[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65262-65263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32378]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-97-000]


Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership; Notice of 
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Carlton 
Delivery Looping Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

December 5, 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 
about 3.9 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline

[[Page 65263]]

loop and appurtenant facilities proposed in the Carlton Delivery 
Looping 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\ Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership'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

    Great Lakes Transmission Limited Partnership (Great Lakes) proposes 
to expand the capacity of its facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin to 
transport an additional 6,500 dekatherms per day of natural gas to the 
City of Duluth, Minnesota and Northwest Natural Gas Company. Great 
Lakes seeks authority to construct and operate:
    <bullet> About 2.1 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop from 
mileposts (MP) 22.7 to 24.8 on Great Lake's existing mainline 
facilities in Kittson County, Minnesota (Loop 1);
    <bullet> About 1.8 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop from MPs 
226.4 to 228.2 on Great Lake's existing mainline facilities in Itasca 
County, Minnesota (Loop 2);
    <bullet> Three downstream crossover assemblies to tie-in the new 
loop facilities to Great Lake's existing loop and mainline facilities 
at MPs 24.8, 226.4, and 228.2.
    <bullet> One new side tap to be located at an existing mainline 
valve site in Douglas County, Wisconsin at MP 299.28. This sidetap 
would include two aboveground tees and two aboveground valves, together 
with piping and supports.
    The 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, DC 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

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 57.3 
acres of land. Operation of the proposed project facilities would 
permanently affect 12.3 acres of land associated with the new permanent 
pipeline right-of-way.

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> Public safety.
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species.
    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 Great Lakes. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    <bullet> A total of 7.7 acres of wetlands would be affected during 
construction of the proposed project.
    <bullet> A total of 7.0 acres of forest land would be cleared for 
the proposed project.
    No known nonjurisdictional facilities have been identified for this 
project.

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 carefully follow these instructions to 
ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded:
    <bullet> Send two copies of your letter to: Lois Cashell, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
    <bullet> Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP98-97-000; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 5, 1998.

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).
    You do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-32378 Filed 12-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M