Northwest Pipeline Corporation; Notice of Availability of the Amended Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Everett Delta Lateral Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued an amended environmental assessment (EA) on the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by Northwest Pipeline Corporation (Northwest) in the above-referenced docket on December 23, 2003.

The EA was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the proposed Everett Delta Lateral Project including: 16-inch-diameter Lateral—The Everett Delta Lateral would consist of a 16-inch-diameter pipeline. It would begin at a new meter station (located at MP 1411.32 of Northwest's Ignacio to Sumas mainline) and extend approximately 9 miles to the west to the north end of the City of Everett. The alignment, with the exception of minor deviations, is the same as the alignment certificated by FERC in 2001. The beginning and end of the lateral would be equipped with permanent pig launching and receiving facilities. The maximum allowable operating pressure of the lateral would be 960 psig. The lateral would consist of the following:

• 9.19 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline
• Everett Delta Meter Station
• Pigging facilities at the beginning and end of the lateral
• Block valve at MP 4.44 (Soper Hill)
• Various valves and piping within the meter station site

The purpose of the revised Everett Delta Lateral Project is to install facilities that would deliver natural gas from Northwest's Ignacio to Sumas mainline to PSE's distribution system in the City of Everett, Washington and surrounding communities by the fall of 2004. The facilities would be designed to measure and deliver up to approximately 113 million decatherms per day of natural gas on a firm basis.

The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC. A limited number of copies of the EA are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.

Copies of the EA have been mailed to Federal, State and local agencies, public interest groups, interested individuals, newspapers, and parties to this proceeding.

Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. To ensure consideration prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is important that we receive your comments before the date specified below. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded:

• Send an original and two copies of your comments to: 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 Gas Branch 2, PJ 11.2.
• Reference Docket No. CP01-49-002; and
• Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC, on or before January 23, 2003.

Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or 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 “Sign-up.”

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.

Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.

Additional information about the project is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the FERC Internet Web site ( www.ferc.gov ) using the eLibrary link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on “General Search” and enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY (202) 502-8659. 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 rulemakings.

In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called eSubscription which 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. Go to www.ferc.gov , click on “eSubscription” and then click on “Sign-up.”