Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices 45643

1The 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,

NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208–1371.

Copies of the appendices were sent to all those

receiving this notice in the mail.

2Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C.’s

application was filed with the Commission under

Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of

the Commission’s regulations.

Comment date: September 3, 1997, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

18. The Detroit Edison Company

[Docket No. ER97–3987–000]

Take notice that on July 30, 1997, The

Detroit Edison Company (Detroit

Edison), tendered for filing a Service

Agreement for wholesale power sales

transactions (the Service Agreement)

under Detroit Edison’s Wholesale Power

Sales Tariff (WPS–2), FERC Electric

Tariff No. 3 (the WPS–2 Tariff), between

Detroit Edison and Pennsylvania Power

& Light Company, dated as of July 10,

1997. Detroit Edison requests that the

Service Agreement be made effective as

of July 10, 1997.

Comment date: September 3, 1997, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

19. The Detroit Edison Company

[Docket No. ER97–3988–000]

Take notice that on July 30, 1997, The

Detroit Edison Company (Detroit

Edison), tendered for filing a Service

Agreement for wholesale power sales

transactions (the Service Agreement)

under Detroit Edison’s Wholesale Power

Sales Tariff (WPS–1), FERC Electric

Tariff No. 4 (the WPS–1 Tariff), between

Detroit Edison and Duke/Louis Dreyfus

L.L.C., dated as of July 16, 1997. Detroit

Edison requests that the Service

Agreement be made effective as of July

16, 1997.

Comment date: September 3, 1997, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

20. The Detroit Edison Company

[Docket No. ER97–3989–000]

Take notice that on July 30, 1997, The

Detroit Edison Company (Detroit

Edison) tendered for filing a Service

Agreement for wholesale power sales

transactions (the Service Agreement)

under Detroit Edison’s Wholesale Power

Sales Tariff (WPS–1), FERC Electric

Tariff No. 4 (the WPS–1 Tariff), between

Detroit Edison and AIG Trading

Corporation, dated as of July 9, 1997.

Detroit Edison requests that the Service

Agreement be made effective as of July

9, 1997.

Comment date: September 3, 1997, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

21. Cinergy Services, Inc.

[Docket No. ER97–3990–000]

Take notice that on July 30, 1997,

Cinergy Services, Inc. (Cinergy),

tendered for filing a service agreement

under Cinergy’s Open Access

Transmission Service Tariff (the Tariff)

entered into between Cinergy and

Virginia Electric & Power Company

(Virginia Power).

Cinergy and Virginia Power are

requesting an effective date of August 1,

1997.

Comment date: September 3, 1997, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

Standard Paragraph

E. Any person desiring to be heard or

to protest said 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 18 CFR 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 this filing are on file with the

Commission and are available for public

inspection.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–22926 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket Nos. CP96–809–000, et al. and

CP96–810–000]

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C.;

Notice of Amended Route by Maritimes

& Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. to be

Included in the Environmental Impact

Statement for the Proposed Maritimes

Phase II Project and Second Request

for Comments on Environmental

Issues

August 22, 1997.

The purpose of this second notice of

intent (NOI) to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

is to inform the public of amended

pipeline routes that will be analyzed in

the EIS and to request comments on the

current route. We are issuing this NOI

to avoid any confusion over the

currently proposed route of the

Maritimes Phase II Project.

On July 11, 1997, Maritimes &

Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. (Maritimes)

amended its application to reflect

reroutes along 104 miles of its proposed

mainline and 40 miles of its lateral

facilities and the relocation of one of the

compressor stations. Maritimes states

that these reroutes were identified as a

result of efforts to address and resolve

concerns and comments from

landowners and others. Appendix 1 lists

the proposed facilities by county;

appendix 2 includes a general location

map and detailed maps showing the

location of the original route and the

currently proposed route (labeled as the

‘‘PRIMARY ROUTE’’) and alternate

routes.1

Background

On May 16, 1997, we issued our first

NOI stating that the staff of the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC

or Commission) is preparing an

environmental impact statement (EIS)

that will discuss the environmental

impacts of the Maritimes Phase II

Project. The project now involves

construction and operation, in Maine, of

about 346.1 miles of natural gas pipeline

and compression.2 The facilities consist

of 198.7 miles of 24- and 30-inchdiameter mainline between Westbrook

and the Canadian border near Woodland

(Baileyville), Maine; 147.4 miles of 4- to

16-inch-diameter laterals, 31,160

horsepower (hp) of compression at two

new compressor stations, 12 new meter

stations, and 35 block valves. This EIS

will be used by the Commission in its

decision-making process to determine

whether the project is in the public

convenience and necessity.

