[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65316-65318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30712]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket Nos. CP66-111-003 and CP96-26-000]


Great Lakes Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed St. Clair River Crossing 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 13, 1995.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an 

[[Page 65317]]
environmental assessment (EA) that will discuss the environmental 
impacts of the construction and operation of the facilities proposed in 
the St. Clair River Crossing Project.\1\ This EA will be used by the 
Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether an 
environmental impact statement is necessary and whether to approve the 
project.

    \1\ Great Lakes Transmission Limited Partnership's application 
was filed with the Commission under section 3 of the Natural Gas 
Act, sections 153.10 through 153.12 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, and Executive Order 10485 (as amended by 
Executive Order 12038 and Secretary of Energy Delegation Order No. 
0204-112).
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership (Great Lakes) 
seeks authority to amend its Presidential Permit (under Docket No. 
CP66-111-003) and construct, connect, operate, and maintain (under 
Docket No. CP96-26-000) about 1,500 feet of 36-inch-diameter pipeline 
loop at the international border between the United States and Canada, 
in St. Clair County, Michigan.
    Great Lakes states that the proposed border facilities would be 
used to provide 50,000 thousand cubic feet per day of winter firm 
transportation service to TransCanada Pipelines Limited (TransCanada). 
Great Lakes indicates that the facilities, along with additional 
facilities TransCanada would build on its system, would provide 
TransCanada with greater system security and reliability of service.
    The proposed river crossing would be directionally drilled. Great 
Lakes proposes to operate the drill rig on the United States side of 
the river, on land owned by Great Lakes. The pipeline would be strung 
and staged on the Canadian side.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\2\

    \2\ The 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., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. 
Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this 
notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require a staging 
area about 150 feet by 250 feet. No additional permanent right-of-way 
would be required after construction. An existing cleared area north of 
Puttygut Road would be used as a contractor yard. This area was used 
for this purpose during construction of the RG&E III Project (Docket 
No. CP92-595-000).
    Permanent aboveground facilities would consist of a mainline valve 
and a ``pig launcher'' in the vicinity of Great lakes' existing 
mainline valve.

The EA 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 EA 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 EA. All comments received 
are considered during the preparation of the EA. 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 EA 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.
    <bullet> Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
    <bullet> Land use.
    <bullet> Cultural resources.
    <bullet> Vegetation and wildlife.
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species.
    <bullet> Air quality and noise.
    <bullet> Hazardous waste.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed 
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 EA. Depending 
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may 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 will be allotted for review if the EA 
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we 
recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.

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 Great Lakes. Keep in mind 
that this is a preliminary list:
    <bullet> Noise generated during the continuous operation of the 
directional drill rig used to install the pipeline under the St. Clair 
River may significantly impact nearby residences.
    <bullet> Drilling mud and fluids must be handled and disposed of 
properly or significant impact on the St. Clair River and nearby 
wetland could result.
    <bullet> Construction activities may impact the wetland located 
near the proposed staging area.
    <bullet> There may be visual impacts associated with the permanent 
aboveground facilities.
    The list of issues may be added to, subtracted from, or changed 
based on your comments and our analysis.

Public Participation

    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 locations), 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:
    <bullet> Address your letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 
20426;
    <bullet> Reference Docket Nos. CP66-111-003 and CP96-26-000;
    <bullet> Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Howard Wheeler, EA 
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., 
N.E., PR-11.2, Washington, D.C. 20426; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, D.C. on or before January 19, 1996.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Wheeler at the above address.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA 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 case-related 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 

[[Page 65318]]
Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) (see appendix 2).
    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 scoping comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. Howard Wheeler, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-2299.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-30712 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M