[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48629-48631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16751]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Bradwood Landing LNG Terminal and Pipeline 
Project

August 17, 2007.

Bradwood Landing LLC (Docket No. CP06-365-000); NorthernStar Energy LLC 
(Docket Nos. CP06-366-000, CP06-376-000, and CP06-377-000)

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal proposed by 
Bradwood Landing LLC and the associated natural gas sendout pipeline 
facilities proposed by NorthernStar Energy LLC in the above-referenced 
dockets. The LNG import terminal would be located at Bradwood, about 38 
miles up the Columbia River from its mouth, in Clatsop County, Oregon, 
and the sendout pipeline would be located in Clatsop and Columbia 
Counties, Oregon, and Cowlitz County, Washington.
    The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (COE), U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard), and the U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT) are federal cooperating agencies for 
the development of this EIS. A federal cooperating agency has 
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any 
environmental impact involved with the proposal and is involved in the 
NEPA analysis.
    The COE is responsible for issuing permits under section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbor Act and section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Coast 
Guard is responsible for the safety and security of port areas and 
navigable waterways, and

[[Page 48630]]

would issue a Letter of Recommendation indicating if the Columbia River 
waterway to the proposed LNG terminal is suitable for LNG marine 
traffic. The DOT is responsible for enforcing safety regulations and 
standards for the LNG terminal and the design and operation of the 
natural gas sendout pipeline.
    The FERC is the lead federal agency for compliance with the NEPA, 
and for authorization of the Project under sections 3 and 7 of the 
Natural Gas Act. The Commission will use the EIS to consider the 
environmental impacts that would result if it decides to authorize the 
Project. The cooperating agencies and the FERC staff conclude that the 
proposed Project, with the appropriate mitigation measures as 
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
    The general purpose of the proposed Project is to provide a new 
source of natural gas to the Pacific Northwest through the importation 
of LNG. LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to about -260 degrees 
Fahrenheit, reducing its volume about 600 times from a gas to a liquid, 
allowing for its transport over long distances across oceans in 
specially designed ships from its point of origin in foreign countries 
with abundant natural gas reserves. At the import terminal at Bradwood, 
the LNG would be off-loaded from the LNG transport ships, stored as a 
liquid, vaporized back into natural gas, and sent out via the 
associated pipeline to the existing interstate natural gas pipeline 
network. The Bradwood Landing LNG import terminal would have a peak 
sendout capacity of about 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of 
natural gas.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental impacts from 
the construction and operation of the following facilities proposed by 
Bradwood Landing LLC:
     A dredged LNG ship maneuvering area off of the Columbia 
River navigation channel;
     A single ship berth capable of receiving LNG ships with 
cargo capacities ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 cubic meters (m\3\);
     A set of four 16-inch-diameter LNG unloading arms, 
including two liquid unloading arms, one hybrid arm, and a vapor return 
arm on the jetty, and a 1,240-foot-long, 32-inch-diameter cryogenic LNG 
transfer pipeline and 6-inch-diameter LNG recirculation pipeline 
extending from the berth to the LNG storage tanks;
     Two insulated LNG storage tanks, each with a useable 
volume of over 1 million barrels, or 160,000 m\3\;
     A vapor management system to handle the boil-off gas (BOG) 
that occurs during the unloading process, including vapor return 
blowers and knockout drum on the jetty, vapor handling pipework, two 
BOG compressors, and a BOG condenser;
     An LNG sendout system, consisting of six submerged in-tank 
LNG discharge pumps (three in each storage tank) and five sendout 
pumps;
     Seven submerged combustion vaporizers, of which six would 
normally operate and one would be a back-up, to re-gasify the LNG and 
provide natural gas through a metering station to the inlet valve of 
the sendout pipeline;
     Utilities, including a 1.5-mile-long 115-kilovolt power 
line and switchyard, and an 800-kilowatt emergency diesel-fueled 
generator;
     Support buildings, including a warehouse/administrative 
building, control building, switch rooms, compressor building, and 
gatehouse/security building; and
     A fire protection and detection system, including a 
firewater pumphouse, and security system including fencing.
    The natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by NorthernStar Energy 
LLC addressed in the draft EIS include:
     A 36.3-mile-long, underground, high-pressure welded steel 
sendout pipeline consisting of approximately 18.9 miles of 36-inch-
diameter pipeline in Clatsop and Columbia Counties, Oregon and 17.4 
miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline in Columbia County, Oregon and 
Cowlitz County, Washington;
     Five meter stations, including at the LNG terminal, the 
Georgia-Pacific Wauna paper mill delivery point, the interconnection 
with the Northwest Natural Gas Company intrastate pipeline system, the 
Portland General Electric Company Beaver Power Plant delivery point, 
and interconnection with Williams Northwest Pipeline Company interstate 
pipeline system; and
     at least five mainline block valves, two pig \1\ 
launchers, and two pig receivers.
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    \1\ A ``pig'' in an internal devise used to dry, clean, and 
inspect a pipeline.
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Comment Procedures

    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS is encouraged to do 
so. To ensure consideration prior to the production of a final EIS, it 
is important that your comments be received before December 24, 2007.
    Please note that the Commission strongly encourages electronic 
filing of any comments. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the FERC's Internet Web 
site (http://www.ferc.gov) under the eFiling link and the link to the 
User's Guide. Before you can submit comments, you will need to create a 
free account by clicking on ``Sign-up'' under ``New User.'' You will be 
asked to select the type of submission you are making. This type of 
submission is considered a ``Comment on Filing.'' Comments submitted 
electronically must be submitted by December 24, 2007.
    If you wish to mail comments on the draft EIS, please mail your 
comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before 
December 24, 2007. Please carefully follow the instructions below to 
ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded:
     Send an original and two copies of your comments to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Room 1A , Washington, DC 20426.
     Reference Docket No. CP06-365-000 et al. on the original 
and both copies; and
     Label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 3, PJ11.3.
    After comments on the draft EIS are reviewed, any significant new 
issues are investigated, and modifications are made to the text, a 
final EIS will be published and distributed. The final EIS will contain 
the staff responses to timely comments received on the draft EIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission and the cooperating 
agencies but will not serve to make the commentor a party to the 
proceeding. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must 
file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214). Anyone may intervene 
in this proceeding based on this draft EIS. You must file your request 
to intervene as specified above.\2\ You do not need intervenor status 
to have your comments considered.
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    \2\ Interventions may also filed electronically via the Internet 
in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing comments 
electronically.
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    The draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    A limited number of copies of the draft EIS are available from the 
Public Reference Room identified above. In addition, the draft EIS has 
been mailed to affected landowners; various federal,

[[Page 48631]]

state, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental 
and public interest groups; Indian tribes and Native American 
organizations with an interest in the project area; local libraries and 
newspapers; intervenors; and other individuals that expressed an 
interest in the proposed Project.
    Additional information about the proposed 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). To access information 
via the FERC Web site click on the ``eLibrary'' link then click on 
``General Search'' and enter the docket number (CP06-365) excluding the 
last three digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected 
an appropriate date range. The ``eLibrary'' link provides access to the 
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings. For assistance with ``eLibrary'', please 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll free 
at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.
    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 
these documents. To learn more about eSubscription and to sign-up for 
this service please go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-16751 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P