[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42117-42118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20527]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP97-563-000]


Michigan Gas Storage Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Cranberry Lake Lateral 63 
East Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 30, 1997.
    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 and operation of 
the facilities proposed in the Cranberry Lake Lateral 63 East 
Project.\1\ 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.
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    \1\ Michigan Gas Storage Company's application was filed with 
the Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 
of the Commission's regulations.
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Michigan Gas Storage Company (MGSCo) proposes to replace and 
upgrade 1.3 miles of its Cranberry Lake Lateral 63 East. To accomplish 
this activity MGSCo proposes to: (1) Remove 0.6 mile of 6-inch-diameter 
piping and replace it in the same trench with 8-inch-diameter piping; 
(2) abandon in place 0.1 mile of 4-inch-diameter piping; (3) install a 
2-inch-diameter pipe within the abandoned 4-inch-diameter pipe; (4) 
upgrade the existing 0.6 mile of 8-inch-diameter pipeline to make it 
piggable by removing stab-in branch connections at well laterals as 
well as any other obstructions from the pipe interior; and (5) install 
a pig launcher and pig receiver at either end of the reconfigured 8-
inch-diameter piping segment. The resulting lateral would consist of 
about 1.2 miles of 8-inch-diameter and 0.1 mile of 2-inch-diameter 
piping.
    All of the facilities are located in Clare County, Michigan. The 
proposed project would allow for more efficient and safe operation of 
MGSCo's Cranberry Lake Storage Field.
    The proposed facilities would cost about $257,400.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\2\ If you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please 
write to the Secretary of the Commission.
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 
First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. 
Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this 
notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Replacement and upgrading of the Cranberry Lake Lateral 63 East, 
including temporary work spaces, would require about 3.5 acres. Of the 
3.5 acres, about 1.7 acres exist as a two-track sand road which has no 
vegetation. Of the remaining 1.8 acres, about 1.7 acres of land would 
require tree trimming and vegetation removal and about 0.1 acre of land 
would require tree removal.
    MGSCo would utilize its abandoned Plant 1 Compressor Station for 
receiving and distributing materials during construction. The total 
acreage for the lay-down area is about 3 acres. This area has been 
previously devoted to industrial used and no further disturbance is 
required

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. 
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 Notice of Intent, 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. 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.
    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:

<bullet> Geology and soils
<bullet> Land use
<bullet> Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
<bullet> Cultural resources
<bullet> Vegetation and wildlife
<bullet> Endangered and threatened species
<bullet> 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.

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 MGSCo. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.

<bullet> Cranberry Lake Lateral 63 East is located near the Kirkland's 
Warbler National Wildlife Refuge.
<bullet> Cranberry Lake Lateral 63 East is located within the Gladwin 
Forest Area of the Au Sable State Forest.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your 
specific comments or concerns about the project. You should focus on 
the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to 
the proposal (including alternative routes), and measures to avoid or 
lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more 
useful they will be. Please follow the instructions below to ensure 
that your comments are received and properly recorded:


[[Page 42118]]


<bullet> Send two copies of your letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E., Room 1A, 
Washington, D.C., 20426;
<bullet> Label one of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2;
<bullet> Reference Docket No. CP97-563-000; and
<bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, D.C. on or before August 30, 1997.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding or become an 
``intervenor''. 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 copies of its 
filings to all other parties. 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).
    The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding 
has passed. Therefore, parties not seeking to file late interventions 
must show good cause, as required by Sec. 385.214(b)(3), why this time 
limitation should be waived. Environmental issues have been viewed as 
good cause for late intervention.
    You do not need intervenor status to have your scoping comments 
considered.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-20527 Filed 8-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M