[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 122 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35655-35657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14456]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2004-16860]


Gulf Landing LLC Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License 
Application; Draft Environmental Impact Statement

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meeting; and request 
for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration announce the 
availability of the draft environmental impact statement for the Gulf 
Landing, LLC Deepwater Port License Application. The proposed Gulf 
Landing liquefied natural gas deepwater port would be located in the 
Gulf of Mexico approximately 38 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana. The 
Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration solicit public input on 
this draft environmental impact statement.

DATES: The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) will be 
available on June 25, 2004, and comments must reach the Coast Guard on 
or before August 9, 2004. Additionally, an informational open house 
will be held in Lafayette, Louisiana on July 15, 2004, from 2 p.m. 
until 4 p.m., and a formal public meeting from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The informational open house/public meeting location is: 
Courtyard by Marriott, 214 East Kaliste Saloon Road, Lafayette, LA 
70508, telephone number 337-232-5005.
    You may submit comments, identified by Coast Guard docket number 
USCG-2004-16860, to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:

[[Page 35656]]

    (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.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. Comments will become part of this docket and will be available 
for inspection or copying in Room PL-401, located on the Plaza Level of 
the Nassif Building at the above address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. You may also view 
this docket, including this notice and comments, on the Internet at 
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
the project, or the meeting, call Lieutenant Derek Dostie at 202-267-
0662, or e-mail at [email protected]. If you have questions on 
viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Andrea M. Jenkins, 
Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-0271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments on the DEIS. You may submit 
comments and related materials on this notice, the public meeting, or 
concerning the license application. Persons submitting comments should 
include their name and address, the docket number (USCG-2004-16860), 
and the reasons for each comment. You may submit your comments and 
materials by mail, hand delivery, fax, or electronic means to the 
Docket Management Facility at the address given under ADDRESSES; but 
please submit your comments and materials by only one means. If you 
choose to submit them by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, and suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would 
like to know if they reach the facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
materials received during the comment period. 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 their Docket Management 
Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, the DEIS, or other materials relating to this 
license application, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a 
simple search using the docket number. 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 Meeting/Informational Open House

    The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration will host an 
informational open house from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, 
2004, at the Courtyard by Marriott, 214 East Kaliste Saloon Road, 
Lafayette, LA 70508, telephone number 337-232-5005. A public meeting 
will be held from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., following the informational open 
house. We invite the public and representatives of interested agencies 
to attend and provide their views on the proposed action and the 
evaluation contained in the DEIS. If you plan to attend the meeting and 
need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other 
reasonable accommodations, please contact the person named in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and we will try to make reasonable 
accommodations for your needs. We ask that any requests be made at 
least three (3) business days prior to the scheduled meeting and 
include a contact person's name, telephone number, your specific need, 
and a TDD number (for those with hearing impairments).

Proposed Action

    The application plan calls for construction of a deepwater port and 
associated anchorages in an area situated in the Gulf of Mexico, 
approximately 38 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana, in outer 
continental shelf block West Cameron 213, in water depth of 
approximately 55 feet, and adjacent to an existing shipping fairway 
servicing the Calcasieu River and area ports.
    Gulf Landing's terminal would be capable of storing up to 200,000 
cubic meters of LNG and vaporizing up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per 
day. Gulf Landing proposes to construct, own, and operate 5 pipelines 
that would interconnect with existing natural gas pipelines located in 
the Gulf of Mexico. Gas would then be delivered to the onshore national 
pipeline grid for delivery to any consumption market east of the Rocky 
Mountains.
    The project would consist of two concrete gravity based structures 
(GBSs) housing the LNG containment facilities, along with topside 
unloading and vaporization structures, living quarters, and a ship 
berthing system.
    The terminal would be able to receive LNG carriers with cargo 
capacities between 125,000 and 200,000 cubic meters and unload up to 
135 LNG carriers per year. LNG carrier arrival frequency would be 
planned to match specified terminal gas delivery rates. All marine 
systems, communication, navigation aids and equipment necessary to 
conduct safe LNG carrier operations and receiving of cargo during 
specified atmospheric and sea states would be provided at the port.
    The regasification process would consist of lifting the LNG from 
storage tanks, pumping the cold liquid to pipeline pressure, subsequent 
vaporization of the LNG across heat exchanging equipment, and send-out 
through custody transfer metering to the gas pipeline network. No gas 
conditioning is required at the terminal since the incoming LNG would 
be pipeline quality.
    Five offshore pipelines, ranging from 16 to 36 inches in diameter, 
would be constructed and would transverse a combined 65.7 nautical 
miles. Each pipeline would transport gas from the terminal to an 
existing transmission pipeline where it would deliver the gas to the 
onshore U.S. gas pipeline network. On average, Gulf Landing expects the 
terminal would vaporize and deliver 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) 
of natural gas to the pipelines; with a peak daily send-out rate of 1.2 
Bcfd.

Alternatives

    The DEIS examines the preferred location, an alternative site and a 
no-action alternative. The alternative project site is West Cameron 
block 183.

[[Page 35657]]

The DEIS will assess the impacts of the alternatives--including 
approving, approving with conditions, or not approving (No Action 
Alternative) the license application to construct and operate Gulf 
Landing--on the natural and human environment.
    As required by the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coast 
Guard also will analyze the No Action Alternative as a baseline for 
comparing the impacts of the proposed project. For the purposes of this 
project, the No Action Alternative is defined as not approving the Gulf 
Landing LLC Deepwater Port License Application.

    Dated: June 21, 2004.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security, and 
Environmental Protection, U.S. Coast Guard.
Raymond R. Barberesi,
Director, Office of Ports and Domestic Shipping, U.S. Maritime 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-14456 Filed 6-22-04; 1:22 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P