[Federal Register: February 11, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 28)]
[Notices]
[Page 7288-7290]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11fe05-79]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[USCG-2004-17659]
Compass Port LLC Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License
Application; Draft Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS; and Maritime Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meeting; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration announce
the availability of the draft environmental impact statement for this
license application. The application describes a project that would be
located in the Outer Continental Shelf and Mississippi Sound areas of
the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 11 miles south of Dauphin Island, AL,
in lease block Mobile 910. The draft environmental impact statement is
a Coast Guard document with several agencies, including the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission acting
as cooperating agencies in the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 process, as described by 40 CFR 1501.6. The Coast Guard is the
lead federal agency in the preparation of the draft environmental
impact statement for the liquefied natural gas terminal, construction
of the gravity-based structures, and the associated offshore and
onshore pipelines. The joint document will satisfy the requirements of
the Deepwater Port Act. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will assist in
the preparation of the draft environmental impact statements for
permits pursuant to section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
(33 U.S.C. 403) and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C.
1344). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will assist in the
preparation of the draft environmental impact statement for the onshore
pipeline. Even though an affiliate of Compass Port LLC must separately
apply for and receive an authorization for the onshore pipeline, and
from the Army Corps of Engineers for the appropriate section 10 and 404
permits, this draft environmental impact statement will assess the
environmental impacts of both the onshore and offshore portions of the
project. The lead agencies (Coast Guard and Maritime Administration),
as well as the cooperating agencies (Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), request public comments
on the draft environmental impact statement.
DATES: Public meetings and informational open houses will be held. The
informational open houses are on the following dates in the following
cities:
February 28, 2005, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Portland, TX.
March 1, 2005, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Cambodian language
interpreter available), Bayou La Batre, AL.
March 1, 2005, 6:30 to 8 p.m. (Laotian language
interpreter available), Bayou La Batre, AL.
March 2, 2005, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Vietnamese language
interpreter available), Bayou La Batre, AL.
March 3, 2005: 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Dauphin Island, AL.
March 4, 2005: 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m, Pascagoula, MS.
The public meetings will be held on the following dates in the
following cities:
February 28, 2005, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Portland, TX.
March 2, 2005, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Vietnamese,
Laotian, and Cambodian language interpreters available), Bayou La
Batre, AL.
March 3, 2005, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Dauphin Island, AL.
March 4, 2005, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Pascagoula, MS.
The public meetings may end later than the stated time, depending
on the number of persons wishing to speak. Material submitted in
response to the request for comments must reach the Department of
Transportation's Docket Management Facility on or before March 27,
2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard
docket number USCG-2004-17659 to the Docket Management Facility at the
U.S. Department of Transportation:
(1) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
(2) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG-2004-17659),
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
(4) By delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
The DOT Docket Management Facility accepts hand-delivered
submissions, and makes docket contents available for public inspection
and copying, at this address, in room PL-401, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Facility's
telephone is 202-366-9329, its fax is 202-493-2251, and its web site
for electronic submissions or for electronic access to docket contents
is http://dms.dot.gov.
Meetings: The public meeting and informational open house in
Portland, TX, will be held at: Portland Community Center, 2000 Billy G.
Webb Dr., Portland, TX 78374, phone: 361-777-3301.
The public meetings and informational open houses in Bayou La
Batre, AL, will be held at: Bayou La Batre Community Center, 12745
Padgett Switch Rd., Bayou La Batre, AL 36509, phone: 251-824-7918.
The public meeting and informational open house in Dauphin Island,
AL, will be held at: Dauphin Island Chamber of Commerce, 402 La Vente
St., Dauphin Island, AL 36528, phone: 251-861-5524.
The public meeting and informational open house in Pascagoula, MS,
will be held at: Jackson County Fairgrounds Fair Hall, 2902 Shortcut
Rd., Pascagoula, MS 39567, phone: 228-762-6043.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on the project,
contact Kenneth Smith, U.S. Coast Guard, telephone: 202-267-0578,
email: KNSmith@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have questions on the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 process, contact Joan Lang, U.S. Coast
Guard, telephone: 202-267-2498, e-mail: Jlang@comdt.uscg.mil. If you
have questions on viewing the docket, call Andrea M. Jenkins, Program
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone: 202-366-0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments
We request public comments or other relevant information on the
draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The public meeting is not
the only opportunity you have to comment on
[[Page 7289]]
the DEIS. In addition to or in place of attending the meetings, you can
submit material to the DOT Docket Management Facility during the public
comment period (see DATES). All comments received will be posted,
without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal
information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department
of Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please
see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your
name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-
2004-17659), indicate the specific section of this document to which
each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may
submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or
delivery to the DOT Docket Management Facility at the address under
ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one
means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, 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 the Facility, please enclose a stamped,
self-addressed postcard or envelope. The Coast Guard will consider all
comments submitted during the public comment period, and then will
prepare the final environmental impact statement (EIS). We will
announce the availability of the final EIS and once again give you an
opportunity for review and comment. If you would like to be notified
when the final EIS is available, please contact either Coast Guard
representative identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket,
go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using
the docket number. You may also visit the DOT Docket Management
Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the
Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit
http://dms.dot.gov.
Public Meeting and Open House
We invite you to learn about the proposed deepwater port at the
informational open house, and to comment at the public meeting on the
proposed action and the evaluation contained in the DEIS.
