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Seafarer U.S. Pipeline System, Inc.; Supplemental Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Seafarer U.S. Pipeline System Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: December 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 243)]
[Notices]
[Page 75946-75948]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20de04-80]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP05-25-000]
Seafarer U.S. Pipeline System, Inc.; Supplemental Notice of
Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed
Seafarer U.S. Pipeline System Project and Request for Comments on
Environmental Issues
December 13, 2004.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) are preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) that
will discuss the environmental impacts of the Seafarer U.S. Pipeline
System Project (project or Seafarer Project) proposed by Seafarer U.S.
Pipeline System, Inc. (hereafter referred to as Seafarer).\1\ The FERC
will be the
[[Page 75947]]
lead federal agency in the preparation of the EIS, but will prepare the
EIS in coordination with its cooperating agencies: The Minerals
Management Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-National Marine Fisheries
Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The document will satisfy the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act.
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\1\ Seafarer's application was filed with the Commission in
Docket No. CP05-25-000 on November 16, 2004, under seciton 7(c) of
the Natural Gas Act and part 157 and part 284 of the FERC's
regulations. Prior to that date, Seafarer began working with FERC
staff under FERC's pre-filing environmental review process and
started filing portions of its applicaiton under Docket No. PF04-8-
000 on April 23, 2004. All documents filed under Docket No. PF04-8-
000 are part of the record for Docket No. CP05-25-000.
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This notice supplements the informational letter issued by the FERC
on June 4, 2004, which announced FERC's initiation of a pre-filing
environmental review for the Seafarer Project, and the Notice of Intent
(NOI) to Prepare an EIS issued on June 30, 2004. Those previous
transmittals provided information about the proposed project and the
FERC's environmental review process and requested comments on the scope
of issues to address in the EIS. The comment period for the NOI closed
on August 16, 2004.
As initially proposed in the pre-filing documentation submitted to
the FERC and described in the two previous transmittals issued by the
FERC, the nearshore pipeline alignment would have included an initial
landfall in the Town of Palm Beach Shores, on the southern end of
Singer Island. From that point, the pipeline route would have crossed
Peanut Island in route to a mainland landfall adjacent to the Florida
Power & Light (FPL) Riviera Beach Power Plant. The Town of Palm Beach
Shores and numerous commentors expressed concerns that the initially
proposed alignment and landfall point could interfere with recreational
use and residential and commercial land uses on Singer Island. Resource
agencies consulted during the route selection and pre-filing process
also expressed concerns that the initially proposed nearshore
construction procedures, which included a series of horizontal
directional drills (HDDs) and direct lay of the pipeline with rock
cover, would not adequately avoid and minimize potential direct impacts
to marine hardbottom and coral reef resources.
To address the comments and concerns identified during the pre-
filing and EIS scoping periods, Seafarer developed a modified route
alignment and nearshore installation methodology, which were identified
in the application that Seafarer filed with the FERC on November 16,
2004. The currently proposed project alignment would avoid landfall on,
and a pipeline route beneath, Singer and Peanut Islands (see Appendix
1). Additionally, Seafarer indicates that the currently proposed
nearshore project installation methodology, which reflects the
incorporation of tunnel construction methodology, would reduce
potential direct impacts to marine hardbottom and coral reef resources,
relative to the initially proposed construction methods. The majority
of the proposed off- and onshore project route and aboveground
facilities would not be affected by the modified proposal.
As currently proposed, a hydroshield tunnel boring machine (TBM)
would be used to construct a watertight, approximately 3-mile-long,
10.5-foot-inner-diameter, concrete-lined tunnel. The tunnel would
extend from an initial project landfall on FPL Riviera Beach Power
Plant property (milepost [MP]
34.6) to an exit point approximately 1.4
miles offshore Singer Island in approximately 80 FSW (MP 31.6). Over 90
percent of the length of the tunnel would be constructed at depths
greater than 40 feet beneath the seafloor. Once completed, the tunnel
would provide a conduit for installation of the nearshore portion of
the pipeline. Beyond the tunnel exit point, the pipeline would rest on
the seafloor and rejoin the initially proposed project alignment. A
tunnel reception pit would be excavated at the transition point between
the tunnel and the direct lay portion of the pipeline, and would
facilitate retrieval of the TBM, pipeline installation within the
tunnel, and construction of an offshore mainline valve.
No onshore alignment changes would be required in association with
the currently proposed modifications, except that required to connect
the tunnel entry point with the previously proposed onshore alignment
in the vicinity of the FPL Riviera Beach Power Plant. The pressure
reduction facilities previously proposed for construction near the FPL
power plant would be incorporated into the previously proposed FGT West
Riviera Meter Station. A contractor yard comprising 10.2 acres would be
sited on FPL Riviera Beach Power Plant property adjacent to the tunnel
entry point to facilitate tunnel construction. This area would house
tunnel support facilities and provide equipment and material storage.
No other aboveground facilities or workspace areas would be affected by
the currently proposed modifications.
We \2\ consider the modified nearshore project route and
installation methodology as the proposed action, and will evaluate the
potential environmental impacts of that action in our EIS. The
environmental impacts associated with the initially proposed nearshore
project alignment and installation methodology will be addressed as
alternatives to the proposed action in our EIS.
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\2\ ``We'', ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects.
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Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your
concerns will be addressed in the EIS and considered by the Commission.
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the proposal
and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific
your comments, the more useful they will be. Please carefully follow
these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time
and properly recorded:
? Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie
R. Salas, 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 3.
? Reference Docket No. CP05-25-000.
? Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before January 20, 2005.
We will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable
time frame in our environmental analysis of this project. To expedite
our receipt and consideration of your comments, the Commission strongly
encourages electronic submission of any comments on this project. 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 on-line.
In lieu of sending written comments, we invite you to attend the
public scoping meeting we have scheduled as follows: Wednesday, January
19, 2005, 7 p.m. Seafarer U.S. Pipeline System Project, Town of Palm
Beach Shores Town Hall, 247 Edwards Lane, Palm Beach Shores, FL 33404,
telephone: (561) 844-3457.
The public scoping meeting is designed to provide another
opportunity to offer comments on the proposed project. Interested
groups and individuals are encouraged to attend the meeting and to
present comments on the environmental issues they believe should be
addressed in the EIS. A transcript of the meeting will be
[[Page 75948]]
generated so that your comments will be accurately recorded.
Everyone who responds to this notice or submits comments throughout
the EIS process will be retained on our mailing list. If you do not
want to send comments at this time but still want to remain on our
mailing list, please return the attached Information Request (see
Appendix 2). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be
removed from the project mailing list.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EIS scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an
``intervenor.'' Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors.
Likewise, each intervenor must send one electronic copy (using the
Commission's eFiling system) or 14 paper copies of its filings to the
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If
you want to become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene
according to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214; see Appendix 3).\3\ Only intervenors have
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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\3\ 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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Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor
status to have your environmental comments considered.
Environmental Mailing List
This notice is being sent to affected landowners; Federal, State,
and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental and
public interest groups; Native American tribes; local libraries and
newspapers; and other interested parties that expressed an interest in
the project during the pre-filing and EIS scoping periods. We encourage
government representatives to notify their constituents of this planned
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
Additional Information
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 (i.e., CP05-25)
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 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 http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, Seafarer has established an Internet Web site for this
project at http://www.seafarer.us/. The Web site includes
a description of the project, a map of the proposed pipeline route, and
answers to frequently asked questions. You can also request additional
information or provide comments directly to Seafarer at (866) 683-5587.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-3722 Filed 12-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P