Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Security Loop I Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP95-375-000]

Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership; Notice of

Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Security

Loop I Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 6, 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 Security Loop I 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\ Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership'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

Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership (Great Lakes)

requests Commission authorization, in Docket No. CP95-375-000, to

construct and operate one segment of approximately 13.8 miles of 36-

inch-diameter mainline loop in Charlevoix and Otsego Counties,

Michigan. Great lakes wants to complete the looping of a portion of its

973-mile-long mainline. In addition, Great Lakes proposes to modify the

existing piping at the Boyne Falls Compressor Station to accommodate

the new loop. No additional compression is proposed. The proposed

project would provide increased system reliability and flexibility for

Great Lakes' customers, and would facilitate maintenance on the Great

lakes system.

The general location of the proposed facilities is shown in

appendix 1. Detailed project maps are shown in appendix 2 \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, 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 loop would be built adjacent and parallel to the

existing right-of-way. Great Lakes intends to use a 100-foot-wide

construction right-of-way for most of the project. About 50 feet of the

planned 100-foot width would be on existing right-of-way. Consequently,

about 50 feet of new clearing would be required. Following

construction, about 25 feet of the construction right-of-way would be

allowed to revert to its former land use.

A 55-foot-wide construction right-of-way would be used for the 2.65

miles of state forest land. About 15 feet of the 55-foot width would be

on existing right-of-way. Of the 40 feet of new clearing that would be

required, about 20 feet would be allowed to revert to forest use.

Additional working space would be required adjacent to the planned

construction right-of-way at road and other utility line crossings,

wetland crossings, in areas of steep side slopes, and at the beginning

and end of the proposed loop.

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:

Soils.

Wetlands.

Land use.

Vegetation and wildlife.

We do not believe that the proposed project will have any impacts

on geology, water resources, endangered and threatened species,

cultural resources, air quality and noise, and hazardous waste.

We will 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 several issues that we think deserve

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by Great Lakes. Keep in mind

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

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

Issues are:

One wetland would be crossed.

A 100-foot-wide construction right-of-way is proposed.

About 9.6 miles of the proposed pipeline right-of-way

would cross forestland, resulting in the clearing of about 54.6 acres

of forest.

Approximately 11 percent of the proposed right-of-way

would cross sandy soils within are considered highly

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erodible soils by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

A total of 18.3 acres of public lands, including the

Mackinaw State Forest, would be disturbed by the proposed construction

right-of-way.

Two residences are within 50 feet of the proposed

construction right-of-way. In addition, a garage and a storage building

are within 50 feet of the proposed construction right-of-way.

The proposed construction right-of-way would cross 1.8

miles of Woodland Heights Estates, a proposed residential development.

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 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, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP95-375-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Jeff Gerber, EA Project

Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission--PR 11.2, 888 First

Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before January 5, 1996.

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

from Mr. Gerber at the above address.

Becoming an Intervenor

In additional 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 3).

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. Jeff Gerber, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-1121.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-30207 Filed 12-11-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M