Viking Voyageur Gas Transmission Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Viking Voyageur Pipeline Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings and Site Visit

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP98-60-000; and CP98-62-000]

Viking Voyageur Gas Transmission Company, L.L.C.; Notice of

Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed

Viking Voyageur Pipeline Project, Request for Comments on Environmental

Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings and Site Visit

December 15, 1997.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that

will discuss the environmental impacts of the construction and

operation of the facilities proposed in the Viking Voyageur Pipeline

Project.\1\

[[Page 66356]]

This EIS will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process

to determine whether the project is in the public convenience and

necessity.

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\1\ Viking Voyageur Gas Transmission Company, L.L.C.'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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Additionally, with this notice we are asking a number of Federal

agencies (see appendix 2) with jurisdiction and/or special expertise

with respect to environmental issues to cooperate with use in the

preparation of the EIS. These agencies may choose to participate once

they have evaluated the proposal relative to their agencies'

responsibilities.\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, Room 2A, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Viking Voyageur Gas Transmission Company, L.L.C. (Voyageur)

proposes to build new natural gas pipeline and compression facilities

to transport 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from Noyes,

Minnesota to Joliet, Illinois to move new natural gas supplies from

western Canada markets to the Upper Midwest.

Voyageur requests Commission authorization, in Docket No. CP98-60-

000, to construct and operate the following facilities:

773 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline extending from the

border of the United States (U.S.) and Canada near Noyes, Minnesota in

Kittson County to a point near Joliet, Illinois in Will County. Of the

773-mile-long mainline, about 359 miles would be located in Minnesota,

325 miles in Wisconsin, and 89 miles in Illinois;

22 new meter stations including one in Kittson County,

Minnesota, four in Wood County, Wisconsin, two in Waushara County,

Wisconsin, two in Dodge County, Wisconsin, one in Jefferson County,

Wisconsin, three in Walworth County, Wisconsin, three in McHenry

County, Illinois, one in Kane County, Illinois, one in Kendall County,

Illinois, and four in Will County, Illinois;

Four compressor stations each with 31,000 horsepower of

compression in Kittson County, Minnesota, Otter Tail County, Minnesota,

Polk County, Wisconsin, and Waushara County, Wisconsin. The two

compressor stations in Minnesota and the compressor station in Polk

County, Wisconsin would be built within the fenced property of existing

Viking Gas Transmission Company compressor station sites;

Associated pipeline facilities, including 48 new mainline

valves and four pig launchers and five pig receivers, and permanent

access roads for access to compressor stations and valves; and

Two new operations and maintenance facilities in Walworth

County, Wisconsin and Kendall County, Illinois.

The general location of Viking Voyageur's proposed project

facilities is shown in appendix 1. If you are interested in obtaining

procedural information, please write to the Secretary of the

Commission.

In addition, Voyageur requests in Docket No. CP98-62-000 a

Presidential Permit to site, construct, operate, own, and maintain

facilities at the international border between the U.S. and Canada near

Noyes, Minnesota. Voyageur's pipeline would originate at the point of

interconnection with the Canadian facilities of TransVoyageur Gas

Transmission.

In Illinois and Wisconsin, several local distribution companies are

considering building lateral pipelines to interconnect with Voyageur.

Although these facilities would not be under the jurisdiction of the

FERC, to the extent they can be identified they will be discussed in

the EIS. The following is a list of the nonjurisdictional laterals

currently under consideration:

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Pipeline Approximate

Lateral pipeline diameter length State

(inches) (miles)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marshfield.............................. 6 1.9 WI

Wausau.................................. 12 65.0 WI

Wisconsin Rapids........................ 6 0.2 WI

Steven Point............................ 8 20.7 WI

Green Bay/Sheboygan..................... 30/24/12 191.8 WI

Madison................................. 16 42.8 WI

Milwaukee............................... 22 32.5 WI

Eagle................................... 16 7.6 WI

Delavan................................. 8 0.6 WI

Hampshire............................... 16 0.11 IL

Plano................................... 20 0.34 IL

Aux Sable............................... 20 0.21 IL

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

Approximately 670 miles (86 percent) of Voyageur's pipeline would

be installed parallel to various existing utility rights-of-way. Where

possible, Voyageur's right-of-way would overlap the existing rights-of-

way as much as 85 feet during construction to minimize impacts.

Voyageur's proposed route deviates from the existing rights-of-way in

selected locations to avoid impact on homes, existing utility

structures (meter stations, etc.), improve waterbody crossings, and for

other environmental or engineering reasons.

Construction of the Viking Voyageur Pipeline Project would affect a

total of about 12,851 acres. Of this total, about 10,321 acres would be

disturbed by construction along the pipeline right-of-way. The

aboveground facilities would affect about 72 acres of land during

construction. Pipe storage, staging ares and warehouse sites would

affect about 2,458 acres. All these acreage figures are subject to

change.

Voyageur proposes to use a right-of-way width of 105 feet for

construction, with provisions for additional temporary work areas as

necessary for waterbody, highway and railroad crossings, and extra

topsoil storage. Following construction and restoration of the right-

of-way and temporary work spaces, Voyageur would retain a 30-to 50-

foot-wide permanent pipeline right-of-way depending on whether the

pipeline is co-located with other utilities or on new right-of-way.

Total land requirements for the permanent right-of-way would be about

4,476 acres. About 72 acres would be retained for the operation of the

new aboveground facilities. The remaining 8,303 acres of land affected

by construction of the project would be restored and allowed to revert

to its former use.

