K N Interstate Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pony Express Pipeline Project

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP96-477-000]

K N Interstate Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Availability

of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pony Express Pipeline

Project

April 4, 1997.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) has prepared this environmental assessment (EA) on the

natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by K N Interstate Gas

Transmission Company (KNI) in the above-referenced docket.

The EA was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that approval of the

proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not

constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality

of the human environment.

The primary components of the project include:

Conversion of approximately 804 miles of existing crude

oil pipeline from the Lost Cabin, Wyoming area east to Freeman,

Missouri (the Pony Express Mainline), including removal and/or

replacement of oil pipeline valves, pig launcher/receiver sets, and

interconnections along the length of the pipeline;

Construction of four short segments of new pipeline

(totaling 10.2 miles) to connect existing KNI facilities to the Pony

Express Mainline and to route the mainline around the Casper, Wyoming

area;

Installation of additional and new compression facilities

totaling 50,500 horsepower at five locations along the Pony Express

Mainline in Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas;

Construction of a new 62.6-mile-long lateral extending

between the Pony Express Mainline in southwest Nebraska and northern

Colorado; and

Upgrading 26 segments of an existing KNI pipeline at road

crossings in southwest Nebraska to allow the pipeline to operate at a

higher pressure.

The existing pipeline, which extends 914 miles between Riverton,

Wyoming and Freeman, Missouri, was previously owned and operated by

Amoco Pipeline Company (Amoco) and used to transport crude oil. K N

Energy Incorporated (KNI's parent company) is acquiring the existing

Amoco pipeline, and is presently displacing the oil, cleaning the

pipeline's interior, and hydrostatically testing the pipeline by

segments. Following FERC certification, approximately 804 miles of the

Amoco pipeline would be transferred to KNI. Activities to convert the

pipeline to natural gas service would begin following receipt of the

necessary authorizations from the various Federal, state, and local

authorities.

Also included in this EA is a review of facilities which KNI plans

to construct in the Kansas City area under section 311 of the Natural

Gas Policy Act. These facilities include about 36.4 miles of 12-, 16-,

and 20-inch-diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities in Miami and

Johnson Counties, Kansas, and Cass and Jackson Counties, Missouri. The

project is designed to deliver up to 230,700 MMBtu of natural gas per

day to Missouri Gas Energy and Western Resources Inc., two local

distribution companies which serve Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas

City, Kansas, respectively.

The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC. A limited

number of copies of the EA are available for distribution and public

inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference

and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426, (202) 208-1371.

Copies of the EA have been mailed to Federal, state, and local

agencies; public interest groups; interested individuals; local

libraries and newspapers; and parties to this proceeding.

Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. To ensure

consideration prior to a Commission decision on this proposal, it is

important that we receive your comments before the date listed below.

Please carefully follow the instructions below to ensure that your

comments are received in time and properly recorded:

Reference Docket No. CP96-477-000.

Send two copies of your comments to: Lois Cashell,

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

Washington, DC 20426.

Please mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before May 5, 1997.

Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to

make the commentor a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to

become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene

pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and

Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).

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 comments considered.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-9264 Filed 4-9-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M