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Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.


[Federal Register: January 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 9)]
[Notices]
[Page 2300]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ja08-117]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 6061]

Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project

AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) for the Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Department of State
intends to file a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the
Proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and that the FEIS is now
available to the public for review. The proposed action is the granting
by the Department of State of a Presidential permit to TransCanada
Keystone Pipeline, LLC (``Keystone'') for the construction, operation,
and maintenance of pipeline facilities at the border of the U.S. and
Canada for the transport of crude oil across the U.S.-Canada
international boundary. The pipeline would enter the United States at
the U.S.-Canada border in North Dakota and travel through South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 19, 2006, TransCanada Keystone
Pipeline, LLC (``Keystone'') filed an application for a Presidential
permit for the construction, operation, and maintenance of pipeline
facilities at the border of the U.S. and Canada for the transport of
crude oil across the U.S.-Canada international boundary. Keystone has
requested authorization to construct and operate the border crossing
facilities at the U.S.-Canada border at Cavalier County, North Dakota,
in connection with its proposed international pipeline project (the
``Keystone pipeline project''), which is designed to transport
incremental Canadian crude oil production from the Western Canadian
Sedimentary Basin (``WCSB'') to an existing refinery in Wood River,
Illinois, and existing terminals in Patoka, Illinois, and Cushing,
Oklahoma.
    The Secretary of State is designated and empowered to receive all
applications for Presidential permits, as referred to in Executive
Order 13337, as amended, for the construction, connection, operation,
or maintenance, at the borders of the United States, of facilities for
the exportation or importation of petroleum, petroleum products, coal,
or other fuels to or from a foreign country.
    The FEIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and to evaluate the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed Keystone pipeline project. The
document also evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system
alternatives and pipeline route alternatives. The FEIS contains the
Department's response to timely comments received on the draft EIS that
was made available to the public for review on August 9, 2007 (72 FR
44908). The FEIS also discloses that the proposed action is the
preferred alternative of the Department of State.
    As noted in the October 11, 2006, Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and To Conduct Scoping Meetings for the
TransCanada Keystone Pipeline (71 FR 59849), the Department of State
used the scoping process to help identify consulting parties and
historic preservation issues for consideration under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations (36
CFR part 800).
    The FEIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the United States portion of the Keystone
Pipeline Project. In total, the Keystone Project would consist of the
Mainline Project (approximately 1,078 miles of pipeline in the United
States) and the Cushing Extension (293.5 miles of pipeline in the
United States). Including the Cushing Extension, the total length of
pipeline in the United States would be 1,371.5 miles.
    The FEIS describes and evaluates the U.S. portion of the proposed
Keystone Project, including both the Mainline Project and Cushing
Extension, and the additional facilities required to increase
throughput capacity of the pipeline to 591,000 bpd.
    U.S. States and counties that could possibly be affected by
construction of the proposed pipeline, including the proposed Cushing
extension, are:
    • North Dakota: Pembina, Cavalier, Walsh, Nelson, Steele,
Barnes, Ransom, Dickey, and Sargent;
    • South Dakota: Marshall, Brown, Day, Clark, Beadle,
Kingsbury, Miner, Hanson, McCook, Hutchinson, and Yankton;
    • Nebraska: Cedar, Wayne, Stanton, Platte, Colfax, Butler,
Seward, Saline, Jefferson, and Gage;
    • Kansas: Marshall, Nemaha, Brown, Washington, Clay,
Dickinson, Marion, Butler, Cowley, and Doniphan;
    • Missouri: Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton,
Randolph, Audrain, Montgomery, Lincoln, and St. Charles;
    • Illinois: Madison, Bond, Fayette, Marion, and Clinton; and
    • Oklahoma (under a possible future extension): Kay, Noble, and Payne.
    Copies of the FEIS have been mailed to interested federal, state
and local agencies; public interest groups; individuals and affected
landowners who requested a copy of the FEIS or who provided substantive
comments on the draft EIS; libraries; newspapers; and other
stakeholders.
    The Department intends to issue its Record of Decision (ROD) for
the Keystone Pipeline Project no earlier than 30 days after the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes a Notice of Availability for
the FEIS in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The TransCanada Keystone Pipeline
application for a Presidential Permit, including associated maps and
drawings; the FEIS; a list of libraries where the FEIS may be viewed;
and other project information is available for viewing and download at
the project Web site: http://www.keystonepipeline.state.gov.
    Those wishing to comment on the FEIS, to request a CD-ROM copy of
the final EIS or with additional questions, please contact Elizabeth
Orlando, OES/ENV Room 2657, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC
20520, or by telephone (202) 647-4284, or by fax at (202) 647-5947.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 3, 2008.
Stephen J. Gallogly,
Director, International Energy and Commodity Policy, Department of State.
[FR Doc. E8-434 Filed 1-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-07-P

 
 

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