[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 120 (Thursday, June 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35889-35891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9804]



[[Page 35889]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP98-150-006, CP98-150-007, CP98-151-003, CP05-19-000, 
CP06-5-000, CP06-6-000, CP06-7-000, CP06-76-000, and CP02-31-002]


Millennium Pipeline L.L.C., Columbia Gas Transmission 
Corporation, Empire State Pipeline and Empire Pipeline, Inc., Algonquin 
Gas Transmission System, Iroquois Gas Transmission System; Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Proposed Northeast-07 Project

June 15, 2006.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (DSEIS) on the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed for 
the Northeast (NE)-07 Project in Genesee, Ontario, Yates, Schuyler, 
Steuben, Chemung, Tioga, Broome, Delaware, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, 
and Dutchess Counties, New York; Morris County, New Jersey; and 
Fairfield and New Haven Counties, Connecticut, proposed by Millennium 
Pipeline L.L.C. (Millennium), Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation 
(Columbia), Empire State Pipeline and Empire Pipeline, Inc. 
(collectively referred to as Empire), Algonquin Gas Transmission System 
(Algonquin), and Iroquois Gas Transmission System (Iroquois) in the 
above-referenced dockets.
    The DSEIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The staff concludes that approval of 
the proposed project with appropriate mitigating measures as 
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact. The DSEIS 
also evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system 
alternatives, alternative sites for compressor stations, and pipeline 
alternatives.
    The DSEIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following natural gas pipeline 
facilities:

Millennium Pipeline Project--Phase I

     Construction of about 181.7 miles of 30-inch-diameter 
pipeline from Corning, New York, to Ramapo, New York, (from milepost 
[MP] 190.6 to MP 376.6), with four proposed route modifications within 
this area;
     Acquisition from Columbia and continued use of about 7.1 
miles of 24-inch-diameter Line A-5 pipeline from MP 340.5 to MP 347.7;
     Construction of the new Corning Compressor Station and 
measuring and regulating (M&R) facilities at MP 190.6;
     Installation of upgrades to the Ramapo M&R station in 
Ramapo, Rockland County, New York; and
     Construction of the Wagoner M&R station in Deer Park, 
Orange County, New York, at MP 337.9.
    Columbia would abandon certain facilities related to the Millennium 
Pipeline Project--Phase I. Columbia proposes the following:
     Abandonment in place of about 4.5 miles of 10-inch-, 82.2 
miles of 12-inch-, 0.2 mile of 16-inch-, and 2.5 miles of 20-inch-
diameter pipeline in Steuben, Chemung, Tioga, Broome, Orange, and 
Delaware Counties, New York, designated as Line A-5;
     Abandonment by removal (Millennium would remove Columbia's 
pipeline when it installs its pipeline via same ditch replacement) of 
about 55.5 miles of 12-inch-, 16.6 miles of 10-inch-, and 8.8 miles of 
8-inch-diameter pipeline in Delaware, Sullivan, Orange, and Rockland 
Counties, New York, designated as Line A-5, and of the Walton Deposit 
M&R station at MP 276.1 in Delaware County (Millennium would relocate 
this facility at the landowner's request and to move it closer to Line 
A-5);
     Abandonment by conveyance to Millennium of:
    [cir] About 3.1 miles of 10- and 12-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Steuben County, New York, designated as Line 10325;
    [cir] About 0.4 mile of 10-inch-diameter pipeline in Broome County, 
New York, designated as Line 10356;
    [cir] About 52.5 miles of 10-, 12-, and 24-inch-diameter pipeline 
in Steuben, Chemung, Broome, and Orange Counties, New York, designated 
as Line A-5;
    [cir] About 2.6 miles of 6-inch-diameter pipeline in Tioga County, 
New York, designated as Line AD-31;
    [cir] About 0.1 mile of 12-inch-diameter pipeline in Broome County, 
New, York, designated as Line N;
    [cir] About 6.7 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline in Rockland 
County, New York, designated as Line 10338;
    [cir] The following M&R stations in New York:

