Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / Notices 3107

1 Vector Pipeline L.P.’s applications in Docket

Nos. CP98–131–000 and CP98–133–000 were filed

with the Commission under Section 3 of the Natural

Gas Act and part 153 of the Commission’s

regulations and under Section 7 of the Natural Gas

Act and Part 157 of the Commission’s regulations,

respectively.

2The 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,

Room 2A, Washington DC 20426, or call (202) 208–

1371. Copies of the appendices were sent to all

those receiving this notice in the mail.

the meetings will be prepared. For

further information, contact Paul McKee

in the Commission’s Office of External

Affairs, at (202) 208–1088.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–1337 Filed 1–20–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP98–131–000 and CP98–133–

000]

Vector Pipeline L.P.; Notice of Intent

To Prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement for the Proposed Vector

Pipeline Project and Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues,

and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings

and Site Visit

January 14, 1998.

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 construction and

operation of the facilities proposed in

the Vector Pipeline Project.1 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.

Additionally, with this notice we are

asking a number of Federal Agencies

(see appendix 2) with jurisdiction and/

or special expertise with respect to

environmental issues to cooperate with

us in the preparation of the EIS. These

agencies may choose to participate once

they have evaluated the proposal

relative to their agencies’

responsibilities.2

Summary of the Proposed Project

Vector Pipeline L.P. (Vector) proposes

to build new natural gas pipeline and

compression facilities to transport 1.0

billion cubic feet per day of natural gas

from Joliet, Illinois to St. Clair,

Michigan. Accessing natural gas

supplies from the Chicago area, the

Vector Pipeline Project would deliver

gas volumes within Michigan and to

Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership

(Vector Canada) at the U.S./Canada

border facility.

Vector requests Commission

authorization, in Docket No. CP98–133–

000, to construct, lease, and operate the

following facilities:

• Construct 265.9 miles of 42-inch

diameter pipeline in Illinois, Indiana,

and Michigan extending from Joliet,

Illinois in Will County to Oakland

County, Michigan (Segment 1). About

33 miles would be in Illinois, 67.7 miles

would be in Indiana, and 165.2 miles

would be in Michigan;

• Lease of 58.8 miles of an existing

36-inch-diameter pipeline in Michigan

from Oakland County to St. Clair

County (Segment 2);

• Construct 3.7 miles of 42-inchdiameter pipeline in St. Clair County,

Michigan terminating at the border of

the United States (U.S.) and Canada

near St. Clair, Michigan (Segment 3);

• Construct five new meter/regulating

stations including two in Will County,

Illinois, one in Livingston County,

Michigan, one in Oakland County,

Michigan, and one in St. Clair County,

Michigan;

• Construct two compressor stations

each with 30,000 horsepower of

compression in LaPorte County,

Indiana, and Oakland County,

Michigan; and

• Construct associated pipeline

facilities, including 21 new mainline

valves, 3 pig launchers, 2 pig receivers,

and permanent access roads.

The general location of Vector’s

proposed project facilities is shown in

appendix 1. If you are interested in

obtaining procedural information,

please write to the Secretary of the

Commission.

In addition, Vector requests in Docket

No. CP98–131–000 a Presidential Permit

to construct, operate, and maintain

facilities at the International Border

between the U.S. and Canada near St.

Clair, Michigan. Vector’s pipeline

would terminate at the point of

interconnection with the Canadian

facilities of Vector Canada.

Land Requirements for Construction

The Vector Pipeline Project would

include 58.8 miles of leased existing

pipeline. Vector would construct about

253.4 miles (94 percent) of the new

pipeline parallel to various existing

utility rights-of-way. Only 15.1 miles (6

percent) of the route would be

constructed on newly created right-ofway that does not parallel existing

rights-of-way. Where possible, Vector’s

right-of-way would overlap the existing

rights-of-way as much as 50 feet during

construction to minimize impacts.

Vector’s pipeline would deviate from

the existing rights-of-way in selected

locations to avoid impact on homes and

existing utility structures (meter

stations, etc.). The pipeline would also

deviate from the existing rights-of-way

in selected locations to improve

waterbody crossings and for other

environmental or engineering reasons.

Construction of the Vector Pipeline

Project would affect a total of about

3,581.9 acres of land including extra

workspace and aboveground facilities.

Of this total, about 3,268.1 acres would

be disturbed by the construction rightsof-way, 270.9 acres would be disturbed

by extra workspace, and 42.9 acres

would be disturbed by the aboveground

facilities and access roads. All these

acreage figures are subject to change.

Vector would generally use a right-ofway width of 100 feet for construction.

