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Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge, L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License Application; Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: October 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 192)]
[Notices]
[Page 58228-58229]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05oc05-84]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[USCG-2005-22219]
Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge, L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater
Port License Application; Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS; Maritime Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent; notice of public meeting; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD)
announce that the Coast Guard intends to prepare an environmental
impact statement (EIS) as part of the environmental review of this
license application. The application describes a project that would be
located in Massachusetts Bay, in Block 125, approximately 13 miles
south-southeast of Gloucester, MA. Publication of this notice begins a
scoping process that will help identify and determine the scope of
environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS. This notice requests
public participation in the scoping process and provides information on
how to participate in the process.
DATES: A public meeting will be held in Boston, MA on October 18, 2005.
There will also be a public meeting in Gloucester, MA on October 19,
2005. 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 for the scoping process must reach the Docket Management
Facility by October 31, 2005.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting in Boston will be held at Faneuil Hall, 1
Faneuil Hall Square, Boston, MA, telephone: 617-635-4100. The public
meeting in Gloucester will be at The Elks at Bass Rocks, 101 Atlantic
Road, Gloucester, MA, telephone: 978-282-3200.
Address docket submissions for USCG-2005-22219 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, its fax number is 202-493-2251, and its 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: 202-267-1752, 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
environmental issues related to the proposed deepwater port. Your
comments will help us identify and refine the scope of the
environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS.
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 our public meeting locations are wheelchair-accessible. If you
plan to attend the open house or public meeting, 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
environmental issues related to the proposed deepwater port. 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 material received during the
comment period.
Submissions should include:
? Docket number USCG-2005-22219.
? 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).
[[Page 58229]]
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
52422, September 2, 2005. The ``Summary of the Application'' from that
publication is reprinted below for your convenience.
Consideration of a deepwater port license application includes
review of the proposed deepwater port's natural and human environmental
impacts. The Coast Guard is the lead agency for determining the scope
of this review, and in this case the Coast Guard has determined that
review must include preparation of an EIS. This notice of intent is
required by 40 CFR 1508.22, and briefly describes the proposed action
and possible alternatives and our proposed scoping process. You can
address any questions about the proposed action, the scoping process,
or the EIS to the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 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.
Scoping Process
Public scoping is an early and open process for identifying and
determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Scoping
begins with this notice, continues through the public comment period
(see DATES), and ends when the Coast Guard has completed the following
actions:
? Invites the participation of Federal, State, and local
agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the applicant, and other
interested persons;
? Determines the actions, alternatives, and impacts
described in 40 CFR 1508.25;
? Identifies and eliminates from detailed study those issues
that are not significant or that have been covered elsewhere;
? Allocates responsibility for preparing EIS components;
? Indicates any related environmental assessments or
environmental impact statements that are not part of the EIS;
? Identifies other relevant environmental review and
consultation requirements;
? Indicates the relationship between timing of the
environmental review and other aspects of the application process; and
? At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40
CFR 1501.7(b).
Once the scoping process is complete, the Coast Guard will prepare
a draft EIS, and we will publish a Federal Register notice announcing
its public availability. (If you want that notice to be sent to you,
please contact the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.) You will have an opportunity to review
and comment on the draft EIS. The Coast Guard will consider those
comments and then prepare the final EIS. As with the draft EIS, we will
announce the availability of the final EIS and once again give you an
opportunity for review and comment.
Summary of the Application
Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge, L.L.C. has proposed a facility to
import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the New England region
providing a base load delivery of 400 million cubic feet per day
(MMcfd) and capable of peak deliveries of approximately 800 MMcfd or
more. The facility will be located offshore in Massachusetts Bay,
approximately 13 miles south-southeast of the city of Gloucester, MA,
in federal waters approximately 270 to 290 feet in depth, commonly
referred to as Block 125.
Northeast Gateway will deliver natural gas to onshore markets via a
new 24-inch-diameter-pipeline, approximately 16.4 miles in length, from
the proposed deepwater port to the existing offshore 30-inch-diameter
Algonquin HubLine Pipeline System. The proposed new pipeline lateral
will be owned and operated by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC.
Algonquin is seeking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
approval for the pipeline concurrent with this deepwater port
application. In addition, pipelines within the three-mile limit require
an Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permit under Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.
Structures such as the moorings and lateral pipelines beyond the three-
mile limit require a Section 10 permit.
As required by their regulations, FERC will also maintain a docket.
This is available at the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using
the ``Documents & Filing'' then ``eLibrary'' link and FERC Docket number
CP05-383. The eLibrary helpline is 1-866-208-3676 or e-mail online
support is at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. As required by their
regulations, the 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.
The new pipeline will be included in the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) review as part of the deepwater port application
process. FERC and the USACE among others are cooperating agencies and
will assist in the NEPA process as described in 40 CFR 1501.6; will be
participating in the scoping meetings; and will conduct joint public
meetings with the Coast Guard and MARAD when the draft EIS is released
for public comment. Comments sent to the FERC docket or USACE will also
be incorporated into the DOT docket and EIS to ensure consistency with
the NEPA Process.
The Northeast Gateway deepwater port facility will consist of two
subsea submerged turret loading buoys (STL Buoys), two flexible risers,
two pipeline end manifolds (PLEMs), and two subsea flow lines. Each STL
Buoy will connect to a PLEM using the flexible riser assembly, and the
PLEM will connect to the subsea flow line. A fleet of specially
designed Energy Bridge Regasification Vessels (EBRVs), each capable of
transporting approximately 4.9 million cubic feet (138,000 cubic
meters) of LNG, will deliver natural gas to the Northeast Gateway DWP.
The EBRVs will vaporize the LNG in a closed loop mode of
recirculating fresh water on-board requiring no intake or discharge of
seawater for the vaporization process. Natural gas will be used to
operate the regasification facilities as well as to provide vessel
electrical needs in normal operation.
Dated: September 28, 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 and Ports Program Manager,
U.S. Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-19951 Filed 10-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-M