[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 133 (Thursday, July 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38116-38118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13505]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2007-28532]


Port Dolphin Energy LLC, Port Dolphin Energy Liquefied Natural 
Gas Deepwater Port License Application

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent; notice of public meeting; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration announces that the Coast Guard, in 
coordination with the Maritime Administration, will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as part of the environmental 
review of this license application. The application describes a project 
that would be located approximately 28 miles off the western coast of 
Florida, and approximately 42 miles from Port Manatee, Manatee County, 
Florida. Publication of this notice begins a scoping process that will 
help identify and determine the scope of environmental issues to be 
addressed in the EIS. This notice requests public participation in the 
scoping process and provides information on how to participate.

DATES: The public meeting in Palmetto, FL will be held on July 25, 
2007. The public meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will be 
preceded by an open house from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The public 
meeting may end later than the stated time, depending on the

[[Page 38117]]

number of persons wishing to speak. Material submitted in response to 
the request for comments must reach the Docket Management Facility by 
August 13, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Public open house and meeting: The Manatee Convention 
Center, Conference Center, One Haben Blvd., Palmetto, Florida 34221. 
(941) 722-3244.
    Address docket submissions for USCG-2007-28532 to: Docket 
Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 
20590.
    The Docket Management Facility accepts hand-delivered submissions, 
and makes docket contents available for public inspection and copying 
at this address, in room W12-140, 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 Web site for electronic 
submissions or for electronic access to docket contents is http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Martin, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-372-1449, e-mail: [email protected], Lieutenant 
Commander Brian Moore, U.S. Coast Guard, telephone: 202-372-1442, e-
mail: [email protected], or Chris Hanan, U.S. Maritime 
Administration, telephone: 202-366-1900, 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:

Public Meeting and Open House

    We invite you to learn about the proposed deepwater port at an 
informational open house, and to comment at a public meeting on 
environmental issues related to the proposed deepwater port. Your 
comments will help us identify and refine the scope of the 
environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS.
    In order to allow everyone a chance to speak at the public meeting, 
we may limit speaker time, or extend the meeting 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.
    You may submit written material at the public meeting, 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 
Docket Management Facility's Docket Management System (DMS). See 
``Request for Comments'' for information about DMS and your rights 
under the Privacy Act.
    Our public meeting location is wheelchair-accessible. If you plan 
to attend the open house or public meeting, and need special assistance 
such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodation, 
please notify the Coast Guard (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at 
least 3 business days in advance. Include your contact information as 
well as information about your specific needs.

Request for Comments

    We request public comments or other relevant information on 
environmental issues related to the proposed deepwater port. The public 
meeting is not the only opportunity you have to comment. In addition to 
or in place of attending a meeting, you can submit comments to the 
Docket Management Facility during the public comment period (see 
DATES). We will consider all comments and material received during the 
comment period.
    Submissions should include:
     Docket number USCG-2007-28532.
     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.
    Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, 
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the DMS website 
(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

    Information about deepwater ports, the statutes and regulations 
governing their licensing, and the receipt of the current application 
for the proposed Port Dolphin liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater 
port appeared in the Federal Register on June 25, 2007 (72 FR 34741). 
The ``Summary of the Application'' from that publication is reprinted 
below for your convenience.
    Consideration of a deepwater port license application includes 
review of the proposed deepwater port's natural and human environmental 
impacts. The Coast Guard, in coordination with the Maritime 
Administration, is the lead agency for determining the scope of this 
review, and in this case has determined that review must include 
preparation of an EIS. This notice of intent is required by 40 CFR 
1501.7, and briefly describes the proposed action and possible 
alternatives and the proposed scoping process. You can address any 
questions about the proposed action, the scoping process, or the EIS to 
the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed action requiring environmental review is the Federal 
licensing of the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary of the 
Application'' below. The alternatives to licensing the proposed port 
are: (1) Licensing with conditions (including conditions designed to 
mitigate environmental impact), and (2) denying the application, which 
for purposes of environmental review is the ``no-action'' alternative.

Scoping Process

    Public scoping is an early and open process for identifying and 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Scoping 
begins with this notice, continues through the public comment period 
(see DATES), and ends when the Coast Guard has completed the following 
actions:
     Invites the participation of Federal, State, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the applicant, and other 
interested persons;
     Determines the actions, alternatives, and impacts 
described in 40 CFR 1508.25;
     Identifies and eliminates, from detailed study, those 
issues that are not significant or that have been covered elsewhere;
     Allocates responsibility for preparing EIS components;

[[Page 38118]]

     Indicates any related environmental assessments or 
environmental impact statements that are not part of the EIS;
     Identifies other relevant environmental review and 
consultation requirements;
     Indicates the relationship between timing of the 
environmental review and other aspects of the application process; and
     At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40 
CFR 1501.7(b).
    Once the scoping process is complete, the Coast Guard will prepare 
a draft EIS, and publish a Federal Register notice announcing its 
public availability. (If you want that notice to be sent to you, please 
contact the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). You will have an opportunity to review and 
comment on the draft EIS. The Coast Guard will consider those comments 
in the preparation of the final EIS. As with the draft EIS, the 
availability of the final EIS will be announced and an opportunity for 
review and comment will again be provided.