In order to allow everyone a chance to speak, we may limit speaker
time, or extend the meeting hours, or both. You must identify yourself,
and any organization you represent, by name. Your remarks will be
recorded or transcribed for inclusion in the public docket.
You may submit written material at the public meeting, either in
place of or in addition to speaking. Written material must include your
name and address, and will be included in the public docket.
Because of significant numbers of persons speaking Vietnamese,
Laotian, and Cambodian languages in the area around Bayou La Batre, AL,
we are providing interpreters as noted in the DATES section.
Interpreters at the public meeting in Bayou La Batre, AL, will
translate public statements made in those languages for entry in the
public docket in English. If you plan to attend either an open house or
a public meeting, and need other special assistance such as sign
language interpretation or other reasonable accommodation, please
notify the Coast Guard (see FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least three
business days prior to the date of the meeting. Include your contact
information as well as information about your specific needs.
To submit comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) docket (CP04-114-000 and CP04-115-000), 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 Gas
Branch 2, PJ11.2
Reference Docket No. CP04-114-000; and
Mail your comments to FERC so that they will be received
in Washington, DC on or before March 27.
The FERC 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 FERC'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 online.
Comments will be considered by the FERC, 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 FERC's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR
385.214).
Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this DEIS. You
must file your request to intervene as specified above. You do not need
intervenor status to have your comments considered.
The DEIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is
available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE.,
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426; phone: 202-502-8371. A limited number of
copies are available from the Public Reference Room identified above.
In addition, copies of the DEIS have been mailed to federal, state and
local agencies, public interest groups, individuals who have requested
the DEIS, newspapers, and parties to this proceeding.
Additional information about the project is available from the
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, 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, contact 202-502-8659. The
eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of formal documents
issued by the FERC, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
In addition, the FERC 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 http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is issuing a
public notice announcing the NOA and DEIS. Comments on this DEIS
relating to matters within Corps jurisdiction should be submitted to
the Coast Guard through the docket management system described in this
notice with a copy furnished to the Corps at U.S. Army
[[Page 7290]]
Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Attn: Regulatory Branch, P.O. Box
2288, Mobile, AL 36628.
Proposed Action
On June 25, 2004, the Coast Guard and MARAD published a notice of
intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the
proposed Compass Port deepwater port in the Federal Register (69 FR
35657). The proposed action requiring environmental review is the
Federal licensing of the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary
of the Application'' below, which is reprinted from previous Federal
Register notices in this docket.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
The alternatives to licensing are: (1) Licensing with conditions
(including conditions designed to mitigate environmental impact), and
(2) denying the application, which for purposes of environmental review
is the ``no-action'' alternative. These alternatives are more fully
discussed in the DEIS.
Summary of the Application
The application plan calls for the proposed deepwater port to be
located in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and Mississippi Sound
areas of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 11 miles off Dauphin Island,
AL, in lease block Mobile 910. Compass Port would serve as a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) receiving, storage, and regasification facility,
located in approximately 70 feet of water depth. It will incorporate
docking facilities, unloading facilities, two LNG storage tanks,
regasification facilities, an offshore pipeline, and support
facilities.
Compass Port proposes the installation of approximately 26.8 miles
of 36-inch diameter natural gas transmission pipeline on the OCS. In
addition, approximately 4.9 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline would be
installed onshore to connect the proposed deepwater port and offshore
pipeline with existing gas distribution pipelines near Coden, AL.
The deepwater port facility would consist of two concrete gravity-
based structures (GBS) that would contain the LNG storage tanks, LNG
carrier berthing provisions, LNG unloading arms, low and high pressure
pumps, vaporizers, metering, utility systems, general facilities and
accommodations. The terminal would be able to receive LNG carriers up
to 255,000 cubic meters cargo capacity. Liquefied natural gas carrier
arrival frequency would be planned to match specified terminal gas
delivery rates. Liquefied natural gas would be stored in two integral
full-containment tanks, each with a capacity of 150,000 cubic meters,
and a combined capacity of 300,000 cubic meters of LNG.
The regasification process would consist of lifting the LNG from
the storage tanks, pumping the LNG to pipeline pressure, vaporizing
across heat exchanging equipment, and sending out through the pipeline
to custody transfer metering for ultimate delivery to downstream
interstate pipeline capacity. No gas conditioning is required since the
incoming LNG will meet the gas quality specifications of the downstream
pipelines.
The deepwater port would be designed to handle a nominal capacity
of 7.5 million metric tons per annum of LNG. This is equivalent to an
average delivery of approximately 1.02 billion cubic feet per day
(bcfd) of pipeline quality gas.
In the Notice of Application, the applicant had identified five
locations as possible fabrication sites for the concrete gravity-based
structures which would be used to contain the LNG storage tanks.
As a result of additional information during the development of
this DEIS, three locations have been eliminated from further study. The
two proposed locations for the fabrication sites are:
Big Bend Site, Freeport, TX; and
Kiewit Construction Site, Ingleside, TX.
Dated: February 8, 2005.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security, and
Environmental Protection, U.S. Coast Guard.
H. Keith Lesnick,
Senior Transportation Specialist, Deepwater Ports Program Manager, U.S.
Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-2804 Filed 2-9-05; 1:55 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P