56524 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 27, 2005 / Notices 

evaluate significant transportation, 

environmental, social, and economic 

impacts of the alternatives. Potential 

areas of impact include: support of state, 

regional, and local land use and 

transportation plans and policies, 

neighborhoods, land use and 

economics, cultural resources, 

environmental justice, and natural 

resources. All impacts will be evaluated 

for both the construction period and the 

long-term period of operation. Measures 

to avoid, minimize and mitigate any 

significant impacts will be developed. 

Scoping Process 

Agency Coordination: The project 

sponsors are working with the local, 

state and federal resource agencies to 

implement regular opportunities for 

coordination during the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

process. This process will comply with 

SAFETEA–LU Section 6002. 

Tribal Coordination: The formal 

Tribal government consultation will 

occur through government-togovernment collaboration. 

Public Meetings: Three public 

information meetings will be held in 

October 2005, including: 

• Saturday, October 22, 2005, 11 

a.m.–2 p.m., at the Jantzen Beach Super 

Center (central mall area), 1405 Jantzen 

Beach Center, Portland, Oregon; 

• Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 4 p.m.–

8 p.m., at Clark College, Gaiser Hall, 

1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd., Vancover, 

Washington 98663; and 

• Thursday, October 27, 2005, 4 

p.m.–8 p.m., at OAME (Oregon 

Association of Minority Enterpreneurs) 

Main Conference Room, 4134 N. 

Vancouver St. (at N. Skidmore St.), 

Portland, OR 97211. 

All public information meeting 

locations are accessible to persons with 

disabilities. Any individual who 

requires special assistance, such as a 

sign language interpreter, should 

contact Amy Echols, CRC 

Communications Manager at 360–737–

2726 or 

echolsa@columbiarivercrossing.org at 

least 48-hours in advance of the meeting 

in order for WSDOT or ODOT to make 

necessary arrangement. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

related to this proposed action are 

addressed and all significant issues 

identified, comments and suggestions 

are invited from interested parties. 

Comments or questions concerning this 

proposal will be accepted at the public 

meetings or can be sent to the Columbia 

River Crossing project office at 700 

Washington Street, Suite 222, 

Vancouver, WA 98660 or to Heather 

Gundersen at 

gundersenh@columbiarivercrossing.org 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Issued on: September 20, 2005. 

Steve Saxton, 

Area Engineer, Washington Division, Federal 

Highway Administration. 

Linda M. Gehre, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10, 

Federal Transit Administration. 

[FR Doc. 05–19230 Filed 9–26–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–05–21747; Notice 2] 

Pipeline Safety: Grant of Waiver; 

Southern LNG 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA); U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of Waiver; Southern LNG. 

SUMMARY: Southern LNG (SLNG) 

requested a waiver of compliance from 

the regulatory requirements at 49 CFR 

193.2301, which requires each liquefied 

natural gas (LNG) facility constructed 

after March 31, 2000, to comply with 49 

CFR part 193 and the National Fire 

Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 

NFPA 59A ‘‘Standard for Production, 

Storage, and Handling of Liquefied 

Natural Gas.’’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

SLNG, an El Paso Company, requested 

a waiver from § 193.2301. This 

regulation requires each LNG facility 

constructed after March 31, 2000, to 

comply with 49 CFR part 193 and 

Standard NFPA 59A. 

Standard NFPA 59A requires that 

welded containers designed for not 

more than 15 pounds per square inch 

gauge comply with the Eighth Edition, 

1990, of American Petroleum Institute 

(API) Standard API 620, ‘‘Design and 

Construction of Large, Welded, LowPressure Storage Tanks (Appendix Q).’’

The Eighth Edition of API 620 requires 

inspection according to Appendix Q 

which calls for a full radiographic 

examination of all vertical and 

horizontal butt welds associated with 

the container. 

SLNG is proposing to use the current 

Tenth Edition, Addendum 1, of API 620. 

