[Federal Register: January 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 8)]
[Notices]
[Page 2038-2039]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ja06-60]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. PF06-9-000]
Overthrust Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Overthrust Expansion Project
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
December 30, 2005.
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 Overthrust Expansion Project
involving construction and operation of facilities by Overthrust
Pipeline Company (Overthrust) in Uinta and Lincoln Counties, Wyoming.
The project would consist of approximately 28 miles of 36-inch-diameter
pipeline and ancilliary facilities that would connect Overthrust's
existing pipeline with an existing Kern River Transmission Company
(Kern River) pipeline. 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 that the
Commission will use to gather environmental input from the public and
interested agencies on the project. Your input will help determine
which issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the
scoping period will close on January 30, 2006. Details on how to submit
comments are provided in the Public Participation section of this
notice.
The FERC will be the lead federal agency for the preparation of the
EA. The document will satisfy the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Overthrust Expansion Project is in
the preliminary design state. At this time, no formal application has
been filed with the FERC. A docket number (PF06-9-000) has been
established to place information filed by Overthrust, and related
documents issued by the Commission, into the public record. Once a
formal application is filed with the FERC, a new docket number will be
established.
This notice is being sent to affected landowners; federal, state,
and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental and
public interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested
parties; and local libraries and newspapers. 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 proposed facilities.
The pipeline 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 in accordance with
state law.
With this notice, we \1\ are asking other Federal, state, local,
and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with
respect to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the preparation
of the EA. Agencies that would like to request cooperating status
should follow the instructions for filing comments provided below.
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\1\ ''We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects.
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A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural
Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need to Know?'' was attached to the
project notice Overthrust provided to landowners. 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.
It is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov
).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Overthrust is seeking authority to construct and operate a new 36-
inch-diameter pipeline, approximately 28 miles long, to be located
adjacent to other existing pipeline facilities. The proposed pipeline
would extend from Overthrust's existing pipeline in Uinta, Wyoming to a
Kern River interconnect located at Opal Market Center in Lincoln,
Wyoming and would transport up to 550,000 dekatherms of natural gas per
day (Dth/d). Overthrust also proposes to construct interconnect
facilities and other ancillary facilities along the proposed route
including at the existing Blacks Fork Processing Plant and the Roberson
Creek delivery point.
The proposed pipeline would cross land owned by five private and
public landowners, the public landowners being the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the State of Wyoming.
A general overview map of the major project facilities is provided
in Appendix 1.\2\
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\2\ The appendix referenced in this notice is not being printed
in the Federal Register. A copy of this notice is available on the
Commission's website at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First St., NE., Washington,
DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to
eLibrary refer to the end of this notice. Copies of the appendix
were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
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The EA Process
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 to discover and address concerns the public may have
about proposals. This
[[Page 2039]]
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 of Intent, we are requesting
public comments on the scope of the issues that should be addressed in
the EA. We will consider all comments received during scoping in the
preparation of the EA.
Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be
published and mailed to federal, state, and local agencies; elected
officials; environmental and public interest groups; other interested
parties; affected landowners; Native American tribes; libraries, and
newspapers; and the Commission's official service list for this
proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA is
published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make our
recommendations to the Commission.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
At this time no formal application has been filed with the FERC.
For this project, the FERC staff has initiated its NEPA review prior to
receiving the application. The purpose of the Commission's Pre-Filing
Process is to involve interested stakeholders early in project planning
and to identify and resolve issues before an application is filed with
the FERC.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the proposal. By becoming a commentor, your
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative
locations), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The
more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please
carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments are
received in time and properly recorded:
Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie
R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First
St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Gas Branch 1, DG2E; and
Reference Docket No. PF06-9-000 on the original and both
copies.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before January 30, 2006.
We will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable
time frame in our environmental analysis of the project. To expedite
our receipt and consideration of your comments, the Commission strongly
encourages electronic submission of any comments or interventions or
protests to this proceeding. See Title 18 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's
website at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link and the link
to the User's Guide. Before you can submit comments, you will need to
create a free account 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.
Availability of Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208 FERC or on the
FERC Internet 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., PF06-9). Be sure you have selected an appropriate
date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (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
.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-182 Filed 1-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P