5 June 2006
Related Eyeballing Liquified Natural Gas Facilities:
http://www.cryptome.org/lng-eyeball.htm
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[Federal Register: June 5, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 107)]
[Notices]
[Page 32382-32384]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05jn06-86]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[USCG-2005-22611]
Neptune LNG, L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License
Application; Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meeting; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) announces the availability
of
[[Page 32383]]
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Neptune LNG,
L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port license application. The
application describes a project that would be located in Federal waters
of Massachusetts Bay, in Block 125, approximately 8 miles southeast of
Gloucester, MA and 22 miles northeast of Boston, MA. The Coast Guard
and MARAD request public comments on the DEIS. Publication of this
notice begins a 45 day comment period and provides information on how
to participate in the process. As a point of clarification, there is
another deepwater port application by Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge,
L.L.C. in the same vicinity. These applications are being processed and
reviewed independently. The Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge, L.L.C.
DEIS was noticed May 19, 2006 and is available on the Docket at USCG-
2005-22219.
DATES: Public meetings will be held in Salem, MA on June 21, 2006 and
in Gloucester, MA on June 22, 2006. Both meetings will be from 6 p.m.
to 8 p.m. and will be preceded by an informational open house from 4:30
p.m. to 6 p.m. 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 on the DEIS must reach the
Docket Management Facility by July 17, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting in Salem will be at the Salem State
College Library, Charlotte Forten Hall, 360 Lafayette Street, Salem,
MA, telephone: 978-542-7192. The public meeting in Gloucester will be
held at the Gloucester High School Auditorium, 32 Leslie O. Johnson
Road, Gloucester, MA, telephone: 617-635-4100.
The DEIS, the application, and associated documentation is
available for viewing at the DOT's Docket Management System Web site:
http://dms.dot.gov under docket number 22611. The DEIS is also
available at public libraries in Beverly, MA, Boston, MA (Central
Library), Gloucester, MA, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, Marblehead, MA,
and Salem, MA.
Address docket submissions for USCG-2005-22611 to: Docket
Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
The 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
number is 202-366-9329, the fax number is 202-493-2251, and the Web
site for electronic submissions or for electronic access to docket
contents is http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roddy Bachman, U.S. Coast Guard,
telephone: 202-372-1451, e-mail: rbachman@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have
questions on viewing the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager,
Docket Operations, telephone: 202-493-0402.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Meeting and Open House
We invite you to learn about the proposed deepwater port at an
informational open house, and to comment at a public meeting on the
proposed action and the evaluation contained in the DEIS.
In order to allow everyone a chance to speak at the public meeting,
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.
Public docket materials will be made available to the public on the
Docket Management Facility's Docket Management System (DMS). See
``Request for Comments'' for information about DMS and your rights
under the Privacy Act.
All of our public meeting locations are wheelchair-accessible. If
you plan to attend the open house or public hearing, and need special
assistance such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable
accommodation, please notify the Coast Guard (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 3 business days in advance. Include your
contact information as well as information about your specific needs.
Request for Comments
We request public comments or other relevant information on the
DEIS. The public meeting is not the only opportunity you have to
comment. In addition to or in place of attending a meeting, you can
submit comments to the Docket Management Facility during the public
comment period (see DATES). We will consider all comments and materials
received during the comment period and prepare the Final EIS (FEIS). We
will announce the availability of the FEIS and once again give you the
opportunity to review and comment. If you want a notice sent directly
to you, please contact representatives at the public hearing or the
Coast Guard representative identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Submissions should include:
Docket number USCG-2005-22611.
Your name and address.
Your reasons for making each comment or for bringing
information to our attention.
Submit comments or material using only one of the following
methods:
Electronic submission to DMS, http://dms.dot.gov.
Fax, mail, or hand delivery to the Docket Management
Facility (see ADDRESSES). Faxed or hand delivered submissions must be
unbound, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, and suitable for copying
and electronic scanning. If you mail your submission and want to know
when it reaches the Facility, include a stamped, self-addressed
postcard or envelope.
Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material,
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the DMS Web site
(http://dms.dot.gov), and will include any personal information you
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You
may wish to read the Privacy Act notice that is available on the DMS
Web site, or the Department of Transportation Privacy Act Statement
that appeared in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477).
