Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 2006 / Notices

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 2006 / Notices

in any order issued for this licensing

proceeding.

This final EA addresses the issues

pertinent to the Augusta Canal Project.

Commission staff analyzed the potential

environmental effects of licensing the

Augusta Canal Project and concluded

that issuing a license, with appropriate

environmental measures, would not

constitute a major federal action that

would significantly affect the quality of

the human environment.

A copy of the final EA is available for

review in the Public Reference Room or

may be viewed on the Commission’s

Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, using

the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the docket

number, excluding the last three digits

in the docket number field to access the

document. You may register online at

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/

esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances

related to this or any other pending

projects. For assistance, contact FERC

Online Support at

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or tollfree at 1–866–208–3676, or for TTY,

(202) 502–8659.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–16000 Filed 9–28–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[FERC Docket Nos. CP06–61–000; CP01–

23–003]

North Baja Pipeline, LLC; Notice of

Availability/Completion of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement/

Report and Draft Land Use Plan

Amendment for the Proposed North

Baja Pipeline Expansion Project

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES

September 22, 2006.

The environmental staffs of the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(FERC or Commission), the California

State Lands Commission (CSLC), and

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

(Agency Staffs) have prepared the draft

environmental impact statement/

environmental impact report and draft

land use plan amendment (draft EIS/

EIR/plan amendment) to address North

Baja Pipeline, LLC’s (North Baja)

proposed expansion of its natural gas

pipeline system.

The draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment

was prepared as required by the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA), the California Environmental

Quality Act, and the Federal Land

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Management and Policy Act. The

purpose of this document is to inform

the public and the permitting agencies

about the potential adverse and

beneficial environmental impacts of the

proposed North Baja Pipeline Expansion

Project (Project or proposed Project) and

its alternatives, and recommend

mitigation measures that would reduce

the significant adverse impacts to the

maximum extent possible, and, where

feasible, to a less than significant level.

The Agency Staffs have concluded that

if the Project is constructed and

operated in accordance with applicable

laws and regulations, North Baja’s

proposed mitigation, and the Agency

Staffs’ additional mitigation

recommendations, it would be an

environmentally acceptable action.

The FERC is the lead Federal agency

and will use the document to consider

the environmental impacts that could

result if it issues North Baja a Certificate

of Public Convenience and Necessity

and a Presidential Permit amendment

under sections 7 and 3, respectively, of

the Natural Gas Act. The CSLC is the

lead State agency and will use the

document to consider North Baja’s

application to amend its existing rightof-way lease across the State’s Sovereign

and School Lands in conjunction with

the environmental impacts that could

result from any part of the Project in

California.

The BLM is participating as a

cooperating agency in the preparation of

this document because the Project

would cross Federal land under the

jurisdiction of the Palm Springs-South

Coast, El Centro, and Yuma Field

Offices. The Bureau of Reclamation

(BOR) is also a cooperating agency in

the preparation of this document

because lands administered by the BOR

would be crossed by the Project. Under

section 185(f) of the Mineral Leasing Act

of 1920, the BLM has the authority to

issue Right-of-Way Grants for all

affected Federal lands. The draft EIS/

EIR/plan amendment will be used by

the BLM to consider whether to amend

North Baja’s existing Right-of-Way Grant

and issue Temporary Use Permits for

the installation of approximately 67.4

miles of pipeline and ancillary facilities

across Federal lands managed by the

BLM, the BOR, and the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (FWS). The draft EIS/

EIR/plan amendment will also be used

by the BLM to consider amending the

California Desert Conservation Area

Plan (as amended), which would be

necessary for pipeline construction

outside of designated utility corridors,

as well as amending the Yuma District

Resource Management Plan, which

would be necessary for pipeline

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construction across the Milpitas Wash

Special Management Area.

The BLM proposes to adopt the draft

EIS/EIR/plan amendment per Title 40

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part

1506.3 to meet its responsibilities under

NEPA and its planning regulations per

Title 43 CFR part 1610. The BLM will

present separate Records of Decision for

the Right-of-Way Grant and the plan

amendments for the North Baja Pipeline

Expansion Project after the issuance of

the final environmental impact

statement/environmental impact report

and proposed land use plan amendment

(final EIS/EIR/proposed plan

amendment). The concurrence or nonconcurrence of the BOR and the FWS

would be considered in the BLM’s

decision.

