[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70669-70670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3497]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP04-223-000, CP04-293-000, and CP04-358-000]


KeySpan LNG, L.P., Algonquin Gas Transmission, L.L.C.; Notice Of 
Availability Of The Draft Environmental Impact Statement For The 
Proposed Keyspan LNG Facility Upgrade Project

November 30, 2004.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) 
has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility upgrade and natural gas pipeline 
facilities proposed by KeySpan LNG, L.P., (KeySpan LNG) and Algonquin 
Gas Transmission, L.L.C., (Algonquin) in the above-referenced dockets 
(collectively referred to as the KeySpan LNG Facility Upgrade Project).
    The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that if the 
project is constructed and operated in accordance with appropriate 
mitigating measures as recommended, and if the facility can be brought 
into compliance with current federal safety regulations, approval of 
the proposed project would have limited adverse environmental impact. 
The draft EIS also evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including 
system alternatives, alternative sites for the LNG import terminal, and 
pipeline alternatives, and requests comments on them.
    The proposed facility upgrade would convert the existing KeySpan 
LNG storage facility to an LNG terminal capable of receiving marine 
deliveries, increase the facility's existing

[[Page 70670]]

vaporization capacity from 150 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) to 
525 MMcfd, augment the supply of LNG to fill the region's LNG storage 
facilities to meet peak day needs, and provide 375 MMcfd of new, firm, 
reliable baseload supply of natural gas to Rhode Island and the New 
England region. In order to provide LNG import and pipeline 
transportation services, KeySpan LNG requests Commission authorization 
to upgrade its existing LNG facility and abandon certain facilities 
that would be replaced by the upgrade; and Algonquin requests 
Commission authorization to construct, own, and operate natural gas 
pipeline facilities. The draft EIS evaluates whether the existing peak 
shaving facility converted into a marine import terminal would comply 
with the current federal safety standards.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following LNG and natural gas 
pipeline facilities:
     A ship unloading facility with a single berth capable of 
receiving LNG ships with cargo capacities of 71,500 to 145,000 cubic 
meters (m\3\);
     Two 16-inch-diameter liquid unloading arms and a 24-inch-
diameter liquid unloading line from the arms to the LNG storage tank;
     Two vapor return blowers, a 12-inch-diameter vapor arm, 
and an 8-inch-diameter vapor return line;
     Four boil-off-gas compressors and a boil-off gas 
condenser;
     A two-stage LNG pumping system;
     An indirect fired vaporizer system with a capacity of 375 
MMcfd;
     Operations control buildings;
     Ancillary utilities and LNG facilities;
     A 1.44-mile-long 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
     A receipt point meter station and 30-inch-diameter pig 
launcher; and
     A 24-inch-diameter tap valve and 30-inch-diameter pig 
receiver at the point where the new pipeline would tie into Algonquin's 
existing G-12 Lateral pipeline system.

 Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is 
important that we receive your comments before the date specified 
below. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your 
comments are received in time and properly recorded:
     Send an original and two copies of your comments to: 
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
     Reference Docket No. CP04-223-000, et al.;
     Label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 1, PJ-11.1; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 24, 2005.
    Please note that the Commission strongly encourages electronic 
filing of any comments or interventions 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. Prepare your submission in the same manner as you would 
if filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard drive. 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.''
    In addition to or in lieu of sending written comments, we invite 
you to attend the public comment meetings we will conduct in the 
project area. We will announce in a future notice the location and time 
of the local public meetings to receive comments on the draft EIS. 
These meetings will be posted on the Commission's calendar located at 
http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other 
related information. Interested groups and individuals are encouraged 
to attend and present oral comments on the draft EIS. Transcripts of 
the meetings will be prepared.
    After these comments are reviewed, any significant new issues are 
investigated, and modifications are made to the draft EIS, a final EIS 
will be published and distributed by the staff. The final EIS will 
contain the staff's responses to timely comments received on the draft 
EIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commentor a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to 
become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).
    Anyone may intervene in this proceeding based on this draft EIS. 
You must file your request to intervene as specified above.\1\ You do 
not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
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    \1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
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    The draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., 
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426; (202) 502-8371.
    A limited number of copies are available from the Public Reference 
Room identified above. In addition, copies of the draft EIS have been 
mailed to Federal, State, and local agencies; public interest groups; 
individuals and affected landowners who requested a copy of the draft 
EIS; libraries; newspapers; and parties to this proceeding.
    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 Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. 
Click on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and 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, please contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-
8659. The eLibrary 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.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time 
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to 
the documents. Go to the eSubscription link on the FERC Internet Web 
site.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-3497 Filed 12-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P