Summary of Proposed Route Changes

Maritimes identified reroutes along

about 53 percent of the mainline and 27

percent of the laterals. The most

significant changes include those at:

• Mainline mileposts (MP) 138.0 to

151.0 in the towns of Bowdoinham,

Richmond, and Pittston in Sagadahoc

and Kennebec Counties, including the

relocation of the Richmond Compressor

Station from Beedle to Pitts Road

(Mainline MP 143.OR);

• Mainline MPs 217.3 to 236.5 in the

towns of Bucksport, Holden, Clifton,

and Mariaville in Hancock and

Penobscot Counties;

• Mainline MPs 247.7 to 290.7 in

unnamed townships in Hancock and

Washington Counties;
45644 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices

• Cousins Island Lateral MPs 8.5 to

10.3 in the town of Yarmouth,

Cumberland County;

• Skowhegan Lateral MPs 13.3 to 16.6

in the towns of China and Albion,

Kennebec County;

• Skowhegan Lateral MPs 34.4 to

35.7R in the town of Skowhegan,

Somerset County;

• Brewer (Eastern Fine) Spur MPs 0.0

to 2.1R in the town of Brewer,

Penobscot County; and

• Lincoln (Eastern Fine) Spur MPs 0.0

to 2.7R in the town of Lincoln,

Penobscot County.

The remaining reroutes are less than

2 miles in length and less than 1,000

feet from the originally proposed route.

We have not listed them above, but they

are all shown in Appendix 2. On the

maps the currently proposed route is the

‘‘PRIMARY ROUTE’’.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed

mainline and Cousins Island Laterals

(75-foot-wide nominal construction

right-of-way) and the other laterals (65-

foot-wide nominal construction right-ofway) would affect about 2,980 acres of

land. About 71 percent of the mainline

and 86 percent of the laterals would be

adjacent to or within existing powerline

or road rights-of-way. Appendix 3

identifies by milepost those locations

where all of the construction right-ofway would be within existing rights-ofway. Additional land disturbance would

be needed for extra work spaces at road,

railroad and certain waterbody and

wetland crossings, as well as for

pipeyards and contractors yards, and

temporary topsoil storage.

Following construction, about 1,931

acres of the land affected by the project

would be retained for operation of the

pipeline. A permanent 50 foot-wide

right-of-way would be maintained for

the mainline and Cousins Island Lateral;

a permanent 40-foot-wide right-of-way

would be maintained for the remaining

laterals. In addition, about 60 acres of

land would be fenced for the Richmond

and Baileyville Compressor Stations and

about 2.4 acres would be required for

the meter stations (0.2 acre for each

meter station). Block valves would be

within the permanent right-of-way.

Existing land uses on the remainder of

the disturbed area would continue

following construction.

The EIS 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 EIS 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 EIS. All comments

received are considered during the

preparation of the EIS. 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 EIS will discuss impacts that

could occur as a result of the

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, comments received, and the

environmental information provided by

Maritimes. This preliminary list of

issues may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

• Effects on watersheds, including

Floods Pond (Bangor Water District),

Hatcase Pond (Brewer Water District),

Sheepscot River, and China Lake;

• Effects of proposed open trench

crossings on waterbody over 100 feet

wide including the Androscoggin River,

Kennebec River, Penobscot River, West

Branch Union River, Jordan Brook, and

St. Croix River on the mainline; and

Casco Bay, Sebasticook River, Kennebec

River (2 crossings), Otter Stream (2

crossings), Passadumkeag River,

Penobscot River (3 crossings), West

Branch Penobscot River (2 crossings)

and Millinocket Stream on the laterals;

• Effects on river segments listed on

either national or state inventories of

sensitive waterbodies, or both

(Abagadasset, Kennebec, West Branch

Sheepscot, Sheepscot, St. George, West

Branch Union, Middle Branch Union,

Narragaugus, Machias, West Branch

Machias, West Branch Penobscot, and

St. Croix Rivers and Marsh Stream);

• Crossing of 240 perennial

waterbodies, including 33 waterbodies

considered important for their

commercial or recreational fisheries, or

protected species habitat;

• Effect on anadromous fisheries

(including Atlantic salmon), deer

wintering areas, waterfowl and wildlife

habitat (including a proposed crossing

of Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife

Refuge);

• Effects on 2 federally listed species

(bald eagle, shortnose sturgeon);

• Effects of crossing 4 active gravel

pits;

• Clearing of about 2,061 acres of

forest;

• Crossing of about 26.5 miles of

wetlands;

• Effects of 62 residences within 100

feet of the pipeline centerline;

• Crossings of tribal land (Penobscot

Indian Nation) and impact on fishing

rights (Passamaquoddy Natural

Resource Committee);

• Alternatives including the Northern

Alternate near Richmond and Gardiner,

Maine, minor route changes for sitespecific concerns, and compressor

station site alternatives.

Our independent analysis of the

issues will be in a Draft EIS which will

be mailed to Federal, state, and local

agencies, newspapers, libraries, the

Commission’s official service list for

these proceedings, and individuals and

public interest groups who requested to

remain on our mailing list. A 45-day

comment period will be allotted for

review of the Draft EIS. We will

consider all comments on the Draft EIS

and revise the document, as necessary,

before issuing a Final EIS. The Final EIS

will include our response to each

comment received.

Public Participation and Scoping

Meetings

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 or compressor station

sites), 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:

• Send two copies of your letter to:

Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First St.,

N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of the Environmental

Review and Compliance Branch II, PR

11.2;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–809–

000; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before September 26, 1997.

