[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 1, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53454-53455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19961]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[CGD01-04-115]


Notice, Request for Comments; Letter of Recommendation, Keyspan 
LNG Facility Providence, RI

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements in 33 CFR 127.009, the 
U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) Providence is preparing a 
letter of recommendation as to the suitability of the Narragansett Bay 
waterways for liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine traffic. The letter of 
recommendation is in response to a Letter of Intent to modify the 
Keyspan LNG facility Providence, Rhode Island, to accept shipments of 
LNG by water. The COTP Providence is seeking comments and related 
material pertaining specifically to the maritime operation and 
waterways management aspects of the proposed LNG facility 
modifications. In preparation for issuance of the letter of 
recommendation, the COTP Providence will consider comments received 
from the public, as well as information submitted by the owner or 
operator under the requirements of 33 CFR 127.007. Specific items 
suitable for comment are listed later in this notice under Background 
and Purpose.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or 
before November 1, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety 
Office Providence maintains the public docket for this notice. Comments 
and documents will become part of this docket and will be available for 
inspection and copying at the same address between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may submit comments 
and related material by:
    1. Mail or delivery to Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Marine 
Safety Office, 20 Risho Avenue, East Providence, RI 02914-1208.
    2. Fax to (401) 435-2399.
    3. Electronically via e-mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call Ms. Erin G. Lambie at Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Providence, 
RI, 401-435-2355. For assistance using the FERC internet Web site we 
reference, please contact FERC online support at 
[email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY 
contact 1-202-502-8659.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments and related material pertaining 
specifically to the maritime operation and waterways management aspects 
of the proposed modification to the existing LNG facility. If you do 
so, please include your name and address, identify the docket number 
for this notice (CGD01-04-115), and give the reason for each comment. 
You may submit your comments and material by mail, hand delivery, fax, 
or electronic means, as described in ADDRESSES, but please submit your 
comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or 
hand delivery, please 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

[[Page 53455]]

U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Providence, please enclose a 
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all 
comments and material received during the comment period. The 
recommendation made by this office may be affected by comments 
received.

Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting solely for the 
preparation of a Letter of Recommendation, but you may submit a request 
for one to U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Providence at the 
address under ADDRESSES explaining why one would be beneficial. If we 
determine that a public meeting would aid the recommendation process, 
we will hold one or more at a time and place announced by a later 
notice in the Federal Register. We will be participating as a 
cooperating agency in public meetings sponsored by the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC), as outlined in the next paragraph.
    The FERC is the lead Federal agency responsible for authorizing the 
siting and construction of onshore LNG facilities under section 3 of 
the Natural Gas Act (NGA) (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq). FERC also authorizes 
the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines that 
may be associated with LNG facilities under section 7 of the NGA. The 
FERC conducts environmental, safety, and security reviews of LNG plants 
and related pipeline facilities, and as the lead Federal agency 
prepared the overall National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
documentation (18 CFR part 380). As required by NEPA, FERC is 
developing a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Publication of 
the Keyspan LNG EIS will be announced in the Federal Register. The FERC 
intends to hold two public meetings the details of which will also be 
published in the Federal Register. In addition to comments received on 
the draft EIS, comments received at these public meetings, which are 
related specifically to maritime operation and waterways management 
issues surrounding the proposed modifications to the existing LNG 
facility, will be considered by the Coast Guard in the Letter of 
Recommendation process.

Background and Purpose

    Although FERC is the lead Federal agency for authorizing the siting 
and construction of onshore LNG facilities, the Coast Guard is 
responsible for navigation safety issues related to LNG ship 
deliveries. The FERC authorization process and the Coast Guard Letter 
of Recommendation process are two separate and distinct processes, 
although related in that they both pertain to the Keyspan LNG proposal. 
In accordance with the requirements of 33 CFR 127.009, the U.S. Coast 
Guard COTP Providence is preparing a Letter of Recommendation as to the 
suitability of Narragansett Bay and the Providence River to accommodate 
LNG marine traffic. The Letter of Recommendation is in response to a 
Letter of Intent submitted on August 20, 2004, by Keyspan LNG, L.P. 
(Keyspan LNG), in accordance with 33 CFR 127.007 to modify the 
operation of the Keyspan LNG facility in Providence, RI to receive 
shipments of liquefied natural gas via the water.
    The modifications to the Keyspan LNG facility would allow for the 
transportation of up to 800 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of 
imported natural gas to the U.S. market. The proposed LNG terminal 
would include the construction of a ship unloading facility with a 
single berth capable of receiving LNG ships with cargo capacities of up 
to 145,000 cubic meters (m\3\) of liquefied natural gas. The Coast 
Guard COTP Providence's Letter of Recommendation will address the 
suitability of Narragansett Bay and the Providence River to accommodate 
LNG vessels with a capacity of up to 145,000 cubic meters. 
Specifically, the Letter of Recommendation will address the suitability 
of the waterway for LNG marine traffic based on:
     The physical location of the facility.
     A description of the facility.
     The LNG vessels' characteristics and the frequency of LNG 
shipments to or from the facility.
     Charts showing waterway channels and identifying 
commercial, industrial, environmentally sensitive, and residential 
areas in and adjacent to the waterway used by the LNG vessels en route 
to the facility, within 25 kilometers of the facility.
     Density and character of marine traffic in the waterway.
     Locks, bridges, or other manmade obstructions in the 
waterway.
     Depth of water.
     Tidal range.
     Protection from the high seas.
     Natural hazards, including reefs, rocks, and sandbars.
     Underwater pipelines and cables.
     Distance of berthed vessel from the channel, and the width 
of the channel.
    As stated above, the Letter of Recommendation process is 
independent of and separate from, although related to, the Federal 
permitting process for which FERC is the lead agency. Any permit that 
may be issued by FERC will require, as a condition of final approval, 
that the Keyspan facility obtain a Letter of Recommendation from the 
U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Providence.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the Keyspan LNG project is available 
from FERC's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC or on the FERC 
internet web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click 
on the eLibrary link, then click on ``General Search'' and enter FERC's 
docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number 
field (i.e., CP04-223). For assistance, please contact FERC online 
support at [email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, 
or for TTY contact 1-202-502-8659.

    Dated: August 25, 2004.
M.E. Landry,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port, Providence.
[FR Doc. 04-19961 Filed 8-31-04; 8:45 am]
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