[Federal Register: July 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 130)]
[Notices]
[Page 39504-39505]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jy05-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket Nos. CP04-413-000, CP04-414-000, and CP04-415-000]
Entrega Gas Pipeline Inc.; Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Entrega Pipeline
Project
July 1, 2005.
The environmental staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC or Commission) has prepared a final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) on the interstate natural gas pipeline transmission
facilities proposed by Entrega Gas Pipeline Inc. (Entrega) in the
above-referenced dockets.
The final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Its purpose is to inform the
Commission, the public, and other permitting agencies about the
potential adverse and beneficial environmental impacts associated with
the proposed project and its alternatives, and to recommend practical,
reasonable, and appropriate mitigation measures which would avoid or
reduce any significant adverse impacts to the maximum extent
practicable and, where feasible, to less than significant levels. The
final EIS concludes that approval of the proposed project, with
appropriate mitigating measures as recommended, would have limited
adverse environmental impact.
The Entrega Pipeline Project involves the construction and
operation of a new interstate natural gas pipeline system that would
extend between a proposed Meeker Hub in Rio Blanco County, Colorado; to
Wamsutter, in Sweetwater County, Wyoming; and continuing on to the
Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, Colorado. The final EIS assesses the
potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of
the following facilities in Colorado and Wyoming:
About 328.1 miles of new pipeline of 36- and 42-inch-
diameter pipeline--
--136.3 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline, with 86.1 miles in Colorado
(Rio Blanco and Moffat Counties) and 50.2 miles in Wyoming (Sweetwater
County); and
--191.8 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline, with 183.1 miles in Wyoming
(Sweetwater, Carbon, Albany, and Laramie Counties) and 8.7 miles in
Colorado (Larimer and Weld Counties);
Three new compressor stations (the Meeker Hub and Bighole
Compressor Stations in Colorado, the Wamsutter Compressor Station in
Wyoming);
Seven meter stations at interconnections with other
pipeline systems (three associated with the new compressor stations,
one of which would be constructed by Wyoming Interstate Company), four
at the new Cheyenne Hub Metering Station in Wyoming;
Four pig launchers and four pig receivers (six associated
with compressor and metering stations, one launcher and one receiver at
the new Arlington Pigging Station in Wyoming);
22 mainline valves (5 valves at compressor and metering
stations, 17 valves along the pipeline ROW); and
Other associated facilities, such as access roads and
powerlines.
The proposed project would be capable of transporting up to 1.5
billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Meeker Hub
Compressor Station to interconnections at:
Wamsutter, Wyoming with the Colorado Interstate Gas
Company (CIG) and Wyoming Interstate Company transmission systems that
serve markets east and west of Wamsutter; and
The Cheyenne Hub (Weld County, Colorado) with CIG,
Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline Company, Trailblazer Pipeline Company, and
Public Service Company of Colorado. These systems would transport gas
to markets in the Midwest and Central U.S. and the Eastern Slope south
of the Cheyenne Hub.
The purpose of the Entrega Pipeline Project is to transport natural
gas from supply basins in the central Rocky Mountains to interstate
pipelines at Wamsutter and the Cheyenne Hub. From these points, the gas
could be transported to markets in the West, the Midwest, or the
Central United States, depending on the delivery location specified by
the shipper. The need for the project arises from the current and
projected increase of natural gas production in the Rocky Mountain
region, which is occurring without a concurrent increase in pipeline
capacity to transport this gas out from the production basins and into
the interstate pipeline network.
The final EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and
is 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.
A limited number of copies are available from the FERC's Public
Reference Room identified above. In addition, copies of the final EIS
have been mailed to Federal, State, and local agencies; public interest
groups; individuals and affected landowners who have requested the
draft EIS; libraries and newspapers in the project area; and parties to
this proceeding.
In accordance with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations implementing NEPA, no agency decision on a proposed action
may be made until 30 days after the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes a Notice of Availability of the final EIS in the
Federal Register. However, the CEQ regulations provide an exception to
this rule when an agency decision is subject to a formal internal
appeal process which allows other agencies or the public to make their
views known. In such cases, the agency decision may be made at the same
time the notice of the final EIS is published by the EPA, allowing both
periods to run concurrently. The Commission's decision for this
proposed action is subject to a 30-day rehearing period.
Additional information about the proposed 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 (i.e., CP04-413) 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 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
[[Page 39505]]
provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the
Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-3609 Filed 7-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P