[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7683-7685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4033]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-60-000]


CMS Trunkline LNG Company, LLC.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Trunkline LNG Expansion 
Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of 
Public Meeting

February 13, 2002.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of CMS Trunkline LNG Company, LLC's 
(Trunkline LNG) Expansion Project involving construction and operation 
of facilities in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.\1\ The project involves 
expanding the storage and sendout capacity of Trunkline LNG's existing, 
certificated liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine import terminal. This 
EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to 
determine whether the project is in the public convenience and 
necessity.
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    \1\ Trunkline LNG's application was filed with the Commission 
under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the 
Commission's regulations.
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Trunkline LNG proposes: (1) To expand the LNG storage capacity; (2) 
to increase the sustainable daily sendout capability to 1,200 million 
cubic feet per day (MMcfd) and its peaking capacity to 1,300 MMcfd; and 
(3) to accommodate two LNG tankers at one time. Trunkline LNG seeks 
authorization to construct and operate the following new facilities at 
its existing site:
     LNG ship unloading facility with three liquid unloading 
arms, one vapor return/delivery arm, mooring and breasting dolphins, 
fendering system, and support trestles;
     One 880,000 barrel (2.9 billion cubic feet of gas 
equivalent) double-wall LNG storage tank with spill containment dike;
     Three 360 MMcfd first stage LNG pumps;
     Four 192 MMcfd second stage LNG pumps with a recondenser 
vessel;
     Three 150 MMcfd submerged combustion vaporizers;
     One desuperheater;
     High expansion foam building;
     Electrical building;
     One cryogenic fuel gas/ship vapor return compressor;

[[Page 7684]]

     Two 22 megawatt combustion turbine electric generators 
capable of handling the sendout volume and the unloading of two ships 
simultaneously; and
     Associated civil, mechanical, electrical, control, and 
hazard detection systems.
    In a related application filed under Docket No. CP02-55-000, CMS 
Trunkline Gas Company, LLC (Trunkline Gas) seeks authorization to 
modify its metering facilities under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas 
Act and Part 157 of the Commission's regulations. Trunkline Gas would 
replace two 16-inch-diameter orifice meter runs with two 16-inch-
diameter ultrasonic meter runs and associated facilities. The remaining 
three 16-inch-diameter orifice meter runs would remain in place.

Land Requirements for Construction

    The Trunkline LNG terminal occupies about 125 fenced acres on the 
Calcasieu Ship Channel. Through ownership and leases, Trunkline LNG has 
control of 395 acres. The proposed facilities would occupy about 8.8 
acres of land within the developed site and 1.2 acres of water within 
the existing turning basin. Contractor staging and storage would 
temporarily affect an additional 35.3 acres of land within the 
developed site and 0.2 acre of water within the existing turning basin.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us 
to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. 
We call this ``scoping''.\2\ The main goal of the scoping process is to 
focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By 
this Notice of Intent, the Commission requests public comments on the 
scope of the issues it will address in the EA. All comments received 
are considered during the preparation of the EA. State and local 
government representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents 
of this proposed action and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern.
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:

 Geology and soils
 Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
 Vegetation and wildlife
 Air quality and noise
 Land use
 Cultural resources
 Endangered and threatened species
 Public safety

    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA 
may be published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, 
public interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for 
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA 
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make 
our recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section beginning on page 4.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several environmental issues that we 
think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by Trunkline LNG. 
This preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments 
and our analysis.
     Up to 175 LNG tankers per year would transit the Calcasieu 
Ship Channel to the terminal by the year 2006.
     Environmental and technical issues associated with the 
construction and operation of: a LNG ship unloading facility; a 880,000 
barrel LNG storage tank; and the expansion of the terminal's sendout 
capacity.

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 EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to 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 the 
Gas 1, PJ-11.1.
     Reference Docket No. CP02-60-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 15, 2002.
    Comments may also be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu 
of paper. 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 an account which can be created by clicking on 
``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.'' Due to current events, 
we cannot guarantee that we will receive mail on a timely basis from 
the U.S. Postal Service, and we do not know how long this situation 
will continue. However, we continue to receive filings from private 
mail delivery services, including messenger services, in a reliable 
manner. The Commission encourages electronic filing of any comments or 
interventions or protests to this proceeding. We will include all 
comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our 
environmental analysis of this project.

Public Scoping Meeting and Site Visit

    In addition to asking for written comments, we invite you to attend 
a public scoping meeting that we will conduct in the project area. The 
purpose of the scoping meeting is to provide state and local agencies, 
interested groups, affected landowners, and the general public with an 
opportunity to learn more about the project and another chance to 
present us with environmental issues or concerns they believe should be 
addressed in the EA. A transcript of the meeting will be made so that 
your comments will be accurately recorded. The location and time is 
listed below:
    March 6, 2002, 7:00 pm, The Chamber--Southwest Louisiana, Ground 
Floor Meeting Room, 120 West Pujo Street, Lake Charles, LA.
    The purpose of the scoping meeting is limited to environmental 
issues only.

[[Page 7685]]

Technical meetings associated with the engineering and cryogenic design 
of the facility may be conducted at a later date.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA 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 provide 14 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\ 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. The appendix referenced in this notice are 
not being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on 
the Commission's website at the ``RIMS'' link or from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. For 
instructions on connecting to RIMS refer to the last page of this 
notice. Copies of the appendix were sent to all those receiving this 
notice in the mail.
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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.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the 
FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the ``RIMS'' link to information in 
this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket #'' 
from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions. For assistance with 
access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2222.
    Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website, 
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and 
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS 
helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-4033 Filed 2-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P