Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices 27069

your comments are received and

properly recorded:

• Address your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, DC 20426;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–178–

000;

• Send a copy of your letter to: Mr.

Jeff Gerber, EIS Project Manager, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, N.E., Room 71–40,

Washington, DC 20426; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before June 28, 1996.

In addition to sending written

comments, you may attend public

scoping meetings. We will conduct

three public scoping meetings at the

following times and locations:

Date Time Location

June 18,

1996.

7:00 p.m Methuen, Massachusetts.

June 19,

1996.

4:00 p.m.

and

7:00

p.m.

Wells, Maine.

June 20,

1996.

4:00 p.m.

and

7:00

p.m.

Newton, New

Hampshire.

The meetings in Newton and Wells

will also cover the proposed PNGTS

Project in New Hampshire and Maine.

We will send a separate NOI for the

PNGTS Project to landowners affected

by that project. M&NP and/or PNGTS

will be invited to present a description

of their proposals at the appropriate

meetings. The Newton and Wells

meetings will have two sessions in order

to provide sufficient time to discuss

both projects. While all are invited to

attend either session, we are requesting

that state and local governments plan on

attending a 4:00 p.m. session.

The meeting in Methuen,

Massachusetts will be held at the Great

Hall, 41 Pleasant Street. The meeting in

Newton, New Hampshire will be held at

the Memorial Grammar School

Gymnasium, 31 West Main Street. The

meeting in Wells, Maine will be held at

the Wells High School Gymnasium,

Sanford Road.

The purpose of the scoping meetings

is to obtain input from state and local

governments and from the public.

Federal agencies have formal channels

for input into the Federal process

(including separate meetings which we

have arranged) on an interagency basis.

Federal agencies are expected to

transmit their comments directly to the

FERC at separate meetings or in writing,

and not use the scoping meetings for

this purpose.

Interested groups and individuals are

encouraged to attend the meetings and

present oral comments on the

environmental issues which they

believe should be addressed in the Draft

EIS. Anyone who would like to make an

oral presentation at the meeting should

contact the EIS Project Manager

identified at the end of this notice to

have his or her name placed on the list

of speakers. Priority will be given to

those persons representing groups. A

list will be available at the public

meetings to allow for non-preregistered

speakers to sign up. A transcript will be

made of the meetings and comments

will be used to help determine the scope

of the Draft EIS.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EIS

scoping process, you may want to

become an official party to the

proceedings 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 4).

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.

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

potential rights-of-way grantors. As

details of the project become

established, representatives of M&NP

may also separately contact landowners,

communities, and public agencies

concerning project matters, including

acquisition of permits and rights-of-way.

All commenters 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 EISs,

please return the Information Request

(appendix 5). 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 Mr.

Jeff Gerber, EIS Project Manager, at (202)

208–1121.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

Appendix 1—Cooperating Agencies

The following Federal and state agencies

are asked to indicate whether they want to

be cooperating agencies for purposes of

producing an EIS:

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Department of the Air Force

Department of the Army

Army Corps of Engineers

Department of Commerce

National Marine Fisheries Service

Department of Energy

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Mines

Fish and Wildlife Service

Geological Survey

Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Protection Agency

Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board

Massachusetts Executive Office of

Environmental Affairs

New Hampshire Department of

Environmental Services

Maine Department of Environmental

Protection

These, or any other Federal, state, or local

agencies wanting to participate as a

cooperating agency should send a letter

describing the extent to which they want to

be involved. Follow the instructions below if

your agency wishes to participate in the EIS

process or comment on the project:

• Address your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E.,

Washington, DC 20426;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–178–000;

• Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Jeff

Gerber, EIS Project Manager, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street,

N.E., Room 71–40, Washington, DC 20426;

and

• Mail your comments so that they will be

received in Washington, DC on or before June

28, 1996.

Cooperating agencies are encouraged to

participate in the scoping process and

provide us written comments. Agencies are

also welcome to suggest format and content

changes that will make it easier for them to

adopt the EIS. However, we will decide what

modifications will be adopted in light of our

production constaints.

[FR Doc. 96–13485 Filed 5–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M
27070 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices

1Portland Natural Gas Transmission System’s

applications were filed with the Commission under

Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Parts

153 and 157 of the Commission’s regulations.

2Appendices 2 through 5 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.

[Docket No. CP96–248–000 and CP96–249–

000]

Portland Natural Gas Transmission

System; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Proposed PNGTS Project, Request

for Comments and Environmental

Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping

Meeting (NOI)

May 23, 1996.

