[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58729-58730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20278]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2005-22611]


Neptune LNG, L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License 
Application

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

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) 
announce that they have received an application for the licensing of a

[[Page 58730]]

liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port, and that the application 
appears to contain the required information. This notice summarizes the 
applicant's plans and the procedures that will be followed in 
considering the application.

DATES: The Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended, requires any public 
hearing on this application to be held not later than June 5, 2006, and 
requires a decision on the application to be made not later than 
September 5, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The public docket for USCG-2005-22611 is maintained by the: 
Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 
Seventh, Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    Docket contents are 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 website for electronic 
submissions or for electronic access to docket contents is http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roddy Bachman, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-267-1752, e-mail: [email protected]. If you have 
questions on viewing the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 
Docket Operations, telephone: 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Receipt of Application

    On February 17, 2005, the Coast Guard and MARAD received an 
application from Neptune LNG, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Suez LNG North 
America L.L.C., for all Federal authorizations required for a license 
to own, construct, and operate a deepwater port governed by the 
Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. (the 
Act). Requested supplemental application materials were received on 
September 7, 2005. On September 30, 2005, we determined that the 
application contains all information required by the Act.

Background

    According to the Act, a deepwater port is a fixed or floating 
manmade structure other than a vessel, or a group of structures, 
located beyond State seaward boundaries and used or intended for use as 
a port or terminal for the transportation, storage, and further 
handling of oil or natural gas for transportation to any State.
    A deepwater port must be licensed by the Secretary of 
Transportation. Statutory and regulatory requirements for licensing 
appear in 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. and in 33 CFR Part 148. Under 
delegations from and agreements between the Secretary of Transportation 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, applications are processed by 
the Coast Guard and MARAD. Each application is considered on its 
merits.
    The Act provides strict deadlines for processing an application. 
Once we determine that an application contains the required 
information, we must hold public hearings on the application within 240 
days, and the Secretary of Transportation must render a decision on the 
application within 330 days. We will publish additional Federal 
Register notices to inform you of these public hearings and other 
procedural milestones, including environmental review. The Secretary's 
decision, and other key documents, will be filed in the public docket.
    At least one public hearing must take place in each adjacent 
coastal State. For purposes of the Act, Massachusetts is the adjacent 
coastal State for this application. Other States can apply for adjacent 
coastal State status in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 1508(a)(2).

Summary of the Application

    Neptune LNG, L.L.C. proposes to construct, own and operate a 
deepwater port, named Neptune, in the Federal waters of the Outer 
Continental Shelf on blocks NK 19-04 6525 and NK 19-04 6575, 
approximately 22 miles northeast of Boston, Massachusetts, in a water 
depth of approximately 250 feet. The Neptune deepwater port would be 
capable of mooring up to two approximately 140,000 cubic meter capacity 
LNG carriers by means of a submerged unloading buoy system.
    The LNG carriers, or shuttle regasification vessels (SRVs), would 
be equipped to store, transport and vaporize LNG, and to odorize and 
meter natural gas which would then be sent out by conventional subsea 
pipelines. Each SRV carrier would have insulated storage tanks located 
within its hull. Each tank would be equipped with an in-tank pump to 
circulate and transfer LNG to the vaporization facilities located on 
the deck of the SRV. The proposed vaporization system would be closed-
loop water-glycol, re-circulating heat exchangers heated by steam from 
boil-off gas/vaporized LNG-fired boilers.
    The major fixed components of the proposed deepwater port would be 
an unloading buoy system, eight mooring lines consisting of wire rope 
and chain connecting to anchor points on the seabed, eight suction pile 
anchor points, approximately 2.5 miles of natural gas flow line with 
flexible pipe risers and risers manifolds, and approximately 11 miles 
of 24-inch natural gas transmission line with a hot tap and transition 
manifold to connect to the existing Algonquin HublineSM.
    Neptune would have an average throughput capacity of 400 million 
standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) and a peak capacity of 
approximately 750 MMscfd. Natural gas would be sent out by means of two 
flexible risers and a subsea flowline leading to a 24-inch gas 
transmission line. These risers and flow line would connect the 
deepwater port to the existing 30-inch Algonquin HublineSM. 
No onshore components or storage facilities are associated with the 
proposed deepwater port application.
    Construction of the deepwater port components would be expected to 
take 36 months, with a startup of commercial operations in late 2009. 
The deepwater port would be designed, constructed and operated in 
accordance with applicable codes and standards and would have an 
expected operating life of approximately 20 years.

    Dated: October 4, 2005.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security, and 
Environmental Protection, Coast Guard.
H. Keith Lesnick,
Senior Transportation, Specialist, Deepwater Ports Program Manager, 
Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-20278 Filed 10-6-05; 8:45 am]
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