70710 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Notices

1Maritimes’ and Algonquin’s applications were

filed with the Commission under Section 7 of the

Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission’s

regulations.

2The appendices references 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, 688 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.

via the internet in lieu of paper. See, 18

CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the

instructions on the Commission’s web

site at http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/

doorbell.htm.

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 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 starting 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

at (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,

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.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30068 Filed 11–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket Nos. CP01–4–000, CP01–5–000,

CP01–8–000]

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline L.L.C.,

et al.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Proposed Maritimes Phase III/

Hubline Project and Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

November 20, 2000.

The staff of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS)

that will discuss the environmental

impacts of the Maritimes Phase III/

HubLine Project involving construction

and operation of facilities by Maritimes

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

in Essex and Middlesex Counties,

Massachusetts and Algoniquin Gas

Transmission Company (Algonquin) in

primarily offshore Essex, Suffolk,

Plymouth, and Norfolk Counties,

Massachusetts.1 There would be minor

onshore facilities in Suffolk and Norfolk

Counties. The project facilities would

consist of about 25 miles of 30- and 24-

inch-diameter onshore pipeline and

about 35 miles of 24- and 16-inchdiameter offshore pipeline. 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.

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 to 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 Maritimes and Algonquin

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

Maritimes wants to extend its

mainline system from a point near

Methuen, Massachusetts, to an

interconnection with Algonquin’s

proposed HubLine facilities in Beverly,

Massachusetts. Maritimes’ proposed

Phase III facilities would have an initial

capacity to deliver approximately

360,000 million British thermal units

per day of natural gas. Algonquin wants

to interconnect with the proposed

Maritimes system in Beverly,

Massachusetts, by constructing the

proposed HubLine facilities from

Beverly to an interconnect with its

existing I–9 pipeline system at the Sithe

Fore River Power Plant in Weymouth,

Massachusetts. Maritimes seeks

authority to construct and operate:

• Approximately 23.8 miles of 30-

inch-daimeter pipeline and 1.0 mile of

24-inch-diameter pipeline; and

• Appurtenant facilities to include

three mainline valves, one tap valve,

two cathodic protection ground beds,

and two meter stations.

Algonquin seeks authority to

construct and operate:

• Approximately 29.4 miles of 24-

inch-diameter offshore mainline

pipeline;

• Approximately 5.4 miles of 16-inchdiameter offshore lateral pipeline to the

existing Massachusetts Water Resources

Authority (MWRA) Waste Water

Treatment facility on Deer Island; and

• One new meter station on Deer

Island, and a block valve and receiver

and regulator facilities near the

interconnect with the existing I–9

pipeline.

Texas Eastern Transmission

Corporation (Texas Eastern) proposes to

acquire capacity on the HubLine

facilities. Texas Eastern does not

propose any related facilities.

The general location of the project

facilities is shown in appendix 1.2 If you

are interested in obtaining detailed

maps of a specific portion of the project,

send in your request using the form in

appendix 3.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Notices 70711

3 ‘‘We’’, ‘‘us’’, and ‘‘our’’ refer to the

environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects

(OEP).

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed onshore

facilities would require about 343 acres

of land. Following construction, about

0.6 acre would be maintained as new

aboveground facility sites. The

remaining acres of land would be

restored and generally allowed to revert

to its former use. Construction of the

proposed offshore facilities would

disturb about 76.3 areas of sea floor.

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,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 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 under these general

headings:

• Geology and soils;

• Water resources, fisheries, and

wetlands

• Vegetation and wildlife

• Endangered and threatened species

• Public safety;

• Land use;

• Cultural resources;

• Air quality and noise;

• Hazardous waste.

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 EIS. A Draft EIS

will 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

period will be allotted for review of the

Draft EIS. We will consider all

comments we receive on the Draft EIS

and publish a Final EIS including our

recommendations to the Commission.

To ensure your comments are

considered, please carefully follow the

instructions in the public participation

section in this NOI beginning on page 5.

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

Maritimes and Algonquin, and filings in

response to the notice of the

applications. This preliminary list of

issues may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

• Eleven federally listed endangered

or threatened species may occur in the

proposed project area.

• A number of Massachusetts

certified vernal pools, and estimated

habitat for rare wetlands wildlife, would

be crossed by the Phase III Pipeline.

• Up to 5.5 miles of public or private

recreation, conservation, or open space

lands would be crossed by the Phase III

Pipeline.

• The Phase III Pipeline would cross

or be within the watershed of Emerson

Brook Reservoir, a public water supply.

• A total of 0.7 linear miles of

proposed facilities would be within

residential areas.

• The Phase III Pipeline would

require three major open water crossings

greater than 100 feet in width

(Merrimack River, Waters River/Danvers

River, and Danvers River/Beverly

Harbor).

• The HubLine Pipeline would cross

or be in proximity to several areas of

potential concern, including the South

Essex Ocean Sanctuary, the Boston

Harbor Islands National Park area,

commercial and recreational fishing

areas, diving areas, special anchorage

areas, shipping lanes, commuter ferry

and water taxi routes, and existing

utilities.

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 EIS

and considered by the Commission. 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:

• Send an 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 Group 2.

• Reference Docket Nos. CP01–4–000

and CP01–5–000.

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before December 22, 2000.

