[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78179-78180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22207]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-433-001]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Supplemental Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Palmyra North Expansion 
Project Amendment and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 18, 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 Palmyra North Expansion 
Project involving construction and operation of new facilities by 
Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and 
South Dakota.\1\ On August 29, 2006, Northern filed an application with 
the FERC, in Docket No. CP06-433-000, for authorization under sections 
7(c) and 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and Part 157 of the 
Commission's regulations for a Certificate of Public Convenience and 
Necessity (Certificate) to expand the capacity of its Palmyra North 
Facilities (Palmyra). On December 6, 2006, Northern filed an amendment 
to their application with the FERC, in Docket No. CP06-433-001, for 
authorization to include two additional meter stations in Clay and 
Sioux Counties, Iowa; the subject of this Notice. The EA will encompass 
all proposed facilities and 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\ The Commission issued a Notice of Application on September 
6, 2006 for Northern's August 29, 2006 application. On December 12, 
2006, the Commission issued a Notice of Application for Northern's 
December 6, 2006 amendment.
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    On September 12, 2006, the FERC issued a Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Palmyra North 
Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues 
(NOI). The NOI was published in the Federal Register and was also 
mailed to 114 interested parties, including Federal, State, and local 
officials; agency representatives; conservation organizations; Native 
American groups; local libraries and newspapers; and property owners 
affected by the proposed facilities. This NOI is requesting comments on 
the two additional meter stations that Northern has proposed.
    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 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 Northern 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

    Northern proposes to expand the capacity of its Palmyra North 
Facilities in Clay and Sioux Counties, Iowa in order to transport an 
additional 12,100 dekatherms per day of natural gas in order to meet 
agricultural and ethanol customer demand and to increase incremental 
winter peak day service. By this Application Amendment, Northern seeks 
authority to also:
     Install a new meter station to an existing Northern line 
at MP 21.9 in Clay County, Iowa; and
     install a new meter station to an existing Northern line 
at MP 28.3 in Sioux County, Iowa.
    Two nonjurisdictional facilities, a new ethanol plant and an 
ethanol plant expansion, have been proposed in association with the 
Palmyra North Expansion Project. We have made a preliminary decision to 
not address the impacts of these facilities. We will briefly describe 
their location and summarize the status of state and local 
environmental reviews in the EA.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\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 1 (maps), 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 for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would impact about 1.8 
acres of land. Following construction, approximately 0.4 acre of new 
land would be maintained for operation. The remaining 1.4 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.
    In the EA, we \3\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', ``our'' refer to the environmental staff of 
the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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     Soils.
     Land Use.
     Water Resources and Wetlands.
     Cultural Resources.
     Vegetation and Wildlife.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed 
project, and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on 
the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending 
on

[[Page 78180]]

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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below.

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 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 OEP/
DG2E, Gas Branch 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP06-433-001.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 19, 2007.
    We will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable 
time frame in our environmental analysis of this project. However, the 
Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or 
interventions or protests 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 on-line.
    We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving 
it, please return the Information Request (Appendix 2). If you do not 
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.

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

    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project additions. This includes all 
landowners who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may 
be used temporarily for project purposes.

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. E6-22207 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P