural gas production in the Rocky Mountain 
region, which is occurring without a concurrent increase in pipeline 
capacity to transport this gas out from the production basins and into 
the interstate pipeline network.
    The final EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., 
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    A limited number of copies are available from the FERC's Public 
Reference Room identified above. In addition, copies of the final EIS 
have been mailed to Federal, State, and local agencies; public interest 
groups; individuals and affected landowners who have requested the 
draft EIS; libraries and newspapers in the project area; and parties to 
this proceeding.
    In accordance with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations implementing NEPA, no agency decision on a proposed action 
may be made until 30 days after the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) publishes a Notice of Availability of the final EIS in the 
Federal Register. However, the CEQ regulations provide an exception to 
this rule when an agency decision is subject to a formal internal 
appeal process which allows other agencies or the public to make their 
views known. In such cases, the agency decision may be made at the same 
time the notice of the final EIS is published by the EPA, allowing both 
periods to run concurrently. The Commission's decision for this 
proposed action is subject to a 30-day rehearing period.
    Additional information about the proposed 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 (i.e., CP04-413) 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 on the FERC Internet Web site 
also

[[Page 39505]]

provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-3609 Filed 7-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P