Paiute Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Paiute LNG Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP95-614-000]

Paiute Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Paiute LNG Project and

Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

September 19, 1995.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or

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

discuss the environmental impacts of the construction and operation of

facilities proposed in the Paiute LNG Project. This EA will be used by

the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether an

environmental impact statement is necessary and whether to approve the

project.\1\

\1\ Paiute Pipeline Company's application was filed under

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

regulations.

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Summary of the Proposed Project

Paiute Pipeline Company (Paiute) is seeking approval to construct

and operate a 300-gallon-per-minute truck unloading facility at its

liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility near Lovelock, Pershing

County, Nevada. The purpose of the project is to give Paiute the

ability to provide its LNG storage service customers with additional

options for helping to meet their peak demand, emergency, or other

requirements.

The LNG truck unloading facility would include transfer piping,

valves, and appurtenant facilities. The proposed truck unloading

station would be able to unload six 10,000-gallon tankers per day for

the equivalent of 5,000 MCF per day.

The proposed project facilities would be designed, constructed, and

maintained to comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal

Safety Standards for Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities (49 CFR Part

193). The facilities would also meet the National Fire Protection

Association 59A LNG standards.

LNG would be transported to the site by LNG tanker trucks. The

preferred routing from eastern locations would be to exit Interstate 80

(I-80) at exit 107 onto Cornell Avenue to 14th Street. The route would

turn north on Central Avenue, continuing to Pitt Road. A westerly turn

onto Pitt Road would lead the trucks directly to the LNG Plant. For

traffic from the west, the preferred route would be to exit I-80 at

exit 105, then continue through the commercial portion of Lovelock via

Cornell Avenue to 14th Street, and then as above. This route would

avoid any grade level crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks.

As an alternative, all trucks could be routed off I-80 at exit 112,

follow an alternative route that runs southwest on Upper Valley Road,

and then west on Pitt Road. However, this route does require a grade

level crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks at exit 112.

The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\

\2\ 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, N.E., 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 facilities would be constructed within the 20-acre,

previously-disturbed, fenced LNG plant site.

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 in the EA 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 EA. All comments received

are considered during the preparation of the EA. 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 EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the

construction and operation of the proposed project under these general

headings:

Vegetation and wildlife

Cultural Resources

Land Use

Air Quality and Noise

Public Safety

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 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.

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 trucking 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., NE, Washington, DC

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP95-614-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. James Dashukewich, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North

Capitol St., NE, Room 7312, Washington, D.C. 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they are received in

Washington, D.C. on or before October 19, 1995.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want

to

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become an official party to the proceeding or 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) (see appendix 2).

Filing of timely motions to intervene in this proceeding should be

made on or before September 25, 1995. Once this date has passed,

parties 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 all potential interested parties to

solicit focused comments regarding environmental considerations related

to the proposed project.

If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to

keep informed and receive copies of the EA, please return the

Information Request (see appendix 3). 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. James Dashukewich, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0117.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-23659 Filed 9-22-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M