Alliance Pipeline L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Albert Lea Compressor Station Relocation Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP97-168-003]

Alliance Pipeline L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Albert Lea Compressor Station

Relocation Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 28, 1999.

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts involved with Alliance Pipeline

L.P.'s (Alliance) construction and operation of the Albert Lea

Compressor Station at its new location in Freeborn Country,

Minnesota.\1\ This facility would consist of 31,200 horsepower (hp) of

compression and other appurtenant facilities.

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\1\ Alliance's amended application was filed with the Commission

under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the

Commission's regulations. The original application in Docket No.

CP97-168-000 was filed by Alliance on December 24, 1996.

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Summary of the Proposed Project

The Albert Lea Compressor Station was originally proposed by

Alliance as part of the 874-mile-long Alliance Pipeline Project

extending between Sherwood, North Dakota at the Canadian border, to the

Chicago, Illinois area. The staff of the Commission prepared and issued

the Alliance Pipeline Project Final Environmental Impact Statement in

August 1998. The Commission issued a Certificate of Public Convenience

and Necessity to Alliance by an Order issued on September 17, 1999.

Included in the Order was the approval of the construction and

operation of the Albert Lea Compressor Station at pipeline milepost

558.6 in Freeborn County, Minnesota. However, Alliance was unable to

reach an agreement with the landowner to purchase the property at the

compressor station's original location. Therefore, Alliance decided to

relocate the station, rather than use the right of eminent domain

granted by the Commission's certificate. The currently proposed

location is at pipeline milepost 560.0, approximately 1.4 miles

southeast of its original location (see appendix 1).\2\

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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being

printing 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

Alliance has purchased a 17.2-acre parcel of land for the

Construction of the proposed compressor station. Following

construction, the fenced compressor station, site landscaping, and

access road would occupy 10.8 acres. The remainder of the property

would be leased for agricultural use in 2001.

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.

Cultural resources.

Erosion control and revegetation.

Public safety.

Air quality and noise.

Land use and visual impacts.

Alternative site locations.

Endangered and threatened species.

We will also make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts

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.

To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the

instructions in the public participation section below.

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 your comments on the potential environmental effects

of the proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative

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: David P. Boergers,

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

Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;

Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the

Environmental

[[Page 35998]]

Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;

Reference Docket No. CP97-168-003; and

Mail your comments so that they will be received in

Washington, DC on or before July 26, 1999.

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 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 2). 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 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) using the ``RIMS''

link to information in this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link,

select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions.

For assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at

(202) 208-2222.

Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides

access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such

as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website,

click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and

follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS

helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-16900 Filed 7-1-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M