[Federal Register: February 19, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 33)]
[Notices]
[Page 9110-9112]
[DOCID:fr19fe08-40]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP08-6-000]

Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Llc; Notice of Availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Midcontinent Express
Pipeline Project

February 8, 2008.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared this Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by Midcontinent
Express Pipeline Company, LLC (MEP) under the above-referenced docket.
MEP's Midcontinent Express Pipeline Project (Project) would be located
in various counties and parishes in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Alabama.
    The Draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act. The FERC staff concludes that the
proposed Project, with the appropriate mitigation measures as
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), and Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) are cooperating agencies for
the development of this EIS. A cooperating agency has jurisdiction by
law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact
involved with the proposal and is involved in the NEPA analysis.
    The general purpose of the proposed Project is to transport up to
1,500,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas from production fields in
Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to markets in the eastern region of the
United States.
    The Draft EIS addresses the potential environmental impacts
resulting from the construction and operation of the following
facilities:

     Approximately 504.3 miles of new 30-, 36-, and 42-inch-
diameter interstate natural gas pipeline extending from Bryan County,
Oklahoma, to a terminus in Choctaw County, Alabama;
     An approximately 4.1-mile-long, 16-inch-diameter lateral
pipeline in Richland and Madison Parishes, Louisiana;
     A total of approximately 111,720 horsepower (hp) of
compression at one booster and four new mainline compressor stations;
     13 new metering and regulating (M/R) stations; and
     Other appurtenant ancillary facilities including, mainline
valves (MLV), pig \1\ launcher and receiver facilities.
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    \1\ A ``pig'' is a mechanical device used to clean or inspect
the pipeline.
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    Dependent upon Commission approval, MEP proposes to complete
construction and begin operating the proposed Project in February 2009.
    The Draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and
is available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A,
Washington, DC 20426,<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    A limited number of copies of the Draft EIS are available from the
Public Reference Room identified above. In addition, CD-ROM copies of
the Draft EIS have been mailed to affected landowners; various federal,
state, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental
and public interest groups; Native American tribes; local libraries and
newspapers; intervenors; and other individuals that expressed an
interest in the proposed Project. Hard-copies of the Draft EIS have
also been mailed to those who requested that format during the scoping
and comment periods for the proposed Project.

Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the Draft EIS may do so. To ensure
consideration prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is
important that the Commission receives your comments before the date
specified below. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure
that your comments are received and properly recorded.
     Send an Original and two copies of your comments to:
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20002.
     Reference Docket No. CP08-6-000.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas
Branch 3.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before March 31, 2008
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any
comments, interventions or protests to this proceeding. See 18 CFR
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site
at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to the

User's guide. Before you can file comments you will need to create a
free account, which can be created by clicking on ``Login to File'' and
then ``New User Account.'' You will be asked to select the type of
filing you are making. This filing is considered a ``Comment on
Filing.''
    In lieu of or in addition to sending written comments, you are
invited to attend public comment meetings the FERC will conduct in the
project area to receive comments on the Draft EIS. All meetings will
begin at 7 p.m. (CDT), and are scheduled as follows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Date                               Location
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008......  Quitman Depot, Main Street and Railroad
                                Avenue, Quitman, MS 39355, (601) 776-
                                3728.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008......  Minden Civic Center, 520 Broadway Street,
                                Minden, LA 71055,<PHONE_NUMBER>.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008....  Eudora Welty Library, 300 North State
                                Street, Jackson, MS 39201, (601) 968-
                                5811.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008....  Northeast Texas Community College, 1735
                                Chapel Hill Road, Mt. Pleasant, TX
                                75455,<PHONE_NUMBER>.
Thursday, March 27, 2008.....  Delhi Civic Center, 232 Denver Street,
                                Delhi, LA 71232,<PHONE_NUMBER>.
Thursday, March 27, 2008.....  Love Civic Center (North Hall), 2025
                                South Collegiate Drive, Paris, TX 75460,
<PHONE_NUMBER>.
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    Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and
present oral comments on the Draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings
will be prepared and placed in the public file.
    After the comments are reviewed, and significant new issues are
investigated, and modifications are made to the Draft EIS, a Final EIS
will be published and distributed by the FERC staff. The Final EIS will
contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on the Draft
EIS.
    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). Only intervenors have the right to seek
rehearing of the Commission's decision. Anyone may intervene in this
proceeding based on this Draft EIS. You must file your request to
intervene as specified above.\2\ You do not need intervenor status to
have your comments considered.
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    \2\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing
comments electronically.
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    The Draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and
is available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE.,
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426,<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    CD-ROM copies of the EIS have been mailed to Federal, state and
local agencies; public interest groups; individuals and affected
landowners who requested a copy of the Draft EIS or provided comments
during scoping; libraries and newspapers in the Project area; and
parties to this proceeding. Hard copy versions of the Draft EIS were
mailed to those specifically requesting them. A limited number of hard
copies and CD-ROMs are available from the Public Reference Room
identified above.
    Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC (3372) or on
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the ``eLibrary

link,'' select ``General Search'' and enter the project docket number
excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP08-6) in the ``Docket Number''
field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>or toll

free at 1-866-208-3676, or TTY<PHONE_NUMBER>. The eLibrary link on the
FERC Internet Web site also provides access to the texts of formal
documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rule
makings.
    In addition, the FERC now offers a free service called
eSubscription that allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and
submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you
spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to
the documents. To register for this service, go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm
.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-2969 Filed 2-15-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P