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 246.2 miles of pipeline

and metering facilities proposed in the

PNGTS Project.1 This EIS will be used

by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine whether to

approve the project.

We are asking a number of Federal

and state agencies to indicate whether

they wish to cooperate with us in the

preparation of the EIS. These agencies

are listed in appendix 1 and may choose

to participate once they have evaluated

the proposal relative to their agencies’

responsibilities.2

Summary of the Proposed Project

Portland Natural Gas Transmission

System (PNGTS) wants to build new

natural gas pipeline facilities in

Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and

Massachusetts, with a peak day capacity

of 178,000 thousand cubic feet per day

(Mcf/d), of natural gas to transport up to

167,000 Mcf/d of natural gas for four

shippers. PNGTS requests Commission

authorization, in Docket CP96–249–000,

to construct and operate the following

facilities:

• 241.9 miles of 20-inch-diameter

pipeline (mainline) extending from a

connection with TransCanada PipeLines

Limited (TCPL) at the border of the

United States and Canada near North

Troy, Vermont to the existing Tennessee

Gas Pipeline Company transmission

system in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Of

the 241.9-mile-long mainline, about 58.8

miles would be in Vermont, 65.9 miles

would be in New Hampshire, 117.1

miles would be in Maine, and 0.1 mile

would be in Massachusetts;

• 3.3 miles of 12-inch-diameter

pipeline lateral connected to the

mainline in Westbrook, Maine and

ending in Falmouth, Maine;

• 1.0 mile of 12-inch-diameter

pipeline lateral connected to the

mainline in Newington, New Hampshire

and ending near Portsmouth, New

Hampshire;

• Four new meter stations, one each

in Falmouth and Wells, Maine;

Newington, New Hampshire; and

Haverhill, Massachusetts;

• Acquisition and modification of an

existing meter station in Newington,

New Hampshire adjacent to the

proposed new meter station; and

• Associated pipeline facilities, such

as 15 mainline block valves and 4 pig

launchers and/or receivers.

PNGTS has also requested

authorization in Docket No. CP96–248–

000 to construct, operate, and maintain

border facilities to import gas from

Canada. The import point border

facilities would include about 500 feet

of 20-inch-diameter pipeline to connect

with the facilities of TCPL near North

Troy, Vermont.

PNGTS proposes to have the facilities

in service by November 1, 1998. PNGTS

also plans to construct but has not yet

filed an application for additional

pipeline laterals (future laterals) to serve

markets near Newport, St. Johnsbury,

and Gilman, Vermont; Groveton and

Berlin, New Hampshire; and Jay, Maine.

PNGTS indicates that it will file a

separate application for these facilities

in the fall of 1996.

The general locations of the project

facilities are shown in appendix 2. The

general locations of PNGTS future

laterals and other natural gas projects

under Commission review occurring in

the same region and within the same

timeframe (Granite State Gas

Transmission, Inc. [Granite State],

Granite State LNG Project, Docket No.

CP95–52–000 and Maritimes &

Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. [M&NP],

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline

[Maritimes Project], Docket No. CP96–

178–000) as shown in appendix 3. If you

are interested in obtaining detailed

maps of a specific portion of the project,

contact the EIS Project Manager

identified at the end of this notice.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities

would affect about 2,506 acres of land.

Approximately 93 percent of the

proposed pipeline and pipeline laterals

would parallel existing pipeline,

powerline, or other rights-of-way. The

nominal construction rights-of-way for

the 20-inch-diameter pipeline and 12-

inch-diameter pipeline laterals would

be 75 feet wide. Extra temporary work

spaces would be used at road, stream,

and large wetland crossings, as well as

for pipeyards and contractor yards and

areas where temporary topsoil or rock

storage is required.

Following construction, about 1,473

acres of the land affected by the project

would be retained for operation of the

pipeline and aboveground facilities.

This total includes about 0.5 acre for

each of the four new and one existing

meter stations and about 1.0 acre for

each of the four pig launchers and/or

receivers. Permanent 50-foot-wide

rights-of-way would be maintained for

the 20- and 12-inch-diameter pipelines.

The mainline block valves would be

within the permanent rights-of-way.

Existing land uses on the remainder of

the disturbed area, as well as most land

uses on the permanent rights-of-way,

would be allowed to continue following

construction.

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 NOI, 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 of this proposed

action and encourage them to comment

on their areas concern.

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 under

each topic that we think deserve

attention based on a preliminary review

of the proposed facilities and the

environmental information provided by

the applicant. These issues are listed

below. This is a preliminary list of

issues and may be changed based on

your comments and our analysis.

