[Federal Register: September 1, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 169)]
[Notices]
[Page 53454-53455]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01se04-93]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[CGD01-04-115]
Notice, Request for Comments; Letter of Recommendation, Keyspan
LNG Facility Providence, RI
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements in 33 CFR 127.009, the
U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) Providence is preparing a
letter of recommendation as to the suitability of the Narragansett Bay
waterways for liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine traffic. The letter of
recommendation is in response to a Letter of Intent to modify the
Keyspan LNG facility Providence, Rhode Island, to accept shipments of
LNG by water. The COTP Providence is seeking comments and related
material pertaining specifically to the maritime operation and
waterways management aspects of the proposed LNG facility
modifications. In preparation for issuance of the letter of
recommendation, the COTP Providence will consider comments received
from the public, as well as information submitted by the owner or
operator under the requirements of 33 CFR 127.007. Specific items
suitable for comment are listed later in this notice under Background
and Purpose.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or
before November 1, 2004.
ADDRESSES: The Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety
Office Providence maintains the public docket for this notice. Comments
and documents will become part of this docket and will be available for
inspection and copying at the same address between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may submit comments
and related material by:
1. Mail or delivery to Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Marine
Safety Office, 20 Risho Avenue, East Providence, RI 02914-1208.
2. Fax to (401) 435-2399.
3. Electronically via e-mail at Elambie@msoprov.uscg.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
call Ms. Erin G. Lambie at Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Providence,
RI, 401-435-2355. For assistance using the FERC internet Web site we
reference, please contact FERC online support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY
contact 1-202-502-8659.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments and related material pertaining
specifically to the maritime operation and waterways management aspects
of the proposed modification to the existing LNG facility. If you do
so, please include your name and address, identify the docket number
for this notice (CGD01-04-115), and give the reason for each comment.
You may submit your comments and material by mail, hand delivery, fax,
or electronic means, as described in ADDRESSES, but please submit your
comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or
hand delivery, please submit them in an unbound format, no larger than
8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you
submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached
[[Page 53455]]
U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Providence, please enclose a
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all
comments and material received during the comment period. The
recommendation made by this office may be affected by comments
received.
Public Meeting
We do not now plan to hold a public meeting solely for the
preparation of a Letter of Recommendation, but you may submit a request
for one to U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Providence at the
address under ADDRESSES explaining why one would be beneficial. If we
determine that a public meeting would aid the recommendation process,
we will hold one or more at a time and place announced by a later
notice in the Federal Register. We will be participating as a
cooperating agency in public meetings sponsored by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC), as outlined in the next paragraph.
The FERC is the lead Federal agency responsible for authorizing the
siting and construction of onshore LNG facilities under section 3 of
the Natural Gas Act (NGA) (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq). FERC also authorizes
the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines that
may be associated with LNG facilities under section 7 of the NGA. The
FERC conducts environmental, safety, and security reviews of LNG plants
and related pipeline facilities, and as the lead Federal agency
prepared the overall National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
documentation (18 CFR part 380). As required by NEPA, FERC is
developing a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Publication of
the Keyspan LNG EIS will be announced in the Federal Register. The FERC
intends to hold two public meetings the details of which will also be
published in the Federal Register. In addition to comments received on
the draft EIS, comments received at these public meetings, which are
related specifically to maritime operation and waterways management
issues surrounding the proposed modifications to the existing LNG
facility, will be considered by the Coast Guard in the Letter of
Recommendation process.
Background and Purpose
Although FERC is the lead Federal agency for authorizing the siting
and construction of onshore LNG facilities, the Coast Guard is
responsible for navigation safety issues related to LNG ship
deliveries. The FERC authorization process and the Coast Guard Letter
of Recommendation process are two separate and distinct processes,
although related in that they both pertain to the Keyspan LNG proposal.
In accordance with the requirements of 33 CFR 127.009, the U.S. Coast
Guard COTP Providence is preparing a Letter of Recommendation as to the
suitability of Narragansett Bay and the Providence River to accommodate
LNG marine traffic. The Letter of Recommendation is in response to a
Letter of Intent submitted on August 20, 2004, by Keyspan LNG, L.P.
(Keyspan LNG), in accordance with 33 CFR 127.007 to modify the
operation of the Keyspan LNG facility in Providence, RI to receive
shipments of liquefied natural gas via the water.
The modifications to the Keyspan LNG facility would allow for the
transportation of up to 800 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of
imported natural gas to the U.S. market. The proposed LNG terminal
would include the construction of a ship unloading facility with a
single berth capable of receiving LNG ships with cargo capacities of up
to 145,000 cubic meters (m\3\) of liquefied natural gas. The Coast
Guard COTP Providence's Letter of Recommendation will address the
suitability of Narragansett Bay and the Providence River to accommodate
LNG vessels with a capacity of up to 145,000 cubic meters.
Specifically, the Letter of Recommendation will address the suitability
of the waterway for LNG marine traffic based on:
The physical location of the facility.
A description of the facility.
The LNG vessels' characteristics and the frequency of LNG
shipments to or from the facility.
Charts showing waterway channels and identifying
commercial, industrial, environmentally sensitive, and residential
areas in and adjacent to the waterway used by the LNG vessels en route
to the facility, within 25 kilometers of the facility.
Density and character of marine traffic in the waterway.
Locks, bridges, or other manmade obstructions in the
waterway.
Depth of water.
Tidal range.
Protection from the high seas.
Natural hazards, including reefs, rocks, and sandbars.
Underwater pipelines and cables.
Distance of berthed vessel from the channel, and the width
of the channel.
As stated above, the Letter of Recommendation process is
independent of and separate from, although related to, the Federal
permitting process for which FERC is the lead agency. Any permit that
may be issued by FERC will require, as a condition of final approval,
that the Keyspan facility obtain a Letter of Recommendation from the
U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Providence.
Additional Information
Additional information about the Keyspan LNG project is available
from FERC's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC or on the FERC
internet web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click
on the eLibrary link, then click on ``General Search'' and enter FERC's
docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number
field (i.e., CP04-223). For assistance, please contact FERC online
support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676,
or for TTY contact 1-202-502-8659.
Dated: August 25, 2004.
M.E. Landry,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port, Providence.
[FR Doc. 04-19961 Filed 8-31-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P