In addition to sending written

comments, you may attend a public

scoping meeting that we will conduct in

Gardiner, Maine at the following time

and location:

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 16, 1997.

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices 45645

Location: Middle School Gymnasium,

State Route 126 (near Water Street),

Gardiner, Maine, (207) 582–1326.

The purpose of the scoping meeting is

to obtain additional input from state and

local governments and from the public,

especially about the Northern

Alternative. See the map in Appendix 2.

Federal agencies have formal channels

for input into the Federal process

(including separate meetings where

appropriate) on an interagency basis.

Federal agencies are expected to

transmit their comments directly to the

FERC and not use the scoping meetings

for this purpose. Local agencies are

requested to provide information on

other plans and projects which might

conflict with, or have cumulative

effects, when considered in combination

with the Maritimes Phase II Project.

Interested groups and individuals are

encouraged to attend the meetings and

present oral comments on the

environmental issues which they

believe should be addressed in the Draft

EIS. A list will be available at the public

meetings to allow speakers to sign up.

Priority will be given to those persons

representing groups. A transcript will be

made on the meetings and comments

will be used to help determine the scope

of the Draft EIS.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EIS

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 caserelated Commission documents such as

data requests and filings by other

intervenors. We will provide our EIS to

anyone who follows the instructions

which appear later in this NOI.

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 3). If you already intervened

in this proceeding you do not need to

do so again because of the amended

routes.

The date for filing timely motions to

intervene in this proceeding has passed.

Therefore, parties now seeking to file

late interventions must show good

cause, as required by section

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

comments considered.

Environmental Mailing List

This notice is being sent to

individuals, organizations, and

government entities interested and/or

potentially affected by the proposed

project. To solicit focused comments

regarding environmental considerations

related to the proposed project and

alternatives, it is also being sent to all

potential right-of-way grantors (i.e.,

landowners whose property would be

crossed), landowners along the

alternative routes, landowners and

abuttors at the aboveground facility

sites, and abuttors along powerline

rights-of-way that would be used for

installation of the pipeline.

If you do not want to send comments

at this time but still want to remain on

our mailing list and receive a copy of

our Draft and Final EISs, please return

the form in appendix 4. PLEASE NOTE:

IF WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM YOU,

EITHER BY COMMENT LETTER,

RESPONSE TO ONE OF THE TWO

NOIs, OR REGISTERING AT THE

SCOPING MEETINGS, YOU WILL BE

DROPPED FROM THE MAILING LIST.

If you have previously provided us with

your name and address, you do not need

to send in the form in appendix 4.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–22913 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5884–5]

Availability of Guidance for Utilization

of Small, Minority and Women’s

Business Enterprises in Procurement

Under Assistance Agreements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of

guidance document.

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the

availability of its ‘‘Guidance for

Utilization of Small, Minority and

Women’s Business Enterprises in

Procurement Under Assistance

Agreements—6010 1997 Edition.’’ This

document, issued on July 22, 1997,

revises previous Agency guidance dated

May 1996. EPA prepared the Guidance

for use by Agency personnel, State,

Tribal and local government officials,

and business persons interested in

participating in EPA financial assistance

programs. The Guidance provides

information on the use of Small,

Minority and Women’s Business

Enterprises in procurement under EPA

grants and cooperative agreements. It

will assist individuals in their efforts to

understand and implement EPA policies

codified at 40 CFR part 30.31 and 35

and ensure consistency with the

Supreme Court’s decision in Adarand

Constructors. Inc. v. Pena. 115 S. Ct.

2097 (1995).

ADDRESSES: An electronic version of the

Guidance is accessible on EPA’s Office

of Small and Disadvantaged Business

Utilization home page on the Internet at

http://www.epa.gov/osdbu/pubs.htm. A

limited number of paper copies are also

available. Requests for a paper copy

should be addressed to the Office of

Small and Disadvantaged Business

Utilization (1230C), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Crystal Mall 2, Room

1110, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway.,

Arlington, VA 22202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rebecca D. Neer, Office of Small and

Disadvantaged Business Utilization

(1230C), U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Crystal Mall 2, 1921 Jefferson

Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202,

Telephone (703) 305–5030.

Dated: August 22, 1997.

Peter D. Robertson,

Chief of Staff, Office of The Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–22946 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5884–3]

Variance and Exemption Regulation

Stakeholder Meeting

Notice is hereby given that a public

meeting of interested stakeholders will

be held concerning the variance and

exemption provisions of the 1996

Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water

Act (SDWA). This meeting will be held

on September 16, 1997 from 8:30 am to

5:15 pm, at the Loews L’Enfant Plaza

Hotel, 480 L’Enfant Plaza, Washington,

DC 20024.

The purpose of this meeting is to

review and discuss the variance and

exemption provisions of the 1996 Safe

Drinking Water Act Amendments

(sections 1415–16) and the requirements

for rulemaking to implement these

provisions. EPA is soliciting input as to

what these regulations should consider

and contain. The 1996 SDWA requires

that EPA promulgate regulations

specifying:

• Procedures to be used by the

Administrator or a State to grant or deny

variances, including requirements

relating to public notification and

hearings prior to issuance of a variance;