[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26493-26494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6843]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-83-000; Docket Nos. CP05-84-000; CP05-85-000; CP05-86-
000]


Port Arthur LNG, L.P.; Port Arthur Pipeline, L.P.; Notice of 
Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final 
General Conformity Determination for the Port Arthur LNG Project

April 28, 2006.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the construction and operation of the liquefied natural gas 
(LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline facilities (referred to 
as the Port Arthur LNG Project or Project) as proposed by Port Arthur 
LNG, L.P. and Port Arthur Pipeline, L.P. (collectively Sempra) in the 
above-referenced dockets.
    The final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The staff concludes that 
approval of the Port Arthur LNG Project, with appropriate mitigating 
measures as recommended,

[[Page 26494]]

would have limited adverse environmental impact. The final EIS 
evaluates alternatives to the proposal, including system alternatives, 
alternative sites for the LNG import terminal, and pipeline 
alternatives. The final EIS also contains our final General Conformity 
Determination.
    The purpose of the Port Arthur LNG Project is to allow access to 
LNG supplies and thus provide a new, stable source of between 1.5 and 
3.0 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to supplement the 
diminishing supplies while utilizing, to the extent practicable, the 
existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure within the Gulf of Mexico 
region of the U.S.; and allow natural gas delivery to markets in the 
Midwestern and Northeastern markets by use of existing interstate 
natural gas pipeline systems. Sempra's proposed facilities would be 
constructed in two phases and would ultimately provide an average of 
3.0 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to the existing pipeline 
infrastructure in Texas and Louisiana, and to potential other end-users 
in the Midwestern and Northeastern natural gas markets.
    The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities in Jefferson and 
Orange Counties, Texas, and Cameron, Calcasieu, and Beauregard 
Parishes, Louisiana:
     A protected LNG unloading slip with ship maneuvering area 
(turning basin);
     LNG ship unloading system consisting of two berths each 
consisting of four 16-inch unloading arms and one 16-inch vapor return 
arm, mooring and breasting dolphins, gangway tower, firewater monitors, 
service utilities and associated valves and piping. LNG transfer from 
the ship to the on-shore storage system would be through two 36-inch-
diameter unloading lines, one per berth. Each berth would be sized for 
an unloading rate of 17,500 cubic meters per hour (m3/hr); 
although, only one ship would be unloaded at a time during Phase I;
     LNG storage system consisting of a total of six full-
containment LNG storage tanks each with a nominal capacity of 160,000 
cubic meters (m3) (1,006,000 barrels). Each tank would be 
equipped with three can-type, fully submerged LNG in-tank pumps sized 
for 2,976 gallons per minute (gpm) each;
     Boil-off gas (BOG) recovery system consisting of 4 
reciprocating BOG compressors each sized for 13,887 pounds per hour 
(lb/hr), four integrally geared return gas blowers, each sized for 
32,228 lb/hr, and one direct-contact recondenser;
     LNG transfer system to transfer LNG from the recondenser 
to the send-out LNG vaporizers. The transfer system would consist of 16 
pot-mounted LNG booster pumps (two being spares) each sized for 1,964 
gpm;
     LNG vaporization system consisting of 12 shell-and-tube 
LNG vaporizers (two being spares) each sized for 0.305 Bcf/d. The heat 
source to the vaporizers would be heated water;
     Hot water heating system consisting of 8 gas-fired hot 
water heaters each sized for 348 million British thermal units per hour 
(MMBtu/hr) and 6 centrifugal hot water circulation pumps (two being 
spares) each sized for 11,727 gpm;
     Emergency vent system; LNG spill containment system; fire 
water system; fuel gas, nitrogen, instrument/plant air and service 
water utility systems; various hazard detection, control, and 
prevention systems; and cryogenic piping, electrical, and 
instrumentation systems;
     Utilities, buildings and support facilities; facilities 
for pig launchers and receivers; and metering facilities; and
     Approximately 73 miles of 36-inch-diameter natural gas 
pipeline and associated ancillary pipeline facilities.
    The final EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First 
Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502-8371.
    A limited number of copies of the final EIS are available from the 
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch identified above. In 
addition, copies of the final EIS have been mailed to Federal, state, 
and local agencies; elected officials; public interest groups; 
individuals and affected landowners who requested a copy of the final 
EIS; and parties to these proceedings.
    In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) 
regulations implementing the NEPA, no agency decision on a proposed 
action may be made until 30 days after the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes a notice of availability of the final EIS. 
However, the CEQ regulations provide an exception to this rule when an 
agency decision is subject to a formal internal appeal process that 
allows other agencies or the public to make their views known. In such 
cases, the agency decision may be made at the same time as the notice 
of the final EIS is published, allowing both periods to run 
concurrently. Should the Commission authorize the proposed Project, it 
would be subject to a 30-day rehearing period.
    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 
at (202) 502-8659. 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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-6843 Filed 5-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P