K N. Wattenberg Transmission Limited Liability Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Front Runner Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP98-49-000]

K N. Wattenberg Transmission Limited Liability Company; Notice of

Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Front

Runner Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental

Issues

December 17, 1997.

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 by K N Wattenberg Transmission Limited

Liability Company (KNW) as the Front Runner 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 the project is in the public convenience and necessity.

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\1\ KNW'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

KNW proposes to construct, acquire, and operate new and existing

pipeline facilities to establish a new natural gas transportation

system along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in north central

Colorado. KNW would interconnect three segments (about 75 miles) of new

pipeline with two segments (about 33.5 miles) of existing pipeline,

providing new capacity for transporting gas between the Rockport ``gas

hub'' in northern Weld County and natural gas processors, users, and

transporters in southern Weld and northern Adams County (northern

Denver). The new pipeline would have the capacity to provide users at

the southern end with 250 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas per

day, and gas producers at the southern end with the ability to

transport 80 MMcf per day to new markets accessible via several

existing interstate carriers whose facilities converge at Rockport.\2\

Specifically, KNW seeks authority to construct and operate:

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\2\ Pipeline carriers having facilities at Rockport include K N

Interstate Gas Transmission Company, Colorado Interstate Gas

Company, Trailblazer Pipeline Company, Williams Natural Gas Company,

and Wyoming Interstate Company.

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About 45.2 miles of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline

extending from Rockport (in northern Weld County) south to northern

Johnstown;

[[Page 66861]]

About 10.6 miles of new 16-inch-diameter pipeline

extending from the Pan Energy-Mark Mewbourne Gas Processing Plant

westward towards an area northwest of Platteville; and

About 19.3 miles of new 6- and 12-inch-diameter pipeline

extending eastward from the Erie area in southern Weld County.

To complete the new system, KNW would also acquire existing

gathering and related facilities from its affiliate K N Gas Gathering

Company (KNGG). These facilities, which KNGG no longer needs to meet

its current level of service requirements in Colorado, include:

About 9.5 miles of 16-inch-diameter unprocessed gas

pipeline extending from northern Johnstown to an area northwest of

Platteville; and

About 24 miles of 12-, 10-, and 8-inch-diameter processed

gas pipeline extending south from the Amoco gas processing plant near

Platteville to an area southeast of Brighton in northern Adams County.

(This segment is essentially 21 miles of 12-inch-diameter mainline with

three short, small-diameter laterals extending to nearby customers.)

KNW would need to clean and dry the 9.5-mile-long segment of

unprocessed gas pipeline before converting it to processed gas service.

KNW also plans to construct/install mainline valves, interconnects,

metering and valving at gas delivery/receipt points, and pigging

facilities along the system.

The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\3\

If you are interested in obtaining more detailed maps of a specific

portion of the project, or procedural information, please write to the

Secretary of the Commission.

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\3\ The appendices referred 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 disturb about 698

acres of land overall, based on a typical 75-foot-wide pipeline

construction right-of-way and including extra work spaces needed

temporarily at waterbody, road, and railroad crossings. Following

construction, about 458 acres would be maintained as new permanent

pipeline rights-of-way (typically 50-feet-wide) or aboveground facility

sites. (This figure excludes existing easements associated with the

pipeline segments that KNW would acquire from KNGG.) The remaining 240

acres of land disturbed during construction would be restored and

allowed to revert to its former uses.

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

will be 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;

Land use;

Cultural resources;

Air quality and noise;

Public safety.

We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project

or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen

or avoid impact on the various resource areas.

Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented 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 make

our recommendations to the Commission.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

We have already identified two issues that we think deserve

attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and

the environmental information provided by KNW. This preliminary list

may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.

Eleven federally listed endangered or threatened species

may occur in the proposed project area.

The proposed facilities would require at least three

waterbody crossings which would impact associated wetland and riparian

vegetation which are considered sensitive resources in the project

area.

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/locations), and measures to

avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments,

the more useful they will be. Please carefully follow these

instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time and

properly recorded:

Send two copies of your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE.,

Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;

Label one copy of your comments for the attention of the

Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;

Reference Docket No. CP98-49-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before January 16, 1998.

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.

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You do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-33270 Filed 12-19-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M