Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Notices 38275

1East Tennessee’s original application was filed

with the Commission on December 13, 1999, under

Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of

the Commission’s regulations. East Tennessee’s

amended application filed on May 10, 2000,

changes the locations of the proposed Lenoir City

and Etowah Meter Stations and proposes the

installation of new relief valves, new mainline

valves, and the replacement of mainline valves.

Comment date: June 29, 2000, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

24. Boston Edison Company, Cambridge

Electric Light Company,

Commonwealth Electric Company

[Docket No. ER00–2778–000]

Take notice that on June 8, 2000,

Boston Edison Company, Cambridge

Electric Light Company, and

Commonwealth Electric Company (the

NSTAR Companies), tendered for filing

a joint notification as directed by the

Commission in its Order in Docket No.

ER00–1666–000 on May 8, 2000 at 91

FERC ¶ 61,122 that the Commission

should consider the respective NSTAR

companies’ open access transmission

tariffs as modified by the revised North

American Electric Reliability Council

Transmission Loading Relief Procedures

accepted for filing by that Order.

Comment date: June 29, 2000, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

25. Northern/AES Energy, LLC

[Docket No. ER00–2779–000]

Take notice that on June 8, 2000,

Northern/AES Energy, LLC (NAES),

tendered for filing a letter requesting

Commission approval of NAES’;

assignment of its membership in the

Western Systems Power Pool (WSPP) to

Split Rock Energy LLC. Such

assignment is allowed under Section 14

of the WSPP Agreement.

A copy of the filing was served upon

the General Counsel to the WSPP.

Comment date June 29, 2000, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

26. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.

[Docket No. ER00–2780–000]

Take notice that on June 7, 2000, PJM

Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM), tendered

for filing a notice pursuant to the

Commission’s order in North American

Electric Reliability Council, 91 FERC

¶ 61,122 (May 8, 2000), that its Open

Access Transmission Tariff is

considered modified to adopt the

revised North American Electric

Reliability Council’s transmission

loading relief procedures.

Copies of this filing were served upon

the parties to Docket No. ER00–1666.

Comment date: June 28, 2000, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

Standard Paragraphs

E. Any person desiring to be heard or

to protest such filing should file a

motion to intervene or protest with the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

20426, in accordance with Rules 211

and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of

Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211

and 385.214). All such motions or

protests should be filed on or before the

comment date. Protests will be

considered by the Commission in

determining the appropriate action to be

taken, but will not serve to make

protestants parties to the proceeding.

Any person wishing to become a party

must file a motion to intervene. Copies

of these filings are on file with the

Commission and are available for public

inspection. This filing may also be

viewed on the Internet at http://

www.ferc.fed.us/online/rims.htm (call

202–208–2222 for assistance).

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–15484 Filed 6–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket Nos. CP00–51–000 and CP00–51–

001]

East Tennessee Natural Gas Company;

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed Rocky Top Expansion

Project, and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

June 14, 2000.

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 construction, testing, operation, and

abandonment of facilities proposed in

the East Tennessee Natural Gas

Company (East Tennessee) Rocky Top

Expansion Project in various counties of

Virginia and Tennessee.1 These

facilities would consist of about 15.1

miles of pipeline, about 0.7 mile of

pipeline replacements at seventeen road

crossings, three new meter stations and

a modification to an existing meter

station, mainline valves, uprating of

four compressor units and four meter

stations, hydrostatic testing of about

26.7 miles of pipeline to increase the

maximum allowable operating pressure

(MAOP), and the abandonment of about

0.7 mile of pipeline. The EA will be

used by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine whether

the project is in the public convenience

and necessity.

If you are a landowner on East

Tennessee’s proposed route and receive

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 East Tennessee provided to

landowners along and adjacent to those

proposed route. 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 (www.ferc.fed.us).

This Notice of Intent (NOI) is being

sent to landowners of property crossed

by and adjacent to East Tennessee’s

amended facility locations and to the

Commission’s list of parties to the

proceeding.

Summary of the Proposed Project

East Tennessee is proposing the

Rocky Top Expansion Project to satisfy

the growing demand for natural gas in

the western Virginia and eastern

Tennessee regions. The project would

provide new firm service to meet

increased market demand of specific

customers as well as provide systemwide benefits. East Tennessee is

requesting authorization to increase its

pipeline capacity by a total of 35,068

dekatherms (Dth) per day through the

installation of additional pipeline,

hydrostatic testing to increase MAOP,

pipeline replacement, compressor

horsepower and meter station uprates,

and installation of additional metering

facilities.

East Tennessee proposes to construct

the following new facilities on its 3300

and 3100 Lines:

38276 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Notices

2A loop is a segment of pipeline that is installed

adjacent to an existing pipeline and connected to

it on both ends. The loop allows more gas to be

moved through the pipeline system.