Summary of the Application

    Port Dolphin Energy LLC, proposes to own, construct, and operate a 
deepwater port, named Port Dolphin, in the Federal waters of the Outer 
Continental Shelf in the St. Petersburg (PB) blocks: PB545, PB589 and 
PB590, approximately 28 miles off the west coast of Florida to the 
southwest of Tampa Bay, in a water depth of approximately 100 feet. 
Port Dolphin would consist of a permanently moored unloading buoy 
system with two submersible buoys separated by a distance of 
approximately three miles. Each unloading buoy would be permanently 
secured to eight mooring lines, consisting of wire rope, chain, and 
buoyancy elements, each attached to anchor points on the seabed. Anchor 
points will most likely consist of driven piles.
    The buoys would be designed to moor a specialized type of LNG 
vessel called a Shuttle and Regasification Vessel (SRV) of between 
145,000 and 217,000 cubic meter capacity. SRV vessels are equipped to 
vaporize cryogenic LNG cargo to natural gas through an onboard closed 
loop vaporization system, and to odorize and meter gas for send-out by 
means of the unloading buoy to conventional subsea pipelines. The SRVs 
would moor to the unloading buoys which connect through the hull of the 
vessels to specially designed turrets that would enable the vessels to 
weathervane or rotate in response to prevailing wind, wave, and current 
directions. When the vessels are not present, the buoys would be 
submerged on a special landing pad on the seabed, 60-70 feet below the 
sea surface.
    Each unloading buoy would connect through a 16-inch flexible riser 
and a 36-inch flowline to a Y intersection and then a 36-inch pipeline 
approximately 42 miles in length that would connect onshore in Port 
Manatee, Manatee County, Florida. The pipeline would connect with the 
Gulfstream Natural Gas System, LLC and Tampa Electric Company (TECO) 
System.
    The 36-inch gas transmission line would make landfall on Port 
Manatee property. From there, the transmission pipeline would proceed 
in a generally easterly direction to the first interconnection point 
with the Gulfstream system at 3.6-miles. The Gulfstream Interconnection 
Station would occupy an approximately two-acre site. Up to 
approximately 80 percent of the natural gas or 800 million standard 
cubic feet per day (mmscfd) is expected to be delivered to the 
Gulfstream Pipeline.
    The remaining portion of the natural gas, up to approximately 360 
mmscfd, would be transported by 14-inch line to the TECO 
interconnection station; located 2.1-miles east of the Gulfstream 
interconnect. Only shuttle and regasification vessels (SRVs) will call 
on Port Dolphin. Offloading would require between 4-8 days and when 
empty the SRV would disconnect from the buoy and leave the port.
    Initially it is expected that Port Dolphin would be capable of a 
natural gas throughput of 400 mmscfd and would eventually be capable of 
800 mmscfd with a peak capacity of 1200 mmscfd by having at least one 
SRV regasifying and discharging at all times. The system would be 
designed so that two SRVs can be moored simultaneously for continuous 
unloading of natural gas.
    Port Dolphin Energy LLC is seeking Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) approval for the onshore pipelines concurrent with 
this deepwater port application. As required by FERC regulations, FERC 
will also maintain a docket for the FERC portion of the project. The 
docket numbers are CP07-191-000 and CP07-192-000. The filing may also 
be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' 
link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the 
docket number field to access the document. For assistance, call (866) 
208-3767 or TYY, (202) 502-8659.
    In addition, pipelines and structures such as the moorings may 
require permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 
of the Rivers and Harbors Act which are administered by the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACE).
    Port Dolphin will also require permits from the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the provisions of the Clean Air 
Act, as amended, and the Clean Water Act, as amended.
    The new pipeline will be included in the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) review as part of the deepwater port application 
process. FERC, EPA, and the USACE among others, are cooperating 
agencies and will assist in the NEPA process as described in 40 CFR 
1501.6; will be participating in the scoping meetings; and will 
incorporate the EIS into their permitting processes. Comments sent to 
the FERC docket, EPA or USACE will also be incorporated into the DOT 
docket and EIS to ensure consistency with the NEPA Process.
    Construction of the deepwater port would be expected to take 
approximately 22 months with startup of commercial operations following 
construction, should a license be issued by the Maritime 
Administration. The deepwater port would be designed, constructed and 
operated in accordance with applicable codes and standards.

Privacy Act

    The electronic form of all comments received into the DOT docket 
are available to any person and may be searched by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may 
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or 
you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

(Authority 49 CFR 1.66)

    Dated: July 6, 2007.

    By order of the Maritime Administrator.
Daron T. Threet,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-13505 Filed 7-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P