The Vector Pipeline Project would also

require extra temporary work areas for

waterbody, highway, and railroad

crossing; for additional topsoil storage;

and for pipe storage and equipment

yards. Following construction and

restoration of the right-of-way and

temporary work spaces, Vector would

retain a 30- to 50-foot-wide permanent

pipeline right-of-way depending on

whether the pipeline is adjacent to other

utilities or on new right-of-way. Total

land requirements for the permanent

right-of-way would be about 1,185.4

acres. The project would also require an

additional 22.1 acres for the operation of

the new aboveground facilities and 0.9

acres for the operation of permanent

access roads. Vector would restore the

remaining 2,373.5 acres of land affected

by construction of the project and allow

these areas to revert to their former use.

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
3108 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / Notices

of this proposed action and encourage

them to comment on their areas of

concern.

Currently Identified Environmental

Issues

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 and the environmental

information provided by Vector. These

issues are listed below. This is a

preliminary list of issues and may be

changed based on your comments and

our analysis.

• Soils

—Temporary and permanent impacts on

prime farmland soils.

—Mixing of topsoil and subsoil during

construction.

—Compaction of soil by heavy

equipment.

—Impacts on drain tiles and irrigation

systems.

—Erosion control and right-of-way

restoration.

• Water Resource

—Effect of construction on areas with

shallow groundwater.

—Effect of construction on crossings of

92 perennial waterbodies, including

13 coldwater fisheries.

—Crossing of eight rivers 100 feet wide

or greater.

—Crossing three rivers on the

Nationwide Rivers Inventory List,

including an international waterbody.

—Effect of construction in waterbodies

with contaminated sediments.

—Potential for erosion and sediment

transport to the waterbodies.

—Effect of construction on groundwater

and surface water supplies.

—Impact on wetland hydrology.

• Biological Resources

—Short- and long-term effects of rightof-way clearing and maintenance on

wetlands, forests, riparian areas, and

vegetation communities of special

concern.

—Effect on wildlife and fisheries

habitats.

—Impact on federally endangered

species such as the Indiana bat and on

federally threatened species such as

the northern copperbelly watersnake.

• Cultural Resources

—Effect on historic and prehistoric

sites.

—Native American concerns.

• Socioeconomics

—Effect of the construction workforce

on demands for services in

surrounding areas.

—Impact on property values.

• Land Use

—Impact on crop production.

—Impact on residential areas.

—Effect on public lands and special use

areas including waterbodies on the

Nationwide Rivers Inventory, a

national scenic trail, a state game area,

a state recreation area, a forest

preserve district, a county park, city/

township private parks, church

property, a golf course, a county

airport, campgrounds, and racetracks.

—Impact on future land uses and

consistency with local land use plans

and zoning.

—Visual effect of the aboveground

facilities on surrounding areas.

• Air Quality and Noise

—Effect on local air quality and noise

environment as a result of

construction.

—Effect on local air quality and noise

environment as a result of operation

of the compressor stations.

• Pipeline Reliability and Safety

• Cumulative Impact

—Identify other projects which have

been or may be proposed in the same

region and similar time frames.

—Identify potential upstream and

downstream facilities.

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 Draft EIS which

will be mailed to Federal, state, and

local agencies, public interest groups,

affected landowners and other

interested individuals, newspapers,

libraries, and the Commission’s official

service list for this proceeding. 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 on the Draft EIS and

will be used by the Commission in its

decision-making process to determine

whether to approve the project.

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), 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 to: David P.

Boergers, Acting Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, N.E., Room 1A,

Washington, D.C. 20426.

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of the Environmental

Review and Compliance Branch, PR–

11.1;

• Reference Docket Nos. CP98–131–

000 and CP98–133–000; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, D.C. on

or before February 20, 1998.

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 locations and times for these

meetings are listed below.

Schedule of Public Scoping Meetings

for the Vector Pipeline Project

Environmental Impact Statement

February 9, 1998

7:00 pm—Crown Point, Indiana,

Marion Education Center, St.

Anthony’s Hospital, 1201 S. Main

Street, (219) 757–6398

February 10, 1998

7:00 pm—Three Rivers, Michigan,

Three Rivers Community Center,

103 S. Douglas Avenue, (616) 278–

8193

February 11, 1998

7:00 pm—Leslie, Michigan, Leslie

High School Auditorium, 4141 Hull

Road, (517) 589–8277

February 12, 1998

7:00 pm—Port Huron, Michigan, St.

Claire Community College, 323 Erie

Street, (810) 984–3881

The public meetings are designed to

provide you with more detailed

information and another opportunity to

offer your comments on the proposed

project. Vector representatives will be

present at the scoping meetings to

describe their proposal. 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

Draft EIS. A transcript of each meeting

will be made so that your comments

will be accurately recorded.