Comments may also be filed

electronically via the Internet in lieu of

paper. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii)

and the instructions on the

Commission’s web site at http://

www.ferc.fed.us/efi/doorbell.htm under

the link to the User’s Guide. Before you

can file comments you will need to

create an account which can be created

by clicking on ‘‘Login to File’’ and then

‘‘New User Account.’’

In addition to or in lieu of sending

written comments, we invite you to

attend the public scoping meetings the

FERC will conduct in the project area.

The public scoping meetings will be

held jointly with public hearings

conducted by the Massachusetts Energy

Facilities Siting Board. The locations

and time for the meetings are listed

below:

Date, Time and Location

December 4, 2000, 7:30 p.m.—Danvers

Senior Center, 25 Stone Street,

Danvers, Massachusetts

December 6, 2000, 7:00 p.m.—Fuller

Middle School, 143 South Main

Street, Middleton, Massachusetts

The public meetings are designed to

provide you with another opportunity to

offer your comments on the proposed

Maritimes Phase III/HubLine Project.

Interested groups and individuals are

encouraged to attend the meetings and

to present comments on the

environmental issues they believe

should be addressed in the EIS. A

transcript of the meetings will be made

so that your comments will be

accurately recorded.

In addition, an INTERAGENCY

MEETING will be held on Tuesday,

December 5, 2000, at the Massachusetts

Executive Office of Environmental

Affairs, 251 Causeway Street, 8th floor,

Coastal Zone Management Conference

Room, Boston at 9:00 a.m. While the

public may attend, the primary purpose

of the agency meeting is for the FERC

to receive scoping comments from

federal, state, and local government

agencies.

70712 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Notices

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EIS

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 the

Commission’s Office of External Affairs

at (202) 208–0004 or on the FERC

website (www.ferc.fed.us) using the

‘‘RIMS’’ link to information in these

docket numbers. 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 folow the instructions.

For assistance with access to CIPS, the

CIPS helpline can be reached at (202)

208–2474.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30069 Filed 11–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

Notice of Intent To File Application for

New License

November 20, 2000.

Take notice that the following notice

of intent has been filed with the

Commission and is available for public

inspection:

a. Type of filing: Notice of Intent to

File Application for New License.

b. Project No.: 935.

c. Date filed: November 6, 2000.

d. Submitted by: PacifiCorp.

e. Name of Project: Merwin

Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Lewis River, near

the City of Woodland in Clark and

Cowlitz County, Washington. Lands

within the project boundary include

acreage of the Gifford-Pinchot National

Forest.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Section 15 of the

Federal Power Act, 18 CFR 16.6 of the

Commission’s regulations.

h. Effective date of current license:

October 1, 1983.

i. Expiration date of current license:

April 30, 2006.

j. The 136-megawatt project consists

of a 313-foot-high, concrete-arch dam on

the Lewis River about 20 miles from its

confluence with the Columbia River, a

4,040-acre reservoir, three 15.5-foot

diameter penstocks, and a powerhouse

with three semi-outdoor generating

units.

k. Pursuant to 18 CFR 16.7,

information on the project is available

at: PacifiCorp, ATTN.: Frank Shrier, 325

N.E. Multnomah, Suite 1500, Portland,

OR 97232, Phone: 503–813–6622.

l. FERC contract: Vince Yearick (202)

219–3073 or e-mail at

vince.yearick@ferc.fed.us

m. Pursuant to 18 CFR 16.9(b)(1) each

application for a new license and any

competing license applications must be

filed with the Commission at least 24

months prior to the expiration of the

existing license. All applications for

license for this project must be filed by

April 30, 2004.

n. A copy of the notice of intent is

available for inspection and

reproduction at the Commission’s

Public Reference Room, located at 888

First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington,

D.C. 20426, or by calling (202) 208–

1371. The notice 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 k

above.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30084 Filed 11–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

Notice of Intent To File Application for

New License

November 20, 2000.

Take notice that the following notice

of intent has been filed with the

Commission and is available for public

inspection:

a. Type of filing: Notice of Intent to

File Application for New License.

b. Project No.: 2111.

c. Date filed: November 6, 2000.

d. Submitted By: PacifiCorp.

e. Name of Project: Swift No. 1

Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Lewis River, near

the town of Cougar in Skamania County,

Washington. Federal lands within the

project boundary include acreage of the

Gifford-Pinchot National Forest.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Section 15 of the

Federal Power Act, 18 CFR 16.6 of the

Commission’s regulations.

h. Effective date of current license:

May 1, 1956.

i. Expiration date of current license:

April 30, 2006.

j. The 240-megawatt project consists

of a 512-foot-high, earthfill dam on the

Lewis River about 45 miles upstream of

its confluence with the Columbia River,

a 4,860-acre reservoir, three 13-foot

diameter penstocks, and a powerhouse

with three generating units.

k. Pursuant to 18 CFR 16.7,

information on the projects is available

at: PacifiCorp, ATTN: Frank Shrier, 325

N.E. Multnomah, Suite 1500, Portland,

OR 97232, Phone: 503–813–6622.

l. FERC contact: Vice Yearick (202)

219–3073 or e-mail at

vicee.yearick@ferc.fed.us

m. Pursuant to 18 CFR 16.9(b)(1) each

application for a new license and any

competing license applications must be

filed with the Commission at least 24

months prior to the expiration of the

existing license. All applications for

license for this project must be filed by

April 30, 2004.

n. A copy of this notice of intent is

available for inspection and

reproduction at the Commission’s

Public Reference Room, located at 888

First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington,

DC 20426, or by calling (202) 208–1371.