[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8231-8232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3468]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP95-130-000]


Northern Natural Gas Co.; Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment for the Proposed East Leg Expansion Project and Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues

February 7, 1995.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the construction and operation of 
the facilities proposed in the East Leg Expansion 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\Northern Natural Gas Company's application was filed with the 
Commission under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of 
the Commission's regulations.
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) wants to expand the 
capacity of its facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin to transport 
an additional 107,600 million British thermal units per day of natural 
gas to four local distribution companies and one electric cogeneration 
plant. Northern requests Commission authorization, in Docket No. CP95-
130-000, to construct and operate the following facilities needed to 
transport those volumes:

Phase I Facilities (1995)

    <bullet> 6,000 horsepower (hp) of electric motor-driven compression 
at the new Hubbard Compressor Station in Hardin County, Iowa;
    <bullet> Modification and repiping of the existing Waterloo 
Compressor Station in Black Hawk County, Iowa;
    <bullet> 14,000 hp of gas turbine-driven compression at the new 
Earlville Compressor Station in Delaware County, Iowa;
    <bullet> A new Quad Cities town border station (TBS) in Dubuque 
County, Iowa for deliveries to the Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric 
Company;
    <bullet> Modification of the existing Galena Compressor Station in 
Jo Daviess County, Illinois;
    <bullet> Modification of the existing Beloit TBS near Beloit, Rock 
County, Wisconsin for deliveries to the Wisconsin Power and Light 
Company; and
    <bullet> A new LS Power TBS in Walworth County, Wisconsin for 
Deliveries to the LS Power-Whitewater Limited Partnership (LS Power).

Phase II Facilities (1996)

    <bullet> 3,200 hp of compression (two 1,600-hp gas turbine-driven 
compressors) at the new Belleville Compressor Station in Green County, 
Wisconsin.
    The general location of the project facilities and specific 
locations for facilities on new sites are 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, Room 
3104, 941 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 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 about 26.9 
acres of land. Following construction about 8.6 acres would be 
maintained as new above-ground facility sites. The remaining 18.3 acres 
of land would be restored and allowed to revert to its former use.

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\3\

    \3\According to the applicant, the project will not affect any 
waters of the United States. We will repot any potential impacts, or 
their absence, under this heading.
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    <bullet> Vegetation and wildlife
    <bullet> Endangered and threatened species
    <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 issue 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 Northern. Keep in mind that 
this is a [[Page 8232]] preliminary list. The list of issues may be 
added to, subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our 
analysis. Issues are:
    <bullet> Eight federally listed endangered or threatened species 
may occur in the proposed project area.
    <bullet> A total of 8.6 acres of agricultural land, including a 
total of 3.2 acres of prime farmland soils, would convert to industrial 
use.

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, 825 North Capitol St., N.E., Washington, 
D.C. 20426;
    <bullet> Reference Docket No. CP95-130-000;
    <bullet> Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Jeff Gerber, EA Project 
Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St., 
N.E., Room 7312, Washington, D.C. 20426; and
    <bullet> Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, D.C. on or before March 13, 1995.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Gerber 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 Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) attached 
as 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 Sec. 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. Jeff Gerber, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1121.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-3468 Filed 2-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M