[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56681-56683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5215]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-396-000]


Sabine Pass LNG, L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Sabine Pass LNG Terminal 
Phase II Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

September 14, 2005.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Sabine Pass LNG Phase II 
Project involving construction and operation of liquefied natural gas 
(LNG) import terminal facilities by Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. (SPLNG) in 
Cameron Parish, Louisiana.\1\ These facilities would consist of three 
additional LNG storage tanks and new and expanded LNG vaporization 
systems. This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-

[[Page 56682]]

making process to determine whether the project is in the public 
convenience and necessity.
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    \1\ SPLNG's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 3 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 153 of the Commission(s 
regulations.
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    The SPLNG Phase II Project would complement the SPLNG Phase I 
Project that was authorized by the Commission on December 21, 2004 in 
Docket No. CP04-47-000. The SPLNG Phase I Project is currently under 
construction. The SPLNG Phase II Project would increase the LNG import 
terminal's planned send-out capacity from 2.6 billion standard cubic 
feet per day (Bscfd) to 4 Bscfd and the number of LNG ships from 300 to 
400 ships per year.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    In the Commission's December 21, 2004 Order for the Phase I 
Project, SPLNG was authorized to construct and operate an LNG import 
terminal consisting of a ship turning basin and two protected ship 
berths, three LNG storage tanks, associated vaporization facilities, 
and a 16-mile-long, 42-inch-diameter natural gas send-out pipeline.
    SPLNG wants to expand the throughput capacity of the Phase I 
Project to import, store, vaporize, and send out an additional 1.4 
Bscfd. SPLNG seeks authority to construct and operate:
     Three 160,000 m\3\ single containment LNG storage tanks;
     Sixteen Ambient Air Vaporization (AAV) Trains, each with a 
high-pressure sendout pump;
     Eight Submerged Combustion Vaporization (SCV) Trains, each 
with a high-pressure sendout pump;
     One Pilot AAV Train;
     Two additional parallel stainless steel LNG transfer 
lines;
     Two 50 percent Boil off gas (BOG) compressors;
     Two additional BOG condensing systems;
     Four shell-and-tube heat exchangers;
     Two vapor return blowers
     One 27 megawatt simple-cycle gas turbine generator; and
     Two 30-inch sendout pipelines to new main meters.

The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\2\ The 
SPLNG Phase II facilities would be adjacent to or within the boundary 
of the Phase I site.
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other 
than Appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's Web site 
at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission(s Public Reference 
Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 
502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to the 
last page of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 322.8 
acres of land, entirely within 852 acres of private land that SPLNG has 
leased for the Phase I and Phase II projects. Of the 322.8 acres, about 
211.0 acres overlaps with Phase I Project construction and operation 
area. Following construction, about 73.9 acres would be used for 
operation of the Phase II Project. The remaining 248.9 acres of land 
would be allowed to revert to pre-construction conditions once 
construction is complete. No nonjurisdictional facilities are proposed 
for this project.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us 
to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. 
This process is referred to as ``scoping''. The main goal of the 
scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission staff 
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the 
EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the 
EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify 
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to 
comment on their areas of concern.
    In the EA we \3\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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     Geology and soils
     Land use
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
     Cultural resources
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Air quality and noise
     Hazardous waste
     Endangered and threatened species
     Public safety
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending 
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be 
published and mailed to federal, state, and local agencies, public 
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission(s official service list for 
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA 
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make 
our recommendations to the Commission.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified three issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by SPLNG. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Impacts associated with the additional LNG ship traffic in 
Sabine Pass.
     Impacts associated with the use of Ambient Air Vaporizers.
     About 100 acres of wetland would be impacted during 
construction, including about 60.3 acres of permanent wetland impact 
from operation.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative site 
layouts), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The 
more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. We are 
extending our normal comment period of 30 days to 60 days due to the 
effects of Hurricane Katrina. 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 letter to: Magalie 
R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP05-396.

[[Page 56683]]

     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before November 15, 2005.
    Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail 
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include 
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our 
environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission 
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 Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under 
the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to the User's Guide. Before you can 
file comments you will need to create a free account which can be 
created online.
    We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving 
it, please return the Information Request (Appendix 3). If you do not 
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding, or ``intervenor''. To 
become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene according to 
Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 
385.214). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the 
Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically 
submitted using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov. 
Persons without Internet access should send an original and 14 copies 
of their motion to the Secretary of the Commission at the address 
indicated previously. Persons filing Motions to Intervene on or before 
the comment deadline indicated above must send a copy of the motion to 
the Applicant. All filings, including late interventions, submitted 
after the comment deadline must be served on the Applicant and all 
other intervenors identified on the Commission's service list for this 
proceeding. Persons on the service list with e-mail addresses may be 
served electronically; others must be served a hard copy of the filing.
    Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be 
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your environmental comments considered.

Environmental Mailing List

    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners whose 
property may be affected for project purposes, or who own homes within 
distances defined in the Commission's regulations of certain 
aboveground facilities. By this notice we are also asking governmental 
agencies, especially those in Appendix 2 to express their interest in 
becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.

Additional Information

    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 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 http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E5-5215 Filed 9-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P