62346 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 202 / Wednesday, October 18, 2000 / Notices

1El Paso’s application was filed with the

Commission on July 31, 2000, under Section 7 of

the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the

Commission’s regulations.

2The 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., 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

appendices were sent to all those receiving this

notice in the mail.

3 ‘‘Us’’, ‘‘we’’, and ‘‘our’’ refer to the

environmental staff of the FERC’s Office of Energy

Projects.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP00–422–000]

El Paso Gas Company; Notice of Intent

To Prepare an Environmental

Assessment for The Proposed Line No.

2000 Project and Request For

Comments on Environmental Issues

October 12, 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 Line No. 2000 Project involving

acquisition, construction and operation

of facilities by El Paso Natural Gas

Company (El Paso) extending from a

point near Ehrenberg, Arizona to

McCamey, Texas.1 These facilities

would consist of about 785 miles of an

existing crude oil transmission pipeline

to be acquired by El Paso and converted

to a natural gas transmission pipeline as

well as certain connecting pipelines and

extensions to permit the line to be

contiguous and integrated into El Paso’s

system. El Paso would also abandon in

place existing mainline compression

facilities at six compressor stations,

totaling 119,750 horsepower. 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.

If you are a landowner receiving 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 El Paso provided to landowners.

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).

Summary of the Proposed Project

El Paso proposes to improve the

operating characteristics of its system by

abandoning certain existing mainline

compressor facilities on its South

System and concurrently integrating

into its system pipeline facilities to

replace the abandoned compression. El

Paso seeks authority to:

• Abandon in place five compressor

stations (Deming in Luna County, New

Mexico; San Simon and Benson in

Cochise County, Arizona; Tucson in

Pima County, Arizona; and Gila in

Maricopa County, Arizona) which are

presently in operation and the

horsepower comprising the ‘‘A’’ and

‘‘B’’ Plants at the El Paso Compressor

Station in El Paso County, Texas, all

located on its South System;

• Acquire and clean approximately

785 miles of an existing crude oil

transmission pipeline from its

subsidiary EPNG Pipeline Company and

convert it to a natural gas transmission

pipeline;

• Construct a total of approximately

0.81 mile of new pipeline segments to

bypass ten oil pump station sites;

• Construct new pipeline at two tiein and four crossover locations;

• Construct a total of 2.78 miles of 30-

inch-diameter pipeline to tie in Line No.

2000 to seven existing compressor

stations (Guadalupe, Cornudas, Afton,

Florida, Lordsburg, Casa Grande, and

Wenden) on its South System and

remove a total of approximately 0.68

mile of Line No. 2000 at these tie-ins;

• Replace four segments of Line No.

2000, totaling 8.16 miles, with 30-inchdiameter pipeline to meet U.S.

Department of Transportation

requirements;

• Install 38 new valves;

• Remove 29 plug vent valves;

• Remove seven check valve

segments, fourteen gate valve segments,

and a fee and gate valve and replace

them with 30-inch-diameter pipeline;

• Install pigging facilities and flow

measurement equipment (under section

2.55 of the Commission’s regulations).

The general location of the project

facilities is shown in appendix 1.2

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities

would require about 320 acres of land.

Following construction, about 3 acres

would be maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 317

acres of land would be restored and

allowed to revert to its former use,

although some periodic vegetation

maintenance may occur in some areas.

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 3 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.

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

The EA will discuss impacts that

could occur as a result of the

construction and operation of the

proposed project. 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 El Paso. This

preliminary list issues may be changed

based on your comments and our

analysis.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 202 / Wednesday, October 18, 2000 / Notices 62347

• Threatened and endangered

species;

• Residences within 50 feet of

construction work areas; and

• Public safety.

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/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 original and 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 Gas 1, PJ–11.1;

• Reference Docket No. CP00–422–

000; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before November 13, 2000.

If you do not want to send comments

at this time but 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 taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

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 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 maybe 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 the

Commission’s Office of External Affairs

(202) 208–0004 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,

notice, 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.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary,

[FR Doc. 00–26693 Filed 10–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

Notice of Application Tendered For

Filing With The Commission, Soliciting

Additional Study Requests, and

Establishing Procedures For

Relicensing And A Deadline For

Submission of Final Amendments

October 12, 2000.

Take notice that the following

hydroelectric application has been filed

with the Commission and is available

for public inspection.

a. Type of Application: New Minor

License.

b. Project No.: 3516–008.

c. Date Filed: October 3, 2000.

d. Applicant: City of Hart, Michigan.

e. Name of Project: Hart Hydroelectric

Project.

f. Location: On the South Branch of

the Pentwater River, in Oceana County,

near Hart, Michigan. The project does

not affect federal lands.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power

Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)–825(r).

h. Applicant Contact: Scott Huebler,

City Manager, City of Hart, 407 State

Street, Hart, Michigan, 49420, (231)

873–2488.

i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202)

219–2942 or

stephen.kartalia@FERC.fed.us.

j. Deadline for filing additional study

requests: December 2, 2000.

All documents (original and eight

copies) should be filed with: David P.

Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.

The Commission’s Rules of Practice

require all intervenors filing documents

with the Commission to serve a copy of

that document on each person on the

official service list for the project.

Further, if an intervenor files comments

or documents with the Commission

relating to the merits of an issue that

may affect the responsibilities of a

particular resource agency, they must

also serve a copy of the document on

that resource agency.

k. This application is not ready for

environmental analysis at this time.

l. The existing Hart Hydroelectric

project consists of: (1) a 580-foot-long

earthen dam; (2) a 40-foot-long concretelined spillway; (3) a 240-acre reservoir;

(4) a powerhouse containing 2 S.

Morgan Smith vertical shaft turbines

and 2 generators, with a total hydraulic

capacity of 135 cubic feet per second

and an installed generating capacity of

320 kilowatts; (5) a 1-mile-long

transmission line that connects the

project with the Hart Diesel Plant; and

(5) appurtenant facilities. The applicant

estimates that the total average annual

generation is between 350,000 and

400,000 kilowatthours. The project

operates in a run-of-river mode and all

generated power is distributed to

customers of the City of Hart Electric

Department via the City’s transmission

and distribution system.

m. A copy of the application is

available for inspection and

reproduction at the Commission’s

Public Reference Room, located at 888

First Street, NE, Room 2–A,

Washington, D.C. 20426, or by calling

(202) 208–1371. The application may be

viewed on http://www.ferc.fed.us/

online/rims.htm (call (202) 208–2222 for

assistance). A copy is also available for

inspection and reproduction at the

address in item h above.

n. With this notice, we are initiating

consultation with the Michigan State

Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as

required by § 106, National Historic

Preservation Act, and the regulations of

the Advisory Council on Historic

Preservation, 36 CFR 800.4.

o. Procedural schedule and final

amendments: The application will be

processed according to the following