--Corning Natural Gas, MP 180.4, Steuben County;
--Cooper Planes, MP 182.1, Steuben County;
--M Account, MP 187.5, Steuben County;
--Corning Glass, MP 188.4, Steuben County;
--Spencer, MP 217.3, Tioga County;
--Catatonk, MP 228.2, Tioga County;
--Owego, MP 231.5, Tioga County;
--Union Center, MP 240.2, Broome County;
--Endicott, MP 241.7, Broome County;
--Westover, MP 245.7, Broome County;
--Willis Road, MP 248.1, Broome County;
--Port Dickinson, MP 250.8, Broome County;
--Kirkwood, MP 253.8, Broome County;
--Hancock, MP 285.6, Delaware County;
--Hartwood Club, MP 332.1, Sullivan County;
--Middletown, MP 347.7, Orange County;
--Huguenot, MP 3440.5, Orange County;
--Warwick, MP 359.3, Orange County;
--Greenwood Lake, MP 364.2, Orange County;
--Central Hudson/Tuxedo, MP367.9, Orange County;
--Sloatsburg, MP 373.3, Rockland County;
--Ramapo, MP 376.4, Rockland County; and
--Buena Vista, MP 383.3, Rockland County.

    Millennium would replace the facilities Columbia would abandon in 
place or by removal with its proposed project facilities, or it would 
continue to use those it would acquire by conveyance.
    Millennium proposes to construct Columbia's Line A-5 Replacement 
Project as part of the Phase I Project.

Columbia Line A-5 Replacement Project

     Replacement of 8.8 miles of 8- and 16-inch-diameter 
segments of Columbia's existing Line A-5 pipeline with larger 30-inch-
diameter pipeline in Orange and Rockland Counties, New York;
     Modification of three existing M&R stations (the Tuxedo, 
Sloatsburg, and Ramapo M&R stations) on this segment of Line A-5 to 
accommodate the larger diameter pipeline; and
     Abandonment in place of about 1.0 mile of the existing 
Line A-5 pipeline.

Empire Connector Project

     Construction of about 78 miles of new 24-inch-diameter 
pipeline and associated facilities in Ontario, Yates, Schuyler, 
Chemung, and Steuben Counties, New York; and
     Construction of a new compressor station in Genesee 
County, New York.

Algonquin Ramapo Expansion Project

     Replacement about 4.9 miles of existing 26-inch-diameter 
pipeline with 42-inch-diameter pipeline in Rockland County, New York;

[[Page 35890]]

     Construction of miscellaneous pipeline modifications and 
meter station modifications at several locations in Rockland County, 
New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut;
     Modifications to three existing compressor stations in 
Rockland and Putnam Counties, New York, and Morris County, New Jersey; 
and
     Construction of one new natural gas compressor station in 
New Haven County, Connecticut.

Iroquois MarketAccess Project

     Reduction of the proposed size of the compressor to be 
constructed in the Town of Brookfield, Connecticut, from 10,000 hp to 
7,700 hp;
     Installation of natural gas cooling and related facilities 
at the Brookfield Compressor Station; and
     Installation of gas cooling and related facilities at 
Iroquois' existing compressor station in Town of Dover, Dutchess 
County, New York.

FERC Comment Procedures

    Any person wishing to comment on the DSEIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is 
important that we receive your comments before the date specified 
below. 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 comments to:
    Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Reference.
    [cir] Docket Nos. CP98-150-006 et al. and CP98-151-003 et al. for 
the Millennium Pipeline Project--Phase I;
    [cir] Docket No. CP05-19-000 for the Columbia Line A-5 Replacement 
Project;
    [cir] Docket Nos. CP06-5-000, CP06-6-000, and CP06-7-000 for the 
Empire Connector Project;
    [cir] Docket No. CP06-76-000 for the Algonquin Ramapo Expansion 
Project; and
    [cir] Docket No. CP02-31-002 for the Iroquois MarketAccess Project.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 2, PJ11.2; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 31, 2006.
    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 the project. However, the Commission strongly 
encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions 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.
    After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are 
investigated, and modifications are made to the DSEIS, a final SEIS 
will be published and distributed by the staff. The final SEIS will 
contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on the DSEIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commenter a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to 
become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).
    Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this DSEIS. You 
must file your request to intervene as specified above.\1\ You do not 
need intervener status to have your comments considered.
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    \1\ 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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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Review Comment Procedures

