[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 37 (Friday, February 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9297-9299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-783]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-411-000, Corps Application  CENAP-OP-R-
200500146; Docket No. CP04-416-000, Corps Application  CENAP-
OP-R-200500145]


U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Crown 
Landing, L.L.C., Texas Eastern Transmission, L.P.; Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the 
Scheduling of Joint Public Hearings and the Submission of Two 
Department of the Army Permit Applications to the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers for the Proposed Crown Landing LNG and Logan Lateral Projects 
in Gloucester County, NJ, New Castle County, DE and Delaware County, PA

February 18, 2005.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), 
U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Fisheries has prepared a draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal 
(referred to as the Crown Landing LNG Project) proposed by Crown 
Landing, L.L.C. (Crown Landing), a BP Energy Company (BP) affiliate, 
and natural gas pipeline facilities (referred to as the Logan Lateral 
Project) proposed by Texas Eastern Transmission, L.P. (Texas Eastern) 
in the above-referenced dockets.
    This is a joint public notice by the FERC and COE to advertise:
     The availability of the draft EIS;
     The scheduling of joint public meetings/hearings on March 
29, 30, and 31, 2005; and
     The submission of two Department of the Army permit 
applications (CENAP-OP-R-200500145 and CENAP-OP-R-200500146) to the COE 
for the Crown Landing LNG and Logan Lateral Projects in Gloucester 
County, New Jersey, New Castle County, Delaware and Delaware County, 
Pennsylvania.

[[Page 9298]]