3 In 1999, as part of the Virginia Expansion

Project (Docket No. CP98–40–000), this 4.6 mile

section was uprated by hydrostatic testing and

replacing pipeline at all of the road crossings in this

section, except for one

4The appendices referenced in this notice are not

being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are

available on the Commission’s website at the

‘‘RIMS’’ link or from the Commission’s Public

Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First

Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, or call

(202) 208–1371. For instructions on connecting to

RIMS refer to the last page of this notice. Copies of

the appendixes were sent to all those receiving this

notice in the mail.

5 ‘‘We,’’‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the environment

staff of the Office of Energy Projects, part of the

Commission staff.

• About 15.1 miles of 12-inchdiameter pipeline loop 2 in Wythe,

Smyth, and Washington Counties,

Virginia;

• Four new meter stations—the

Hawkins Meter Station in Greene

County, Tennessee; the Lenoir City

Meter Station in Roane County,

Tennessee; the Etowah Meter Station in

McMinn County, Tennessee; and a bidirectional meter station at the existing

Citizens Meter Station in Morgan,

County, Tennessee.

East Tennessee proposed to increase

the MAOP of several sections on its

3100 and 3200 Lines through

hydrostatic testing activities and

pipeline replacements at road crossing:

• Uprate the MAOP of about 12.8

miles of 22-inch-diameter pipeline from

main line valve (MLV) 3107–1A in

Overton County, Tennessee to MLV

3108–1 in Fentress County, Tennessee,

through hydrostatic testing, including

pipeline replacements at six road

crossings, and the installation of

pressure control facilities at East

Tennessee’s Monterey Lateral;

• Uprate the MAOP of about 4.6 miles

of 22-inch-diameter pipeline from MLV

3107–1 to MLV 3107–1A in Overton

County, Tennessee, through hydrostatic

testing of a pipeline replacement at one

road crossing 3, and the installation of a

new relief valve within valve section

3107;

• Uprate the MAOP of about 13.6

miles of 22-inch-diameter pipeline from

MLV 3105–1 in Smith County,

Tennessee to MLV 3105–1E2 in Jackson

County, Tennessee, through hydrostatic

testing, including pipeline replacement

at ten road crossings, the installation of

pressure control facilities at East

Tennessee’s Carthage Lateral, and the

installation of a new relief valve, four

new MLVs, and the replacement of four

MLVs within valve section 3105;

• Uprate the MAOP of the 0.3 mile

dual 10-inch-diameter Tennessee River

pipeline crossing in Hamilton County,

Tennessee, through hydrostatic testing

of the crossing, and the relocation of the

river crossing valve assemblies; and

• Uprate the MAOPs of four existing

meter stations on the 3200 Line in

Hamilton County, Tennessee.

East Tennessee also proposes an

uprate of horsepower (hp) at two

compressor stations:

• Uprate of two turbine units from

1,000 hp to 1,450 hp, and one unit from

1000 hp to 1,360 hp at Station 3101 in

Robertson County, Tennessee, and

• Uprate of the single turbine unit

from 1,360 hp to 1,590 hp at Station

3210 in Marion County, Tennessee.

East Tennessee also proposes to

replace 0.7 mile of pipeline at the

seventeen road crossings in order to

meet the applicable U.S. Department of

Transportation strength and safety

regulations applicable to the higher

MAOP. As such, East Tennessee

proposes to abandon by removal 0.6

mile and abandon in place 0.1 mile of

pipeline to effect this replacement.

The general location of East

Tennessee’s proposed facilities is shown

on the map attached as appendix1.4

Land Requirements for Construction

Proposed Pipeline Looping—Virginia:

Construction of East Tennessee’s

proposed pipeline facilities would

require about 235 acres of land. East

Tennessee proposes to use a 100-footwide construction right-of-way, and

retain a 50-foot wide permanent

pipeline right-of-way. Total land

requirements for the permanent right-ofway would be about 91 acres.

Proposed MAOP Increase and

Hydrotest—Tennessee: The replacement

of seventeen road crossings associated

with the MAOP increase and the

hydrostatic testing of about 26.7 miles of

pipeline would affect about 57 acres of

land needed during construction and to

install the proper facilities for testing,

and would require about 7 acres of land

during operation. About 2.4 acres of

land would be disturbed during the

relocation of the existing valves at the

Tennessee River Crossing, of which

about 0.2 acre would be permanently

affected. All temporary work space

would be allowed to revert to its

original land use.

Proposed Meter Stations and Pressure

Control Facilities—Tennessee:

Construction of three new meter stations

would affect about 2 acres of land and

would require about 0.8 acre of land

during operation. About 0.2 acre of land

within an existing meter station would

be affected by the installation of a bidirectional meter. East Tennessee would

disturb about 1 acre of land in the

hydrostatic testing of its four existing

meter stations, with no additional land

required for operation. The installation

of the Pressure control facilities would

require about 1.8 acres of land within

the existing permanent right-of-way and

would require no additional permanent

operating acreage.

