Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices 27067

1Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C.’s

application was filed with the Commission under

Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 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, N.E., Room 2A–1, Washington, DC 20426, or

call (202) 208–1371. Copies of the appendices were

sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.

the filed signature pages do not change

the NEPOOL Agreement in any manner,

other than to make AGF and KOCH

Participants in the Pool. NEPOOL

requests an effective date on or before

May 28, 1996 for commencement of

participation in the Pool by AGF and

KOCH.

Comment date: June 6, 1996, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

9. Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation

[Docket No. ER96–1811–000]

Take notice that on May 15, 1996,

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation

(Niagara Mohawk), tendered for filing

an agreement between Niagara Mohawk

and Federal Energy Sales (FES) dated

May 13, 1995, providing for certain

transmission services to FES.

Copies of this filing were served upon

FES and the New York State Public

Service Commission.

Comment date: June 6, 1996, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

10. Niagara Mohawk Power

Corporation

[Docket No. ER96–1812–000]

Take notice that on May 15, 1996,

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation

(Niagara Mohawk), tendered for filing

an agreement between Niagara Mohawk

and PECO Energy Co. (PECO) dated May

13, 1995, providing for certain

transmission services to PECO.

Copies of this filing were served upon

PECO and the New York State Public

Service Commission.

Comment date: June 6, 1996, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

11. Niagara Mohawk Power

Corporation

[Docket No. ER96–1813–000]

Take notice that on May 15, 1996,

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation

(Niagara Mohawk), tendered for filing

an agreement between Niagara Mohawk

and Cleveland Electric Illuminating

Company (CEI) dated May 13, 1995

providing for certain transmission

services to CEI.

Copies of this filing were served upon

CEI and the New York State Public

Service Commission.

Comment date: June 6, 1996, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

12. Niagara Mohawk Power

Corporation

[Docket No. ER96–1814–000]

Take notice that on May 15, 1996,

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation

(Niagara Mohawk), tendered for filing

an agreement between Niagara Mohawk

and Noram Energy Service Company

(Noram) dated May 13, 1995, providing

for certain transmission services to

Noram.

Copies of this filing were served upon

Noram and the New York State Public

Service Commission.

Comment date: June 6, 1996, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

13. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative

[Docket No. ES96–28–000]

Take notice that on May 20, 1996, Old

Dominion Electric Cooperative (Old

Dominion) filed an application under

§ 204 of the Federal Power Act (FPA)

seeking (1) authorization to enter into a

proposed tax advantaged lease and

leaseback of its Clover Power Station

unit 2 and certain common facilities

(Facility) and (2) an exemption from the

Commission’s competitive bidding and

negotiated placement regulations. The

transaction would involve a lease and

lease-back of Old Dominion’s 50 percent

undivided ownership interest in the

Facility under which an investor would

obtain ownership of the undivided

interest for income tax purposes and

Old Dominion would obtain the effects

of certain tax benefits that it would not

otherwise be able to obtain. There

would be no transfer of legal title to the

Facility.

Old Dominion states that the

Commission should assert jurisdiction

over the proposed transaction based on

the obligations to be assumed by it,

citing a number of precedent cases

decided by the Commission.

Alternatively, Old Dominion consents to

the Commission’s review of the

proposed transaction under section 204

of the FPA.

Comment date: June 11, 1996, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph E

at the end of this notice.

Standard Paragraph

E. Any person desiring to be heard or

to protest said filing should file a

motion to intervene or protest with the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

20426, in accordance with Rules 211

and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of

Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211

and 18 CFR 385.214). All such motions

or protests should be filed on or before

the comment date. Protests will be

considered by the Commission in

determining the appropriate action to be

taken, but will not serve to make

protestants parties to the proceeding.

