Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2006 / Notices

7032

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2006 / Notices

Commission, such as orders, notices,

and rule makings.

In addition, the FERC now offers a

free service called eSubscription which

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 http://www.ferc.gov/

esubscribenow.htm.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–1855 Filed 2–9–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. PF06–2–000]

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line

Corporation; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Assessment

for the Proposed Potomac Expansion

Project and Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES1

February 3, 2006.

The staff of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an

environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts of

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line

Corporation’s (Transco) proposed

Potomac Expansion Project involving

construction and operation of facilities

in Pittsylvania, Campbell, and Fairfax

Counties, Virginia. This EA will be used

by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine whether

the project is in the public convenience

and necessity.

This notice announces the opening of

the scoping process that the

Commission will use to gather

environmental input from the public

and interested agencies on the Potomac

Expansion Project. Your input will help

determine which issues need to be

evaluated in the EA. Please note that the

scoping period will close on March 17,

2006. Details on how to submit

comments are provided in the Public

Participation section of this notice.

This notice is being sent to affected

landowners; federal, state, and local

government agencies; elected officials;

environmental and public interest

groups; Native American tribes; other

interested parties; and local libraries

and newspapers. State and local

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government representatives are asked to

notify their constituents of this planned

project and encourage them to comment

on their areas of concern.

If you are a landowner receiving this

notice, you may be contacted by a

pipeline company representative about

the acquisition of an easement to

construct, operate, and maintain the

proposed facilities. The pipeline

company would seek to negotiate a

mutually acceptable agreement.

However, if the project is approved by

the Commission, that approval conveys

with it the right of eminent domain.

Therefore, if easement negotiations fail

to produce an agreement, the pipeline

company could initiate condemnation

proceedings in accordance with state

law.

With this notice, we 1 are asking other

federal, state, local, and tribal agencies

with jurisdiction and/or special

expertise with respect to environmental

issues to cooperate with us in the

preparation of the EA. Agencies that

would like to request cooperating status

should follow the instructions for filing

comments provided below.

A fact sheet prepared by the FERC

entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas

Facility on My Land? What Do I Need

to Know?’’ is available for viewing on

the FERC Internet Web site (http://

www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet addresses

a number of typically asked questions,

including the use of eminent domain

and how to participate in the FERC’s

proceedings.

Summary of the Proposed Project

Transco proposes to expand its

existing pipeline facilities in

Pittsylvania and Campbell Counties,

Virginia and replace a portion of an

existing natural gas pipeline in Fairfax

County, Virginia (see map in Appendix

A 2). The expansion would consist

primarily of looping 3 Transco’s existing

pipeline system for about 21.2 miles and

replacement of about 3.4 miles of

pipeline. The Potomac Expansion

Project is proposed to begin

construction in March 2007 and place

facilities in service by November 2007,

contingent on the project being

certificated.

1 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the

environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects.

2 The appendix referenced in this notice is not

being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are

available from the Commission’s Public Reference

and Files Maintenance Branch, at (202) 502–8371.

For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to

the public participation section of this notice.

3 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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Specifically, Transco seeks authority

to construct and operate the following

facilities:

• Pipeline Facilities

—About 17.2 miles of 42-inch-diameter

loop in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.

—About 4.0 miles of 42-inch-diameter

loop in Campbell County, Virginia.

—Replace 3.4 miles of 30-inch-diameter

pipeline with 42-inch-diameter

pipeline in Fairfax County, Virginia.

• Miscellaneous facilities

—Mainline valve (MLV) setting and pig

launcher and receiver in Pittsylvania

County, Virginia.

—MLV setting and pig launcher in

Campbell County, Virginia.

—MLV setting and pig launcher and

receiver in Fairfax County, Virginia.

The EA Process

The FERC will be the lead federal

agency for the preparation of the EA.

The document will satisfy the

requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The

Potomac Expansion Project is in the

preliminary design state.

For this project, the FERC staff has

initiated its NEPA review prior to

receiving the application. The purpose

of the Commission’s Pre-Filing Process

is to involve interested stakeholders

early in project planning and to identify

and resolve issues before an application

is filed with the FERC. A docket number

(PF06–2–000) has been established to

place information filed by Transco, and

related documents issued by the

Commission, into the public record.

Once a formal application is filed with

the FERC, a new docket number will be

established.

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. This

process is referred to as ‘‘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, we are requesting

public comments on the scope of the

issues that should be addressed in the

EA. We will consider all comments

received during scoping in the

preparation of the EA.