The Tenth Edition, Addendum 1, of API 

620, allows ultrasonic examination—in 

lieu of radiography—as an acceptable 

alternative non-destructive testing 

method. SLNG proposes to use 

ultrasonic examination on its project, 

which consists of full semi-automated 

and manual ultrasonic examination 

using shear wave probes. SLNG also 

proposes to use a volumetric ultrasonic 

examination which combines creep 

wave probes and focused angled 

longitudinal waive probes. 

Findings 

PHMSA considered SLNG’s waiver 

request and published a notice inviting 

interested persons to comment on 

whether a waiver should be granted (70 

FR 40781; July 14, 2005). There were 

two comments from the public in 

response to the notice; both were in 

support of the waiver. 

One commenter, a member of the API 

Committee on Refinery Equipment, 

Subcommittee on Pressure Vessels and 

Tanks, said that the use of ultrasonic 

examination in lieu of radiographic 

examination for large LNG tanks 

improves jobsite safety because it 

eliminates the hazards of radiation 

exposure. This commenter also said that 

ultrasonic examination is more capable 

than radiographic examination for 

detecting crack-like weld defects. 

The other commenter provided a copy 

of NFPA 59A Report on Comments, 

dated May 2005 and stated that the 

NFPA 59A Committee approved the 

latest edition of API 620. 

The 2006 edition of NFPA 59A was 

approved as an American National 

Standard on August 18, 2005. 

Grant of Waiver 

In its Report on Comments, dated May 

2005, the NFPA 59A Committee 

accepted in principle the latest edition 

of API 620, Tenth Edition, Addendum 1. 

The Tenth Edition, Addendum 1, of API 

620 adds ultrasonic examination as an 

acceptable method of examination. The 

Tenth Edition, Addendum 1, of API 620 

indicates that both radiographic and 

ultrasonic examination are acceptable 

means of testing. 

For the reasons explained above and 

in the Notice dated July 14, 2005, 

PHMSA finds that the requested waiver 

is consistent with pipeline safety and 

that an equivalent level of safety can be 

achieved. Therefore, SLNG’s request for 

waiver of compliance with § 193.2301 is 

granted. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 27, 2005 / Notices 56525 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

21, 2005. 

Theodore L. Willke, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline 

Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–19198 Filed 9–26–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–05–21314; Notice 2] 

Pipeline Safety: Grant of Waiver; BOC 

Gases 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of Waiver; BOC Gases. 

SUMMARY: BOC Gases (BOC) petitioned 

PHMSA for a waiver from the pipeline 

safety standards at 49 CFR 195.306(c)(5) 

to allow the use of inert gas or carbon 

dioxide as the test medium for pressure 

testing its existing carbon dioxide 

pipeline. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

hazardous liquid pipeline safety 

regulation at 49 CFR 195.306(c)(5) 

allows an operator of a carbon dioxide 

pipeline to use inert gas or carbon 

dioxide as the test medium if the pipe 

involved is new pipe having a 

longitudinal joint factor of 1.00. 

BOC is requesting the waiver to use 

carbon dioxide as the test medium in its 

carbon dioxide pipeline system. The 

BOC carbon dioxide pipeline system is 

approximately 14 miles northwest of 

Green River, Wyoming and located in 

Sweetwater County. (The County is a 

remote, uninhabited area that does not 

lie within any city or other populated 

limits.) The pipeline was constructed in 

February 1995 and is 7 miles in length. 

The line is constructed of 3.5-inch 

diameter, American Petroleum Institute 

(API) API 5L, Grade B seamless pipe, 

and has a wall thickness of 0.300- 

inches. 

BOC calculated the pipe’s internal 

design pressure to be 4,320 pounds per 

square inch gauge (psig) using the 

formula in § 195.106 and pressure tested 

the pipe after construction. The 

minimum pressure was 3,575 psig and 

the pipe was tested for 2 hours. The 

pipeline is effectively coated and has 

had a sacrificial anode cathodic 

protection system since its construction. 

