11 July 2006
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[Federal Register: July 10, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 131)]
[Notices]
[Page 38874-38875]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jy06-49]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP05-91-000; Docket No. CP05-380-000]
Calhoun LNG, L.P.; Point Comfort Pipeline Company, L.P.; Notice
of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Calhoun LNG Terminal and Pipeline Project
June 30, 2006.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared this draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the construction and operation of the liquefied natural gas
(LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline facilities (referred to
as the Calhoun LNG Project or Project) as proposed by Calhoun LNG, L.P.
and Point Comfort Pipeline Company, L.P. (collectively referred to as
Calhoun Point Comfort) in the above-referenced dockets.
The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The staff concludes that
approval of the Calhoun LNG Project, with appropriate mitigating
measures as recommended, would have limited adverse environmental
impact. The draft EIS evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including
system alternatives, alternative sites for the LNG import terminal, and
pipeline alternatives.
The purpose of the Calhoun LNG Project is to provide facilities
necessary to import, store, and vaporize on average about 1.0 billion
cubic feet per day of LNG to provide a competitive supply of natural
gas to local industrial customers, such as Formosa Hydrocarbons Company
and Formosa Plastics Corporation, and other energy-consuming customers
in Texas and deliver natural gas into existing interstate and
intrastate natural gas pipelines near Edna, Texas. In order to
accomplish this purpose, Calhoun Point Comfort proposes to construct
and operate a new LNG import terminal including an LNG ship berth and
unloading facilities on the southeastern shoreline of Lavaca Bay, south
of Point Comfort, in Calhoun County, Texas. In addition, Calhoun Point
Comfort would construct and operate a new natural gas pipeline and
ancillary facilities extending northward from the LNG terminal to
natural gas pipeline interconnects southwest of Edna, in Jackson
County, Texas.
The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the
[[Page 38875]]
following LNG terminal and natural gas pipeline facilities:
A new marine terminal along Lavaca Bay that would include
one berth to unload up to 120 LNG ships per year;
Four 16-inch-diameter stainless steel unloading arms;
Two single containment LNG storage tanks each with a
nominal working volume of approximately 160,000 m\3\ (1,006,000
barrels);
Three in-tank pumps per LNG storage;
Four low pressure (LP) and four high pressure (HP) sendout
pumps;
Six first-stage submerged combustion vaporizers (SCV) and
six second-stage SCVs;
A boil-off gas (BOG) and vapor removal system;
A flare system that would include a 100-foot flare stack;
Various support buildings and piping structures at the LNG
terminal site;
27.1 miles of 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
A 0.25 mile of 8-inch-diameter lateral and 0.25 mile of
16-inch-diameter lateral;
Ten delivery points/interconnects; and
A pig launcher facility and mainline valves.
The draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and
is available for 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.
A limited number of copies of the draft EIS are available from the
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch identified above. In
addition, copies of the final EIS have been mailed to Federal, State,
and local agencies; elected officials; public interest groups;
libraries, individuals and affected landowners who requested a copy of
the draft EIS; and parties to these proceedings.
Comment Procedures and Public Meeting
Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS 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 and properly recorded:
Send an original and two copies of your comments to:
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Reference Docket Nos. CP05-91-000 and CP05-380-000.
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the
Gas Branch 2.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before August 21, 2006.
Please note that 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 ``Login to
File'' and then ``New User Account.'' You will be asked to select the
type of filing you are making. This filing is considered a ``Comment on
Filing.''
In addition to or in lieu of sending written comments, we invite
you to attend the public comment meeting scheduled as follows:
August 17, 2006, 7 p.m. (CST), Bauer Community Center, 2300 N. Highway
35, Port Lavaca, Texas 77979. Telephone: (361) 552-1234.
Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and
present oral comments on the draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings
will be prepared.
After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are
investigated, and modifications are made to the draft EIS, a final EIS
will be published and distributed by the staff. The final EIS will
contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on the draft
EIS.
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). Anyone may intervene in this proceeding
based on this draft EIS. You must file your request to intervene as
specified above. \1\ You do not need intervenor status to have your
comments considered.
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\1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing
comments electronically.
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The draft EIS 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. (202) 208-1371.
Hard-copies of the draft EIS have been mailed to Federal, State,
and local agencies; public interest groups; individuals and affected
landowners who requested a copy of the draft EIS or provided comments
during scoping; libraries; newspapers; and parties to this proceeding.
A limited number of documents and CD-ROMs are available from the Public
Reference Room identified above.
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 (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 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 the eSubscription link on the FERC Internet Web
site.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-10687 Filed 7-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P