The existing North Baja system is

currently certificated by the FERC to

transport 512,500 dekatherms per day

(Dthd) of natural gas in a southbound

direction. Once completed, the

expanded system would be capable of

transporting up to 2,932,000 Dthd (2,753

million standard cubic feet per day) of

natural gas from planned liquefied

natural gas (LNG) storage and

vaporization terminals located on the

Baja California coast in Mexico in a

northbound direction for delivery to

customers in California and Arizona. In

addition to the new volumes from the

LNG terminals, North Baja would

continue to offer southbound gas

transportation service for several

existing shippers.

The draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment

addresses the potential environmental

effects of the construction and operation

of the following facilities proposed by

North Baja:

• 79.8 miles of pipeline loop 1 (BLine) adjacent to North Baja’s existing

pipeline (A-Line) consisting of 11.7

miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline

extending from the existing Ehrenberg

Compressor Station at milepost (MP) 0.0

in La Paz County, Arizona to the

existing Rannells Trap at MP 11.7 in

Riverside County, California, and 68.1

miles of 48-inch-diameter pipeline

extending from Rannells Trap to an

interconnection at the U.S.-Mexico

border at MP 79.8 in Imperial County,

California;

• Less than 0.1 mile (about 20 feet) of

36-inch-diameter pipeline (SoCal Gas

Company [SoCal Gas] Interconnect) to

connect the B-Line to the existing SoCal

Gas system within the proposed Blythe

Meter Station site at MP 0.5 in Riverside

County;

1 A loop is a segment of pipeline that is usually

installed adjacent to an existing pipeline and

connected to it at both ends. The loop allows more

gas to be moved through the system.

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 2006 / Notices

• 0.6 mile of 10-inch-diameter

pipeline lateral 2 (Blythe Energy

Interconnect Lateral [BEI Lateral])

extending from the proposed Blythe

Meter Station site to an interconnection

with the existing Blythe Energy Facility

I supply pipeline in Riverside County;

• 45.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter

pipeline lateral (Imperial Irrigation

District [IID] Lateral) extending from MP

74.5 of the B-Line near the existing

Ogilby Meter Station to the existing IID

El Centro Generating Station in Imperial

County;

• Modifications at its existing

Ehrenberg Compressor Station and the

existing Ogilby Meter Station to allow

northbound flow of natural gas;

• Metering modifications at its

existing El Paso Natural Gas Company

(El Paso) Meter Station at the Ehrenberg

Compressor Station site to allow LNGsource gas to be delivered into the El

Paso system;

• One meter station (Blythe Meter

Station) in Riverside County to measure

gas delivery from the North Baja system

to SoCal Gas and the BEI Lateral;

• One odorant facility at the existing

Ogilby Meter Station to odorize the

natural gas before delivery into the

SoCal Gas system;

• One meter station (El Centro Meter

Station) at the existing IID El Centro

Generating Station to measure gas

delivery from the North Baja system to

the IID;

• One tap where the IID Lateral

would connect to the B-Line in Imperial

County;

• Three pig 3 launchers;

• Four pig receivers;

• Nine remote manual valves with

automatic shutdown capability on the

B-Line, adjacent to the existing A-Line

valve sites; and

• Four remote manual valves with

automatic shutdown capability on the

IID Lateral.

Comment Procedures and Public

Meetings

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES

Any person wishing to comment on

the draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment is

encouraged to do so. To expedite the

Agency Staffs’ receipt and consideration

of your comments, electronic

submission of comments is strongly

recommended. See Title 18 CFR

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions

on the FERC Internet Web site (http://

www.ferc.gov) under the eFiling link

2 A lateral pipeline typically takes gas from the

main system to deliver it to a customer, local

distribution system, or another interstate

transmission system.

3 A pig is an internal tool that can be used to

clean and dry a pipeline and/or to inspect it for

damage or corrosion.

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20:43 Sep 28, 2006

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and the link to the User’s Guide. Before

you can submit comments, you will

need to create a free account by clicking

on ‘‘Sign-up’’ under ‘‘New User.’’ You

will be asked to select the type of

submission you are making. This type of

submission is considered a ‘‘Comment

on Filing.’’ Comments submitted

electronically must be submitted by

December 28, 2006.

