[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19496-19497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5558]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF06-18-000]


Questar Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Southern System Expansion 
Project II, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues and Notice of 
Scoping Meeting

April 7, 2006.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of Questar Pipeline Company's 
(Questar) planned Southern System Expansion Project II located in Utah, 
Carbon, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties, Utah. This notice announces the 
opening of the scoping process we \1\ will use to gather input from the 
public and interested agencies on the project. Your input will help the 
Commission staff determine which issues need to be evaluated in the EA. 
Please note that the scoping period will close on May 12, 2006.
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    \1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects.
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    Comments may be submitted in written form or presented verbally at 
the public meeting detailed below. Further details on how to submit 
written comments are provided in the public participation section of 
this notice. In lieu of sending written comments, you are invited to 
attend the public scoping meeting that is scheduled as follows:
    Wednesday, April 26, 2006, 7 p.m.
    Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 838 Westwood Blvd., Price, UT 84501. 
(435) 637-8880.
    This notice is being sent to affected landowners; Federal, State, 
and local government representatives and agencies; environmental and 
public interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested 
parties in this proceeding; and local libraries and newspapers. We 
encourage government representatives to notify their constituents of 
this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Questar proposes to increase the capacity of its southern 
transmission system by approximately 170,000 dekatherms per day. More 
specifically, Questar seeks authority to:
     Construct approximately 53 miles of 24-inch-diameter 
pipeline and ancillary facilities to loop Questar's existing Main Line 
(ML) No. 40 by extending its ML 104 from its easternmost terminus at 
Soldier Creek in Carbon County to the Green River Block Valve in Uintah 
County;
     Construct approximately 5 miles of 24-inch-diameter 
pipeline to loop its ML 104 between its existing Oak Springs Compressor 
Station (Oak Springs) and Fausett Junction in Carbon County; and
     Restage/reconfigure Oak Springs and Questar's existing 
Blind Canyon Compressor Station (Blind Canyon) and modify other 
existing facilities, including yard and station piping, cooling 
equipment, valves and launcher/receiver facilities at Oak Spring, Blind 
Canyon, and Questar's Thistle Creek Compressor Station in Utah County.
     Seek the modification of metering and gas separation 
facilities by Kern River Gas Transmission Company (Kern River) at its 
interconnect with the ML 104 Pipeline near Goshen, Utah, which serves 
as a receipt point for volumes delivered by Questar to Kern River at 
this location.
    Location maps depicting Questar's proposed facilities and alternate 
routes are provided in Appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on the 
Commission's Web site (excluding maps) at the ``eLibrary'' link or 
from the Commission's Public Reference Room or call (202) 502-8371. 
For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to the end of this 
notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving 
this notice in the mail.
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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 our NEPA 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.
    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities, 
environmental information provided by Questar, discussions with staff 
of the Bureau of Land Management, and comments gathered from concerned 
citizens at Questar's open house held on March 28, 2006. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
     Potential effect on perennial streams and intermittent 
streams crossed by or close to the route;
     Potential effect on vegetation and wildlife resources, 
including critical big game ranges and sage grouse habitat;
     Potential effect on endangered and threatened species;
     Potential effect on historic and prehistoric sites;
     Potential effect on recreation and public interest areas, 
including traffic impacts along the Nine Mile Canyon Scenic Backcountry 
Byway;
     Potential visual effect of the pipeline corridor;

The EA Process

    The FERC will use the EA to consider the environmental impact that 
could result if it issues Questar a Certificate of Public Convenience 
and Necessity.
    This notice formally announces our preparation of the EA and the 
beginning of the process referred to as ``scoping.'' We are soliciting 
input from the public and interested agencies to help us focus the 
analysis in the EA on the potentially significant environmental issues 
related to the proposed action.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be included in an EA 
that will be prepared for the project. Our evaluation will also include 
possible alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the 
project, and we will make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid 
impacts on the various resource areas of concern.
    The EA will be mailed to Federal, State, and local government 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Native American tribes; affected landowners; other

[[Page 19497]]

interested parties; local libraries and newspapers; and the FERC's 
official service list for this proceeding. A 30-day comment period will 
be allotted for review of the EA. We will consider all comments 
submitted on the EA in any Commission Order that is issued for the 
project.
    We are currently involved in discussions with other jurisdictional 
agencies to identify their issues and concerns. These agencies include 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Bureau of Land Management, Divisions of Wildlife and Water Resources of 
the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality of 
the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and the Utah State 
Historic Preservation Office. By this notice, we are asking these and 
other 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 below.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the proposals. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please mail your comments so 
that they will be received in Washington, DC, on or before May 12, 
2006, and carefully follow these instructions:
     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 3, DG2E; and
     Reference Docket No. PF06-18-000 on the original and both 
copies.
    Please note that the Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments. See Title 18 Code of Federal Regulations 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) 
and the instructions on the Commission's Internet Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``eFiling'' link and the link to the User's 
Guide. Prepare your submission in the same manner as you would if 
filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard drive. Before you 
can file comments you will need to create an 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.''
    When Questar submits its application for authorization to construct 
and operate the Southern System Expansion Project II, the Commission 
will publish a Notice of Application in the Federal Register and will 
establish a deadline for interested persons to intervene in the 
proceeding. Because the Commission's Pre-filing Process occurs before 
an application to begin a proceeding is officially filed, petitions to 
intervene during this process are premature and will not be accepted by 
the Commission.

Environmental Mailing List

    If you wish to remain on the environmental mailing list, please 
return the Mailing List Retention Form included in Appendix 2. If you 
do not return this form, you will be taken off our mailing list.

Availability of Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208 FERC (3372) or on 
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the 
``eLibrary'' link, select ``General Search'' from the eLibrary menu, 
enter the selected date range and ``Docket Number'' (i.e., PF06-18-
000), and follow the instructions. Searches may also be done using the 
phrase ``Southern System Expansion Project II'' in the ``Text Search'' 
field. For assistance with access to eLibrary, the helpline can be 
reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at 
[email protected]. 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.
    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. Finally, Questar has established 
an Internet Web site for its project at (http://www.questarssxpii.com). 
The Web site includes a project overview, contact information, 
regulatory overview, and construction procedures.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-5558 Filed 4-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P