• Geology and Soils

—Seismology, soil liquefaction, and

areas susceptible to landslide.

—39.6 miles of near-surface bedrock

that may require blasting.

—Effect on exploitable mineral

resources.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices 27071

—Effect on farmland.

—Erosion control and right-of-way

revegetation procedures.

• Water Resources

—Effect on groundwater and surface

water supplies.

—832 crossings of perennial and

intermittent waterbodies, including 9

crossings of waterbodies over 100 feet

wide (Moos, Connecticut, Peabody,

Androscoggin, Presumpscot, Saco,

Mousam, Squamscott, and Piscataqua

Rivers) and crossings of the

Missisquoi, Israel, and Exeter Rivers

and Great Brook.

—Consistency with state Coastal Zone

Management Programs.

• Biological Resources

—Clearing of upland forest and the

permanent conversion of forest to

open land.

—Effect on wetland habitat, including

tidal salt marshes along the

Squamscott and Piscataqua Rivers,

resulting from the crossing of 940

wetlands.

—Effect on warmwater, coldwater,

anadromous, and estuarine fisheries,

habitat.

—Effect on wildlife habitat, including

deer wintering areas and waterfowl

and wading bird habitat.

—Effect on Federal threatened and

endangered species and state special

concern species.

—Effect on Kennebunk Plains, an

unusual dry grassland community.

• Cultural Resources

—Effect on historic and prehistoric

sites.

—Native American and tribal concerns.

• Land Use

—Effect on 103 residences within 50

feet of construction work areas.

—Effect on planned residential

developments.

—Effect on public and recreation lands,

including the Willoughby State

Forest, Victory State Forest, Victory

Bog State Wildlife Management Area,

Roaring Brook Park, White Birches

Campground, Bean Pond Fish and

Wildlife Area, White Mountain

National Forest, and the Pease

Development Authority property.

—Effect on snowmobile, jeep, and

hiking trails, several of which are

important to the Appalachian

Mountain Club and Randolph

Mountain Club, including the CarterMoriah Trail and Appalachian Trail.

—Effect on scenic waterbodies and

byways, including the Connecticut,

Exeter, and Piscataqua Rivers; and

Routes 3, 116, 16, 2, 107, and 238 in

New Hampshire and Route 11 in

Maine.

—Effects resulting from crossing over or

near known hazardous waste sites.

• Socioeconomics

—Effect of construction workforce on

surrounding areas.

—Effect on property values.

• Air Quality and Noise

—Effect on local air quality and noise

environment as a result of

construction.

• Reliability and Safety

—Assessment of hazards associated

with natural gas pipelines.

• Cumulative Impact

—Assessment of the combined effect of

the proposed project with other

projects occurring in the same general

area and within the same time frame,

including the Granite State LNG

Project and Maritimes Project.

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,

interested individuals, affected

landowners, 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 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:

• Address your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,

Washington, DC 20426;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–249–

000;

• Send a copy of your letter to: Mr.

Mark Jensen, EIS Project Manager,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, NE, Room 72–65,

Washington, DC 20426; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before June 28, 1996.

In addition to sending written

comments, you may attend public

scoping meetings. We will conduct four

public scoping meetings comprising six

sessions at the following times and

locations:

Date Time Location

June 17,

1996.

7:00 p.m Orleans, VT.

June 18,

1996.

7:00 p.m Gorham, NH.

June 19,

1996.

4:00 p.m.

and

7:00

p.m.

Wells, ME.

June 20,

1996.

4:00 p.m.

and

7:00

p.m.

Newton, NH.

The meetings in Newton and Wells

will also cover the proposed Maritimes

Project in New Hampshire and Maine.

We will send a separate NOI for the

Maritimes Project to landowners

affected by that project. PNGTS and/or

M&NP will be invited to present a

description of their proposals at the

appropriate meetings. The Newton and

Wells meetings will have two sessions

in order to provide sufficient time to

discuss both projects at each session.

While all are invited to attend either

session, we are requesting that state and

local governments plan on attending the

4:00 p.m. session.

The meeting in Orleans, Vermont will

be held at the Lake Region Union High

School. The meeting in Gorham, New

Hampshire will be held at the Town and

Country Motor Inn, Route 2. The two

meetings in Wells, Maine will be held

at the Wells High School Gymnasium,

Sanford Road. The two meetings in

Newton, New Hampshire will be held at

the Memorial Grammar School

Gymnasium, 31 West Main Street.

