[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 202 (Thursday, October 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61761-61762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17486]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-455-000]


Kinder Morgan Illinois Pipeline LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Kinder Morgan Illinois 
Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 13, 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 the Kinder Morgan Illinois 
Pipeline Project involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Kinder Morgan Illinois Pipeline LLC (KMIP) in Cook, Kankakee and Will 
Counties, Illinois.\1\ KMIP proposes to install approximately 3.1 miles 
of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline and three new meter stations. In 
addition, KMIP plans to lease 360,000 decatherms/day (Dth/day) in about 
26 miles of existing pipeline facilities owned by Natural Gas Pipeline 
Company of America (Natural). 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.
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    \1\ KMIP's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
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    This notice announces the opening of the public comment period that 
will be used to gather environmental input from the public and 
interested agencies on the project. Comments are requested by November 
13, 2006.
    With this notice, the FERC staff is 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. These agencies may choose to participate once 
they have evaluated KMIP's proposal relative to their responsibilities. 
Agencies that would like to request cooperating status should follow 
the instructions for filing comments described in Appendix 1.
    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.
    A brochure 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 at http://www.ferc.gov. 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.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    KMIP seeks authority to construct and operate the following 
pipeline facilities:
Cook County, IL
     About 2.6 miles of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline, 
installed along existing utility corridors. The new pipeline would 
connect a new KMIP-Natural meter station to Natural's existing Calumet 
3 pipeline;
     A new meter station with a capacity of up to 360,000 Dth/
day, installed adjacent to an existing Natural meter station and would 
measure gas flow from the Natural system to the KMIP pipeline;
Will County, IL
     Approximately 0.47 mile of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline, 
installed along existing utility corridors. The new pipeline would 
connect a new KMIP-ANR meter station with Natural's existing Herscher-
Dyer pipeline;
     A new meter station with a capacity of up to 360,000 Dth/
day, installed adjacent to ANR Pipeline Company's (ANR's) existing 
meter station and would measure gas flow from the ANR system to the new 
KMIP-ANR pipeline connector; and
Kankakee County, IL
     A new meter station with a capacity of up to 360,000 Dth/
day, installed adjacent to Natural's existing meter station located 
along the border of Illinois and Indiana. The new meter station would 
measure gas flow from the Northern Border Pipeline (NBPL) system to the 
KMIP system.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
2.\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 2 (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 
last page of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements

    Construction of the proposed pipeline and aboveground facilities 
would affect about 54.1 acres of land and includes access roads, pipe/
contractor yards, and extra work areas. Following construction, roughly 
4.63 acres would be permanently maintained. The remaining 49.5 acres of 
land would be restored and allowed to revert to its former use.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (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 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, the Commission staff 
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the 
EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the 
EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify 
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to 
comment on their areas of concern.
    Our \3\ 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, 
public interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries 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.
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).

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[[Page 61762]]

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    In the EA, we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project. We will also 
evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed project or portions of 
the project.
    We have already identified the following issues that we think 
deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by KMIP:
     One residence located within 50 feet of the construction 
workspace;
     Three public water supply wellhead protection areas within 
150 feet of the construction workspace;
     Three private water wells located within 150 feet of the 
construction workspace;
     Two septic tank fields within 200 feet of the construction 
workspace;
     Six waterbody crossings; and
     Six wetlands.
    The above preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your 
comments and our analysis.

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, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative locations 
and routes), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The 
more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please 
carefully follow the instructions below 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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP06-455-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before November 13, 2006.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of comments. 
Please refer to 18 Code of Federal Regulations (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. 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.''
    The determination of whether to distribute the EA for public 
comment will be based on the response to this notice. If you are 
interested in receiving a copy of the EA, please return the Information 
Request form (Appendix 3). Please also indicate on the form whether you 
would prefer a paper or an electronic copy of the EA. An effort is 
being made to send this notice to all individuals affected by the 
proposed project. This includes all landowners who are potential right-
of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily for project 
purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the Commission's 
regulations of certain aboveground facilities.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding, or ``intervenor''. 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). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the 
Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically 
submitted using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov. 
Persons without Internet access should send an original and 14 copies 
of their motion to the Secretary of the Commission at the address 
indicated previously. Persons filing Motions to Intervene on or before 
the comment deadline indicated above must send a copy of the motion to 
the Applicant. All filings, including late interventions, submitted 
after the comment deadline must be served on the Applicant and all 
other intervenors identified on the Commission's service list for this 
proceeding. Persons on the service list with e-mail addresses may be 
served electronically; others must be served a hard copy of the filing.
    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.

Environmental Mailing List

    If you wish to remain on our environmental mailing list, please 
return the Information Request form included in Appendix 3. If you do 
not return this form, you will be removed from our mailing list.

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. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, 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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-17486 Filed 10-18-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P