[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 169 (Friday, August 31, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50445-50446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17326]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2007-28676]


Clearwater Port LLC, Clearwater Port Liquefied Natural Gas 
Deepwater Port License Application

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration announce that 
they have received an application for the licensing of a natural gas 
deepwater port, and that the application appears to contain the 
required information. This notice summarizes the applicant's plans and 
the procedures that will be followed in considering the application.

DATES: The Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended, requires any public 
hearing on this application to be held not later than 240 days after 
this notice, and requires a decision on the application to be made not 
later than 90 days after the final public hearing.

ADDRESSES: The public docket is maintained by the: Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    The docket bears a U.S. Coast Guard identifying number, USCG-2007-
28676, which should be included in your submission, because the Coast 
Guard handles much of the processing for each license application. 
Docket contents are 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, at (202) 
372-1449 or [email protected], Kevin Tone, U.S. Coast Guard, at 
(202) 372-1441 or [email protected], or Mr. Scott Davies, U.S. 
Maritime Administration, at (202) 366-2763 or [email protected]. If 
you have questions on viewing the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone: 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Receipt of Application

    On July 5, 2006, the Maritime Administration received an 
application from Clearwater Port LLC for all Federal authorizations 
required for a license to own, construct, and operate a deepwater port 
governed by the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1501 
et seq. (the Act). On August 23, 2007, the Maritime Administration 
determined that the application contains all information required by 
the Act.

Background

    According to the Act, a deepwater port is a fixed or floating 
manmade structure other than a vessel, or a group of structures, 
located beyond State seaward boundaries and used or intended for use as 
a port or terminal for the transportation, storage, and further 
handling of oil or natural gas for transportation to any State.

[[Page 50446]]

    A deepwater port must be licensed by the Secretary of 
Transportation. Statutory and regulatory requirements for licensing 
appear in 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. and in 33 CFR part 148. Under 
delegations from and agreements between the Secretary of Transportation 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, applications are processed by 
the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration. Each application 
is considered on its merits.
    The Act provides strict deadlines for processing an application. 
Once we determine that an application contains the required 
information, we must hold public hearings on the application within 240 
days, and the Secretary of Transportation must render a decision on the 
application within 330 days. We will publish additional Federal 
Register notices to inform you of these public hearings and other 
procedural milestones, including environmental review. The Secretary's 
decision, and other key documents, will be filed in the public docket.
    At least one public hearing must take place in each adjacent 
coastal State. For purposes of the Act, California is the adjacent 
coastal State for this application. Other States can apply for adjacent 
coastal State status in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 1508(a)(2).

Summary of the Application

    Clearwater Port LLC (a subsidiary of NorthernStar Natural Gas, LLC) 
is proposing to construct Clearwater Port, an offshore liquefied 
natural gas receiving terminal and regasification facility located in 
federal waters approximately 10.5 miles offshore of the coast of 
Oxnard, California in Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Block 
OCS-P 0217. Clearwater Port would be comprised primarily of Platform 
Grace, an offset dual berth (ODB) Satellite Service Platform that would 
be installed adjacent to Platform Grace for docking of the LNG 
carriers; and a new 36-inch subsea pipeline to transport vaporized 
natural gas from the platform connecting at a junction point onshore at 
a Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) pipeline located in Rancho 
Santa Clara near Camarillo, California. The pipeline would come ashore 
within the Reliant Energy Mandalay Power Generating Station and connect 
with a new gas receiving and metering facility. The onshore components 
of the project would consist of approximately 63 miles of new pipeline 
by expanding the SoCalGas pipeline system as follows: A 36-inch 
pipeline extending 12.9 miles from the Reliant Energy Mandalay Power 
Generating Station to the existing Center Road Station; a 36-inch 
pipeline extending 37 miles to loop the existing Line 324 for transport 
of additional capacities from the Center Road Station to the existing 
Saugus Station; an 8.75-mile leg of 36-inch pipeline to loop the 
existing Line 225 for transport of additional capacities from the 
existing Honor Rancho Station to the Quigley Station; and, a final 4.5-
mile leg of 36-inch pipeline to extend the existing Line 3008 
(currently from the Quigley Valve Station to the Newhall Valve Station) 
for transport of additional capacities from the existing Quigley Valve 
Station to the existing Balboa Station.
    The deepwater port would be able to receive approximately 139 LNG 
carriers annually and accommodate two LNG carriers ranging from 70,000 
m\3\ to 220,000 m\3\ in capacity. The carriers would transfer LNG one 
carrier at a time through a conventional marine loading arm system to 
the platform via a cryogenic pipe-in-pipe where it would be regasified 
by an ambient air vaporizer (AAV) system. The AAV would have the 
capacity to achieve an average hourly rate of 2300 m\3\, an average 
daily gas send-out of 1.2 Bcfd and a peak send-out capacity of 1.4 
Bcfd. Construction of the deep water port would be expected to take 
three (3) years; with start-up of commercial operations following 
construction, should a Federal license and the required California 
State lease and permits be issued. The deep water port would be 
designed, constructed and operated in accordance with applicable codes 
and standards and would have an expected operating life of 
approximately 30 years.

(Authority 49 CFR 1.66)
    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: August 27, 2007.
Daron T. Threet,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
 [FR Doc. E7-17326 Filed 8-30-07; 8:45 am]
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