    The draft EIS has been prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC concludes that if 
the project is constructed and operated in accordance with Crown 
Landing's and Texas Eastern's proposed mitigation and our recommended 
mitigation measures, the proposed facilities would have limited adverse 
environmental impact. The draft EIS identifies and evaluates the 
preferred alternative proposal and other alternatives, including system 
alternatives, alternative sites for the LNG import terminal, and 
pipeline alternatives, and requests comments on them.
    The proposed LNG terminal would be located on the shoreline of the 
Delaware River in Logan Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, and 
would consist of facilities capable of unloading LNG ships, storing up 
to 450,000 cubic meters (m3) of LNG (9.2 billion cubic feet of natural 
gas equivalent), vaporizing the LNG, and sending out natural gas at a 
baseload rate of 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) and a maximum 
rate of 1.4 Bcfd (using spare equipment). Crown Landing proposes to 
interconnect the LNG facilities onsite with three pipelines. One 
interconnect would be with the new pipeline that Texas Eastern proposes 
to construct and operate (i.e., Logan Lateral) between its existing 
Chester Junction facility in Brookhaven Borough, Pennsylvania and the 
proposed LNG terminal. The other two interconnects would be with 
existing pipelines that currently cross the LNG terminal site. One of 
these pipelines is owned and operated by Columbia Gas Transmission 
Company (Columbia Gas). The other pipeline is owned and operated by 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco). To date, neither 
Columbia Gas nor Transco have filed applications with the FERC to 
construct and operate the interconnects. The Crown Landing LNG Project 
would have a maximum delivery capacity of 0.5 Bcfd to the Columbia Gas 
pipeline system, 0.6 Bcfd to the Transco pipeline system, and 0.9 Bcfd 
to the Texas Eastern pipeline system.
    The proposed preferred project construction site, referenced above, 
is approximately 175 acres in size (waterward of the low water line on 
the Delaware River). Within the site there are uplands, wetlands 
(federally regulated) and intertidal river shoreline (also federally 
regulated). Construction of the proposed LNG terminal (Crown Landing) 
would involve the dredging of shallow water riverbottom and the filling 
of a small area of intertidal river shoreline for the installation of 
berthing structures in the Delaware River. No permanent filling of 
federally regulated wetlands is proposed for construction of the 
terminal facilities. The proposed new pipeline (Texas Eastern) 
connection would involve the installation of about 11.00 miles of new 
underground pipeline from the storage and transfer facility in 
Gloucester County, New Jersey, crossing Birch Creek, Raccoon Creek, the 
Delaware River, Chester Creek and several smaller waterways on both 
sides of the Delaware River, to an existing pipeline junction facility 
in Pennsylvania.
    The Birch Creek, Raccoon Creek, Delaware River, and Chester Creek 
crossings would all be accomplished by Horizontal Directional Drilling 
(HDD) method. All smaller waterway crossings would be accomplished by 
open-cut trenching. The rigging for the HDD crossing of the Delaware 
River would be set-up on the Pennsylvania bank of the river in Chester. 
The pipeline would be ``pulled under'' the river from the old Ferry 
Road roadbed on the New Jersey side.
    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 capable of receiving LNG ships 
with capacities up to 200,000 m\3\;
     Three 150,000 m\3\ (net capacity) full-containment LNG 
storage tanks, comprised of 9 percent nickel steel inner tank, pre-
stressed concrete outer tank, and a concrete roof;
     A closed-loop shell and tube heat exchanger vaporization 
system;
     Various ancillary facilities, including administrative 
offices, warehouse/maintenance building, main control center, 
guardhouse, and a pier control room;
     Three meter and regulation stations located on the 
proposed LNG terminal site; and
     Approximately 11.00 miles of 30-inch-diameter natural gas 
pipeline (4.92 miles in Pennsylvania and 6.08 miles in New Jersey), a 
pig launcher and receiver facility at the beginning and end of the 
pipeline, a mainline valve, and a meter and regulation station at the 
end of the pipeline.
    Crown Landing and Texas Eastern have applied, concurrently, to the 
COE for two Department of the Army Individual permits pursuant to 
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) and Section 10 of 
the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) for the proposed 
structures in and under navigable waters and the discharge of dredged, 
excavated, and/or fill material into waters of the United States, 
including wetlands to construct the preferred alternative identified in 
the draft EIS. The decision whether to issue the permits will be based 
on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, 
of the proposed projects on the public interest. The decision will 
reflect the national concern for the protection and utilization of 
important resources. The benefits, which would be reasonably expected 
to accrue from the proposed projects, must be balanced against its 
reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors, which may be relevant 
to the proposed work, will be considered, including the cumulative 
effect thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, 
general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and 
wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, 
navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply, and 
consideration of property ownership, and in general, the needs and 
welfare of the people. Department of the Army permit(s) will be granted 
by the COE unless it is determined that the proposed work would be 
contrary to the public interest.
    Joint FERC Public Meetings/COE Public Hearings will be held to 
provide interested individuals with the opportunity to testify about 
the effects of the projects, including their social, economic and 
environmental effects. These meetings/hearings provide the opportunity 
to present views, opinions, and information that will be considered by 
the FERC and COE in evaluating the proposed projects.

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. CP04-411-000, 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 April 18, 2005.

[[Page 9299]]

    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 three 
meetings in the project area. The locations and times of these meetings 
are listed below.
    March 29, 2005, 7 p.m. (EST), Holiday Inn, One Pureland Drive, 
Swedesboro, NJ 08085, (856) 467-3322;
    March 30, 2005, 7 p.m. (EST), Crozer Community Hospital, 2600 West 
9th St., Chester, PA 19013, (610) 494-0700;
    March 31, 2005, 7 p.m. (EST), Holiday Inn, 630 Naamans Road, 
Claymont, DE 19703, (302) 791-4603.
    Information regarding these meetings is also 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 FERC 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.
    The draft EIS is also available for review and inspection (not for 
distribution) at the locations listed below: Gloucester County Library, 
415 Swedesboro Road, Gibbstown, NJ 08027;
    Gloucester County Library, 101 Beckett Road, Logan Township, NJ 
08085;
    J. Lewis Crozier Library, 620 Engle Street, Chester, PA 19013;
    Aston Public Library, 3720 Concord Road, Aston, PA 19014;
    Brandywine Hundred Branch of the New Castle County Library, 1300 
Foulk Road, Wilmington, DE 19803;
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, John Wanamaker 
Building, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 656-5940.
    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. 
The draft EIS can be accessed on this Web site. 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 FERC, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the FERC 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. E5-783 Filed 2-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P