[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58783-58785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23656]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP02-379-000 and CP02-380-000]


Southern LNG, Inc.; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment for the Proposed Elba Island Expansion Project, Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

September 12, 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 the Elba Island Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Southern LNG, 
Inc. (Southern LNG) on Elba Island in Chatham County, Georgia.\1\ The 
project involves expanding the storage and sendout capacity of Southern 
LNG's existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine import terminal (Elba 
Island 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\ Southern 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

    Southern LNG proposes in Docket No. CP02-380-000: (1) To expand the 
LNG storage capacity; (2) to increase the sustainable daily sendout 
capability to 806 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) and its 
peaking capacity to 1,215 MMscfd; and (3) to accommodate two LNG 
tankers at one time. Southern LNG seeks authorization to construct and 
operate the following new facilities at its existing Elba Island 
Terminal:
    [sbull] LNG ship unloading slip with two berths, each with 
unloading arms. The South Dock with three liquid arms and one vapor arm 
and the North Dock with two liquid and one vapor arm, mooring and 
breasting dolphins, fendering systems, and support trestles;
    [sbull] relocation of three existing unloading arms from existing 
dock to the new North Dock for use as two liquid arms and one vapor 
arm;
    [sbull] 1,000,000-barrel (160,000 cubic meters or 3.5 billion cubic 
feet of gas equivalent) double-wall LNG storage tank with spill 
containment dike;
    [sbull] two 360 MMscfd first-stage (booster) LNG pumps;
    [sbull] 20 MMscfd recondenser;
    [sbull] three 180 MMscfd second-stage LNG pumps;
    [sbull] three 180 MMscfd submerged combustion vaporizers;
    [sbull] desuperheaters;
    [sbull] motor control center;
    [sbull] two dock control buildings;
    [sbull] compressor shelter; and
    [sbull] associated hazard detection, control, and prevention 
systems, cryogenic piping and insulation, electrical and 
instrumentation systems, and a road from the existing site to the new 
slip.
    In addition, in Docket No. CP02-379-000, Southern LNG requests 
Section 3 authorization under Subpart B of Part 153 of the Commission's 
regulations for siting of natural gas import facilities.

Land Requirements for Construction

    The Elba Island Terminal occupies about 140 fenced acres on the 
840-acre

[[Page 58784]]

Elba Island in an estuary of the Savannah River. The proposed 
facilities would affect about 87.7 acres of land of which about 37.3 
acres would be permanently changed with new structures or open water. 
Construction of the LNG tank, vaporizers, pumps, and associated 
facilities (including temporary construction laydown, office trailers, 
and worker parking) would affect about 35.5 acres of previously 
disturbed land within the existing fenced terminal site. The majority 
of the land impacted would be associated with the proposed marine slip. 
Construction of the slip would affect about 52.2 acres of land above 
mean low water of which about 35.3 acres would be permanently changed 
(31.2 acres would lie below mean low water). All construction would 
occur on Elba Island which Southern LNG owns.

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 
\2\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping''. 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:
    [sbull] geology and soils
    [sbull] water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
    [sbull] vegetation and wildlife
    [sbull] air quality and noise
    [sbull] land use
    [sbull] cultural resources
    [sbull] endangered and threatened species
    [sbull] 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 below.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Southern LNG. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
    [sbull] Approximately 118 LNG tankers per year transiting the 
Savannah River to the terminal by the year 2006.
    [sbull] Environmental and technical issues associated with the 
construction and operation of a LNG ship unloading facility, a 
1,000,000 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:
    [sbull] 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.
    [sbull] Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the Gas 
1, PJ-11.1.
    [sbull] Reference Docket Nos. CP02-379-000 and CP02-380-000.
    [sbull] Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before October 15, 2002.
    Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail 
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include 
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our 
environmental analysis of this project. However, 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.''

Public Scoping Meeting

    In addition to or in lieu of sending written comments, we invite 
you to attend a public scoping meeting that we will conduct in the 
project area. The location and time for this meeting is listed below:
    Tuesday, October 1, 2002, 7:00 pm.
    Radisson Hotel Historic Savannah, 411 West Bay Street, Savannah, 
Georgia, (912) 790-7000.
    The public scoping meeting is designed to provide state and local 
agencies, interested groups, affected landowners, and the general 
public with more detailed information and another opportunity to offer 
your 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 EA. A transcript of the meeting will be made so that your 
comments will be accurately recorded.

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

[[Page 58785]]

385.214) (see appendix 1).\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 appendices referenced in this notice 
are not being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available 
on the Commission's website at the ``FERRIS'' link or from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For 
instructions on connecting to FERRIS refer to the last page of this 
notice. Copies of the appendices 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.

Environmental Mailing List

    This notice is being sent to individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
proposed project. It is also being sent to all identified potential 
right-of-way grantors. By this notice we are also asking governmental 
agencies, especially those in appendix 2, to express their interest in 
becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.

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 website (www.ferc.gov) using the FERRIS link. Click on 
the FERRIS link, 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 with FERRIS, the FERRIS helpline 
can be reached at (202) 502-8222, TTY (202) 502-8659. The FERRIS 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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-23656 Filed 9-17-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P