K N Interstate Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pony Express Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP96-477-000]

K N Interstate Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pony Express

Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 2, 1996.

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 Pony Express Pipeline 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.

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\1\ K N Interstate Gas Transmission 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

K N Interstate Gas Transmission Company (KN) proposes to convert an

existing crude oil pipeline owned by Amoco Pipeline Company (Amoco) to

natural gas service. The oil pipeline crosses portions of five states

and extends between Lost Cabin, Wyoming and Freeman, Missouri. Together

with several smaller components, the project would have the capacity to

transport natural gas with an energy content of up to 255 billion Btus

per day from the Wind River Basin in central Wyoming and major gas

producing areas of southwest Wyoming. It will also interconnect with or

cross a number of other interstate gas transportation systems,

including KN's existing system (8 locations), ANR Pipeline Company,

Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, Northern Natural Gas Company,

Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company, Trailblazer Pipeline Company, and

Williams Natural Gas Company.

The proposed project would include the following components:

Conversion of the 914-mile-long Amoco oil pipeline to

natural gas service (of which an 804-mile-long segment would be

acquired by KN);

Construction of approximately 65 miles of 16-inch-diameter

pipeline between Rockport (Weld County), Colorado and an

interconnection with the converted Amoco pipeline near Kimball (Kimball

County), Nebraska;

Construction of approximately 7.6 miles of 12-inch-

diameter pipeline to reroute the converted Amoco pipeline around a

portion of Casper, Wyoming;

Construction of approximately 0.3 mile of 24-inch-diameter

pipeline to reroute the converted Amoco pipeline around a congested

area near Appanoose School (Franklin County), Kansas;

Construction of approximately 1.6 miles of 20-inch-

diameter inlet and 1.6 miles of 20-inch-diameter outlet pipeline

between the converted Amoco pipeline and KN's existing Casper

Compressor Station (Natrona County), Wyoming;

Construction/installation of 50,500 horsepower of

compression at five compressor stations;

Upgrade 58 miles of existing 12-inch-diameter pipeline

extending from the Huntsman Compressor Station (Cheyenne County),

Nebraska to the Weld County, Colorado interconnect;

Construction of two interconnects in Natrona County,

Wyoming consisting of two 2,000-foot-long sections of 12-inch-diameter

pipeline; and construction of one interconnect in Madden, Wyoming

consisting of 0.1 mile of 10-inch-diameter; and

Upgrade 0.2 mile of 20-inch-diameter pipeline in Platt

County, Wyoming.

In addition, about 114 miles of 12-inch-diameter oil

pipeline would be constructed for Amoco between Amoco's storage

facilities in Casper, Wyoming to an interconnect with the existing

Amoco pipeline system at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. This oil pipeline would

be constructed by KN Energy, KN Interstate's non-jurisdictional parent

company.

The general location of the project facilities and specific

locations for facilities on new sites are shown in appendix 1.\2\

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\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 NE., 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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Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 717

acres of land. Following construction, about 108 acres would be

maintained as new aboveground facility sites and new permanent right-

of-way. The remaining 609 acres of land would be restored and allowed

to revert to its former 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 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:

geology and soils

water resources, fisheries, and wetlands

vegetation and wildlife

endangered and threatened species

public safety

land use

cultural resources

air quality and noise

hazardous waste

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.

[[Page 36053]]

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 KN. This preliminary list of

issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.

Nine federally listed endangered and threatened species

and two candidate species may be present in the project area.

Four perennial waterbodies would be crossed by the

proposed facilities, including the North Platte River in Wyoming.

The site of the proposed North Platte River crossing is

adjacent to the Brookhurst Superfund site near Casper, Wyoming.

Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the

impacts of the nonjurisdictional KN Energy facilities discussed on page

2. We will briefly describe their location and status in the EA.

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 St., N.E., Washington, DC

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP96-477-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Ms. Elizabeth J. Secrest,

EA Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First

St., NE., PR-11.1, Washington, DC 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC, on or before August 1, 1996.

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

from Ms. Secrest 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 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

Ms. Elizabeth J. Secrest, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0918.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-17344 Filed 7-8-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M