Transwestern Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed San Juan Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP96-10-000]

Transwestern Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed San Juan Expansion Project

and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 13, 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

the facilities proposed in the San Juan 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 to approve the project.

\1\ Transwestern Pipeline Company's application was filed with

the Commission 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

Transwestern Pipeline Company (Transwestern) proposes to:

construct a 10,000-horsepower (hp) electric driven Bisti

Compressor Station (C.S.) in San Juan County, New Mexico;

add a 7,000-hp electric driven compressor to the existing

Bloomfield C.S. in San Juan County, New Mexico;

operate an existing 4,132-hp gas compressor at the

Bloomfield C.S. originally certificated as a back-up compressor;

adjust its capacity on its mainline and San Juan Lateral

facilities on a flexible basis in response to market demands for San

Juan gas. This would require changing the pressure in its mainline

facilities from the current level of 950 pounds per square inch

gauge (psig) to as low as 800 psig, to the extent required to meet

reduced market demand for firm transportation capacity to

California, but high demand for San Juan gas in Arizona, California

and Transwestern's eastern markets; and

purchase from Northwest Pipeline Corporation (Northwest) a

77.7 percent ownership interest in Northwest's south end mainline

extension facilities extending from the Ignacio C.S. near Ignacio,

Colorado to the Blanco Hub near Bloomfield, New Mexico.

The location of the 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, 888

First Street NW., Washington, DC 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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Transwestern would bring electrical power to the compressor

stations to operate the electrical driven compressors.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the new Bisti C.S. would require about 3.5 acres of

land. Transwestern would fence about 2.1 acres for the compressor site

facilities. No additional land would be required for the proposed

facilities at the existing Bloomfield C.S.

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:

land use

water resources, fisheries, and wetlands \3\

\3\ According to the applicant, the project will not affect any

waters of the United States. We will report any potential impacts,

or their absence, under this heading.

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cultural resources

public safety

air quality and noise

endangered and threatened species

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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

We have already identified one issue that we think deserves

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by Transwestern:

[[Page 57705]]

The proposed compressor station and additional compression

proposed at the existing compressor stations may increase ambient

noise levels.

Keep in mind that this is a preliminary issue. Issues may be

added, subtracted, or changed based on your comments and our

analysis.

Public Participation

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 locations), 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, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP96-10-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Herman K. Der, EA

Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First

St., NE., 7th Floor (PR11.1), Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before December 20, 1995.

If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one

from Mr. Herman K. Der 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) (see

appendix 2).

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.

Additional information about the proposed project is available from

Mr. Herman K. Der, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0896.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-28426 Filed 11-16-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M