[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 171 (Friday, September 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54758-54760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22507]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF11-7-000]


Alliance Pipeline L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Planned Tioga Lateral Project, Request 
for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping 
Meeting

    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 Tioga Lateral Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Alliance Pipeline 
L.P. (Alliance) in Williams, Mountrail, Burke, Ward, and Renville 
Counties, North Dakota. This EA will be used by the Commission in its 
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the 
public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff 
determine what issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on September 26, 2011.
    Comments may be submitted in written form or verbally. Further 
details on how to submit written comments are provided in the Public 
Participation section of this notice. In lieu of or in addition to 
sending written comments, the Commission invites you to attend the 
public scoping meeting scheduled as follows: FERC Public Scoping 
Meeting, Tioga Lateral Project, September 14, 2011-6:30 p.m., Memorial 
Hall, 53rd Street NE., Kenmare, North Dakota 58746.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned 
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    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 planned facilities. 
The 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 where compensation would be 
determined 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?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). 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.

Summary of the Planned Project

    Alliance plans to construct and operate a natural gas pipeline to 
connect new natural gas production in the Williston Basin with the 
existing Alliance mainline, which currently delivers high-energy 
natural gas from production areas in northwestern Canada to the Chicago 
market area. The project would also involve construction of a new 
compressor station and other appurtenant facilities. The Tioga Lateral 
Project would create approximately 120 million cubic feet per day of 
new transportation capacity.
    The Tioga Lateral Project would consist of the following 
facilities:
     Approximately 77.1 miles of 12-inch-diameter natural gas 
pipeline crossing portions of Williams, Mountrail, Burke, Ward, and 
Renville Counties, North Dakota;
     A 4,500 horsepower compressor station containing two 
natural gas-driven engines/compressors in Williams County;
     One meter station within the proposed compressor station 
site in Williams County;
     One pressure regulating station adjacent to the existing 
Alliance mainline in Renville County;
     One pig \1\ launcher at the proposed compressor station 
site and one pig receiver at the pressure regulating station site; and
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    \1\ A ``pig'' is a tool that is inserted into and moves through 
the pipeline, and is used for cleaning the pipeline, internal 
inspections, or other purposes.
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     Three mainline block valves.
    The planned pipeline route begins at an existing gas processing 
facility near Tioga, North Dakota, and terminates at a tie-in along the 
existing Alliance mainline near Sherwood, North Dakota. The proposed 
pipeline would cross approximately 1.7 miles of public land, including 
approximately 0.8 mile of the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge and 0.9 
mile of state land. The proposed pipeline would also cross 
approximately 16.0 miles of private lands that are subject to 
conservation easements held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(FWS). Alliance is evaluating potential route refinements to reduce the 
crossing of FWS conservation easements.
    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 appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' 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.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Based on preliminary information, construction of the planned 
facilities would disturb about 730.6 acres of land. Following 
construction, about 477.5 acres would be maintained for permanent 
operation of the project's facilities; the remaining acreage would be 
restored and allowed to revert to former uses. Due to a lack of 
existing utility infrastructure between Tioga and Sherwood, the 
proposed route does not

[[Page 54759]]

typically parallel existing linear corridor facilities; approximately 
1.7 miles of the route parallels existing roads.

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 
\3\ 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, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
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    \3\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the planned project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     endangered and threatened species;
     cultural resources;
     land use;
     air quality and noise; and
     public safety.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, we have already 
initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process. A 
flow chart illustrating the pre-filing process is included with this 
notice (Appendix 2). The purpose of the pre-filing process is to 
encourage early involvement of interested stakeholders and to identify 
and resolve issues before an application is filed with the FERC. As 
part of our pre-filing review, we have begun to contact some Federal 
and State agencies to discuss their involvement in the scoping process 
and the preparation of the EA.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on the 
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 
is published for review. 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 beginning on page 5.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may 
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to 
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments 
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to 
solicit the views of other government agencies, interested Indian 
tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on historic 
properties.\4\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential 
Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project is further 
developed. On natural gas projects, the APE at a minimum encompasses 
all areas subject to ground disturbance (including the construction 
right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor stations, and 
access roads). Our EA for this project will document our findings on 
the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status of 
consultations under section 106.
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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic 
Places.
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Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so 
that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before September 26, 
2011.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
project docket number (PF11-7-000) with your submission. The Commission 
encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert eFiling staff 
available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or [email protected].
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an 
easy method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments 
on a project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling, you 
can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a 
file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an 
account by clicking on ``eRegister.'' You will be asked to select the 
type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is 
considered a ``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You may mail a paper copy of your comments to the Commission at 
the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes Federal, State, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Indian tribes; other 
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also 
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's 
regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property 
may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within 
certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits 
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list 
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related 
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
planned project.

[[Page 54760]]

    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would 
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD 
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please 
return the attached Information Request (Appendix 3).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once Alliance files its application with the Commission, you may 
want to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site. Please note that the Commission will not accept 
requests for intervenor status at this time. You must wait until a 
formal application for the project is filed with the Commission.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, 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., PF11-7). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. 
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at (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.
    FERC's 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.
    Finally, Alliance has established an Internet Web site on its 
homepage, http://www.alliance-pipeline.com/, to provide the public with 
information about the planned Tioga Lateral Pipeline. Alliance's Web 
site will be updated as the project review progresses.

    Dated: August 25, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-22507 Filed 9-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P