Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 1996 Zone EF Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. CP96-57-000]

Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 1996 Zone EF Expansion

Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 11, 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 1996 Zone EF 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\ Northern Natural Gas 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

Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) wants to expand the

capacity of its facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin to transport an

additional 46,400 million British thermal units per day of natural gas

to six local distribution companies. Northern seeks authority to:

Abandon the 10,600-horsepower (hp) Owatonna Compressor

Station in Steele County, Minnesota and construct and operate a new

10,600-hp Faribault Compressor Station in Rice County, Minnesota;

Extend its 30-inch-diameter ``C-line'' loop by about 2.24

miles in Washington County, Minnesota;

Increase the capacity of its Elk River system by extending

the existing 20-inch-diameter Elk River branchline loop in two areas

for a total of about 3.30 miles in Anoka County, Minnesota;

Construct about 14.52 miles of 6-inch-diameter tie-over

connecting the Paynesville and the Watkins branchlines in Stearns

County, Minnesota;

Install: (a) about 3.07 miles of 4-inch-diameter St.

Michael branchline loop in Wright County, Minnesota; (b) about 5.01

miles of 8-inch-diameter Princeton branchline loop in Mile Lacs and

Sherburne Counties, Minnesota; and (c) about 1.96 miles of 4-inch-

diameter Monticello branchline loop in Wright County, Minnesota;

Modify three meter stations in Anoka County, Minnesota and

two meter stations in Wright County, Minnesota; and

Modify a meter station in St. Croix County, Wisconsin and

one meter station in Buffalo County, Wisconsin.

The general location of the project facilities are 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, 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

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 306

acres of land. Following construction, about 4 acres would be

maintained as new above ground facility sites. The remaining 290 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.

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

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based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the

environmental information provided by Northern. Keep in mind that this

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

from, or changed based on your comments and our analysis. Issues are:

The Rum River, a state designated wild and scenic river,

would be crossed.

The Sauk River and Mill Creek, protected waters of the

State of Minnesota, would also be crossed.

About 30.8 acres of wetlands and 25.7 acres of forest

would be disturbed by construction.

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

the ``C-line'' Extension and Elk River Loop 2.

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, D.C.

20426;

Reference Docket No. CP96-57-000;

Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Bob Kopka, EA Project

Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 North Capitol St.,

N.E., PR-11.1, Washington, D.C. 20426; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before February 12, 1996.

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

from Mr. Kopka 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 or more detailed

project maps are available from Mr. Bob Kopka, EA Project Manager, at

(202) 208-0282.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-517 Filed 1-18-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M