[Federal Register: November 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 223)]
[Notices]
[Page 65324-65326]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20no07-58]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. PF08-3-000]
White River Hub, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the White River Hub Project and Request
for Comments oOn Environmental Issues
November 9, 2007.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) and
the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
are evaluating the White River Hub Project, planned by White River Hub,
LLC (White River). The project includes construction of about 6.5 miles
of new pipeline and related facilities; a new compressor station; and
acquisition of about 3 miles of existing pipeline, all in Rio Blanco
County, Colorado. As part of this evaluation, the Commission staff (as
the lead federal agency for satisfying the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [NEPA]) will prepare an environmental
assessment (EA) to identify and address environmental impacts that
could result from construction and operation of the project. The EA
will be prepared with the assistance and cooperation of the BLM's White
River Field Office staff in Meeker, Colorado. The Commission and the
BLM (Agencies) will use the EA in their respective decision-making
processes to determine whether to authorize the planned project.
This Notice describes the project-related facilities and explains
the scoping process that the Agencies will use to gather input from the
public and interested agencies on the planned project. Your input will
help determine the issues that need to be addressed in the EA. Please
note that the scoping period for the planned project will close on
December 10, 2007.
This Notice is being sent to federal, state, and local government
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups;
Native American tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries
and newspapers. 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. We encourage government
representatives to notify their constituents of this planned project
and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern. To ensure that
your comments are considered, please follow the instructions in the
Public Participation section below.
With this Notice, we \1\ are asking other federal, state, and local
agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to
environmental issues in the project area to formally cooperate with us
in the preparation of this EA. These agencies may choose to participate
once they have evaluated the planned project relative to their
responsibilities. Entities that would like to request cooperating
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments
described in the Public Participation section of this Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are a landowner receiving this Notice, you may be contacted
by a White River representative about the acquisition of an easement to
construct, operate, and maintain the proposed pipeline facilities. The
pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
agreement to cover
[[Page 65325]]
the easement, damages that may occur during construction, and any other
issues raised by the landowner. The Commission encourages pipeline
companies to acquire as much of the right-of-way (ROW) as possible by
negotiation with the landowners. If the FERC approves the project, that
approval will convey with it the right of eminent domain to secure
easements for the facilities. Eminent domain is intended for use when
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement. In such instances,
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?'' is available for
viewing on the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). This fact
sheet addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the
use of eminent domain for pipeline facilities and how to participate in
the FERC's proceedings.
Summary of the Planned Project
White River plans to construct and operate the following
facilities:
About 6.5 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline, extending
westward from the Greasewood Hub and a new interconnection (``tie-in'')
with an existing 36-inch-diameter pipeline owned by Enterprise Products
Operating LLC (Enterprise) near the Piceance Creek;
A new tie-in with the Enterprise pipeline, including pig
\2\ launching/receiving facilities and a new access road from County
Road 5;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ A pipeline ``pig'' is a device to clean or inspect the
pipeline internally. A pig launcher/receiver is an aboveground
facility where pigs are inserted or retrieved from the pipeline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A new meter station at the Greasewood Hub end of the new
pipeline, including a common header for interconnections with existing
gas transporters at the Hub and pig launching/receiving facilities; and
Other appurtenant facilities.
Within the fenced area of the new meter station, Questar Pipeline
Company (Questar) would construct and operate new compression
facilities consisting of up to three reciprocating engine-driven
compressors totaling 7,700 horsepower. Equipment related to the
compressor station would include gas coolers, a standby generator, and
buildings to house the compressors and generators. While Questar would
construct the compression facilities under its FERC-issued Blanket
Certificate, potential impacts would be addressed in the EA.
White River would also acquire from Enterprise about 3 miles of 36-
inch-diameter pipeline, extending between Enterprise's existing natural
gas processing plant and the Rockies Express Compressor Station. All of
the planned and existing facilities that constitute the White River Hub
Project would be located in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The general
location of the project is shown in appendix 1.