The purpose of the scoping meetings

is to obtain input from state and local

governments and from the public.

Federal agencies have formal channels

for input into the Federal process

(including separate meetings which we

have arranged) on an interagency basis.

Federal agencies are expected to

transmit their comments directly to the
27072 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices

FERC and not use the scoping meetings

for this purpose.

Interested groups and individuals are

encouraged to attend the meetings and

present oral comments on the

environmental issues which they

believe should be addressed in the Draft

EIS. The more specific your comments,

the more useful they will be. Anyone

who would like to make an oral

presentation at the meeting should

contact the EIS Project Manager

identified at the end of this notice to

have his or her name placed on the list

of speakers. Priority will be given to

those persons representing groups. A

list will be available at the public

meetings to allow for non-preregistered

speakers to sign up. A transcript will be

made of the meetings and comments

will be used to help determine the scope

of the Draft EIS.

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 4).

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.

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

potential right-of-way grantors to solicit

comments regarding environmental

considerations related to the proposed

project. As details of the project become

established, representatives to PNGTS

may also separately contact landowners,

communities, and public agencies

concerning project matters, including

acquisition of permits and rights-of-way.

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’s, please return the

Information Request (appendix 5). If you

do not return the Information Request,

you will be taken off the mailing list.

Additional information about the

proposed project is available from Mr.

Mark Jensen, EIS Project Manager, at

(202) 208–0828.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

Appendix 1—Cooperating Agencies

The following Federal and state

agencies are asked to indicate whether

they want to be cooperating agencies for

purposes of producing an EIS:

Advisory Council on Historic

Preservation

Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Department of the Army

Army Corps of Engineers

Department of Commerce

National Marine Fisheries Service

Department of Energy

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Fish and Wildlife Service

Geological Survey

National Park Service

Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Protection Agency

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources

New Hampshire Department of

Environmental Services

Maine Department of Environmental

Protection

These, or any other Federal, state, or

local agencies wanting to participate as

a cooperating agency should send a

letter describing the extent to which

they want to be involved. Follow the

instructions below if your agency

wishes to participate in the EIS process

or comment on the project:

• Address your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,

Washington, DC 20426;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–249–

000;

• Send a copy of your letter to: Mr.

Mark Jensen, EIS Project Manager,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, NE, Room 72–65,

Washington, DC 20426; and Docket No.

CP96–248–000, et al.

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before June 28, 1996.

Cooperating agencies are encouraged

to participate in the scoping process and

provide us written comments. Agencies

are also welcome to suggest format and

content changes that will make it easier

for them to adopt the EIS. However, we

will decide what modifications will be

adopted in light of our production

constraints.

[FR Doc. 96–13486 Filed 5–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 0717–01–M

Notice of Addition of a Second Entity

as Applicant

May 23, 1996.

Take notice that the following

hydroelectric application has been filed

with the Commission and is available

for public inspection:

a. Type of Application: Amendment

to the Pending Application for Major

License to Add a Second Entity as

Applicant.

b. Project No.: 10756–001.

c. Date filed: March 15, 1996 (the

license application was filed on May 28,

1992).

d. Applicant: Blue Diamond South

Pumped Storage Power Company, Inc.

and Blue Diamond Power Partners

Limited Partnership (requesting to add

Blue Diamond Power Partners Limited

Partnership).

e. Name of Project: Blue Diamond

South Pumped Storage.

f. Location: Mostly on U.S. lands

administered by the Bureau of Land

Management, on two man-made

reservoirs—on and near the Blue

Diamond Hill, about 5 miles west of Las

Vegas in Clark County, Nevada.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power

Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r).

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. David K.

Iverson, Synergics, Inc., 191 Main

Street, Annapolis, MD 21401, (410) 268–

8820.

i. FERC Contact: Mr. Surender M.

Yepuri, P.E., (202) 219–2847.

j. Deadline Date: Thirty days from the

issuance date of this notice. (Please

restrict your comments to the addition

of a second entity as applicant—the

subject of this notice.)

k. Current Processing Status of the

Application: The draft environmental

impact statement (DEIS) for this

application was issued on January 26,

1996. The deadline for filing comments

on the DEIS was March 11, 1996.

l. Filing and Service of Responsive

Documents—The Commission is

requesting comments on the addition of

a second entity as applicant.

All filings must: (1) bear in all capital

letters the title ‘‘COMMENTS’’; (2) set

forth in the heading the name of the

applicant and the project number of the

application to which the filing

responds; (3) furnish the name, address,

and telephone number of the person

submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise

comply with the requirements of 18 CFR