El Paso Natural Gas Co.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed San Juan Triangle Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP94-575-000]

El Paso Natural Gas Co.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed San Juan Triangle Expansion

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 25, 1995.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the

Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the potential environmental impacts of the construction and

operation of the facilities proposed by El Paso Natural Gas Company (El

Paso) for its San Juan Triangle 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 or

not to approve the project.

\1\El Paso's application was filed with the Commission under

section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's

regulations on June 1, 1994.

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Summary of the Proposed Project

El Paso seeks Commission authorization to:

Construct and operate approximately 29.7 miles of 34-inch-

diameter pipeline loop\2\ between El Paso's existing Blanco Plant and

its Gallup Compressor Station, in San Juan County, New Mexico; and

\2\A loop is a segment of pipeline installed adjacent to an

existing pipeline and connected to it on both ends. The loop allows

more gas to be moved through that segment of the pipeline system.

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Install a replacement compressor unit on one of the

turbines at El Paso's existing Gallup Compressor Station, in McKinley

County, New Mexico.

The proposed San Juan Triangle Expansion Project would allow El

Paso to receive additional volumes of natural gas from the San Juan

Basin area and transport up to 300,000 thousand cubic feet per day

through the new loop to its customers. The general location of the

project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\3\

\3\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, NE., 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

The proposed loop would be constructed parallel to an existing

pipeline corridor which already contains five other pipelines for

approximately 16.7 miles and two other pipelines for about 13 miles.

The new loop would be installed 30 feet west of the existing El Paso

Blanco Plant to Gallup Station Loop Line, except at locations where

terrain or other factors dictate a wider spacing. The construction

right-of-way would be 100 feet wide, beginning 10 feet west of the

existing loop.

El Paso would acquire an additional 10 to 30 feet of new permanent

right-of-way for the proposed loop, and 50 feet of temporary work space

would be needed west of the new permanent right-of-way. Other temporary

work space would be required adjacent to the planned construction

right-of-way at road and stream crossings. Following construction, the

temporary work space would be allowed to revert to its former land 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 on important environmental issues. By this Notice of

Intent, the Commission requests public comments on the scope of the

issues we will address in the EA. All comments received are taken into

account during the preparation of the EA. State and local government

representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents of this

proposed action and encourage the to comment on their areas of concern.

The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the

construction operation of the proposed project under these general

headings:

Geology and soils

Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands

Vegetation and wildlife

Endangered and threatened species

Land use

Cultural resources

Air quality and noise

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 resources. [[Page 5918]]

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, 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 in the EA, based on a preliminary review of the proposed

facilities and the information provided by El Paso. Keep in mind that

this is a preliminary list. The list of issues will be added to,

subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our analysis.

The environmental issues are:

The proposed loop would be within allotted and Tribal

lands administered by the Navajo Nation.

The proposed loop would cross 4 major washes and 18

ephemeral drainages.

The proposed loop would disturb desert shrub and

grasslands.

The proposed loop could impact federally listed threatened

and endangered species.

The proposed loop could impact significant cultural

resources.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your

specific comments on 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, 825 North Capitol St., N.E., Washington,

D.C. 20426;

Reference Docket No. CP94-575-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Paul Friedman, EA Project

Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St.,

N.E., Room 7312, Washington, D.C. 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before March 3, 1995.

Additional information about the proposed project is available from

Paul Friedman, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1108. If the EA is

published for comment and you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you

should request one from Mr. Friedman 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 timely motions to intervene in this proceeding

has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file late interventions

mut 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.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-2258 Filed 1-30-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M