The EIS 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 EIS 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 EIS. All comments received

are considered during the preparation of the EIS. 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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

The EIS will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the

construction and operation of the proposed project. We have already

[[Page 66357]]

identified a number of issues that we think deserve attention based on

a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the environmental

information provided by Voyageur. These issues are listed below. This

is a preliminary list of issues and may be changed based on your

comments and our analysis.

Air Quality and Noise

--Effect on local air quality and noise environment as a result of

construction.

--Effect on local air quality and noise environment as a result of

operation of the compressor stations.

Soils

--Temporary and permanent impacts on prime farmland soils.

--Mixing of topsoil and subsoil during construction.

--Compaction of soil by heavy equipment.

--Impacts on drain tiles and irrigation systems.

--Erosion control and right-of-way restoration.

Water Resources

--Effect of construction on areas with shallow

--Effect of construction on crossings of 186 perennial waterbodies.

--Crossing of 14 rivers 100 feet wide or greater.

--Crossing the St. Croix River which is designated as a National Scenic

Waterway containing federally listed endangered mussels, and the Rum

River which is designated as a Minnesota State Wild and Scenic River.

--Crossing 21 trout streams, 7 exceptional resource waters, 4

outstanding resource waters, 2 Northern Pike spawning waters, and 1

wildlife/fish migration corridor.

--Potential for erosion and sediment transport to the waterbodies.

--Effect of construction on groundwater and surface water supplies.

--Impact on wetland hydrology.

Biological Resources

--Short- and long-term effects of right-of-way clearing and maintenance

on wetlands, forests, riparian areas, and vegetation communities of

special concern.

--Effect on wildlife and fisheries habitats.

--Impact on federally threatened species such as the bald eagle and

prairie bush clover, and federally endangered species such as the

Karner blue butterfly, gray wolf, winged mapleleaf mussel, Higgins' eye

pearly mussel, and the Indian bat.

Cultural Resources

--Effect on historic and prehistoric sites.

--Native American concerns.

Socioeconomics

--Effect of the construction workforce on demands for services in

surrounding areas.

--Impact on property values.

Land Use

--Impact on crop production.

--Impact on residential areas.

--Effect on public lands and special use areas including waterfowl

production areas, state game refuge, state wildlife management areas,

national and state scenic trails, state forest lands, state canoe

rivers, state parks and recreation areas, public fishing areas, public

hunting grounds, and forest preserves.

--Impact on future land uses and consistency with local land use plans

and zoning.

--Visual effect of the aboveground facilities on surrounding areas.

Reliability and Safety

--Assessment of hazards associated with natural gas pipelines.

Cumulative Impact

--Assessment of the combined effect of the proposed project with other

projects, including other natural gas transmission and distribution

lines, which have been or may be proposed in the same region and

similar time frames.

Nonjurisdictional Facilities

--Assessment of the effects of the construction of lateral pipelines

that would be entirely within state jurisdiction.

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 Draft EIS

which will be mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, public

interest groups, affected landowners and other interested individuals,

newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for

this proceeding. A 45-day comment period will be allotted for review of

the Draft EIS. We will consider all comments on the Draft EIS and

revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a Final EIS. The

Final EIS will include our response to each comment received on the

Draft EIS and will be used by the Commission in its decision-making

process to determine whether to 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 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:

Send two copies to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 1A,

Washington, D.C. 20426.

Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the

Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;

Reference Docket Nos. CP98-60-000 and CP98-62-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, D.C. on or before January 20, 1998.

In addition to or in lieu of sending written comments, we invite

you to attend the public scoping meetings the FERC will conduct in the

project area. The locations and times for these meetings are listed

below.

Schedure of Public Scoping Meetings for the Viking Voyageur Pipeline

Project Environmental Impact Statement

Jan. 5, 1998 7:00 pm--Elgin, Illinois, Holiday Inn, 345 West River

Road, 847-695-5000

Jan. 6, 1998 7:00 pm--Nekoosa, Wisconsin, Lake Arrowhead Clubhouse,

1195 Apache Lane, 715-325-2938

Jan. 7, 1998 7:00 pm--Dresser, Wisconsin, Trollhaugen Ski Area,

Convention Center, 2232 100th Avenue, 715-755-2955

Jan. 8, 1998 1:00 pm--Crookston, Minnesota, Northland Inn, Highway 2,

218-281-5210

7:30 pm--Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Holiday Inn, 1155 Highway 10 East,

218-847-2121.

The public meetings are designed to provide you with more detailed

information and another opportunity to offer your comments on the

proposed project. Voyageur representatives will be present at the

scoping meetings to describe their proposal. Interested groups and

individuals are encouraged to attend the meetings and to present

comments on the environmental issues

[[Page 66358]]

they believe should be addressed in the Draft EIS. A transcript of each

meeting will be made so that your comments will be accurately recorded.

On the dates of the meetings, we will also be conducting limited

site visits to the project area. Anyone interested in participating in

the site visit may contact the Commission's Office of External Affairs

identified at the end of this notice for more details and must provide

their own transportation.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EIS 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 been extended to January 4, 1998. After that date,

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 individuals, organizations, and

government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the

proposed project. It is also being sent to all identified potential

right-of-way grantors. As details of the project become established,

representatives of Voyageur may also separately contact landowners,

communities, and public agencies concerning project matters, including

acquisition of permits and rights-of-way.

All commentors will be retained on our mailing list. If you do not

want to send comments at this time but still want to keep informed and

receive copies of the Draft and Final EIS, you must return the

Information Request (appendix 4). If you do not send comments or return

the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.

Additional information about the proposed project is available from

Paul McKee in the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-

1088.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-33039 Filed 12-17-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M