Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Palmyra North Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 54647-54649 [E6-15430]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 180 / Monday, September 18, 2006 / Notices
cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
project and talk to FERC and Gulfstream
staff directly. Examination will be by
automobile and on foot. Representatives
of Gulfstream will be accompanying the
FERC staff.
Those planning to attend must
provide their own transportation. Those
interested in attending should meet at
10 a.m. (EST) in the parking lot of the
public rest stop on State Hwy 76 at the
Hwy 76/441 Intersection, on the east
side of St. Lucie Canal Bridge.
For additional information, please
contact the Commission’s Office of
External Affairs at 1–866–208-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. You
should focus on the potential
environmental effects of the proposal,
alternatives to the proposal (including
alternative locations and routes), 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 3.
• Reference Docket Number CP00–
006–014.
• Mail your comments so that they
will be received in Washington, DC on
or before October 9, 2006.
Please note that the Commission
encourages electronic filing of
comments. See 18 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) 385.2001(a)(1)(iii)
and the instructions on the
Commission’s Web site at https://
www.ferc.gov under the ‘‘e-Filing’’ link
and the link to the User’s Guide. Prepare
your submission in the same manner as
you would if filing on paper and save
it to a file on your hard drive. Before
you can file comments you will need to
create an 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.’’
The determination of whether to
distribute the EA for public comment
will be based on the response to this
notice. If you are interested in receiving
it, please return the Information
Requested (Appendix 3). An effort is
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:48 Sep 15, 2006
Jkt 208001
being made to send this notice to all
individuals 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.
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’’.
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). Intervenors have the right to
seek rehearing of the Commission’s
decision. Motions to Intervene should
be electrically submitted using the
Commission’s eFiling system at https://
www.ferc.gov. Persons without Internet
access should send an original and 14
copies of their motion to the Secretary
of the Commission at the address
indicated previously. Persons filing
Motions to Intervene on or before the
comment deadline indicated above must
send a copy of the motion to the
Applicant. All filings, including late
interventions, submitted after the
comment deadline must be served on
the Applicant and all other intervenors
identified on the Commission’s service
list for this proceeding. Persons on the
service list with e-mail addresses may
be served electronically; others must be
served a hard copy of the filing.
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
If you wish to remain on our
environmental mailing list, please
return the Information Request Form
included in Appendix 3. If you do not
return this form, you will be removed
from our mailing list.
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 (https://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
PO 00000
Frm 00040
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
54647
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 TYY,
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 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 https://
www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–15386 Filed 9–15–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP06–433–000]
Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice
of Intent to Prepare an Environmental
Assessment for the Proposed Palmyra
North Expansion Project and Request
for Comments on Environmental
Issues
September 12, 2006.
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 Palmyra North Expansion Project
involving construction and operation of
facilities by Northern Natural Gas
Company (Northern) in Clay County,
Kansas; Saunders, Washington, and
Otoe Counties, Nebraska; Lincoln
County, South Dakota; and Cherokee
and Dickinson Counties, Iowa.1 These
facilities would consist of modifications
to existing facilities and installation of
new facilities. 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.
1 On August 29, 2006, Northern filed its
application with the Commission under section 7
of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the
Commission’s regulations. The Commission filed its
notice of application on September 6, 2006.
E:\FR\FM\18SEN1.SGM
18SEN1
54648
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 180 / Monday, September 18, 2006 / Notices
cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
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.
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 Northern 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 (https://www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Northern proposes to expand the
capacity of its Palmyra North Facilities
in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South
Dakota to transport approximately
32,100 dekatherms per day of natural
gas in order to meet agricultural and
ethanol customer demand and to
increase incremental winter peak day
service. Northern seeks authority to:
• Add a new Solar Centaur 40S–
T4700 simple cycle turbine to a gasfired-turbine compressor and relocate
the compressor and all associated
facilities from Clifton Compressor
Station in Clay County, Kansas to
Palmyra Compressor Station in Otoe
County, Nebraska;
• Install a dual-run-regulator station
with associated piping around an
existing block valve at mile post (MP)
47.6 in Saunders County, Nebraska;
• Install a flow-limiting-control-valve
to its existing Cargill Town Border
Station at MP 16.9 in Washington
County, Nebraska;
• Install a new meter station to an
existing Northern line at MP 65.2 in
Lincoln County, South Dakota;
• Install a new 9,240-foot-long, 6inch-diameter branch line to existing
pipelines and the Town Border Station
to an existing Northern mainline and
install a new 6-inch-diameter branch
line in Dickinson County, Iowa; and
• Connect a 200-foot-long, 4-inchdiameter pipeline to an existing Town
Border Station with a new 4-inchdiameter branch line and take-off valve
in Cherokee County, Iowa.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:48 Sep 15, 2006
Jkt 208001
Northern has proposed several
nonjurisdictional facilities to be
associated with the Palmyra North
Expansion Project that include two new
ethanol plants, one ethanol plant
expansion, an expansion of an
integrated corn processing plant, and a
20-mile-long, 6-inch-diameter pipeline
to their Millennium Plant.