In justification for this waiver, BOC 

proposed the following testing 

procedure: 

• BOC will use liquid carbon dioxide 

to pressure test the entire 7 mile 

pipeline; 

• BOC will maintain a minimum test 

pressure of 3,575 psig or 60% of the 

pipeline’s specified minimum yield 

strength (SMYS) for at least 4 hours; 

• BOC will test the pipeline for an 

additional 4 hours at a minimum 

pressure of 3,146 psig or 48% of SMYS; 

• BOC will station personnel along 

the pipeline to observe any conditions 

which might indicate leakage during the 

test; 

• BOC personnel will be in constant 

communication with its personnel who 

will supervise and conduct the pressure 

test; and 

• BOC’s building facilities will be 

unoccupied and its personnel will be 

stationed along the pipeline where it 

parallels the State highway whenever 

the test pressure exceeds 50% SMYS 

during the pressure test. 

BOC asserts that this pipeline does 

not pose a risk to the public or the 

environment because it is in a remote 

location, in excellent condition, and 

will be tested and operated at a low 

percentage of SMYS. 

After reviewing the waiver request, 

PHMSA published a notice inviting 

interested persons to comment on 

whether a waiver should be granted (70 

FR 40780; July 14, 2005). No comments 

were received from the public in 

response to the notice. 

For the reasons explained above and 

in the July 14, 2005 Notice, PHMSA 

finds that the requested waiver is not 

inconsistent with pipeline safety and 

that an equivalent level of safety can be 

achieved. Therefore, BOC’s request for 

waiver of compliance from 49 CFR 

195.306(c)(5) is granted on the condition 

that BOC follow its proposed testing 

procedure for testing its carbon dioxide 

pipeline system. 

Issued in Washington, DC on September 

21, 2005. 

Theodore L. Willke, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline 

Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–19199 Filed 9–26–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34729] 

Saginaw Bay Southern Railway 

Company—Acquisition and Operation 

Exemption—Rail Line of CSX 

Transportation, Inc. 

Saginaw Bay Southern Railway 

Company (SBS), a noncarrier, has filed 

a verified notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1150.31 to acquire and operate 

approximately 67 miles of rail line 

owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. 

(CSXT) in Bay, Saginaw, Genesee, and 

Midland Counties, MI, as follows: (1) 

From milepost CC 0.0 at the Saginaw 

Station to milepost CC 26.2 at the Mt. 

Morris Station; (2) from milepost CB 0.0 

at the Saginaw Station to milepost CB 

17.37 at the Midland Station; (3) from 

milepost CBB 0.0 at the Saginaw Station 

to milepost CBB 16.7 at the Essexville 

Station; (4) from milepost CBC 0.0 to 

milepost CBC 2.0 both at the Saginaw 

Station; (5) from milepost CBD 2.2 to 

milepost CBD 4.5 both at the Saginaw 

Station; (6) from milepost CSF 0.0 to 

milepost CSF 0.82 both at the Saginaw 

Station; and (7) from milepost CBE 7.72 

to milepost CBE 10.09 both at the Paines 

Station. 

Under this transaction, SBS will 

purchase the track along the line from 

CSXT and will lease the underlying 

right-of-way. SBS plans to provide 

service over the line through the use of 

a contract operator, Lake State Railway 

Company, although only SBS will hold 

responsibility for providing common 

carrier rail service over the line. 

SBS certifies that its projected 

revenues will not exceed those that 

would qualify it as a Class III carrier. 

However, because the projected annual 

revenues of the rail line to be operated 

will exceed $5 million following 

consummation of this transaction, SBS 

has certified to the Board, on August 19, 

2005, as amended August 26, 2005, that 

it posted the required notice of its rail 

line acquisition at the workplace of the 

employees of CSXT and served the 

notice on the national offices of all labor 

unions with employees on the affected 

line. See 49 CFR 1150.32(e). 

The transaction is expected to be 

consummated on or after October 28, 

2005 (which is 60 days or more after 

SBS’ certification to the Board that it 

had complied with the Board’s 

regulation at 49 CFR 1150.32(e)). 

This transaction is related to STB 

Finance Docket No. 34730, James 

George and J&JG Holding Company, 

Inc.—Continuance in Control 

Exemption—Saginaw Bay Southern 

Railway Company, wherein James 

George and J&JG Holding Company, Inc. 

seek authorization through a petition for 

exemption, to continue in control of 

SBS upon SBS’ becoming a Class III rail 

carrier. 

If the notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of