[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 228 (Monday, November 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70710-70712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30069]


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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-inch-diameter 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.
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    \1\ Maritimes' 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.
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    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:
    <bullet> Approximately 23.8 miles of 30-inch-daimeter pipeline and 
1.0 mile of 24-inch-diameter pipeline; and
    <bullet> 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:
    <bullet> Approximately 29.4 miles of 24-inch-diameter offshore 
mainline pipeline;
    <bullet> Approximately 5.4 miles of 16-inch-diameter offshore 
lateral pipeline to the existing Massachusetts Water Resources 
Authority (MWRA) Waste Water Treatment facility on Deer Island; and
    <bullet> 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.
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    \2\ The 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.

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[[Page 70711]]

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.
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    The EIS 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;
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    \1\ Maritimes' 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.
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    <bullet> Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
    <bullet> Vegetation and wildlife
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species
    <bullet> Public safety;
    <bullet> Land use;
    <bullet> Cultural resources;
    <bullet> Air quality and noise;
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Eleven federally listed endangered or threatened species 
may occur in the proposed project area.
    <bullet> A number of Massachusetts certified vernal pools, and 
estimated habitat for rare wetlands wildlife, would be crossed by the 
Phase III Pipeline.
    <bullet> Up to 5.5 miles of public or private recreation, 
conservation, or open space lands would be crossed by the Phase III 
Pipeline.
    <bullet> The Phase III Pipeline would cross or be within the 
watershed of Emerson Brook Reservoir, a public water supply.
    <bullet> A total of 0.7 linear miles of proposed facilities would 
be within residential areas.
    <bullet> 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).
    <bullet> 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:
    <bullet> 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
    <bullet> Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Group 2.
    <bullet> Reference Docket Nos. CP01-4-000 and CP01-5-000.
    <bullet> 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.

[[Page 70712]]

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