[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 50 (Thursday, March 15, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12257-12259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4767]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2004-16877]


Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License 
Application; Final Public Hearing and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG) announce the availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/FEIR) for the Cabrillo Port 
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Deepwater Port (DWP) license application. 
In addition, a public hearing will be held regarding the approval or 
denial of the license application. The proposed Cabrillo Port LNG DWP 
would be located offshore of Ventura County, California. Since the 
applicant has also filed a California State Lands Commission (CSLC) 
land lease application for subsea pipelines through California State 
waters to deliver natural gas to shore, the FEIS/FEIR was prepared in 
accordance with a Memorandum of Agreement with the CSLC. The FEIS/FEIR 
meets requirements consistent with the Deepwater Port Act (DWPA) of 
1974, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA Section 102[2][3]), as implemented by Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations 1500 
to 1508); and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 
(California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.). The USCG and 
MARAD will receive public comments on the FEIS/FEIR and license 
application. Publication of this notice begins a 45 day comment period 
and provides information on how to participate in the process.

DATES: The FEIS/FEIR will be available on March 16, 2007. Material 
submitted in response to the request for comments on the FEIS/FEIR and 
application must reach the Docket Management Facility by April 30, 2007 
ending the 45 day public comment period. The final public hearing will 
be held in Oxnard, CA on April 4, 2007, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will 
be preceded by an informational open house from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The 
public hearing may end later than the stated time, depending on the 
number of persons wishing to speak.
    Federal and State agencies must submit comments, recommended 
conditions for licensing, or letters of no objection by May 21, 2007 
(45 days after the final public hearing). In addition, by that same 
date, May 21, 2007, the Governor of California (the adjacent coastal 
state) may approve, disapprove, or notify MARAD of inconsistencies with 
State programs relating to environmental protection, land and water 
use, and coastal zone management for which MARAD may condition the 
license to make consistent with such State programs.
    MARAD must issue a record of decision (ROD) to approve, approve 
with conditions, or deny the DWP license application by July 3, 2007 
(90 days after the public hearing).

ADDRESSES: The USCG and MARAD will conduct a public hearing in Oxnard 
to receive oral or written comments on April 4, 2007 from 5 p.m. to 8 
p.m. at the Performing Arts and Convention Center, Oxnard Room, 800 
Hobson Way, Oxnard, California, 93030, telephone: (805) 486-2424.
    The public meeting space will be wheelchair-accessible. Individuals 
may request special accommodations for the public hearing, such as real 
time Spanish translation and/or for the hearing impaired. Contact 
Raymond Martin, USCG, at 202-372-1449 [email protected] if 
special accommodations are required. Requests should be made as soon as 
possible but at least three (3) business days before the scheduled 
meeting. Include the name and telephone number of the contact person, 
the timelines for requesting accommodations, and a TDD number that can 
be used by individuals with hearing impairments.
    The FEIS/FEIR, the application, comments and associated 
documentation are available for viewing at the DOT's Docket Management 
System Web site: http://dms.dot.gov under docket number 16877. The 
FEIS/FEIR is also available at public libraries in Oxnard (Albert H. 
Soliz Library and Main Library, Oxnard Public Libraries),

[[Page 12258]]

Port Hueneme (Ray D. Prueter Library), Valencia (Valencia Library), and 
Malibu (Malibu Community Library).
    Address docket submissions for USCG-2004-16877 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 
number is 202-366-9329, its fax number 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: Information pertaining to the proposed 
Cabrillo Port Project is available online at http://dms.dot.gov, or 
http://www.slc.ca.gov. Questions regarding the proposed Project, the 
license application process, or the FEIS/FEIR process may be directed 
to Raymond Martin, U.S. Coast Guard, telephone: 202-372-1449, e-mail: 
[email protected], or Keith Lesnick, MARAD, (202) 366-1624, e-
mail: [email protected].
    If you have questions on viewing the docket, call Renee V. Wright, 
Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone: 202-493-0402.
    This public notice may be requested in an alternative format, such 
as Spanish translation, audiotape, large print, or Braille. Contact 
Raymond Martin, USCG, telephone: 202-372-1449, e-mail: 
[email protected] or visit http://www.cabrilloport.ene.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Hearing and Open House

    We invite you to learn about the proposed deepwater port at an 
informational open house, and to comment at a public hearing on the 
proposed action and the evaluation contained in the FEIS/FEIR. In order 
to allow all interested parties an opportunity to speak at the public 
hearing, we may limit speaker time, or extend the hearing 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. Additionally, written comments may be submitted at 
the open house or public hearing and a court reporter will be available 
to take comments during the open house for those wishing to make oral 
comments.
    You may submit written material at the public hearing, 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 
DOT Docket Management System (DMS). See ``Request for Comments'' for 
information about DMS and your rights under the Privacy Act.

