[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39402-39403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13873]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

 [CP07-395-000]


Wyoming Interstate Company, Ltd. (WIC); Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Medicine Bow 
Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 11, 2007.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of constructing and operating Wyoming 
Interstate Company, Ltd.'s (WIC) proposed Medicine Bow Expansion 
Project.
    The proposed Medicine Bow Expansion Project includes installation 
of one 24,930-horsepower (hp) turbine compressor unit with ancilliary 
facilities at the existing Douglas Compressor Station in Converse 
County, Wyoming, located on its Medicine Bow Pipeline System. The added 
compressor unit would enable WIC to create 330,000 dekatherms per day 
of additional capacity on its Medicine Bow Lateral System. WIC requests 
the Commission to grant its request by November 1, 2007 for a targeted 
in-service date of June 1, 2008.
    A map depicting WIC's proposed facilities is provided in Appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on the 
Commission's Web site (excluding maps) at www.ferc.gov or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room--(202) 502-8371.
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    Construction would take place completely within the fenced-in 
compressor station site on about 8 acres. Operation of these facilities 
would require the permanent use of approximately 1.37 acres of 
industrial land.

The Environmental Assessment Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to consider the environmental impacts of a proposed project 
whenever it considers the issuance of a Certificate of Public 
Convenience and Necessity as has been requested by WIC. NEPA also 
requires the Commission to undertake a process to identify and address 
concerns the public may have about proposed projects. This process is 
commonly referred to as ``scoping''. The main goal of the ``scoping'' 
process is to identify public concerns and then address them in the 
environmental assessment. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission 
requests public comments on environmental issues that should be 
addressed in the environmental assessment.
    The Commission's staff will prepare an environmental assessment 
that will discuss the potential environmental impacts resulting from 
the proposed project under the following general headings:
     Geology and Soils.
     Water Resources and Wetlands.
     Fisheries, Vegetation and Wildlife.
     Threatened and Endangered Species.
     Air Quality and Noise.
     Land Use.
     Cultural Resources.
     Pipeline safety and reliability.
    The Commission's staff will also evaluate possible alternatives to 
the proposed project or portions of the project and make 
recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts to the identified 
environmental resources.
    Upon completion of the staff's environmental assessment and 
depending on the issues identified and/or comments received during the 
``scoping'' process, the EA may be published and mailed to federal, 
state and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental 
and public interest groups; affected landowners; other interested 
parties; local libraries and newspapers; and the Commission's official 
service list for this proceeding. A 30-day comment period would be 
allotted for review of the EA if it is published. Staff would consider 
all comments submitted concerning the EA before making their 
recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section of this notice.
    Federal, state, or local agencies wishing to participate in the 
development of the environmental assessment may request ``cooperating 
agency'' status. Cooperating agencies are encouraged to participate in 
the scoping process and provide us with written comments concerning the 
proposed project. Cooperating agencies are also welcome to suggest 
format and content changes that will make it easier for them to adopt 
the EA; however, we will decide what modifications will be adopted in 
light of our production constraints. Agencies wanting to participate as 
a cooperating agency should send a letter describing the extent to 
which they would like to be involved in the development of this EA. 
Please submit these letters as indicated in the public participation 
section of this notice.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the proposed project. By becoming a 
commentor, your comments and concerns will be addressed in the EA and 
considered by the Commission. The more specific your comments, the more 
useful they will be. Generally, comments are submitted regarding the 
potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives and measures 
to avoid or lessen environmental impact.
    This notice and request for environmental comments is being sent to 
affected landowners; federal, state and local government 
representatives and agencies; environmental and public interest groups; 
other interested parties in this proceeding; and local libraries and 
newspapers. We encourage government representatives to notify their 
constituents of this notice and to encourage their comments concerning 
this proposed project.
    To ensure that your comments are properly recorded, please mail 
them to our office on or before August 10, 2007. When filing comments 
please:
     Send an original and two copies of your letter to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of your comments to the attention of Gas 
Branch 2, DG2E; and Reference Docket No. CP07-032-000 on the original 
and both copies.
    Please note that the Commission encourages the electronic filing of 
comments. To file electronic comments online please see the 
instructions \2\ on the Commission's Web site at www.ferc.gov. When 
filing electronic comments, prepare your submission in the same manner 
as you would if filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard 
drive. Please note before you can file electronic comments with the

[[Page 39403]]

Commission you will need to create a free online account.
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    \2\ 18 Code of Federal Regulations 385.2001(a)(1)(iii).
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Environmental Mailing List

    An effort has been made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities that might be interested in and/
or potentially affected by the proposed project. This includes all 
landowners who are potential right-of-way grantors, landowners whose 
property may be used temporarily for project purposes, and landowners 
with homes within distances defined in the Commission's regulations of 
certain aboveground facilities.
    If you would like to remain on the environmental mailing list for 
this proposed project, please return the Mailing List Retention Form 
found in Appendix 2. If you do not comment on this project or return 
this form, you will be taken off of the staff's environmental 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, an ``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 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.

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 
through the Commission's ``eLibrary'' which can be found online at 
www.ferc.gov. For assistance with the Commission's ``eLibrary'', the 
helpline can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at 
FERCOnlineSupport@ ferc.gov.
    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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    If applicable, public meetings or site visits associated with this 
proposed project will be posted on the Commission's calendar which can 
be found online at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-13873 Filed 7-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P