You may view docket submissions at the Docket Management Facility
(see ADDRESSES), or electronically on the DMS Web site.
Background
Information about deepwater ports, the statutes, and regulations
governing their licensing, and the receipt of the current application
for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port appears at 70 FR
58729, October 7, 2005. The Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the
proposed action was published in the Federal Register at 70 FR 61151,
October 20, 2005. Application materials and associated comments are
available on the docket. Information from the ``Summary of the
Application'' from previous Federal Register notices is included below
for your convenience.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
The proposed action requiring environmental review is the Federal
licensing of the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary of the
Application'' below. The alternatives to
[[Page 32384]]
licensing the proposed port 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. The Coast Guard is the lead Federal agency for
the preparation of the EIS/EIR. You can address any questions about the
proposed action or the DEIS to the Coast Guard project manager
identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Summary of the Application
Neptune LNG, L.L.C. proposes to own, construct, and operate a
deepwater port, named Neptune, in the Federal waters of the Outer
Continental Shelf on blocks NK 19-04 6525 and NK 19-04 6575,
approximately 8 miles southeast of Gloucester, MA and 22 miles
northeast of Boston, MA, in a water depth of approximately 250 feet.
The Neptune deepwater port would be capable of mooring up to two
approximately 140,000 cubic meter capacity LNG carriers by means of a
submerged unloading buoy system.
The LNG carriers, or shuttle and regasification vessels (SRVs),
would be equipped to store, transport and vaporize LNG, and to odorize
and meter natural gas which would then be sent out by conventional
subsea pipelines. Each SRV would have insulated storage tanks located
within its hull. Each tank would be equipped with an in-tank pump to
circulate and transfer LNG to the vaporization facilities located on
the deck of the SRV. The proposed vaporization system would be a
closed-loop water-glycol heat exchanger heated by steam from natural
gas-fired boilers.
The major fixed components of the proposed deepwater port would be
an unloading buoy system, eight mooring lines consisting of wire rope
and chain connecting to anchor points on the seabed, eight suction pile
anchor points, approximately 2.3 miles of natural gas flow line with
flexible pipe risers and risers manifolds, and approximately 11 miles
of 24-inch natural gas transmission line to connect to the existing
Algonquin HubLine.
Neptune would have an average throughput capacity of 500 million
standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) and a peak capacity of
approximately 750 MMscfd. Natural gas would be sent out by means of two
flexible risers and subsea flowlines leading to a 24-inch gas
transmission pipeline. The transmission pipeline would connect the
deepwater port to the existing 30-inch Algonquin HubLine. No onshore
components or storage facilities are associated with the proposed
deepwater port application. Construction of the deepwater port
components would be expected to take 36 months, with a startup of
commercial operations in late 2009. The deepwater port would be
designed, constructed and operated in accordance with applicable codes
and standards and would have an expected operating life of
approximately 20 years.
As required by their regulations, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) will maintain a permit file. The USACE New England District
phone number is 978-318-8338 and their Web site is http://www.nae.usace.army.mil
.
Comments sent to the USACE will also be incorporated into the DOT
docket and EIS to ensure consistency with the NEPA process. The USACE
among others are cooperating agencies and will assist in the NEPA
process as described in 40 CFR 1501.6 and will conduct joint public
hearings with the Coast Guard and MARAD.
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA)
Through a Special Review Procedure established by the Massachusetts
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), the USCG and the MEPA
Office are conducting a coordinated NEPA/MEPA review allowing a single
document to serve simultaneously as both the EIS under NEPA and the
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under MEPA. The Certificates
establishing the Special Review Procedure and the Scope for the Draft
Environmental Impact Report can be viewed at http://www.mass.gov/envir/mepa/secondlevelpages/recentdecisions.htm.
The Secretary of
Environmental Affairs will accept written comments on the Draft
Environmental Impact Report through July 17, 2006. Comments may be
submitted electronically, by mail, via FAX, or by hand delivery. Please
note that comments submitted on MEPA documents are public records. The
mailing address for comments is: Secretary Stephen R. Pritchard, EOEA,
Attn: MEPA Office, Richard Bourre, EOEA No. 13373/13374, 100 Cambridge
Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114.
(Authority: 49 CFR 1.66).
By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Dated: May 30, 2006.
Joel C. Richard,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-8632 Filed 6-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P