[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 138 (Friday, July 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42744-42745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18292]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2002-14134]


Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port License Application

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS, and Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the U.S. Maritime 
Administration (MARAD) will hold a public hearing to receive 
information relevant to the issuance or denial of the requisite federal 
license for the proposed Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port project. The 
proposed Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port would be located in the Gulf 
of Mexico, approximately 36 miles south southwest of Fresh Water City, 
Louisiana, in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Block Vermilion 
140. We encourage interested individuals and organizations to attend 
the public hearing and submit comments. We also seek comments from 
anyone unable to attend the public hearing. In conjunction with the 
public hearing, the USCG and MARAD will also hold an informational open 
house regarding the proposed Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port project.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on Monday, August 18, 2003, 3 
p.m. to 6 p.m., in New Orleans, Louisiana. The informational open house 
will be held on Monday, August 18, 2003, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in New 
Orleans, Louisiana. The public hearing may be adjourned as early as 5 
p.m. if there is no significant attendance or participation during the 
first two hours. The public hearing will continue beyond 6 p.m. if 
necessary to ensure all individuals present at that time who wish to 
comment have an opportunity to do so.
    Comments intended for inclusion in the public docket [USCG-2002-
14134] must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before October 
2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing and informational open house will be held 
at the following location: New Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal Street, New 
Orleans, LA 70130, (504) 581-1000.
    You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number 
USCG-2002-14134 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    (4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is (202) 366-9329.
    (5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning 
this notice, the Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port license application, 
or the public hearing or informational open house, contact Commander 
Mark Prescott, U.S. Coast Guard at (202) 267-0225 or 
[email protected]. For questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Ms. Dorothy Beard, Chief of Dockets, 
Department of Transportation, at (202) 366-5149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    Whether or not you attend the public hearing or informational open 
house, we encourage you to submit written comments and related 
materials. All comments received will be posted, without change, to 
http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation 
(DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy 
Act'' paragraph below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number (USCG-2002-14134), 
indicate your specific concern, and give the reason for each comment. 
You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, 
fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under 
ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one 
means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period.
    Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using 
the docket number USCG-2002-14134. You may also visit the Docket 
Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

Public Hearing/Informational Open House

    The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration will hold a public 
hearing from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, August 18, 2003 at the New 
Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. An 
informational open house will be held prior to the public meeting from 
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the same location. We invite the public and 
representatives of interested agencies to attend and provide comments 
on the proposed license application. If you plan to attend the public 
hearing or informational open house and need special assistance, such 
as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, 
contact the U.S. Coast Guard as indicated in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

[[Page 42745]]

Proposed Deepwater Port Background Information

    The proposed Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port would deliver natural 
gas to the United States Gulf Coast using existing gas supply and 
gathering systems in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Louisiana. Gas 
would then be delivered to shippers using the national pipeline grid 
through interconnections with major interstate and intrastate 
pipelines.
    The project would consist of two concrete gravity based structure 
(GBS) units fixed to the seabed, which would include integral liquefied 
natural gas (LNG) storage tanks, support deck mounted LNG receiving and 
vaporization equipment and utilities, berthing accommodations for LNG 
carriers, facilities for delivery of natural gas to a pipeline 
transportation system, and personnel accommodations.
    A 42-inch diameter offshore Pelican Interconnector Pipeline (PIPL), 
37 nautical miles in length, would be constructed as part of the 
project. The PIPL would transport gas from the terminal to a point near 
the Tiger Shoal Platform ``A'' where it would connect to the Henry Hub. 
The Henry Hub would deliver the gas to the onshore U.S. gas pipeline 
network.

License Application Background Information

    The Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port license application was 
submitted to the Secretary of Transportation on November 25, 2002. The 
license application calls for construction of the Port Pelican 
Deepwater Port in an area situated in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 
36 miles south southwest of Fresh Water City, Louisiana, in OCS Lease 
Block Vermilion 140. Additional information concerning the contents of 
the application can be found online at http://dms.dot.gov under docket 
number USCG-2002-14134, or in the notice of application published in 
the Federal Register at 67 FR 79234 (Dec. 27, 2002). This public 
hearing is being held pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 1504(g) to receive 
information relevant to the issuance or denial of the requisite federal 
license for the proposed Port Pelican LLC Deepwater Port project.

Procedural

    Any person who wishes may appear and speak or present evidence at 
this public hearing. Persons planning to speak at the hearing should 
contact the U.S. Coast Guard as indicated in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT, any time prior to the hearing, indicating the approximate 
amount of time required. Written statements and exhibits may be 
submitted in place of or in addition to oral statements and will be 
made a part of the hearing record. Written statements and exhibits may 
be delivered before or during the hearing, or they may be submitted for 
up to 45 days following the date of the hearing to the Docket 
Management Facility listed under ADDRESSES.

    Dated: July 14, 2003.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental 
Protection, U.S. Coast Guard.
Raymond R. Barberisi,
Director, Office of Ports and Domestic Shipping, U.S. Maritime 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-18292 Filed 7-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P