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[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20502-20503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10220]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Yellowstone 
Pipeline Rights-of-Way Renewal Across Trust and Allotted Lands of the 
Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of DEIS and public hearing dates.

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SUMMARY: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is for the 
proposed renewal of rights-of-way for an existing petroleum products 
pipeline. Constructed in 1954, this pipeline transports gasoline, 
diesel fuel, and jet fuel from refineries in Billings, Montana, 588 
miles west to Spokane and Moses Lake, Washington. A portion of the 
pipeline crosses both tribal and allotted trust lands on the Flathead 
Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana.
    The Yellowstone Pipe Line Company (YPL) and the Confederated Salish 
and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation (CSKT) executed a lease 
agreement for these trust lands for the period April 21, 1975, through 
April 21, 1995. It was approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 
which serves as the federal trustee for the lands. The YPL requested a 
renewal of its lease from the CSKT in order to continue operating the 
pipeline through the year 2016.
    A third party consultant, L.W. Reed Consultants, Inc. of Fort 
Collins, Colorado, is preparing the EIS for the BIA. They signed 
vouchers saying that they have no interest in the final decision of the 
BIA and have no conflict of interests involving YPL. The BIA required 
that YPL fund the EIS.
    This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1503.1 of the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR, Parts 1500 through 1508) 
implementing the procedural requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Department of 
Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6) and is in the exercise of authority 
delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

DATES: Public hearings on the DEIS will be held on the following dates: 
Thursday, May 11; Monday, May 15; Tuesday, May 16; Wednesday, May 17; 
and Thursday, May 18. Written comments must arrive on or before June 
26, 1995, at the address given below. We will consider all comments 
received during this period in preparing the Final EIS.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted at the public meetings, or 
sent to: Mr. Ernest Moran, Superintendent, Flathead Agency, Box A, 
Pablo, MT 59855.
    Public hearings on the DEIS will be held at the following locations 
and times: Cavanaugh's River Inn, Spokane, WA, Thursday May 11, 7 p.m.; 
Ruby's Reserve Street Inn, Missoula, MT, Monday May 15, 7 p.m.; St. 
Ignatius Community Center, St. Ignatius, MT, Tuesday May 16, 4 p.m.; 
CSKT Tribal Complex, Pablo, MT, Wednesday May 17, 11 a.m.; Tribal 
Senior Citizens Center, Hot Springs, MT, Thursday May 18, 4 p.m.
    If you would like a copy of this DEIS, please contact Mr. Lanny 
Reed, Lanny Reed Consultants Inc., 516 Spring Canyon Court, Fort 
Collins, Colorado 80525, or call toll-free at (800) 695-9305. We have 
sent copies of the DEIS to all agencies and individuals who previously 
requested them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jim Beyer, Flathead Agency Box A, 
Pablo, Montana 59855, telephone (406) 675-7200 ext. 260, or you may 
call toll-free at (800) 695-9305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of the Interior classifies 
the renewal of an existing right-of-way ``where there would be 
essentially no change in use and continuation would not lead to 
environmental degradation'' as a Categorical Exclusion under NEPA. In 
this case, two large spills and five smaller ones on the Reservation 
during the life of the pipeline indicated that continuation might lead 
to significant environmental degradation. Therefore, the Superintendent 
of the Flathead Agency, BIA, in consultation with the CSKT, decided 
that an EIS would be required prior to any federal decision concerning 
lease renewal.
    The Proposed Action consists of the YPL's request to renew existing 
rights-of-way across trust lands, with added pipeline safety 
improvements. The action is needed in order to continue: (1) Operation 
of the pipeline to serve the needs of the public; (2) transportation of 
[[Page 20503]] refined petroleum products to consumers in the greater 
Spokane area; and (3) transportation of military jet fuel to Fairchild 
Air Force Base in Spokane. The pipeline now supplies approximately 34 
percent of all consumer gasoline and diesel fuel to the Spokane market, 
100 percent of the military jet fuel to the Fairchild Air Force Base, 
and 100 percent of the commercial jet fuel to the Grant County Airport, 
which supports the Boeing Aircraft and the Japan Air Lines pilot test 
programs.
    The Proposed Action would allow continued use of the existing 
rights-of-way, with additional safety improvements designed to improve 
the maintenance of the pipe, the detection of leaks and ruptures, 
should they occur, and the containment of any product spills. These 
safety improvements include: (1) Hydrostatic pressure testing every 10 
years to identify weak place in the pipeline; (2) instrumented ``smart 
pig'' testing every 10 years to detect areas of corrosion that might 
lead to leakage or rupture; (3) monthly ``shut-in'' testing to detect 
low volume leakage; (4) close interval survey of cathodic protection 
every 10 years; and (5) better, all-weather, spill contingency 
planning.
    The No Action alternative would deny renewal of the rights-of-way. 
Petroleum products would thus have to reach the Spokane area markets 
through alternate modes of transportation.
    Because the response to market vacuum resulting from this 
alternative would be market-driven, it is difficult to predict. Most 
likely, for the first six months following cessation of pipeline 
service from Missoula, Montana, product would be supplied by truck from 
Missoula and from Pasco, Washington; by rail car from Seattle, 
Washington, or Portland, Oregon; and by a slight increase in flow in 
the Chevron pipeline from Pasco to Spokane. In the six month to four 
year period, it is likely that flow in the Chevron pipeline would 
increase and that shipment by barge would replace shipment by rail, 
thus increasing traffic on the Columbia River from Portland to Pasco.
    A Modified Existing Route Alternative would use the safety 
improvements identified in the proposed action. It would also re-route 
the pipeline around five identified sensitive areas in order to reduce 
(1) the chance of rupture due to stream scour and/or ground movement 
during earthquakes and (2) the exposure of people, cultural and aquatic 
resources, and other sensitive receptors in those areas to the adverse 
effects of petroleum products. This alternative would add four remote 
control block valves and two new check valves, designed to reduce the 
volume of product spilled by drain-down in the event of rupture.

    Dated: April 21, 1995.
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-10220 Filed 4-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P
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