[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2038-2039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-182]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF06-9-000]


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

December 30, 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 Overthrust Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Overthrust 
Pipeline Company (Overthrust) in Uinta and Lincoln Counties, Wyoming. 
The project would consist of approximately 28 miles of 36-inch-diameter 
pipeline and ancilliary facilities that would connect Overthrust's 
existing pipeline with an existing Kern River Transmission Company 
(Kern River) pipeline. 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.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process that the 
Commission will use to gather environmental input from the public and 
interested agencies on the project. Your input will help determine 
which issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the 
scoping period will close on January 30, 2006. Details on how to submit 
comments are provided in the Public Participation section of this 
notice.
    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 Overthrust Expansion Project is in 
the preliminary design state. At this time, no formal application has 
been filed with the FERC. A docket number (PF06-9-000) has been 
established to place information filed by Overthrust, and related 
documents issued by the Commission, into the public record. Once a 
formal application is filed with the FERC, a new docket number will be 
established.
    This notice is being sent to affected landowners; federal, state, 
and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental and 
public interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested 
parties; and local libraries and newspapers. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned 
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 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 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.
    With this notice, we \1\ are asking other Federal, state, local, 
and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with 
respect to environmental issues to 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 below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ ''We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 Overthrust 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 Web site (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Overthrust is seeking authority to construct and operate a new 36-
inch-diameter pipeline, approximately 28 miles long, to be located 
adjacent to other existing pipeline facilities. The proposed pipeline 
would extend from Overthrust's existing pipeline in Uinta, Wyoming to a 
Kern River interconnect located at Opal Market Center in Lincoln, 
Wyoming and would transport up to 550,000 dekatherms of natural gas per 
day (Dth/d). Overthrust also proposes to construct interconnect 
facilities and other ancillary facilities along the proposed route 
including at the existing Blacks Fork Processing Plant and the Roberson 
Creek delivery point.
    The proposed pipeline would cross land owned by five private and 
public landowners, the public landowners being the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) and the State of Wyoming.
    A general overview map of the major project facilities is provided 
in Appendix 1.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The appendix referenced in this notice is not being printed 
in the Federal Register. A copy of this notice is available on the 
Commission's website at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First St., NE., Washington, 
DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to 
eLibrary refer to the end of this notice. Copies of the appendix 
were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[[Page 2039]]

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, we are requesting 
public comments on the scope of the issues that should be addressed in 
the EA. We will consider all comments received during scoping in the 
preparation of the EA.
    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; elected 
officials; environmental and public interest groups; other interested 
parties; affected landowners; Native American tribes; libraries, and 
newspapers; 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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    At this time no formal application has been filed with the FERC. 
For this project, the FERC staff has initiated its NEPA review prior to 
receiving the application. The purpose of the Commission's Pre-Filing 
Process is to involve interested stakeholders early in project planning 
and to identify and resolve issues before an application is filed with 
the FERC.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the proposal. 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 (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 the 
Gas Branch 1, DG2E; and
     Reference Docket No. PF06-9-000 on the original and both 
copies.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 30, 2006.
    We will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable 
time frame in our environmental analysis of the project. To expedite 
our receipt and consideration of your comments, the Commission strongly 
encourages electronic submission of any comments or interventions or 
protests to this proceeding. See Title 18 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's 
website at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link and the link 
to the User's Guide. Before you can submit comments, you will need to 
create a free account by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New 
User Account.'' You will be asked to select the type of filing you are 
making. This filing is considered a Comment on Filing.

Availability of 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 (i.e., PF06-9). 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 provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission, such as orders, notices, and rule makings.
    In addition, the FERC now offers a free service called 
eSubscription that 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. E6-182 Filed 1-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P