If you wish to mail comments, please

mail your comments so that they will be

received in Washington, DC on or before

December 28, 2006. Please carefully

follow these instructions to ensure that

your comments are received and

properly recorded:

• Send an original and two copies of

your comments to: Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room

1A, Washington, DC 20426;

• Reference Docket Nos. CP06–61–

000 and CP01–23–003;

• Label one copy of your comments

for the attention of Gas 1, DG2E; and

• Send an additional copy of your

letter to:

Tom Filler, California State Lands

Commission, 100 Howe Avenue, Suite

100 South, Sacramento, CA 95825.

Your letter to the CSLC should

reference CA State Clearinghouse No.

2006081127.

In addition to or in lieu of sending

written comments, the FERC, the CSLC,

and the BLM invite you to attend two

public meetings the Agency Staffs will

conduct in the Project area to receive

comments on the draft EIS/EIR/plan

amendment. Both meetings will begin at

7 p.m. (PST), and are scheduled as

follows:

Date

Location

Tuesday, December

5, 2006.

Vacation Inn, 2015

Cottonwood Circle,

El Centro, CA

92243. (760) 352–

9700.

Blythe City Council

Chamber, 235

North Broadway,

Blythe, CA 92225.

(760) 922–6161.

Wednesday, December 6, 2006.

These meetings will be posted on the

FERC’s calendar located at http://

www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/

EventsList.aspx. Interested groups and

individuals are encouraged to attend

and present written or oral comments

on the draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment.

Transcripts of the meetings will be

prepared.

After the comments are reviewed, any

significant new issues are investigated,

and necessary modifications are made to

the draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment, a

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final EIS/EIR/proposed plan amendment

will be published and distributed by the

Agency Staffs. The final EIS/EIR/

proposed plan amendment will contain

the Agency Staffs’ responses to

comments timely received on the draft

EIS/EIR/plan amendment.

Comments will be considered by the

FERC, the CSLC, and the BLM, but will

not serve to make the commenter a

formal party to the proceeding. Any

person seeking to become a formal party

to the proceeding must file a motion to

intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the

FERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure

(Title 18 CFR part 385.214).

Anyone may intervene in this

proceeding based on the draft EIS/EIR/

plan amendment. You must file your

request to intervene as specified above.4

You do not need intervenor status to

have your comments considered and

responded to.

The draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment

has been placed in the public files of the

FERC and the CSLC and is available for

public inspection at:

Federal Regulatory Energy Commission,

Public Reference Room, 888 First St.

NE.; Room 2A, Washington, DC

20426; (202) 208–1371.

California State Lands Commission, 100

Howe Avenue, Suite 100 South,

Sacramento, CA 95825; (916) 574–

1938.

The draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment is

also available for viewing on the FERC

and CSLC Web sites at the Internet

addresses below.

http://www.ferc.gov

http://www.slc.ca.gov

A limited number of copies of the

draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment are

available from the FERC’s Public

Reference Room identified above. These

copies may be requested in hard copy or

as .pdf files on compact disk. In

addition, copies of the draft EIS/EIR/

plan amendment have been mailed to

Federal, State, and local government

agencies; elected officials; Native

American tribes; affected landowners;

local libraries and newspapers;

intervenors to the FERC’s proceeding;

and other interested parties. Hard copies

of the draft EIS/EIR/plan amendment

can be viewed at the following libraries

in the Project area:

Yuma County Library District, 350 3rd

Avenue, Yuma, AZ 85364.

Palo Verde Valley Library, 125 W.

Chanslorway, Blythe, CA 92225.

El Centro Public Library, 539 State

Street, El Centro, CA 92243.

4 Interventions may also be filed electronically via

the Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous

discussion on filing comments electronically.

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 189 / Friday, September 29, 2006 / Notices

Hemet Public Library, 510 E. Florida

Avenue, Hemet, CA 92543.

Holtville City Library, 101 E. 6th Street,

Holtville, CA 92250.

Imperial Public Library, 200 W. 9th

Street, Imperial, CA 92251.

City of Rancho Mirage Public Library,

42–520 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho

Mirage, CA 92270.

Glen Avon Library, 9244 Galena Street,

Riverside, CA 92509.

Palo Verde District Library, 701 Silver

Spur Road, Rollins Hills Estates, CA

90274.

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES

Additional information about the

Project is available from the FERC’s

Office of External Affairs at 1–866–208FERC or on the FERC Internet Web site

(http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary

link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on

‘‘General Search,’’ and enter the docket

number excluding the last three digits in

the Docket Number field. Be sure you

have selected an appropriate date range.