Land Requirements for Construction
White River's pipeline construction design includes a 100-foot-wide
ROW. The wide construction ROW would enable White River to store
topsoil stripped from the full ROW separate from subsoils removed from
the trench. At some locations, this width would be increased to 125-150
feet to accommodate rugged terrain, steep side-slopes, foreign pipeline
crossings, access approaches, etc. Additional temporary extra workspace
would also be required where the planned pipeline crosses roads and
foreign utilities. Construction of the planned pipeline would disturb
about 100 acres.
The 50-foot-square Enterprise tie-in would require about 0.3 acre
during construction, while construction of the meter station at the
Greasewood Hub would take place within the planned 4.6-acre permanent
site. With the exception of the 25-foot-wide by 400-foot-long (0.2
acre) new access road to the Enterprise tie-in, existing access roads
would be used to construct the new pipeline. Of these roads, about 3
miles would have to be upgraded to handle construction vehicles
(totaling about 9 acres of temporary disturbance). Finally, truck ramps
would be constructed where the new pipeline crosses County Road 5 (0.5
acre of temporary disturbance). Overall, construction is estimated to
temporarily disturb about 114 acres, not including pipe storage and
contractor yards which have yet to be located.
Following construction, White River plans to maintain a 50-foot-
wide permanent ROW for the new pipeline. In addition to the new access
road to the Enterprise tie-in facility and the new meter station at
Greasewood, land permanently affected by the planned White River Hub
Project would total about 44 acres.\3\ All temporary workspaces outside
the permanent ROW would be restored and allowed to revert to current
uses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Because the tie-in would be sited entirely within the
existing Enterprise ROW, this facility would not contribute to the
land area permanently affected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The EA Process
We are preparing this EA to comply with NEPA, which requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result if it authorizes White River's planned project. NEPA also
requires us to discover and address concerns the public may have about
proposal. 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 and reasonable alternatives. With this Notice, we
are requesting public comments on the scope of the issues to be
addressed in the EA. All comments received will be considered during
preparation of the EA.
The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues.
Depending upon 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, potentially affected
landowners, newspapers and libraries in the project area, 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 timely 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.
Although no formal application has been filed with the FERC, we
have already initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's Pre-
Filing Process. The purpose of the Pre-Filing Process is to encourage
early involvement of interested stakeholders 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 project. By becoming a commentor, your
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.
Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects,
reasonable alternatives (including alternative facility sites and
pipeline routes), 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 timely and properly recorded, please
follow these instructions:
Send an original and two copies of your letter to:
Kimberly D. Bose,
[[Page 65326]]
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
Label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas
Branch 1, DG2E;
Reference Docket No. PF08-3-000 on the original and both
copies; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before December 10, 2007.
If you submit comments by mail, submit them in an unbound format,
no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, suitable for copying. However, the
Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments in
response to this Notice. For information on electronically filing
comments, please see 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, as well as information in 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii).
Before you can file comments you will need to create a free account,
which can be accomplished on-line.
We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving
it, please return the Mailing List Return Mailer (appendix 2). If you
do not return the Return Mailer, you will be taken off the mailing
list.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC (3372) or on
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the ``eLibrary'' link.
Click on the eLibrary link, select ``General Search'' and enter the
project docket number excluding the last three digits (i.e., PF06-14)
in the ``Docket Number'' field. Be sure you have selected an
appropriate date range. For assistance with eLibrary, the eLibrary
helpline can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or by e-
mail at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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 e-
Subscription 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
.
Any public meetings or site visits for this project will be posted
on the Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx
along with other related information.
Finally, White River has established an Internet Web site for this
project at http://www.questarpipeline.com. The Web site includes a
description of the project and the Commission's pre-filing review
process, instructions on how the public may participate in the project
review, and public libraries where project-related information will be
made available. You can also request additional information or provide
comments directly to White River at (800) 366-8532.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-22617 Filed 11-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P