[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 116 (Friday, June 17, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35277-35279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12017]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2004-17696]


Freeport-McMoRan Energy LLC Main Pass Energy Hub Liquefied 
Natural Gas Deepwater Port License Application; Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement

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

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

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

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) 
announce the availability of the draft environmental impact statement 
(DEIS) on the Main Pass Energy Hub (MPEH) Deepwater Port License 
Application. The application describes a project that would be located 
in the Gulf of Mexico in Main Pass Lease Block 299 (MP 299), 
approximately 16 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. The Coast Guard 
and MARAD request public comments on the DEIS.

DATES: Three public meetings will be held. The public meeting in Grand 
Bay, Alabama will be held on July 18, 2005, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and 
will be preceded by an informational open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6 
p.m. The public meeting in Pascagoula, Mississippi will be held on July 
19, 2005, from 6 p.m.to 8 p.m., and will be preceded by an 
informational open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The public meeting in 
New Orleans, Louisiana, will be held on July 20, 2005, from 6 p.m. to 8 
p.m., and will be preceded by an informational open house from 4:30 
p.m. to 6 p.m. The public meeting may end later than the stated time, 
depending on the number of persons wishing to speak. Material submitted 
in response to the request for comments must reach the Docket 
Management Facility on or before August 1, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The first public meeting and informational open house will 
be held at the Grand Bay St. Elmo Community Center, 11610 Highway 90 
West, Grand Bay, Alabama, phone: 251-865-4010. The second public 
meeting and informational open house will be held at the Jackson County 
Civic Center, 2902 Shortcut Road, Pascagoula, Mississippi, phone: 228-
762-6043. The third public meeting and informational open house will be 
held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans Hotel at Louisiana Superdome, 
Poydras at Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, phone: 504-587-4104.
    A copy of the DEIS is available for viewing at the DOT's docket 
management Web site: http://dms.dot.gov under docket number 17696. 
Copies are also available for review at Pascagoula Public Library, MS, 
228-769-3060; Bayou La Batre City Public Library, AL, 251-824-4213; 
Mobile Public Main Library, AL, 251-208-7106; Terrebonne Parish Library 
Main Branch, LA, 985-76-5861; Plaquemines Parish Public Library, LA, 
985-657-7121; New Orleans Public Main Library, LA, 504-529-7989; Morgan 
City Public Library (St. Mary Parish), LA, 504-380-4646; and Ingleside 
Public Library, TX, 361-776-5355.
    Address docket submissions for USCG-2004-17696 to: Docket 
Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    The Docket Management Facility accepts hand-delivered submissions, 
and makes docket contents available for public inspection and copying, 
at this address, in room PL-401, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Facility's telephone is 
202-366-9329, its fax is 202-493-2251, and its Web site for electronic 
submissions or for electronic access to docket contents is http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roddy Bachman, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-267-1752, e-mail: [email protected]. If you have 
questions on viewing the docket, call Andrea M. Jenkins, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone: 202-366-0271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Meeting and Open House

    We invite you to learn about the proposed deepwater port at the 
informational open house, and to comment at the public meeting on the 
proposed action and the evaluation contained in the DEIS.
    Please notify the Coast Guard (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) 
if you wish to speak at the public meeting. In order to allow everyone 
a chance to speak, we may limit speaker time, or extend the meeting 
hours, or both. You must identify yourself, and any organization you 
represent, by name. Your remarks will be recorded or transcribed for 
inclusion in the public docket.
    You may submit written material at the public meeting, either in 
place of or in addition to speaking. Written material must include your 
name and address, and will be included in the public docket.
    Public docket materials will be made available to the public on the 
Docket Management Facility's Docket Management System (DMS). See 
``Request for Comments'' for information about DMS and your rights 
under the Privacy Act.
    If you plan to attend either the open house or the public meeting, 
and need special assistance such as sign language interpretation or 
other reasonable accommodation, please notify the Coast Guard (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 3 business days in advance. 
Include your contact information as well as information about your 
specific needs.

Request for Comments

    We request public comments or other relevant information on the 
DEIS. The public meeting is not the only opportunity you have to 
comment on the DEIS. In addition to or in place of attending the 
meeting, you can submit material to the Docket Management Facility 
during the public comment period (see DATES). The Coast Guard will 
consider all comments submitted during the public comment period, and 
then will prepare the final EIS. We will announce the availability of 
the final EIS and once again give you an opportunity for review and 
comment. (If you want that notice to be sent to you, please contact the 
Coast Guard officer identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.)
    Submissions should include:
     Docket number USCG-2004-17696.
     Your name and address.
     Your reasons for making each comment or for bringing 
information to our attention.
    Submit comments or material using only one of the following 
methods:
     Electronic submission to DMS, http://dms.dot.gov.
     Fax, mail, or hand delivery to the Docket Management 
Facility (see ADDRESSES). Faxed or hand delivered submissions must be 
unbound, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, and suitable for copying 
and electronic scanning. If you mail your submission and want to know 
when it reaches the Facility, include a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope.