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 5 to

discover and address concerns the

public may have about proposals. We

call this ‘‘scoping.’’ The main goal of the

scoping process is to focus the analysis

in the EA on the important

environmental issues. By this NOI, the

Commission requests public comments

on the scope of the issues it will address

in the EA. All comments received are

considered during the preparation of the

EA.

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, elected officials,

affected landowners, regional public

interest groups, Indian tribes, local

newspapers and 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.

Currently Identified Environmental

Issues

The EA will discuss impacts that

could occur as a result of construction

and operation of the proposed project.

We have already identified a number of

issues that we think deserve attention

based on a preliminary review of the

proposed facilities and the

environmental information provided by

East Tennessee. This preliminary list of

issues may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

• Geology and Soils

—Potential geologic hazards.

—Crossing of erosion prone soils.

• Water Resources and Wetlands

—Impact on groundwater and surface

water resources.

—Impact on wetland hydrology.

• Biological Resources

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Notices 38277

—Impact on wildlife and fishery

habitats.

—Potential impact on Federal- and

State-listed threatened or endangered

species.

• Cultural Resources

—Effect on prehistoric and historic

sites.

—Native American concerns.

• Land Use

—Impact on residential areas (7

residences within 50 feet of the

construction work area in Virginia

and 1 residence within 50 feet of the

construction work area in Tennessee).

—Impact on public lands and special

use areas including the Tennessee

River Park.

—Visual effect of the new aboveground

facilities on surrounding areas.

• Air and Noise Quality

—Impacts on local air quality and noise

environment as a result of the

operation of the uprated horsepower

units at existing Compressor Stations

3101 and 3210.

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 or 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 two copies of your letter to:

David P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC

20426;

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of Environmental Gas

Group 1, PJ–11.1;

• Reference Docket Nos. CP00–51–

000 and CP00–51–001; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before July 14, 2000.

[If you do not want to send comments

at this time but still want to remain on

our mailing list, please return the

Information Request (appendix 3). If you

do not return the Information Request,

you will be removed from the

environmental mailing list.]

Becoming an Intervener

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

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). Only

intervenors have the right to seek

rehearing of the Commission’s decision.

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.

Additional information about the

proposed project is available from Mr.

Paul McKee of the Commission’s Office

of External Affairs at (202) 208–1088 or

on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us)

using the ‘‘RIMS’’ link to information in

this docket number. Click on the

‘‘RIMS’’ link, select ‘‘Docket #’’ from the

RIMS Menu, and follow the

instructions. For assistance with access

to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be

reached at (202) 208–2222.

Similarly, the ‘‘CIPS’’ link on the

FERC Internet website provides access

to the texts of formal documents issued

by the Commission, such as orders,

notices, and rulemakings. From the

FERC Internet website, click on the

‘‘CIPS’’ link, select ‘‘Docket #’’ from the

CIPS menu, and follow the instructions.

For assistance with access to CIPS, the

CIPS helpline can be reached at (202)

208–2474.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–15481 Filed 6–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[IL 200, IN 130, WI 97–01–7328; FRL–6719–

6]

Adequacy Status of Chicago, IL,

Northwest Indiana, IN, and Milwaukee,

WI in Submitted Ozone Attainment

Demonstrations for Transportation

Conformity Purposes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy.

SUMMARY: In this document, EPA is

notifying the public that EPA has found

that the motor vehicle emissions

budgets in each of the three Lake

Michigan area ozone attainment

demonstrations are adequate for

transportation conformity purposes. The

three areas affected are: Chicago,

Illinois; Northwest Indiana (Lake and

Porter Counties), Indiana, and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On March 2,

1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that

submitted State Implementation Plans

(SIPs) cannot be used for transportation

conformity determinations until EPA

has affirmatively found the motor

vehicle emission budgets adequate. We

have made that finding in letters to the

States affected and are providing notice

to the public in this Federal Register.

As a result of our finding, Chicago,

Northwest Indiana and Milwaukee can

use the motor vehicle emissions budgets

from their submitted ozone attainment

demonstrations for future transportation

conformity determinations. The motor

vehicle emissions budgets are for two

pollutants, volatile organic compounds

(VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx),

that combine to form ground levelozone. Ozone can cause inflamation of

the lungs, decrease lung capacity, and

aggravate asthma. These budgets are

effective July 5, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

finding and the response to comments

will be available at EPA’s transportation

conformity website: http://

www.epa.gov/oms/traq, (once there,

click on the ‘‘Conformity’’ button, then

look for ‘‘Adequacy Review of SIP

Submissions for Conformity’’).

Ryan Bahr, Environmental Engineer,

Regulation Development Section (AR–

18J), Air Programs Branch, Air and

Radiation Division, United States

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,

Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353–4366,

bahr.ryan@epa.gov.