[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2216-2217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-278]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-26-000]


Dominion Cove Point LNG, L.P.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Cove Point Air Separation 
Unit Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 6, 2006.
    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 Cove Point Air Separation Unit 
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Dominion 
Cove Point LNG, L.P. (Dominion) in Calvert County, Maryland. These 
facilities would consist of two air separation units, a liquid nitrogen 
storage tank, a gas turbine generator, a site rating generator and 
associated instrumentation and equipment at the existing Cove Point 
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal. This EA will be used by the 
Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether the 
project is in the public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping period that will 
be used to gather environmental input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Please note that the scoping period will close 
on February 6, 2006.
    This notice is being sent to landowners within 0.5 mile of the 
project area; Federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; environmental and public interest groups; Native American 
tribes; local libraries and newspapers in this proceeding. Government 
representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents of this 
proposal and advise them to comment on their areas of concern.
    The purpose of the Project is to add facilities to the terminal 
that would increase the capability of the LNG import terminal to 
process high British Thermal Unit (BTU) content LNG in order to assure 
that the resulting natural gas meets the gas quality specifications. 
The proposed facilities would also enhance the reliability of service 
at the terminal and provide more flexibility to acquire and schedule 
cargoes of LNG from a wider variety of supply sources.
    Dominion seeks authority to construct and operate:
     Two air separation units;
     One 62,825 gallon liquid nitrogen storage tank;
     Two electric substations and associated automation and 
electric facilities;
     One 20,500 horsepower (HP) International Standards 
Organization (ISO) rating Solar Titan simple cycle gas turbine 
generator;
     One 13,800 volt, 13.2 megawatt (MW) site rating generator;
     Fuel gas equipment and piping;
     Associated instrumentation; and
     Fiber optic and electrical duct banks.
    All construction activities would take place within the existing 
Cove Point Terminal. No additional land would be required for 
construction.

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, 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. By 
this notice, we are also asking Federal, state, and local agencies with 
jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental 
issues to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. 
Agencies that would like to request cooperating status should follow 
the instructions for filling comments provided below.

[[Page 2217]]

    In the EA we \1\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project.
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    \1\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    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.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. 
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 issues that we think deserve attention 
based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the 
environmental information provided by Dominion. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     The installation of a 20,500 HP gas turbine generator may 
substantially increase air contaminant emissions from the Dominion Cove 
Point facility above currently permitted emission levels.
     The installation of a 20,500 HP gas turbine generator and 
two air separation units may increase noise levels at affected noise-
sensitive areas (NSAs).

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentator, 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 and measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful 
they will be. 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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP06-26-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC, on or before February 6, 2006.
    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 on-line.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of 
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors. 
Likewise, each intervenor must send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's eFiling system) or 14 paper copies of its filings to the 
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all 
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding.\2\ 
If you want 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) (see Appendix).\3\ Only intervenors have the 
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \2\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
    \3\ The appendix referenced in this notice is not being printed 
in the Federal Register. Copies of the appendix was sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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    Stakeholders 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 who own 
homes within distances defined in the Commission's regulations of 
certain aboveground facilities.

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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-278 Filed 1-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P