[Federal Register: June 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 116)]
[Notices]
[Page 33898-33900]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jn04-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP04-345-000]
Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C.; Notice Of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment For The Proposed Cheyenne Plains
2005 Expansion Project And Request for Comments On Environmental Issues
June 9, 2004.
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 Cheyenne Plains 2005 Expansion
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Cheyenne
Plains Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (CPG) in Weld County, Colorado.\1\
These facilities would consist of 10,310 horsepower (hp) of compression
and appurtenant facilities for connection. 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.
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\1\ CPG's application was filed with the Commission under
Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's
regulations.
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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
[[Page 33899]]
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.
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 CPG 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 website (http://www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
CPG proposes to add 10,310 hp of compression at the 20,320-hp
Cheyenne Plains Compressor Station currently under construction to
deliver an additional 170,000 decatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas
(increased from 560,000 Dth/d to 730,000 Dth/d).
The 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 all appendices, other
than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's website at
the ``eLibrary'' link 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. Copies of the appendices were sent to all
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 7 acres
of land. Following construction, about 4 acres would be maintained as a
new aboveground facility site on previously disturbed land within the
Cheyenne Plains Compressor Station.
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
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 of Intent, the Commission staff
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the
EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the
EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to
comment on their areas of concern.
In the EA we\3\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these
general headings:
\3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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Air quality and noise
We will not discuss impacts to the following resource areas since
they are not present in the project area, or would not be affected by
the proposed facilities.
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
Further, since the addition of compression would be at a station
currently under construction and which has been reviewed and cleared
for the following issues, they will not be discussed:
Geology and soils
Land use
Cultural resources
Vegetation and wildlife
Endangered and threatened species
Hazardous waste
Public safety
We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
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, public
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners,
newspapers, libraries, 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.
To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the
instructions in the public participation section below.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified noise impact as an issue that we think
deserves attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed
facilities and the environmental information provided by CPG. This
preliminary issue may be changed based on your comments and our
analysis.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. 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 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 Gas
Branch 2.
Reference Docket No. CP04-345-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before July 13, 2004.
Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our
environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission
strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions
or protests to this proceeding. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the
instructions on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under
the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to the User's Guide. Before you can
file comments you will need to create a free account which can be
created on-line.
We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving
it, please return the Information Request (appendix 3). If you do not
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors.
Likewise, each intervenor
[[Page 33900]]
must provide 14 copies of its filings to the Secretary of the
Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all other parties on
the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If you want to
become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene according to
Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR
385.214) (see appendix 2).\4\ Only intervenors have the right to seek
rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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\4\ 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 environmental comments considered.
Environmental Mailing List
An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals,
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners who are
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily
for project purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the
Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities.
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. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov.
In addition, the Commission now 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.
Finally, 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.
Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1348 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P