[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66601-66602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27014]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP12-469-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed A-Line Abandonment Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the A-
Line Abandonment Project proposed by Northern Natural Gas Company 
(Northern) in the above-referenced docket. Northern requests 
authorization to abandon by sale to DKM Enterprises, LLC (DKM) for 
salvage certain facilities known as the A-Line. These facilities are 
located in Ochiltree, Hansford, Hutchinson, and Carson Counties, Texas; 
Beaver County, Oklahoma; and Kiowa and Clark Counties, Kansas. They 
consist of about 126 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline and appurtenant 
facilities. Northern would separate the abandoned A-Line at valve 
settings or compressor stations at eight locations.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
abandonment of the A-Line Abandonment 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 
appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The proposed A-Line Abandonment Project includes the separation of 
the abandoned A-Line by Northern at valve settings or compressor 
stations at these locations:
     Cabot Carbon Interconnect, Carson County, Texas, milepost 
(MP) 7.75;
     A-Line Block Valve 5, Hutchinson County, Texas, MP 29.75;
     Spearman Compressor Station, Ochiltree County, Texas, MP 
38.47;
     Beaver Compressor Station, Beaver County, Oklahoma, MP 
0.00;
     Northern/CNG Interconnect, Beaver County, Oklahoma, MP 
10.35;
     Englewood Branch Line, Clark County, Kansas, MP 37.91;
     McCaustland Gathering System, Clark County, Kansas, MP 
71.10; and
     Mullinville Compressor Station, Kiowa County, Kansas, MP 
87.98.
    Northern would abandon by sale to DKM for salvage two segments of 
its A-Line. The Skellytown to Spearman A-Line is about 38 miles long 
and extends from Northern's abandoned Skellytown Station near 
Skellytown, Carson County, Texas, to its Spearman Compressor Station in 
Spearman, Ochiltree County, Texas. The second segment, the Beaver to 
Mullinville A-Line, is about 88 miles long and extends from Northern's 
Beaver Compressor Station near Beaver, Oklahoma, to it's Mullinville 
Compressor Station near Mullinville, Kansas. It also includes 
abandonment of four lateral pipelines that are 4 or 8 inches in 
diameter: Compressed Natural Gas Lateral, line number OKB57701; Wilson 
Lateral, line number KSG74401; McColm Lateral, line number KSG66601; 
and Huck Lateral, line number KSG68801. The salvage activities 
conducted by DKM would be nonjurisdicational.
    The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is 
available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site

[[Page 66602]]

at www.ferc.gov using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies of 
the EA are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street 
NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.

    Copies of the EA have been mailed to federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; Native 
American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested 
individuals and groups; and parties to this proceeding.
    Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. 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 properly recorded and considered prior to 
a Commission decision on the proposal, it is important that the FERC 
receives your comments in Washington, DC on or before November 30, 
2012.
    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 (CP12-469-000) with your submission. The 
Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has dedicated 
eFiling expert 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 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 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 file a paper copy of your comments at the following 
address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

    Although your comments will be considered by the Commission, simply 
filing comments will not serve to make the commenter 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).\1\ Only intervenors 
have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \1\ 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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    Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be 
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your comments considered.
    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 (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., CP12-
469). 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

    Dated: October 31, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-27014 Filed 11-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P