[[Page 35278]]

    Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, 
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the DMS Web site 
(http://dms.dot.gov), and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You 
may wish to read the Privacy Act notice that is available on the DMS 
Web site, or the Department of Transportation Privacy Act Statement 
that appeared in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477).
    You may view docket submissions at the Docket Management Facility 
(see ADDRESSES), or electronically on the DMS Web site.

Proposed Action

    We published a notice of intent to prepare an EIS for the proposed 
Main Pass Energy Hub LNG Terminal LLC deepwater port in the Federal 
Register (69 FR 45337, July 29, 2004). The proposed action requiring 
environmental review is the Federal licensing of the proposed deepwater 
port described in ``Summary of the Application'' below, which is 
reprinted from previous Federal Register notices in this docket.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The alternatives to licensing are: (1) licensing with conditions 
(including conditions designed to mitigate environmental impact), and 
(2) denying the application, which for purposes of environmental review 
is the ``no-action'' alternative. These alternatives are more fully 
discussed in the DEIS.

Summary of the Application

    The application calls for the proposed deepwater port to be located 
in the Gulf of Mexico on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), 
approximately 16 miles offshore southeast Louisiana in Main Pass Block 
299. It would be located in a water depth of approximately 210 feet (64 
meters). The proposed location is a former sulphur mining facility. The 
project would utilize four existing platforms, along with associated 
bridges and support structures, with appropriate modifications and 
additions as part of the deepwater port. Two new platforms would be 
constructed to support liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks, and a 
patent-pending berthing system to berth the LNG carriers would be 
installed.
    FME proposes the installation of approximately 192 miles of natural 
gas and natural gas liquid (NGL) transmission pipelines on the OCS, 
varying in size ranging from 12 to 36 inches in diameter. Five proposed 
pipelines would connect the deepwater port with several existing gas 
distribution pipelines, one of which would connect with a gas 
distribution pipeline near Coden, Alabama. NGL derived from natural gas 
conditioning (i.e. ethane, propane, and butanes) would be delivered via 
a 12-inch pipeline to an existing NGL facility near Venice, Louisiana. 
A proposed metering platform would be installed at Main Pass 164 and 
would also provide a tie-in location for two lateral transmission 
lines.
    The proposed project would sit atop a salt dome, approximately 2 
miles in diameter. An on-site total gas storage capacity of 
approximately 28 billion cubic feet would be provided in three salt 
caverns to be constructed under the deepwater port.
    The deepwater port facility would consist of LNG storage tanks, LNG 
carrier berthing provisions, LNG unloading arms, low and high pressure 
pumps, vaporizers, a gas conditioning plant, salt cavern gas storage, 
compression, dehydration, metering, utility systems, general facilities 
and accommodations. The terminal would be able to receive LNG carriers 
ranging in capacity between 60,000 and 160,000 cubic meters. LNG would 
be stored in six tanks located on two new fixed platforms. Each tank 
would have an approximate gross capacity of 24,660 cubic meters, for a 
total net capacity of approximately 145,000 cubic meters. Four 
unloading arms would be provided to offload the LNG carriers at a rate 
of 10,500 to 12,000 cubic meters per hour. The facility would have 
living quarters to routinely accommodate up to 50 personnel, but would 
be capable of accommodating up to 94 personnel for brief periods.
    FME Main Pass Energy Hub would be designed to handle a nominal 
capacity of 7.0 million metric tons per year of LNG, or 350 billion 
cubic feet per year of gas. This is equivalent to an average delivery 
of approximately 1.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd). The facility 
would be capable of delivering a peak of 1.6 bcfd of pipeline-quality 
natural gas during periods of high demand, and a peak of 85,000 barrels 
per day of natural gas liquids.

Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

    The onshore portion of this project shoreward of the mean high 
water line falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC) and must receive a separate authorization 
from the FERC. As required by their regulations, FERC will also 
maintain a docket. The FERC docket numbers for this project are CP04-
68-000 and CP04-69-000. To submit comments to the FERC docket, send an 
original and two copies of your comments to Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426. Label one copy of the comments to the Attention of Gas Branch 2. 
The FERC strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or 
interventions or protests to this proceeding. See 18 CFR 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the FERC's Web site at 
http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to the 
Users Guide. Additional information about the project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208 FERC (3372) or 
on the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the 
``eLibrary'' link, select ``General Search'' from the eLibrary menu, 
enter the selected date range and ``Docket Number'' (i.e., CP04-68-000 
or CP04-69-000), and follow the instructions. For assistance with 
access to eLibrary, the helpline can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY 
202-502-8659, or at [email protected]. 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 FERC now offers a free service called 
eSubscription that 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. To register for this service, go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Department of Army Permit

    New Orleans District, Army Corps of Engineers is issuing a public 
notice advising all interested parties of the proposed activity for 
which a Department of the Army permit is being sought and soliciting 
comments and information necessary to evaluate the probable impact on 
the public interest. Comments should be furnished to the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, OD-SW, P.O. Box 60267, New 
Orleans, LA 70160-0267.


[[Page 35279]]


    Dated: June 13, 2005.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security, and 
Environmental Protection U.S. Coast Guard.
H. Keith Lesnick,
Senior Transportation, Specialist, Deepwater Ports Program Manager, 
U.S. Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-12017 Filed 6-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P