[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48662-48663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16702]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-030-07-5101-ER-K087; WYW-166510]


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Overland Pass Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Project, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), Wyoming State Office, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the Overland Pass Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline 
Project. The FEIS analyzes the environmental consequences of a proposed 
760-mile long, 14-inch and 16-inch diameter natural gas liquids (NGL) 
pipeline on Federal, State, and private land.

DATES: The Overland Pass Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Project FEIS will 
be available for review and comment for 30 calendar days starting on 
the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice 
of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The BLM can best use 
your comments and resource information submissions within that 30-day 
comment period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the FEIS may be submitted by the 
following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Please do not use 
special characters or attachments in your comments, as the BLM e-mail 
security system may not accept them.
     Facsimile: (307) 328-4224 Attn: Overland Pass Pipeline 
Project.
     Mail: Written comments may be mailed or submitted in 
person to the Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 
North Third St, Rawlins, Wyoming, 82301, Attention: Tom Hurshman, 
Project Manager.
    Copies of the FEIS have been sent to affected Federal, State, and 
local government agencies, Tribal governments, and interested parties. 
Copies of the FEIS will be available electronically on the following 
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/rfodocs/overland_pipeline.html.
    Copies of the FEIS are also available for public inspection during 
normal business hours at the following offices:
     Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003;
     Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 
North Third St, Rawlins, Wyoming 82301;
     Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, 280 
Highway 191 N., Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901;
     Bureau of Land Management, Kemmerer Field Office, 312 
Highway 189 N., Kemmerer, Wyoming 83101; and
     U. S. Department of Agriculture, Pawnee National 
Grasslands, 660 O St, Greeley, Colorado 80631.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Hurshman, Project Manager, Bureau 
of Land Management, Uncompahgre Field Office, 2465 South Townsend Ave, 
Montrose, Colorado 81401. Mr. Hurshman may be reached by telephone at 
(970) 240-5345. Requests for information may be submitted 
electronically via e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Overland Pass Pipeline would 
originate in Opal, Wyoming, and terminate at existing NGL processing 
facilities in Conway, Kansas. The Overland Pass Pipeline route would 
cross approximately 123 miles of Federal land in Wyoming and Colorado. 
In Wyoming, approximately 98 miles of the proposed pipeline route would 
cross public lands administered by three BLM Field Offices: Kemmerer, 
Rock Springs, and Rawlins. In addition, the Overland Pass Pipeline 
location would cross two units of the National Forest System 
administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest 
Service. The proposed pipeline location includes approximately 2 miles 
of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, and approximately 23 
miles of the Pawnee National Grassland north of Greeley, Colorado. No 
Federal land in Kansas would be affected by this proposal. The project 
would transport up to 150,000 barrels per day of NGL.
    In the fall of 2005, Williams Field Services, doing business as 
Overland Pass Pipeline Company LLC (Overland Pass Company), submitted 
to the BLM an application for a right-of-way (ROW) grant to construct a 
NGL pipeline, up to 20 inches in diameter. (NGLs are naturally 
occurring heavier hydrocarbon liquids that are associated with the 
production of natural gas such as methane. NGLs include ethane, 
propane, butanes, and natural gasoline.)
    On March 24, 2006, the BLM published in the Federal Register a 
Notice of Intent (NOI ) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) under NEPA and as required by 43 Code of Federal Regulations Part 
2880. To allow the public an opportunity to review the proposal and 
project information, the BLM held four public meetings in April 2006. 
Potential impacts to specific resources such as water quality and 
quantity, threatened and endangered and sensitive species, vegetation 
communities, historic trails, and pipeline route near residential 
developments were issues identified during scoping and analyzed in a 
Draft EIS.
    On March 30, 2007, the BLM published the NOA for the Draft EIS for 
this project in the Federal Register. The 45-day comment period ended 
on May 14, 2007. Thirteen comment letters were received from 
individuals, organizations, corporations, and agencies. Specific 
comment responses are provided in the FEIS, and issues and concerns 
raised during the review are addressed in the FEIS.
    Three alternatives are analyzed in the FEIS: No Action Alternative; 
Proposed Action Alternative, and the Southern Energy Corridor. The No 
Action alternative means that the project as proposed by Overland Pass 
Company in its ROW application would be rejected by the BLM. Under the 
No Action Alternative, the BLM would not issue a ROW grant for the 
Overland Pass Pipeline. The project, including the pipeline, temporary 
access roads, and temporary use areas during construction, would not be 
approved or authorized as described in the ROW application. The BLM and 
Forest Service preferred alternative is the Proposed Action 
Alternative.
    The Proposed Action Alternative analyzed in the FEIS reflects minor 
revisions to the original route as proposed by Overland Pass Company. 
The pipeline would be approximately 14 inches in diameter between Opal 
and Echo Springs, Wyoming, and 16 inches

[[Page 48663]]

in diameter from Echo Springs, Wyoming, to Conway, Kansas. The Southern 
Energy Corridor Alternative reflects the Green River Resource 
Management Plan's preferred locations for future proposed ROWS. Other 
alternatives, including transportation system alternatives and route 
variations, were considered, but not studied in detail.
    As part of the proposed action, the Overland Pass Pipeline would be 
routed across southern Wyoming from Opal to Echo Springs along various 
existing utility or pipeline ROWs. From Echo Springs, the pipeline ROW 
would run in a southeasterly direction, paralleling the existing 
Southern Star Pipeline, and proceed to the south of Cheyenne, Wyoming, 
before entering Colorado. A major portion of the proposed route in 
Wyoming would cross public lands administered by the BLM.
    From the Colorado border, the pipeline ROW would continue to 
parallel the Southern Star Pipeline southeasterly crossing the Pawnee 
National Grassland, which is administered by the USDA Forest Service, 
and then into Kansas. From the Colorado-Kansas state line, the Overland 
Pass Pipeline would continue to run parallel to the Southern Star 
Pipeline to south of WaKeeney, Kansas. It would then follow an existing 
BP Amoco pipeline to Bushton, Kansas. From this point, the Overland 
Pass Pipeline would not parallel existing pipelines until reaching 
Mitchell, Kansas, where it would then follow an existing Williams 
Pipeline to the termination point at Conway, Kansas.
    At Bushton and Conway, Kansas, the transported NGL would be 
processed at existing facilities and distributed through an existing 
transportation infrastructure to consumer markets in the Midwest and 
Texas' Gulf of Mexico coast. About 82 percent of the proposed 760-mile 
pipeline would be co-located within existing pipeline ROW corridors. In 
addition to the pipeline, three electric pump stations (two immediate 
and one future construction) would be needed to move the NGL at a 
maximum pressure of 1,440 pounds per square inch gauge through the 
pipeline. The pump stations are proposed to be located near Echo 
Springs and Laramie, Wyoming, and near WaKeeney, Kansas. The pipeline 
would have manual or self-actuating shut-off valves at regular 
intervals, as well as cleaning facilities and meter stations.
    The Overland Pass Pipeline would be constructed and installed 
within a 75 foot-wide construction area. After construction and 
reclamation, the permanent ROW would be 50-feet wide, centered on the 
pipeline. All temporary workspace areas needed for construction 
activities outside the 50-foot-wide permanent ROW would require 
Temporary Use Permits.
    All comment submittals must include the commenter's name and street 
address. Comments, including the names and street addresses of 
respondent, will be available for public review at the Rawlins Field 
Office during its business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through 
Friday, except for Federal holidays. Before including your address, 
phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, be advised that your entire comment, including your 
personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

Mary Trautner,
Acting State Director.
 [FR Doc. E7-16702 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P