[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52592-52593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22528]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2003-14294]


El Paso Energy Bridge Gulf of Mexico, 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 El Paso Energy Bridge Gulf of Mexico, LLC 
(Energy Bridge GOM) Deepwater Port project. The proposed Energy Bridge 
GOM Deepwater Port would be located in West Cameron Area, South 
Addition, Block 603 (WC603) in the Central Area of the Gulf of Mexico, 
approximately 106 miles due south of the Louisiana coastline. 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 Energy Bridge GOM Deepwater Port project.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on Friday, October 3, 2003, 3 
p.m. to 6 p.m., in New Orleans, Louisiana. The informational open house 
will be held on Friday, October 3, 2003, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in New 
Orleans, LA. 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-2003-
14294] must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before November 
17, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing and informational open house will be held 
at the following location: New Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal Street, New 
Orleans, Louisiana 70130, (504) 581-1000.
    You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number 
USCG-2003-14294 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 Energy Bridge GOM 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. Andrea Jenkins, Program Manager, 
Docket Operations, Department of Transportation, at (202) 366-0271.

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-2003-14294], 
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-2003-14294. 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 Friday, October 3, 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 52593]]

Proposed Deepwater Port Background Information

    The proposed Energy Bridge GOM 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 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 a Submerged Turret Loading (STL) 
system that would be comprised of a submerged turret buoy; chains, 
lines, and anchors; a flexible riser; and a subsea manifold. A 20-inch 
seabed pipeline would be constructed as part of the project.
    Liquified natural gas (LNG) would be transported on an El Paso 
Energy Bridge Vessel (EPEBV) from various sources worldwide. When the 
EPEBV, a conventional LNG tanker fitted with regasification equipment 
on board the vessel, reached the location of the Deepwater Port, it 
would retrieve and connect to the STL system. The submerged buoy would 
be raised from its subsurface location, and drawn into an opening in 
the hull of the vessel. After the buoy was attached to the vessel, the 
on-board LNG regasification process would commence. The gas would then 
be discharged through the buoy into the subsea flexible riser, to the 
manifold, and finally to the pipeline which would enable additional 
natural gas supplies to enter key domestic markets in the United 
States.

License Application Background Information

    The Energy Bridge GOM Deepwater Port license application was 
submitted to the Secretary of Transportation on December 20, 2002. The 
license application calls for construction of the Energy Bridge GOM 
Deepwater Port in an area situated in the Central Area of the Gulf of 
Mexico, approximately 106 miles south of the Louisiana coastline, in 
West Cameron Area, South Addition, Block 603 (WC603). Additional 
information concerning the contents of the application can be found 
online at http://dms.dot.gov under docket number USCG-2003-14294, or in 
the notice of application published in the Federal Register at 68 FR 
3299 (January 23, 2003). 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 Energy Bridge 
GOM 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.

Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental 
Protection, Coast Guard.
Raymond R. Barberisi,
Director, Office of Ports and Domestic Shipping, U.S. Maritime 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-22528 Filed 9-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P