On the dates of the meetings, we will

also be conducting limited site visits to
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / Notices 3109

the project area. Anyone interested in

participating in the site visit may

contact the Commission’s Office of

External Affairs identified at the end of

this notice for more details and must

provide their own transportation.

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 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 3).

The date for filing of 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

environmental comments considered.

Environmental Mailing List

This notice is being sent to

individuals, organizations, and

government entities interested in and/or

potentially affected by the proposed

project. It is also being sent to all

identified potential right-of-way

grantors. As details of the project

become established, representatives of

Vector may also separately contact

landowners, communities, and public

agencies concerning project matters,

including acquisition of permits and

rights-of-way.

All commentors will be retained on

our mailing list. If you do not want to

send comments at this time but still

want to keep informed and receive

copies of the Draft and Final EIS, you

must return the Information Request

(appendix 4). If you do not send

comments or return the Information

Request, you will be taken off the

mailing list.

Additional information about the

proposed project is available from Paul

McKee in the Commission’s Office of

External Affairs at (202) 208–1088.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–1336 Filed 1–20–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPPTS–42203B; FRL–5766–7]

Enforceable Consent Agreement

Development for Diethanolamine;

Solicitation of Interested Parties and

Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA is soliciting interested

parties who want to monitor or

participate in negotiations on an

enforceable consent agreement (ECA)

concerning the use of pharmacokinetics

(PK) studies and mechanistic data to

help meet testing requirements for

diethanolamine (CAS No. 111–42–2) in

the proposed hazardous air pollutants

(HAPs) test rule. In addition, EPA

invites all interested parties to attend a

public meeting to initiate negotiations

on the ECA for diethanolamine.

DATES: EPA must receive written

notification requesting designation as an

interested party for diethanolamine on

or before February 11, 1998. Those

persons who identify themselves as

interested parties for diethanolamine

may submit written comments to EPA

on the PK proposal for this chemical, on

EPA’s preliminary technical analysis,

and on other materials in the docket for

the proposed HAPs test rule, that relate

to the ECA process for this chemical by

February 11, 1998.

The public meeting is scheduled from

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on February 24,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Each comment must bear

the docket control number OPPTS–

42203B. All comments should be sent in

triplicate to: OPPT Document Control

Officer (7407), Office of Pollution

Prevention and Toxics, Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Rm.

G–099, East Tower, Washington, DC

20460.

EPA will address these comments at

the public meeting.

Comments and data may also be

submitted electronically to:

oppt.ncic@epamail.epa.gov. following

the instructions under Unit VI. of this

document. No Confidential Business

Information (CBI) should be submitted

through e-mail.

All comments which contain

information claimed as CBI must be

clearly marked as such. Three sanitized

copies of any comments containing

information claimed as CBI must also be

submitted and will be placed in the

public record for this document.

Persons submitting information on any

portion of which they believe is entitled

to treatment as CBI by EPA must assert

a business confidentiality claim in

accordance with 40 CFR 2.203(b) for

each such portion. This claim must be

made at the time that the information is

submitted to EPA. If a submitter does

not assert a confidentiality claim at the

time of submission, EPA will make the

information available to the public

without further notice to the submitter.

The public meeting will be held at

EPA Headquarters, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC in the EPA Conference

Center, North Conference Area in Room

1.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

additional information: Susan B. Hazen,

Director, Environmental Assistance

Division (7408), Rm. ET–543B, Office of

Pollution Prevention and Toxics,

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460;

telephone: (202) 554–1404, TDD: (202)

554–0551; e-mail address: TSCAHotline@epamail.epa.gov.

For technical information: Richard W.

Leukroth, Jr., Project Manager, Chemical

Control Division (7405), Office of

Pollution Prevention and Toxics,

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460;

telephone: (202) 260–0321; fax: (202)

260–8850; e-mail address:

leukroth.rich@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Electronic Availability

Internet: Electronic copies of this

document and various support

documents are available from the EPA

Home Page at the Federal Register—

Environmental Documents entry for this

document under ‘‘Laws and

Regulations’’ (http://www.epa.gov/

fedrgstr/EPA-TOX/1998/).

II. Background

EPA proposed health effects testing

under section 4(a) of the Toxic

Substances Control Act (TSCA) on June

26, 1996, for a number of HAPs

chemicals (61 FR 33178) (FRL–4869–1).

As indicated in the proposed HAPs test

rule, EPA would use the data obtained

from testing to implement several

provisions of section 112 of the Clean

Air Act (CAA), including the

determination of residual risk, the

estimation of the risks associated with

accidental releases of chemicals, and

determinations whether substances

should be removed from the CAA

section 112(b)(1) list of hazardous air

pollutants (delisting). The data also

would be used by other Federal agencies

(e.g. Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry (ATSDR), National