Midcoast Interstate Transmission Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Colbert County Loop Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP98-247-000]

Midcoast Interstate Transmission Inc.; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Colbert County

Loop Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

April 7, 1998.

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, about 7.38 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline, proposed

in the Colbert County Loop Project.\1\ This EA 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\ Midcoast Interstate Transmission Inc.'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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If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted

by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an

easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities.

The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable

agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that

approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if

easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline

company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with

state law. A fact sheet addressing a number of typically asked

questions, including the use of eminent domain, is attached to this

notice as 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, 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

Midcoast Interstate Transmission, Inc. (Midcoast) wants to expand

the capacity of its facilities in Colbert County, Alabama to transport

an additional 12,350 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas to seven

local customers and to provide revised transportation service of 6,156

Dth/d to four existing customers. Midcoast seeks authority to construct

and operate 7.38 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline and related

facilities all in Colbert County, Alabama.

The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2. If

you are interested in obtaining procedural information, please write to

the Secretary of the Commission.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 50

acres of land, all of which is currently maintained by Midcoast as

permanent pipeline rights-of-way. Following construction, no new land

would be converted to permanent pipeline rights-of-way. All affected

land would be allowed to revert to its previous 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 make

our recommendations to the Commission.

To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the

instructions in the public participation section below on this page.

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 Midcoast. This preliminary

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

Thirty residences would be located within 50 feet of the

construction work area, with 6 located within 25 feet of the

construction work area.

The crossing of Little Bear Creek.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by providing us with your specific

comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your

concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.

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 carefully follow

these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time

and properly recorded:

Send two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers,

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

N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;

Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the

Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2.

Reference Docket No. CP98-247-000; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before May 8, 1998.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want

to become an official party to the proceeding known as an

``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in

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the process. 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 14 copies of its

filings to the Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its

filings to all other parties on the Commission's service list for this

proceeding. 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). Only

intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's

decision.

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 environmental

comments considered. Additional information about the proposed project

is available from Mr. Paul McKee of the Commission's Office of External

Affairs at (202) 208-1088.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-9602 Filed 4-10-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M