[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9110-9112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2969]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP08-6-000]


Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Llc; Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Midcontinent Express 
Pipeline Project

February 8, 2008.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by Midcontinent 
Express Pipeline Company, LLC (MEP) under the above-referenced docket. 
MEP's Midcontinent Express Pipeline Project (Project) would be located 
in various counties and parishes in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Alabama.
    The Draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The FERC staff concludes that the 
proposed Project, with the appropriate mitigation measures as 
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), Natural Resources 
Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA), Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Texas 
Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), and Alabama Department of 
Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) are cooperating agencies for 
the development of this EIS. A cooperating agency has jurisdiction by 
law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact 
involved with the proposal and is involved in the NEPA analysis.
    The general purpose of the proposed Project is to transport up to 
1,500,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas from production fields in 
Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to markets in the eastern region of the 
United States.
    The Draft EIS addresses the potential environmental impacts 
resulting from the construction and operation of the following 
facilities:

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     Approximately 504.3 miles of new 30-, 36-, and 42-inch-
diameter interstate natural gas pipeline extending from Bryan County, 
Oklahoma, to a terminus in Choctaw County, Alabama;
     An approximately 4.1-mile-long, 16-inch-diameter lateral 
pipeline in Richland and Madison Parishes, Louisiana;
     A total of approximately 111,720 horsepower (hp) of 
compression at one booster and four new mainline compressor stations;
     13 new metering and regulating (M/R) stations; and
     Other appurtenant ancillary facilities including, mainline 
valves (MLV), pig \1\ launcher and receiver facilities.
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    \1\ A ``pig'' is a mechanical device used to clean or inspect 
the pipeline.
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    Dependent upon Commission approval, MEP proposes to complete 
construction and begin operating the proposed Project in February 2009.
    The Draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for 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 of the Draft EIS are available from the 
Public Reference Room identified above. In addition, CD-ROM copies of 
the Draft EIS have been mailed to affected landowners; various federal, 
state, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental 
and public interest groups; Native American tribes; local libraries and 
newspapers; intervenors; and other individuals that expressed an 
interest in the proposed Project. Hard-copies of the Draft EIS have 
also been mailed to those who requested that format during the scoping 
and comment periods for the proposed Project.

Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the Draft EIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is 
important that the Commission receives your comments before the date 
specified below. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure 
that your comments are received and properly recorded.
     Send an Original and two copies of your comments to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20002.
     Reference Docket No. CP08-6-000.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 3.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 31, 2008
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any 
comments, 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 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.''
    In lieu of or in addition to sending written comments, you are 
invited to attend public comment meetings the FERC will conduct in the 
project area to receive comments on the Draft EIS. All meetings will 
begin at 7 p.m. (CDT), and are scheduled as follows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Date                               Location
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008......  Quitman Depot, Main Street and Railroad
                                Avenue, Quitman, MS 39355, (601) 776-
                                3728.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008......  Minden Civic Center, 520 Broadway Street,
                                Minden, LA 71055, (318) 377-2144.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008....  Eudora Welty Library, 300 North State
                                Street, Jackson, MS 39201, (601) 968-
                                5811.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008....  Northeast Texas Community College, 1735
                                Chapel Hill Road, Mt. Pleasant, TX
                                75455, (800) 870-0142.
Thursday, March 27, 2008.....  Delhi Civic Center, 232 Denver Street,
                                Delhi, LA 71232, (318) 878-3792.
Thursday, March 27, 2008.....  Love Civic Center (North Hall), 2025
                                South Collegiate Drive, Paris, TX 75460,
                                (903) 739-9912.
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    Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and 
present oral comments on the Draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings 
will be prepared and placed in the public file.
    After the comments are reviewed, and significant new issues are 
investigated, and modifications are made to the Draft EIS, a Final EIS 
will be published and distributed by the FERC staff. The Final EIS will 
contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on the Draft 
EIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commentor 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). Only intervenors have the right to seek 
rehearing of the Commission's decision. Anyone may intervene in this 
proceeding based on this Draft EIS. You must file your request to 
intervene as specified above.\2\ You do not need intervenor status to 
have your comments considered.
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    \2\ 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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    The Draft EIS 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) 208-1371.
    CD-ROM copies of the EIS have been mailed to Federal, state and 
local agencies; public interest groups; individuals and affected 
landowners who requested a copy of the Draft EIS or provided comments 
during scoping; libraries and newspapers in the Project area; and 
parties to this proceeding. Hard copy versions of the Draft EIS were 
mailed to those specifically requesting them. A limited number of hard 
copies and CD-ROMs are available from the Public Reference Room 
identified above.
    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC (3372) or on 
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the ``eLibrary 
link,'' select ``General Search'' and enter the project docket number 
excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP08-6) 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

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free at 1-866-208-3676, or TTY (202) 502-8659. 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 rule 
makings.
    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 http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-2969 Filed 2-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P