[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3221-3222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-923]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[FERC Docket No. CP09-54-000]


Ruby Pipeline, L.L.C.; Notice of Availability of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Ruby Pipeline Project

January 8, 2010.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission 
or FERC) has prepared a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
the Ruby Pipeline Project proposed by Ruby Pipeline, L.L.C. (Ruby) in 
the above-referenced docket. Ruby requests authorization to construct a 
new pipeline in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon to transport up to 
1.5 million dekatherms per day of natural gas from southwestern Wyoming 
to customers in Nevada and on the West Coast (Washington, Oregon, and 
northern California).
    The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Ruby Pipeline Project in accordance 
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, 
with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS and the additional 
measures and agreements being developed by Ruby with other agencies, 
would have some adverse environmental impacts; however, most impacts 
would be reduced to less-than-significant levels.
    The following agencies participated as cooperating agencies in the 
preparation of the EIS:
     Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
     Bureau of Reclamation;
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
     U.S. Forest Service (USFS);
     Natural Resources Conservation Service;
     U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
     State of Utah Public Lands Policy Coordination Office; and
     Board of County Commissioners in Lincoln County, Wyoming.
    Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise 
with respect to resources potentially affect by the proposal and 
participate in the NEPA analysis. While the conclusions and 
recommendations presented in the EIS were developed with input from the 
cooperating agencies, the agencies will present their own conclusions 
and recommendations in their respective Records of Decision for the 
project.

[[Page 3222]]

    The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     About 675.2 miles of 42-inch-diameter mainline pipeline;
     About 2.6 miles of 42-inch-diameter lateral pipeline;
     An electric-powered compressor station and 3 natural gas-
powered compressor stations (totaling 160,500 horsepower of new 
compression);
     5 meter stations containing interconnects to other 
pipeline systems;
     44 mainline valves;
     20 pig launchers or receivers; and
     4 new communication towers.
    The final EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov. A limited number of copies are available for distribution 
and public inspection at: Federal Regulatory Energy Commission, Public 
Reference Room, 888 First St., NE.; Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, 
(202) 502-8371.
    Copies of the EIS have been mailed to Federal, State, and local 
government agencies; elected officials; Native American tribes; local 
libraries and newspapers; parties to the Commission's proceeding; 
individuals who provided scoping comments or commented on the draft 
EIS; and individuals who requested to remain on the environmental 
mailing list for this project. Hard copy versions of the EIS were 
mailed to those specifically requesting them; all others received a CD-
ROM version.
    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 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 
(i.e., CP09-54). 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 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.
    The BLM and USFS will issue separate Records of Decision for this 
project. As part of the BLM and USFS decision-making processes, certain 
additional steps must be completed. Details on how to participate in 
those processes are provided below.

BLM Record of Decision

    The BLM is soliciting comments on the final EIS specific to impacts 
on lands administered by the BLM. If you wish to submit written 
comments on the final EIS to the BLM for consideration in its Record of 
Decision, they must be submitted within 30 calendar days from the date 
that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Notice of 
Availability of the Ruby Pipeline Project final EIS. You may use any of 
the following methods:
    Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/nepa/ruby_pipeline_project.html.
    E-mail: [email protected].
    Mail: Mark Mackiewicz, National Project Manager, Bureau of Land 
Management, Washington Office, c/o Price Field Office, 125 South 600 
West, Price, UT 84501.
    Phone: (435) 636-3616.

USFS Draft Record of Decision

    The Forest Supervisor of the Fremont-Winema National Forests has 
determined that the Forest Plan amendments discussed in section 1.5.1 
of the final EIS are not significant and may be implemented if the BLM 
grants the right-of-way for the Ruby pipeline to cross the Fremont 
National Forest. This decision is being based on the final EIS for the 
Ruby Pipeline Project, the FERC consolidated public record for the Ruby 
Pipeline Project, and the Ruby Pipeline Evaluation Report for Forest 
Plan Amendments (see Appendix C of the final EIS). A copy of the draft 
Record of Decision can be obtained by any of the following methods:
    Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/frewin/projects/analyses/index.shtml.
    E-mail: [email protected].
    Mail: Glen Westlund, Fremont-Winema Environmental Coordinator, 2819 
Dahlia Street, Klamath Falls, OR 97601.
    Phone: (541) 883-6743.
    This USFS decision is subject to objection pursuant to the 
provisions available during the planning rule transition period as 
described at Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 219, 
Section 219.35(b) (published in the Federal Register [FR] at 65 FR 
67514 [November 9, 2000]; see also 36 CFR 219 Interpretive Rule 
published at 66 FR 1864 [January 10, 2001]) and found at http://www.fs.fed.us/appeals/appeals_related.php#app_work. The objection 
procedures found at 36 CFR 219.32 (published in the Federal Register at 
65 FR 67578 [November 9, 2000]) apply.
    The objection to the USFS decision must be filed within 30 calendar 
days from the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the Notice of Availability of the Ruby Pipeline Project final EIS. 
Within 10 days after the close of the objection period, the Fremont-
Winema National Forest shall publish notice of all objections in the 
Klamath Falls Herald and News, the paper of record.
    The objection to the USFS decision must be filed with the Reviewing 
Officer, Mary Wagner, Regional Forester, ATTN 1570 Objections, P.O. Box 
3623, Portland, OR 97208-3623 and must contain:
    (1) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of the person 
filing the objection;
    (2) A specific statement of the basis for each objection; and
    (3) A description of the objector's participation in the planning 
process for the proposed amendment, including a copy of any relevant 
documents submitted during the planning process.
    The street location for hand delivery of the objection to the USFS 
decision is: 333 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR (office hours: 8-4:30 M-F). 
Send faxes to 503-808-2255. The objection may be e-mailed to: [email protected]. For electronically mailed 
appeals, the sender should normally receive an automated electronic 
acknowledgement from the agency as confirmation of receipt. If the 
sender does not receive an automated receipt acknowledgement of the 
comments, it is the sender's responsibility to ensure timely receipt by 
other means.
    Should you file an objection with the USFS regarding its decision 
you may request meetings with the reviewing officer and the responsible 
official to discuss the objection, to narrow the issues, agree on 
facts, and explore opportunities for resolution. Other interested 
persons may participate in such meetings provided they file a request 
to participate in an objection within ten days after publication of the 
notice of objection described above.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-923 Filed 1-19-10; 8:45 am]
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