Subject: Kern River Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent
[Federal Register: August 3, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 150)]
[Notices]
[Page 40684-40686]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au01-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP01-405-000]
Kern River Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed High Desert Lateral
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
July 31, 2001.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the potential environmental
[[Page 40685]]
impacts of the High Desert Lateral Project. This project would
involving construction and operation of facilities by Kern River Gas
Transmission Company (Kern River) in San Bernardino County,
California.\1\ Kern River would construct about 31.6 miles of 24-inch-
diameter lateral pipeline, as well as an associated tap and three meter
stations. 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\ Kern River's application was filed with the Commission under
Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and Subpart A of 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 prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need to Know?'' was attached to the
project notice Kern River provided to landowners. This fact sheet
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.
It is also available for viewing on the FERC Internet website
(www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Kern River wants to construct facilities that would enable it to
deliver an initial 141,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of firm capacity
service (with a total capacity for 282,000 dth/day) to a gas-fired
electricity generating plant currently under construction in
Victorville, California. The High Desert Power Project (HDPP), a
combined-cycle facility, would provide 720 megawatts of new electric
power in Southern California. Kern River seeks authority to construct
and operate:
About 31.6 miles of 24-inch-diameter lateral pipeline (the
``High Desert Lateral'') extending from interconnections with the
existing Kern River/Mojave Pipeline Common Facilities and the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) systems near Kramer Junction to the new
HDPP;
A 20-inch-diameter mainline tap and receipt meter station
(``Kern/Mojave Interconnect''), and a meter station and associated
piping and valves (``PG&E Interconnect'') at the northern end of the
proposed High Desert Lateral; and
A delivery meter station where the High Desert Lateral
would terminate at the HDPP.
The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent
to all those receiving this notice in the mail. This filing may also
be viewed on the web at www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link. For
instructions on connecting to RIMS refer to the last page of this
notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would affect about 394
acres of land. About 192 acres of permanent easement and 181 acres of
temporary construction right-of-way (ROW) would be necessary for
pipeline construction. Construction of aboveground facilities would
require an additional 1.2 acres (1.0 acres would be permanent ROW).
Temporary extra work areas would affect almost 20 acres and would not
create any new permanent ROW. About 89 percent of the total lateral
length would be contiguous with existing utility and transportation
ROWs.
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
\3\ 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 (NOI), the Commission
requests public comments on the scope of the issues we 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 proposal and encourage them to submit
comments on their areas of concern.
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\1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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We note that Kern River's proposed project has already undergone
extensive regulatory review, including the issuance of a Biological
Opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); an Incidental
Take Permit from the California Department of Fish and Game; a Record
of Decision and ROW Grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM); and a Final Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the FWS,
BLM, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Kern River has identified three
minor route deviations (totaling about 1.1 miles) and a pipe storage
yard that were outside of the previously surveyed corridor. Our 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
Vegetation and wildlife
Cultural resources
Public safety
Land use
Endangered and threatened species
Our EA will include consideration of the No-Action Alternative and
possible alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the
project, where resource conflicts warrant such analysis. To the extent
appropriate, our EA will also contain recommendations on how to lessen
or avoid impact on the various resource areas. However, we expect to
rely heavily on the existing analyses referenced above. As such, issues
and alternatives evaluated previously will not be revisited.
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.
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
locations/routes) and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact.
The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please
follow these instructions carefully to ensure that your comments are
received in time and properly recorded:
[[Page 40686]]
Send an original and 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 Gas
Group 1.
Reference Docket No. CP01-405-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before September 7, 2001.
Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically
via the Internet in lieu of paper. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and
the instructions on the Commission's web site under the ``e-Filing''
link.
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.
You do not need intervenor status to have your environmental
comments considered. Additional information about the proposed project
is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202)
208-1088 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) 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. 01-19531 Filed 8-2-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P