Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project, 2300 [E8-434]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 9 (Monday, January 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 2300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-434]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 6061]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline 
Project.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Department of State 
intends to file a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 
Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project with the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and that the FEIS is now 
available to the public for review. The proposed action is the granting 
by the Department of State of a Presidential permit to TransCanada 
Keystone Pipeline, LLC (``Keystone'') for the construction, operation, 
and maintenance of pipeline facilities at the border of the U.S. and 
Canada for the transport of crude oil across the U.S.-Canada 
international boundary. The pipeline would enter the United States at 
the U.S.-Canada border in North Dakota and travel through South Dakota, 
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 19, 2006, TransCanada Keystone 
Pipeline, LLC (``Keystone'') filed an application for a Presidential 
permit for the construction, operation, and maintenance of pipeline 
facilities at the border of the U.S. and Canada for the transport of 
crude oil across the U.S.-Canada international boundary. Keystone has 
requested authorization to construct and operate the border crossing 
facilities at the U.S.-Canada border at Cavalier County, North Dakota, 
in connection with its proposed international pipeline project (the 
``Keystone pipeline project''), which is designed to transport 
incremental Canadian crude oil production from the Western Canadian 
Sedimentary Basin (``WCSB'') to an existing refinery in Wood River, 
Illinois, and existing terminals in Patoka, Illinois, and Cushing, 
Oklahoma.
    The Secretary of State is designated and empowered to receive all 
applications for Presidential permits, as referred to in Executive 
Order 13337, as amended, for the construction, connection, operation, 
or maintenance, at the borders of the United States, of facilities for 
the exportation or importation of petroleum, petroleum products, coal, 
or other fuels to or from a foreign country.
    The FEIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and to evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed Keystone pipeline project. The 
document also evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system 
alternatives and pipeline route alternatives. The FEIS contains the 
Department's response to timely comments received on the draft EIS that 
was made available to the public for review on August 9, 2007 (72 FR 
44908). The FEIS also discloses that the proposed action is the 
preferred alternative of the Department of State.
    As noted in the October 11, 2006, Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and To Conduct Scoping Meetings for the 
TransCanada Keystone Pipeline (71 FR 59849), the Department of State 
used the scoping process to help identify consulting parties and 
historic preservation issues for consideration under Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations (36 
CFR part 800).
    The FEIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the United States portion of the Keystone 
Pipeline Project. In total, the Keystone Project would consist of the 
Mainline Project (approximately 1,078 miles of pipeline in the United 
States) and the Cushing Extension (293.5 miles of pipeline in the 
United States). Including the Cushing Extension, the total length of 
pipeline in the United States would be 1,371.5 miles.
    The FEIS describes and evaluates the U.S. portion of the proposed 
Keystone Project, including both the Mainline Project and Cushing 
Extension, and the additional facilities required to increase 
throughput capacity of the pipeline to 591,000 bpd.
    U.S. States and counties that could possibly be affected by 
construction of the proposed pipeline, including the proposed Cushing 
extension, are:
     North Dakota: Pembina, Cavalier, Walsh, Nelson, Steele, 
Barnes, Ransom, Dickey, and Sargent;
     South Dakota: Marshall, Brown, Day, Clark, Beadle, 
Kingsbury, Miner, Hanson, McCook, Hutchinson, and Yankton;
     Nebraska: Cedar, Wayne, Stanton, Platte, Colfax, Butler, 
Seward, Saline, Jefferson, and Gage;
     Kansas: Marshall, Nemaha, Brown, Washington, Clay, 
Dickinson, Marion, Butler, Cowley, and Doniphan;
     Missouri: Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, 
Randolph, Audrain, Montgomery, Lincoln, and St. Charles;
     Illinois: Madison, Bond, Fayette, Marion, and Clinton; and
     Oklahoma (under a possible future extension): Kay, Noble, 
and Payne.
    Copies of the FEIS have been mailed to interested federal, state 
and local agencies; public interest groups; individuals and affected 
landowners who requested a copy of the FEIS or who provided substantive 
comments on the draft EIS; libraries; newspapers; and other 
stakeholders.
    The Department intends to issue its Record of Decision (ROD) for 
the Keystone Pipeline Project no earlier than 30 days after the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes a Notice of Availability for 
the FEIS in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The TransCanada Keystone Pipeline 
application for a Presidential Permit, including associated maps and 
drawings; the FEIS; a list of libraries where the FEIS may be viewed; 
and other project information is available for viewing and download at 
the project Web site: http//www.keystonepipeline.state.gov.
    Those wishing to comment on the FEIS, to request a CD-ROM copy of 
the final EIS or with additional questions, please contact Elizabeth 
Orlando, OES/ENV Room 2657, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 
20520, or by telephone (202) 647-4284, or by fax at (202) 647-5947.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 3, 2008.
Stephen J. Gallogly,
Director, International Energy and Commodity Policy, Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. E8-434 Filed 1-11-08; 8:45 am]
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