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) will use the notice of 
availability (NOA) issued by the Commission for the DSEIS as a Public 
Notice for the COE for the applications for permits under authority of 
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) and 
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) for the NE-07 
Project. The COE is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, 
state, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other 
interested parties, in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of 
this proposed activity.
    If you wish to provide written comments on the proposed activity 
pertaining to the jurisdiction of the COE, as described in this DSEIS, 
please provide them to FERC in accordance with its procedures, as well 
as to the COE within 30 days of the date of this notice, to: Margaret 
Crawford, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--Buffalo District, Auburn Field 
Office, 7413 County House Road, Auburn, New York 13021 (or by e-mail 
to: [email protected]).
    A lack of response will be interpreted by the COE as meaning that 
there is no objection to the proposed project. Any comments received by 
the COE will be considered by it to determine whether to issue, modify, 
condition or deny a permit under its Section 10 and Section 404 
authority for this proposal. To make this decision, comments will be 
used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, 
water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public 
interest factors. Comments also will be used in the preparation of the 
final SEIS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. The COE 
will use comments filed with it to determine the need for the COE to 
hold a public hearing, and to determine the overall public interest of 
the proposed activity.
    Please note that questions pertaining to the work within the 
jurisdiction of the COE as described in the DSEIS may be directed to 
one of the following respective points of contact:
     For the Empire Connector Project (DA Proc. No. LRB-2005-
00146) and Millennium Pipeline Project--Phase 1 (DA Proc. No. LRB-2005-
02043): Margaret Crawford, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--Buffalo 
District, Auburn Field Office, 7413 County House Road, Auburn, New York 
13021, (315) 255-8090.
     For the Millennium Pipeline Project--Phase 1 (DA Proc. No. 
NAN-2005-00138); Columbia Line A-5 Replacement Project, Algonquin 
Ramapo Expansion Project (DA Proc. No. NAN-2006-00056); or Iroquois 
Market Access Project, Dover Compressor Station (DA Proc. No. NAN-2006-
00232): Heidi Firstencel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--New York 
District, Albany Field Office, 1 Bond Street, Troy, New York 12180, 
(518) 273-8593.
     For the Algonquin Ramapo Expansion Project, Oxford 
Compressor Station and Brookfield, Connecticut facilities (DA Proc. No. 
NAE-2006-1516) and Iroquois Market Access, Brookfield Compressor 
Station (DA Proc. No. NAE-2006-850): Cori Rose, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers--New England District, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, 
Massachusetts 017420-2751, (978) 318-8306.
    Any person may request, in writing, within the 30-day comment 
period, that the COE hold a public hearing to consider the application. 
Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the 
reasons for holding a public hearing.
    The COE's decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an 
evaluation

[[Page 35891]]

of the probable impact, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed 
activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the 
national concern for both protection and utilization of important 
resources. The benefit which reasonably may be expected to accrue from 
the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable 
detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be 
considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are 
conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, 
wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, 
floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and 
accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, 
energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, 
considerations of property ownership and, in general, the needs and 
welfare of the people.

Additional Information

    The DSEIS 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 Public Reference 
Room identified above. In addition, copies of the DSEIS have been 
mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies; public interest groups; 
individuals and affected landowners who requested a copy of the DSEIS; 
libraries; newspapers; and parties to this proceeding.
    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 with eLibrary, the eLibrary helpline can be reached toll 
free at 1-866-208-3676, for TTY at (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 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 the eSubscription link on the FERC Internet Web 
site.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-9804 Filed 6-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P