[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55155-55156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22689]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 7576]


Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Keystone XL 
Project

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the final environmental impact 
statement for the proposed Keystone XL Project.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
of 1969, as amended, the staff of the U.S. Department of State (DOS) 
prepared a final environmental impact statement (final EIS) for the 
proposed Keystone XL Project (Project). On September 19, 2008, the 
applicant, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP (TransCanada) filed an 
application for a Presidential Permit for the construction, operation, 
and maintenance of pipeline facilities at the border of the U.S. and 
Canada for the transport of crude oil across the U.S./Canada 
international boundary.

[[Page 55156]]

TransCanada has requested authorization to construct and operate border 
crossing facilities at the U.S./Canadian border in Phillips County, 
near Morgan, Montana, in connection with the proposed Project that is 
designed to transport crude oil produced from oil sands in the Western 
Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) and other sources to a proposed oil 
storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, and to a delivery points near 
Nederland and Moore Junction, Texas.
    The Secretary of State is designated and empowered to receive all 
applications for Presidential permits, as referred to in Executive 
Order 13337, as amended, for the construction, connection, operation, 
or maintenance at the borders of the United States, of facilities for 
the exportation or importation of petroleum, petroleum products, coal, 
or other fuels to or from a foreign country. As a part of the review of 
the application for Presidential Permits, the Secretary of State must 
determinate whether or not the projects would be in the national 
interest. The determination of national interest involves consideration 
of many factors, including energy security; environmental, cultural, 
and economic impacts. Before making a decision on the proposed Project, 
DOS will consult with the eight federal agencies identified in 
Executive Order 13337: The Departments of Energy, Defense, 
Transportation, Homeland Security, Justice, Interior, and Commerce, and 
the Environmental Protection Agency. DOS will also solicit public input 
on the national interest determination by accepting written comments 
and holding comment meetings in the six states traversed by the 
proposed route and a final meeting in Washington, DC.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The final EIS was prepared consistent with 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 
Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR 
1500), and the DOS regulations for implementing NEPA (22 CFR 161). The 
final EIS includes an appendix that was prepared consistent with the 
requirements of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and the 
Montana Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA). The final EIS describes the 
proposed Project; the purpose of and need for the proposed Project; 
alternatives to the proposed Project, including the No Action 
Alternative, system alternatives, alternative routes, alternative 
pipeline designs, and alternative sites for aboveground facilities; the 
potential impacts of the proposed Project and alternatives; cumulative 
impacts associated with construction and operation of the proposed 
Project; issues related to potential spills from the proposed Project; 
and the agency-preferred alternative. The final EIS addresses the 
potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of 
the portion of the proposed Keystone XL Project in the U.S., as well as 
connected actions to that project such as the construction of 
powerlines to serve pump stations on the pipeline and two projects that 
would provide shipping access on the pipeline to domestic crude oil 
producers. DOS assessed the potential impacts of the projects based on 
currently available information.
    The Federal and State agencies that served as Cooperating Agencies 
in the development of the EIS consisted of the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers; the U.S. Department of Agriculture--Natural Resources 
Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and Rural Utilities Service; 
the U.S. Department of Energy--Office of Policy and International 
Affairs and Western Area Power Administration; the U.S. Department of 
the Interior--Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the U.S. Department of Transportation, 
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office 
of Pipeline Safety; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and the 
Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Cooperating agencies 
either have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to 
the environmental impacts assessed in connection with the proposal and 
are involved in the DOS analysis of those environmental impacts. BLM's 
purpose and need in preparing an EIS for the proposed Project is to 
respond to the Keystone application under Section 28 of the Mineral 
Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (MLA; 30 U.S.C. 185) for a right-of-way 
(ROW) grant to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a crude 
oil pipeline and related facilities on federal lands in compliance with 
the MLA, BLM ROW regulations, and other applicable federal laws. BLM 
will decide whether to approve, approve with modification, or deny 
issuance of a ROW grant to Keystone for the proposed Project, and if 
so, under what terms and conditions. The proposed ROW action appears 
consistent with approved BLM land use planning.
    In total, the Keystone XL Project would consist of approximately 
1,711 miles of new, 36-inch-diameter pipeline, with approximately 327 
miles of pipeline in Canada and 1,384 miles in the U.S. The overall 
proposed Keystone XL Project is estimated to cost $7 billion. If 
permitted, it would begin operation in 2013, with the actual date 
dependent on the necessary permits, approvals, and authorizations.
    The following U.S. counties could possibly be affected by 
construction of the proposed Project:
     Montana: Phillips, Valley, McCone, Dawson, Prairie, 
Fallon.
     South Dakota: Harding, Butte, Perkins, Meade, Pennington, 
Haakon, Jones, Lyman, Tripp.
     Nebraska: Keya Paha, Rock, Holt, Garfield, Wheeler, 
Greeley, Boone, Nance, Merrick, Hamilton, York, Fillmore, Saline, 
Jefferson.
     Kansas: Clay, Butler.
     Oklahoma: Atoka, Bryan, Coal, Creek, Hughes, Lincoln, 
Okfuskee, Payne, Seminole.
     Texas: Angelina, Cherokee, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, 
Hardin, Hopkins, Jefferson, Lamar, Liberty, Nacogdoches, Polk, Rusk, 
Smith, Upshur, Wood, Chambers, Harris.
    Copies of the final EIS have been mailed to interested federal, 
state and local agencies; public interest groups; individuals and 
affected landowners who requested a copy of the final EIS or who 
provided comments during the scoping period or the public comment 
periods on the draft and supplemental draft EISs; libraries; 
newspapers; and other stakeholders.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The DOS Project Web site (http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov) provides Project-related information 
for viewing and downloading, including the Keystone application for a 
Presidential Permit and associated maps and drawings, supplemental 
information filed by Keystone, the final EIS, and a list of libraries 
where the final EIS may be viewed.
    For information on the proposed Project or the final EIS, contact 
Alexander Yuan, OES/ENV Room 2657, U.S. Department of State, 
Washington, DC 20520, or by telephone (202) 647-4284, or by fax at 
(202) 647-5947.
    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2011.

    Dated: August 30, 2011.
John E. Thompson,
Acting Director, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and 
Scientific Affairs/Office of Environmental Policy, U.S. Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 2011-22689 Filed 9-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P