[Federal Register: March 13, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 50)]
[Notices]
[Page 13551-13552]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr08-69]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2008-0035]
Proposed Expansion of the Cove Point Facility, Cove Point, MD:
Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of a draft
supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed issuance of
a Letter of Recommendation (LOR) on the suitability of the waterway for
the expansion of the Cove Point LNG facility for Dominion Cove Point
LNG, LP, in Cove Point, MD. The Coast Guard requests public comments on
the draft supplemental EA.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before April 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket
number USCG-2008-0035 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one
of the following methods:
(1) Online: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Hand delivery: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S.
Department of Transportation, Room W12-140 on the Ground Floor of the
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
(4) Fax: 202-493-2251.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice
or the supplemental Environmental Assessment, call Lieutenant Commander
Rogers Henderson, Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1411 or Mr. Ken Smith,
Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1413. If you have questions on viewing
or submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments or other related material on
the draft supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA). All comments
received will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov
and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an
agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use their
Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph
below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the
docket number for this notice (USCG-2008-0035), and give the reason for
each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic
means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Federal Docket Management Facility
at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and
material by only one means. We recommend that you include your name and
a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a phone number in the body of
your document so that we can contact you if we have questions regarding
your submission. For example, we may ask you to resubmit your comment
if we are not able to read your original submission. If you submit them
by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than
81/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you
submit them by mail and would like to know that they reach the
Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelop.
We will consider all comments and material
[[Page 13552]]
received during the comment period for the draft supplemental EA.
Viewing the comments and draft supplemental EA: To view the
comments and draft supplemental EA, go to http://www.regulations.gov at
any time. Enter the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2008-0035)
in the box under ``Search'', and click go. You may also visit the
Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the
DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 30590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
Holidays. The draft supplemental EA is also available at public
libraries in Maryland (P.D. Brown Memorial Library, Accokeek Library,
Potomac Library, La Plata Library, Calvert Library, Southern Branch,
Prince Frederick Branch, Fairview Branch and Twin Beaches Branch,
Surratts-Clinton Library, Upper Marlboro Library, and the Public
Documents Reference Library) and at the Loudoun County Public Library
in Ashburn, VA.
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://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Proposed Action
On August 8, 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
requested Dominion Cove Point, LP, to prepare a Waterway Suitability
Assessment (WSA) for the proposed Cove Point LNG Expansion Project to
be submitted to the United States Coast Guard. The purpose of the WSA
was to identify credible security threats and safety hazards associated
with increased LNG marine transportation in the Chesapeake Bay and
identify appropriate risk management measures. The Coast Guard Captain
of the Port, Baltimore, and the Captain of the Port, Hampton Roads,
received the WSA from Dominion Cove Point on January 17, 2006. The
conclusions of the WSA were included in the Federal Register on
February 14, 2006 (71 FR 7791). The Coast Guard solicited public
comments on the WSA to consider when preparing preliminary
recommendations to FERC for inclusion in their final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Cove Point Expansion Project, which was
completed April 2006, regarding the suitability of the Chesapeake Bay
for the increased LNG vessel traffic. The FEIS was prepared to satisfy
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The
FEIS was intended to evaluate all foreseeable environmental impacts of
the proposed Cove Point LNG Expansion Project including, but not
limited to, possible environmental impacts from USCG issuance of the
LOR on the suitability of the waterway for LNG vessel traffic. The
Coast Guard later discovered that there were issues associated with
issuance of the LOR that were not fully addressed in the FEIS. The
applicant was notified of those issues and additional information was
requested from the applicant. These issues were quickly addressed by
additional information the applicant submitted to the Coast Guard. The
Coast Guard assessed the applicant-prepared draft EA that supplements
the FERC's final EIS for the Cove Point LNG Expansion Project. Based on
Cove Point's follow-up research, analysis, and proposed mitigation
measures provided to the Coast Guard to address issues needed to
support the LOR, the Coast Guard has preliminarily concluded that the
additional LNG vessel traffic associated with the Cove Point LNG
Expansion Project does not pose an undue or significant environmental
hazard to the environment for the LNG vessel transit route covered by
our proposed LOR.
The Coast Guard will take into consideration the results of the
Cove Point assessment and public comments received when making its
final conclusion on whether to adopt the proffered draft applicant-
prepared supplemental EA and issue a Finding of No Significant Impact.
To make this decision, the Coast Guard will use comments received to
further assess the possible impacts on endangered species, cultural
resources, essential fish habitat issues, general environmental
effects, and the other public interest factors. The results will also
be considered as the Coast Guard prepares a Letter of Recommendation
which will identify what actions and resources are necessary to make
the waterway suitable for increased LNG traffic to the Cove Point LNG
facility.
Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment
The Coast Guard has assessed the applicant-prepared draft EA that
supplements the FERC's final EIS. See ``Viewing the comments and draft
supplementary EA'' above. The draft supplementary EA identifies and
examines the reasonable alternatives and assesses their potential
environmental impact.
We are requesting your comments on environmental concerns that you
may have related to the draft supplemental EA. We will consider all
comments and material received during the comment period.
Dated: March 7, 2008.
J.G Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-4922 Filed 3-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P