Pipeline Safety: Intent To Approve Project and Environmental Assessment for the Northwest Pipeline Corporation; Pipeline Risk Management Demonstration Project

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As part of its Congressional mandate to conduct a Risk Management Demonstration Program, the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) has been authorized to conduct demonstration projects with pipeline operators to determine how risk management might be used to complement and improve the existing Federal pipeline safety regulatory process. This Notice announces OPS's intent to approve Northwest Pipeline Corporation (a part of Williams Gas Pipeline) as a participant in the Pipeline Risk Management Demonstration Program. This Notice also provides an environmental assessment of Northwest's demonstration project. Based on this environmental assessment, OPS has preliminarily concluded that this proposed project will not have significant environmental impacts. This Notice explains OPS's rationale for approving this project, and summarizes the demonstration project provisions that would go into effect once OPS issues an order approving Northwest as a Demonstration Program participant. OPS seeks public comment on the proposed demonstration project so that it may consider and address these comments before approving the project. The Northwest demonstration project is one of several projects OPS plans