[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77583-77584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31964]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 7728]
Vantage Pipeline US LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment and Request for Comments on Environmental
Issues, and To Initiate Consultation Under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act for the Proposed Vantage Pipeline Project
December 9, 2011.
The staff of the United States Department of State (DOS) will
prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will discuss the
environmental impacts of the Vantage Pipeline Project involving
construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities at the U.S.-
Canada border by Vantage Pipeline US LP (Vantage) in Williams and
Divide Counties, North Dakota. This EA will be used by the DOS in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project would serve
the national interest and be issued a Presidential Permit.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the DOS
will use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the
project. Your input will help the DOS staff determine what issues need
to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping period will
close on January 17, 2011.
This notice is being sent to the DOS' current environmental mailing
list for this project. State and local government representatives are
asked to notify their constituents of this planned project and
encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may have already
been or may be contacted by a pipeline company representative about the
acquisition of an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the
proposed facilities. The company would seek to negotiate a mutually
acceptable agreement. However, if the project is approved by the DOS,
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 where compensation
would be determined in accordance with state law.
Additionally, the DOS has determined that issuance of a
Presidential Permit for the Vantage Pipeline Project triggers review
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and is
consequently initiating the required consultation under that statute.
Consultation will be conducted with State Historic Preservation
Officers, Indian tribes, and the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, and other consulting parties, as appropriate, to
determine the locations (if any) of potential sites for inclusion on
the National Register of Historic Places as well as the potential
eligibility and findings of effect for cultural resources identified
within the Vantage Pipeline Project Area of Potential Effect.
A fact sheet prepared by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What
Do I Need To Know?'' is available for your review on the DOS' Web site
for the project (see the Additional Information section, below).
Although the proposed Vantage project involves an ethane pipeline, many
of the typically asked questions addressed in the fact sheet also apply
to this project. It is also available for viewing on the FERC Web site
(http://www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Vantage proposes to construct and operate 77.4 miles of 10-inch-
diameter ethane \1\ pipeline in Williams and Divide Counties, North
Dakota. The project would also include the installation of mainline
valves at seven locations along the pipeline and the use of various
ancillary facilities (e.g., access roads, yards). According to
Applicant, the Vantage Pipeline Project would serve the national
interest by providing the natural gas, oil, and ethane-producing Bakken
Formation region of North Dakota with access to the existing ethane
infrastructure and market associated with the Alberta Ethane Gathering
System in Alberta. Currently no market exists for petrochemical grade
(also known as ``specification'' or ``pure grade'') ethane in North
Dakota; however, the construction of the Vantage Pipeline will make it
feasible to extract the ethane byproduct from North Dakota-produced
natural gas and export it for use in the Canadian petrochemical
industry. The Applicant contends that the pipeline will therefore
enhance exports from the United States, allow U.S. natural gas
producers to recognize benefits from an existing resource from which
they are not presently recognizing any financial benefit, and will
contribute to the national economy in terms of job creation and tax
payments.
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\1\ According to the application, the ethane transported in the
Vantage Pipeline is a flammable liquid that is non-corrosive,
odorless, and colorless. It has similar characteristics to natural
gas, the fuel that is used in furnaces to heat homes. Ethane is
currently used as a feedstock by the Alberta petrochemical industry
and is ultimately converted to plastics, anti-freeze, rubber,
detergents, solvents, and like products.
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The general location of the project facilities is at http://www.vantagepipeline.state.gov.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 700
acres of land for the aboveground facilities and the pipeline.
Following construction, about 280 acres would be maintained for
permanent operation of the project's facilities; the remaining acreage
would be restored and allowed to revert to former uses.
The EA Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the DOS take
into account the environmental impacts that could result from the
approval of a Presidential Permit authorizing construction, operation,
and maintenance of pipeline facilities of natural gas liquids to be
located at the international border of the United States and Canada.
NEPA also requires the DOS to discover and address concerns the public
may have about proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping.''
The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA
on the important environmental issues. By this notice, the DOS requests
public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All
comments received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
In the EA, the DOS 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 and wetlands;
Vegetation and wildlife (including endangered and
threatened species);
Land use, recreation, and visual resources;
Socioeconomics;
Cultural resources;
Air quality and noise;
Public safety; and
Cumulative impacts.
The DOS will also evaluate reasonable 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.
[[Page 77584]]
The DOS' independent analysis of the issues will be presented in
the EA. The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on
the comments received during the scoping process, may be published and
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA
is published for review. The DOS will consider all comments on the EA
before it issues a Presidential Permit. To ensure your comments are
considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public
Participation section.
With this notice, the DOS is asking agencies with jurisdiction and/
or special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally
cooperate with DOS in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.
During this scoping period, the DOS also plans to use the scoping
process to help identify historic preservation issues for consideration
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its
implementing regulations (Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part
800).
Public Participation
You are encouraged to become involved in this process and provide
your specific comments or concerns about the proposed project. By
becoming a commenter, your concerns will be considered by the DOS and
addressed appropriately in the EA. Your comments should focus on the
potential environmental impacts, reasonable alternatives (including
alternative facility sites and alternative pipeline routes), and
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. Parties interested
in being involved in Section 106 consultation should also contact the
DOS. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. To
ensure that your comments are timely and properly recorded, please send
your comments so they will be received on or before January 17, 2011.
For your convenience, there are two methods that you can use to
submit your comments to the DOS. In all instances please reference the
project (i.e., Vantage) with your submission. The DOS encourages
electronic filing of comments.
(1) You may file a paper copy of your comments at the following
address: Alexander Yuan, OES/ENV, NEPA Compliance Officer, P.O. Box
18500, Minneapolis, MN 55418, REFERENCE: VANTAGE; or
(2) You may email comments to [email protected].
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list includes Federal, state, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also
includes all affected landowners who are potential right-of-way
grantors, whose property may be used temporarily for project purposes,
and anyone who submits comments on the project. The DOS will update the
environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that it
sends the information related to this environmental review to all
individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/
or potentially affected by the proposed project.
Additional Information
The application and related documents that are part of the record
to be considered by the DOS in connection with this application,
including environmental information and associated maps, are
downloadable from a Web site that is being established for this
purpose: http://www.vantagepipeline.state.gov.
A Vantage hosted project Web site is also available at http://www.vantagepipeline.com. The Vantage Pipeline Project toll free number
is 1-(877) 918-6818 (United States).
Dated: December 7, 2011.
George N. Sibley,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy, Bureau of Oceans and
International, Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of
State.
[FR Doc. 2011-31964 Filed 12-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P