Any person wishing to become a party

must file a motion to intervene. Copies

of this filing are on file with the

Commission and are available for public

inspection.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–13549 Filed 5–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

[Docket No. CP96–178–000]

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C.;

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Proposed Maritimes & Northeast

Pipeline Project, Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

and Notice of Public Meetings (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 66.0 miles of pipeline

facilities and metering proposed in the

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline Project

(Maritimes 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

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

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline,

L.L.C. (M&NP) wants to build a new

natural gas transmission system in

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and

southern Maine to transport 60,000

million cubic feet per day of natural gas

for two shippers. The proposed facilities

are Phase I of the Maritimes Project, a

new high-pressure natural gas pipeline

delivery system for the Sable Offshore

Energy Project. The Phase I facilities

would be the southernmost segment of

a pipeline that would eventually extend

from Country Harbor, Nova Scotia,

Canada, to the Canadian-U.S. border

near Calais, Maine, through Maine and
27068 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices

New Hampshire and into

Massachusetts. M&NP requests

Commission authorization, in Docket

No. CP96–178–000, to construct and

operate the following Phase I facilities:

• 66.0 miles of 24-inch-diameter

pipeline from Dracut, Massachusetts to

Wells, Maine in Middlesex and Essex

Counties, Massachusetts (14.4 miles),

Rockingham County, New Hampshire

(34.7 miles), and York County, Maine

(16.9 miles);

• two meter stations, one in Dracut,

Massachusetts and one in Newington,

New Hampshire;

• one meter and regulator station in

Wells, Maine; and

• associated pipeline facilities, such

as mainline block valves and pig

launchers and receivers.

The information in this NOI is based

on the route maps which were filed

with the Commission on May 16, 1996.

The general location of the project

facilities is shown in appendix 2. The

general location of other natural gas

projects under Commission review

occurring in the same region and within

the same time frame (Granite State Gas

Transmission, Inc. (Granite State LNG

Project, Docket No. CP95–52–000) and

Portland Natural Gas Transmission

System (PNGTS Project, Docket No.

CP96–249–000)) are shown in appendix

3. If you are interested in obtaining

detailed maps of a specific portion of

the Maritimes Project, contact the EIS

Project Manager identified at the end of

this notice.

Land Requirements for Construction

Based on information supplied by

M&NP, over about 50 percent of the

proposed pipeline would parallel

existing road, pipeline, or powerline

rights-of-way. Construction of the

pipeline would require a 75-foot-wide

construction right-of-way and would

affect about 600 acres of land. Following

construction, 50 feet of the construction

right-of-way (about 400 acres) would be

retained for operation of the pipeline

and 1 acre would be retained for

operation of each meter station. Existing

land uses on the remainder of the

disturbed area, as well as most land uses

on the permanent right-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 Notice of

Intent, 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 of

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 preliminary list of issues

may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

• Geology and Soils

—About 60 miles of near-surface

bedrock may require blasting.

—Effect on exploitable mineral

resources.

—Effect on prime farmland soils.

—Erosion control and right-of-way

revegetation procedures.

• Water Resources

—Effect on groundwater and surface

water supplies.

—About 80 crossings of waterbodies,

including 2 crossings of waterbodies

over 100 feet (Squamscott and

Piscataqua Rivers), and crossings of

the Spickett, Little, Exeter, and Great

Works Rivers.

—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.

—Effect on warmwater, coldwater,

anadromous, and estuarine fisheries

habitat.

—Effect on wildlife habitat.

—Effect on Federal threatened and

endangered and state special concern

species.

• Cultural Resources

—Effect on historic and prehistoric

sites.

—Native American and tribal concerns.

—Effect on land sacred to the Baha ́’ı ́

Faith in the vicinity of MP 50.1.

• Land Use

—Effect on 107 residences within 100

feet of the proposed pipeline.

—Effect on planned or proposed

residential developments.

—Effect on public and recreation land,

including conservation land at the

Exeter River, the Henderson-Swasey

Town Forest, the Newington Town

Forest, and the Peace Development

Authority property.

• Socioeconomics

—Effect on construction workforce on

surrounding areas.

• 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

natural gas projects, such as the

PNGTS and Granite State Projects,

occurring in the same region and

within the same time frame.

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
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