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; elected officials;

environmental and public interest

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2006 / Notices

rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES1

groups; other interested parties; affected

landowners; Native American tribes;

libraries, and newspapers; 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 make

our recommendations to the

Commission.

To ensure your comments are

considered, please carefully follow the

instructions in the public participation

section.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by

providing us with your specific

comments or concerns about the

proposal. By becoming a commentor,

your concerns will be addressed in the

EA and considered by the Commission.

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

carefully follow these instructions to

ensure that your comments are received

in time and properly recorded:

• Send an original and two copies of

your letter to: Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First St. NE.; Room

1A, Washington, DC 20426;

• Label one copy of the comments for

the attention of the Gas Branch 1, DG2E;

and

• Reference Docket No. PF06–2–000

on the original and both copies.

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, DC on

or before March 17, 2006.

The Commission encourages

electronic filing of comments. See Title

18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

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

on the Commission’s internet website at

http://www.ferc.gov under the ‘‘eFiling’’

link and the link to the user’s Guide.

Prepare your submission in the same

manner as you would if filing on paper

and save it to a file on your hard drive.

Before you can file comments you will

need to create an account by clicking on

‘‘Login to File’’ and then ‘‘New User

Account.’’ You will be asked to select

the type of filing you are making. This

filing is considered a ‘‘Comment on

Filing.’’

When Transco submits its application

for authorization to construct and

operate the Potomac Expansion Project,

the Commission will publish a Notice of

Application in the Federal Register and

will establish a deadline for interested

persons to intervene in the proceeding.

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Because the Commission’s Pre-Filing

Process occurs before an application to

begin a proceeding is officially filed,

petitions to intervene during this

process are premature and will not be

accepted by the Commission.

Availability of Additional Information

Additional information about the

project is available from the

Commission’s Office of External Affairs

at 1–866–208 FERC 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 (i.e., PF06–2). 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 also provides access to the texts of

formal documents issued by the

Commission, 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 http://www.ferc.gov/

esubscribenow.htm.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–1857 Filed 2–9–06; 8:45 am]

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Western Area Power Administration

San Luis Rio Colorado Project, Yuma

County, AZ

Administration, DOE.

If you received this notice, you are on

the environmental mailing list for the

Potomac Expansion Project and will

continue to receive project updates

including the EA. If you want your

contact information corrected or you do

not want to remain on our mailing list,

please return the Correct or Remove

From Mailing List Form included as

Appendix B.

To reduce printing and mailing costs,

the EA may be issued in both CD–ROM

and hard copy formats. The FERC

strongly encourages the use of the CD–

ROM format in its publication of

documents. If you wish to receive a

paper copy of the EA instead of a CD–

ROM, you must indicate that choice on

the return postcard (Appendix B).

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

AGENCY: Western Area Power

Environmental Mailing List

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

7033

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement and to

conduct public scoping meetings; notice

of floodplain and wetlands

involvement.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy’s

(DOE) Western Area Power

Administration (Western) and Office of

Electricity Delivery and Energy

Reliability (OE) intend to conduct

public scoping meetings and to prepare

an environmental impact statement

(EIS) on a proposal to construct new

international transmission facilities and

to connect those facilities with

Western’s transmission system at its

Gila Substation east of Yuma, Arizona.

The EIS will be prepared in compliance

with the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) and applicable regulations,

including DOE NEPA implementing

regulations.

The EIS is being prepared in response

to Generadora del Desierto S.A. de C.V.

(GDD) applying to DOE for a

Presidential permit to construct two

500,000-volt (500-kilovolt (kV)) electric

transmission lines across the United

States border from Mexico, and North

Branch Resources, LLC (NBR) applying

to interconnect with Western’s

transmission system. With this Notice of

Intent, DOE invites public participation

in the EIS scoping process and solicits

public comments to help establish the

scope and content of the EIS. Because

the project involves action in a

floodplain, the EIS will address

floodplain and wetlands impacts per

DOE regulations for compliance with

floodplain and wetlands environmental

review.

DATES: DOE invites interested agencies,

tribes, organizations, and members of

the public to submit comments or

suggestions to assist in identifying

significant environmental issues and in

determining the appropriate scope of

the EIS. The public scoping period starts

with the publication of this notice in the

Federal Register and will continue until

March 13, 2006.

Public scoping meetings are set for:

1. February 28, 2006, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

in Yuma, Arizona.

2. February 28, 2006, 6 to 9 p.m. in

Yuma, Arizona.

3. March 1, 2006, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in

San Luis, Arizona.

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