Request for Comments

    We will receive public comments or other relevant information on 
the FEIS/FEIR and application. The public hearing is not the only 
opportunity you have to comment. In addition to or in place of 
attending a hearing, you can submit comments to the Docket Management 
Facility during the public comment period (see DATES). The Coast Guard 
and MARAD will consider all relevant comments and materials received 
during the comment period.
    Submissions should include:
     Docket number USCG-2004-16877.
     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.

Privacy Act

    Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, 
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 website, 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.

Background

    We published the Notice of Application for the proposed Cabrillo 
Port LNG deepwater port and information on regulations and statutes 
governing the license review process in the Federal Register at 69 FR 
3934, January 27, 2004; the Notice of Intent to Prepare a joint EIS/EIR 
for the proposed action was published at 69 FR 9344, February 27, 2004; 
and the Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR was published at 69 
FR 64578, November 5, 2004. Additionally, the State of California 
determined it was necessary to recirculate the Draft EIR due to several 
changes in the project. A Revised Draft EIR was published in March 
2006. Information from the ``Summary of the Application'' from previous 
Federal Register notices is included below for your convenience.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action requiring review is the Federal licensing of 
the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary of the Application'' 
below. The actions available to MARAD are: (1) License the port with 
conditions (including conditions designed to mitigate environmental 
impact), or (2) deny the license, which for purposes of environmental 
review is the ``no-action'' alternative. These potential actions are 
more fully discussed in the FEIS/FEIR. The USCG and MARAD are the lead 
Federal agencies for the preparation of the EIS/EIR. You can address 
any questions about the proposed action or the FEIS/FEIR to the USCG 
project manager identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Summary of the Application

    The Applicant proposes to construct and operate an offshore 
floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that would be moored in 
Federal waters approximately 12.01 nautical miles (13.83 statute miles 
or 22.25 kilometers) offshore of Ventura County in 2,900 feet (884 
meters) of water. As proposed, LNG from the Pacific basin would be 
delivered to and offloaded from an LNG carrier onto the FSRU; re-
gasified; and the natural gas would be delivered onshore via two 24 
inch (0.6 meters) diameter natural gas pipelines totaling approximately 
22.77 statute miles (36.64 kilometers) laid on the ocean floor. These 
pipelines would come onshore at Ormond Beach near Oxnard, California to 
connect with the existing Southern California Gas Company intrastate 
pipeline system to distribute natural gas throughout the Southern 
California region. The facilities would be designed to deliver an 
annual average of up to 0.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) (22.7 
million cubic meters per day) and peak

[[Page 12259]]

delivery capacity of 1.5 bcfd (42.5 million cubic meters per day).
    The FSRU would store LNG in three Moss spherical tanks. Each tank 
would have a 24 million gallon (90,800 cubic meters) LNG storage 
capacity, and the total FSRU LNG storage capacity would be 
approximately 72 million gallons (273,000 cubic meters). The FSRU would 
be permanently moored, and would use a turret system (a tower-like 
revolving structure) to allow the FSRU to weathervane (rotate) around a 
fixed point. A Safety Zone would be established covering a 500-meter 
(1,640-foot) radius out from the stern of the FSRU. The FSRU, which 
would be designed for loading LNG from side-by-side, moored LNG 
tankers, would be shaped like a double-sided, double-bottomed vessel, 
971 feet (296 meters) long and 213 feet (65 meters) wide, with a 
displacement of approximately 190,000 deadweight tons.

Alternatives

    The FEIS/FEIR examines and assesses the environmental impact of the 
project location and pipeline routes of the proposed action, 
alternatives, and the no-action alternative. In addition to the 
environmental impacts, the FEIS/FEIR considers approving, approving 
with conditions or denying (no action alternative) the application for 
a license.

    Dated: March 9, 2007.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Daron T. Threet,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
 [FR Doc. E7-4767 Filed 3-14-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P