For assistance, please contact FERC

Online Support at

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll

free at 1–866–208–3676, or for TTY,

contact (202) 502–8659. The eLibrary

link on the FERC Internet Web site also

provides access to the texts of formal

documents issued by the FERC, such as

orders, notices, and rule makings.

In addition, the FERC now offers a

free service called eSubscription that

allows you to keep track of all formal

issuances and submittals in specific

dockets. This can reduce the amount of

time you spend researching proceedings

by automatically providing you with

notification of these filings, document

summaries, and direct links to the

documents. To register for this service,

go to the eSubscription link on the

FERC Internet Web site.

Information concerning the

involvement of the CSLC in the EIS/EIR

process may be obtained from Tom

Filler, Project Manager, at (916) 574–

1938, or on the CSLC Internet Web site

at http://www.slc.ca.gov.

Information concerning the proposed

land use plan amendments and the

involvement of the BLM in the EIS/EIR

and plan amendment process may be

obtained from Lynda Kastoll, Project

Manager, at (760) 337–4421.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–16002 Filed 9–28–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 2082–027]

PacifiCorp, Oregon and California;

Notice of Availability of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Klamath Hydroelectric Project and

Intention To Hold Public Meetings

September 25, 2006.

In accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and

the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission’s (Commission)

regulations, 18 CFR Part 380 (Order No.

486, 52 FR 47897), the Office of Energy

Projects has reviewed the application

for license for the Klamath

Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 2082),

located primarily on the Klamath River,

in Klamath County, Oregon and

Siskiyou County, California, and has

prepared a Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (draft EIS) for the project. The

existing project occupies 219 acres of

lands of the United States, which are

administered by the U.S. Bureau of

Land Management or the U.S. Bureau of

Reclamation.

The draft EIS contains staff

evaluations of the applicant’s proposal

and alternatives for relicensing the

Klamath Hydroelectric Project. The draft

EIS documents the views of

governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, affected

Indian tribes, the public, the license

applicant, and Commission staff.

Comments on the draft EIS should be

filed with Magalie R. Salas, Secretary,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426. All comments must be filed by

November 24, 2006, and should

reference Project No. 2082–027.

Comments may be filed electronically

via the Internet in lieu of paper. The

Commission strongly encourages

electronic filings. See 18 CFR

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and instructions on

the Commission’s Web site at http://

www.ferc.gov under the eLibrary link.

In addition to or in lieu of sending

written comments, you are invited to

attend one or more public meetings that

will be held to receive comments on the

draft EIS during the month of

November. Meeting dates, times, and

locations will be provided in a

subsequent Notice.

At these meetings, resource agency

personnel and other interested persons

will have the opportunity to provide

oral and written comments and

recommendations regarding the draft

EIS. The meeting will be recorded by a

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57503

court reporter, and all statements (verbal

and written) will become part of the

Commission’s public record for the

project. Meeting information will be

posted on the Commission’s calendar

located at http://www.ferc.gov/

EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along

with other related information.

Commission staff will consider

comments it receives as it prepares the

final EIS for this project. The final EIS

will be part of the record from which

the Commission will make its decision.

Copies of the draft EIS are available

for review in the Commission’s Public

Reference Branch, Room 2A, located at

888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426. The draft EIS also may be viewed

on the Internet at www.ferc.gov under

the eLibrary link. Enter the docket

number (P–2082) to access the

document. For assistance, contact FERC

Online Support at

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or tollfree at 1–866–208–3676, or for TTY,

(202) 502–8659.

You may also register online at

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/

esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances

related to this or other pending projects.

For assistance, contact FERC Online

Support.

Anyone may intervene in this

proceeding based on this draft EIS (18

CFR 380.10). You must file your request

to intervene as specified above.1 You do

not need intervenor status to have your

comments considered.

For further information, contact John

Mudre at (202) 502–8902 or at

john.mudre@ferc.gov.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–16006 Filed 9–28–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[ER–FRL–6679–7]

Environmental Impact Statements and

Regulations; Availability of EPA

Comments

Availability of EPA comments

prepared pursuant to the Environmental

Review Process (ERP), under section

309 of the Clean Air Act and Section

102(2)(c) of the National Environmental

Policy Act as amended. Requests for

copies of EPA comments can be directed

to the Office of Federal Activities at

1 Interventions may also be filed electronically via

the Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous

discussion on filing comments electronically.

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