The general location of the project
facilities is shown in Appendix 1.2
Land Requirements for Construction
Project activities will occur on
property owned by Northern, with the
majority of the project activities
occurring within Northern’s existing
facilities. Construction of the proposed
facilities would impact about 85.0 acres
of land. Following construction,
approximately 0.5 acres of new land
would be maintained for operation. The
remaining 84.5 acres of land would be
restored and allowed to revert to its
former use.
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:
• Geology and Soils
• Land Use
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 Web site 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.
3 ‘‘We’’, ‘‘us’’, and ‘‘our’’ refer to the
environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects
(OEP).
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
•
•
•
•
•
•
Water Resources and Wetlands
Cultural Resources
Vegetation and Wildlife
Air Quality and Noise
Threatened and Endangered Species
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 several
issues that we think deserve attention
based on a preliminary review of the
proposed facilities and the
environmental information provided by
Northern. This preliminary list of issues
may be changed based on your
comments and our analysis.
• A total of 0.5 acre of agricultural
land would convert to industrial use.
• Air and noise quality may be
affected by added facilities.
Also, we have made a preliminary
decision to not address the impacts of
the nonjurisdictional facilities. We will
briefly describe their location and
summarize the status of state and local
environmental reviews in the EA.
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 (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
E:\FR\FM\18SEN1.SGM
18SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 180 / Monday, September 18, 2006 / Notices
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 OEP/DG2E, Gas Branch
3.
• Reference Docket No. CP06–433–
000.
• Mail your comments so that they
will be received in Washington, DC on
or before October 14, 2006.
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 https://
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 online.
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.
cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA
scoping process, you may want to
become an official party to the
proceeding, or ‘‘intervenor’’. 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). Intervenors
have the right to seek rehearing of the
Commission’s decision. Motions to
Intervene should be electronically
submitted using the Commission’s
eFiling system at https://www.ferc.gov.
Persons without Internet access should
send an original and 14 copies of their
motion to the Secretary of the
Commission at the address indicated
previously. Persons filing Motions to
Intervene on or before the comment
deadline indicated above must send a
copy of the motion to the Applicant. All
filings, including late interventions,
submitted after the comment deadline
must be served on the Applicant and all
other intervenors identified on the
Commission’s service list for this
proceeding. Persons on the service list
with e-mail addresses may be served
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:48 Sep 15, 2006
Jkt 208001
electronically; others must be served a
hard copy of the filing.
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-ofway 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. By this
notice we are also asking governmental
agencies, especially those in Appendix
2, to express their interest in becoming
cooperating agencies for the preparation
of the EA.
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 (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 or toll free
at 1–866–208–3676, 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 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 www.ferc.gov/
esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, public meetings or site visits
will be posted on the Commission’s
calendar located at https://www.ferc.gov/
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
54649
EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along
with other related information.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–15430 Filed 9–15–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
Notice of Application for Transfer of
License and Soliciting Comments,
Motions To Intervene, and Protests
September 8, 2006.
Take notice that the following
hydroelectric application has been filed
with the Commission and is available
for public inspection:
a. Application Type: Transfer of
License.
b. Project No.: 2902–019.
c. Date Filed: August 28, 2006.
d. Applicants: Nekoosa Packaging
Corporation (NPC) and GP Big Island,
LLC (GP Big Island).
e. Name and Location of Project: The
Big Island Project is located on the
James River, near the Town of Big Island
and the City of Lynchburg, in Amherst
and Bedford Counties, Virginia.
f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power
Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r).
g. Applicant Contacts: For NPC and
GP Big Island: Mr. Richard C. Judy,
Nekoosa Packaging Corporation, 9363
Lee Jackson Highway, Big Island, VA
24526, (434) 299–7331. Mr. Matthew D.
Manahan, Pierce Atwood LLP, One
Monument Square, Portland, ME 04101,
(207) 791–1100.
h. FERC Contact: Etta L. Foster (202)
502–8769.
i. Deadline for filing comments,
protests, and motions to intervene:
September 29, 2006.
All documents (original and eight
copies) should be filed with Magalie R.
Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Comments, protests, and interventions
may be filed electronically via the
Internet in lieu of paper, see 18 CFR
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions
on the Commission’s Web site under the
‘‘e-Filing’’ link. The Commission
strongly encourages electronic filings.
Please include the project number (P–
2902–019) on any comments, protests,
or motions filed. The Commission’s
Rules of Practice and Procedure require
all interveners filing a document with
the Commission to serve a copy of that
document on each person in the official
service list for the project. Further, if an
E:\FR\FM\18SEN1.SGM
18SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 180 (Monday, September 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54647-54649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-15430]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP06-433-000]
Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Palmyra North Expansion
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
September 12, 2006.
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 Palmyra North Expansion
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Northern
Natural Gas Company (Northern) in Clay County, Kansas; Saunders,
Washington, and Otoe Counties, Nebraska; Lincoln County, South Dakota;
and Cherokee and Dickinson Counties, Iowa.\1\ These facilities would
consist of modifications to existing facilities and installation of new
facilities. 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ On August 29, 2006, Northern filed its application with the
Commission under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of
the Commission's regulations. The Commission filed its notice of
application on September 6, 2006.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 54648]]
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.
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 Northern 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 (https://
www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Northern proposes to expand the capacity of its Palmyra North
Facilities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota to transport
approximately 32,100 dekatherms per day of natural gas in order to meet
agricultural and ethanol customer demand and to increase incremental
winter peak day service. Northern seeks authority to:
Add a new Solar Centaur 40S-T4700 simple cycle turbine to
a gas-fired-turbine compressor and relocate the compressor and all
associated facilities from Clifton Compressor Station in Clay County,
Kansas to Palmyra Compressor Station in Otoe County, Nebraska;
Install a dual-run-regulator station with associated
piping around an existing block valve at mile post (MP) 47.6 in
Saunders County, Nebraska;
Install a flow-limiting-control-valve to its existing
Cargill Town Border Station at MP 16.9 in Washington County, Nebraska;
Install a new meter station to an existing Northern line
at MP 65.2 in Lincoln County, South Dakota;
Install a new 9,240-foot-long, 6-inch-diameter branch line
to existing pipelines and the Town Border Station to an existing
Northern mainline and install a new 6-inch-diameter branch line in
Dickinson County, Iowa; and
Connect a 200-foot-long, 4-inch-diameter pipeline to an
existing Town Border Station with a new 4-inch-diameter branch line and
take-off valve in Cherokee County, Iowa.
Northern has proposed several nonjurisdictional facilities to be
associated with the Palmyra North Expansion Project that include two
new ethanol plants, one ethanol plant expansion, an expansion of an
integrated corn processing plant, and a 20-mile-long, 6-inch-diameter
pipeline to their Millennium Plant.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix
1.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 Web site
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Requirements for Construction
Project activities will occur on property owned by Northern, with
the majority of the project activities occurring within Northern's
existing facilities. Construction of the proposed facilities would
impact about 85.0 acres of land. Following construction, approximately
0.5 acres of new land would be maintained for operation. The remaining
84.5 acres of land would be restored and allowed to revert to its
former use.
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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geology and Soils
Land Use
Water Resources and Wetlands
Cultural Resources
Vegetation and Wildlife
Air Quality and Noise
Threatened and Endangered Species
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 several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Northern. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
A total of 0.5 acre of agricultural land would convert to
industrial use.
Air and noise quality may be affected by added facilities.
Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities. We will briefly describe
their location and summarize the status of state and local
environmental reviews in the EA.
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 (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
[[Page 54649]]
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 OEP/
DG2E, Gas Branch 3.
Reference Docket No. CP06-433-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before October 14, 2006.
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 https://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 online.
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, or ``intervenor''. 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). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the
Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically
submitted using the Commission's eFiling system at https://www.ferc.gov.
Persons without Internet access should send an original and 14 copies
of their motion to the Secretary of the Commission at the address
indicated previously. Persons filing Motions to Intervene on or before
the comment deadline indicated above must send a copy of the motion to
the Applicant. All filings, including late interventions, submitted
after the comment deadline must be served on the Applicant and all
other intervenors identified on the Commission's service list for this
proceeding. Persons on the service list with e-mail addresses may be
served electronically; others must be served a hard copy of the filing.
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. By this
notice we are also asking governmental agencies, especially those in
Appendix 2, to express their interest in becoming cooperating agencies
for the preparation of the EA.
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 (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 or
toll free at 1-866-208-3676, 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 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at https://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/
EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-15430 Filed 9-15-06; 8:45 am]
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