[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 212 (Friday, November 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62303-62305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21602]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2006-26009]


Calypso LNG LLC, Calypso Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port 
License Application; Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the Coast Guard 
announce the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) for the Calypso LNG LLC, Calypso Natural Gas Deepwater Port 
(Calypso) license application. The application describes a project that 
would be located in the Federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelf 
in the OCS NG 17-06 (Bahamas) lease area, approximately 8 to 10 miles 
off the east coast of Florida to the northeast of Port Everglades, in a 
water depth of 800 to 950 feet. The Coast Guard and MARAD request 
public comments on the DEIS. Publication of this notice begins a 45-day 
comment period and provides information on how to participate in the 
process.

DATES: The public meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL will be held on 
November 28, 2007. The public meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 
8:30 p.m. and will be preceded by an informational open house from 5 
p.m. to 6 p.m. The public meeting may end earlier or later than the 
stated time, depending on the number of commenters wishing to speak. 
Material submitted in response to the request for comments on the DEIS 
must reach the Federal Docket Management Facility by December 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The open house and public meeting will be held at: Courtyard 
by Marriott, North Fort Lauderdale, 2440 W. Cypress Creek Road, Fort 
Lauderdale, Florida 33309; telephone: 954-772-7770.
    The DEIS, the application, and associated documentation are 
available for viewing at the Federal Docket Management System Web site: 
http://regulations.gov under docket number 26009. The Federal Docket 
Management System replaces the DOT Docket Management System. Migration 
to the new system began on October 1, 2007. The DEIS is also available 
at public libraries in Fort Lauderdale area (Broward County Library 
which is a federal depository library and Riverland Library in Fort 
Lauderdale; Dania Beach Library--Paul DeMaio Branch in Dania Beach; 
Davie/Cooper City Library in Davie; Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library 
and West Regional Library in Plantation; Hollywood Library in 
Hollywood, and Pembroke Pines Library in Pembroke Pines) and Florida 
State University Marine Laboratory in Sopchoppy, Florida.
    Docket submissions for USCG-2006-26009 should be addressed to: 
Department of Transportation, Docket

[[Page 62304]]

Management Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    The Federal Docket Management Facility accepts hand-delivered 
submissions, and makes docket contents available for public inspection 
and copying at this address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The Facility telephone number is 202-
366-9329, the fax number is 202-493-2251, and the Web site for 
electronic submissions or for electronic access to docket contents is 
http://regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary K. Jager, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-372-1454, e-mail: [email protected]. If you have 
questions on viewing the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 
Docket Operations, telephone: 202-493-0402, e-mail: 
[email protected].

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 meeting on the 
proposed action and the evaluation contained in the DEIS.
    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.
    Written material may be submitted 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 
Federal Docket Management System (FDMS). See ``Request for Comments'' 
for information about FDMS and your rights under the Privacy Act.
    The public meeting location will be 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 three (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 the 
DEIS. The public hearing is not the only opportunity to comment. In 
addition to or in place of attending a meeting, comments may be 
submitted to the Federal Docket Management Facility during the public 
comment period (see DATES). We will consider all comments and material 
received during the comment period for the DEIS. We will announce the 
availability of the Final EIS (FEIS) and once again provide the 
opportunity to review and comment. To receive notice of the FEIS, 
contact representatives at the public meeting or the Coast Guard 
representative identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Submissions must include:
     Docket number USCG-2006-26009.
     Your name and address.
    Submit comments or material using only one of the following 
methods:
     Electronic submission to FDMS, http://regulations.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. Mailed submissions requiring confirmation of 
receipt should 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 FDMS Web site 
(http://regulations.gov), and will include any personal information 
provided. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. 
Please read the Privacy Act notice that is available on the FDMS Web 
site, or the Department of Transportation Privacy Act Statement that 
appeared in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477).
    Docket submissions may be viewed at the Federal Docket Management 
Facility (see ADDRESSES), or electronically on the FDMS Web site.

Background

    Information about deepwater ports, the statutes, and regulations 
governing their licensing, and the receipt of the current application 
for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port appears in Volume 71 
FR 65031, Monday, November 6, 2006. The Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
EIS for the proposed action was published in the Federal Register in 
Volume 71 FR 67422, Tuesday, November 21, 2006. The DEIS, application 
materials and associated comments are available on the docket. 
Information from the ``Summary of the Application'' from previous 
Federal Register notices is included below for your convenience.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed action requiring environmental review is the Federal 
licensing action of the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary 
of the Application'' below. The alternatives to licensing decision on 
the proposed port are: (i) Licensing as proposed (ii) licensing with 
conditions (including conditions designed to mitigate environmental, 
safety and security impacts), and (iii) denying the license, which for 
purposes of environmental review is the ``no-action'' alternative. 
Alternates examined under NEPA are more fully discussed in the DEIS. 
The Coast Guard and MARAD are the lead Federal agencies for the 
preparation of the EIS. Address any questions about the proposed action 
or the DEIS to the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Summary of the Application

    Calypso LNG LLC, proposes to own, construct, and operate a 
deepwater port, named Calypso, in the Federal waters of the Outer 
Continental Shelf in the OCS NG 17-06 (Bahamas) lease area, 
approximately 8 to 10 miles off the east coast of Florida, to the 
northeast of Port Everglades, in a water depth of approximately 800 to 
950 feet. Calypso would consist of a permanently moored unloading buoy 
system with two (2) submersible buoys separated by a distance of 
approximately three (3) miles. Each unloading buoy would be permanently 
secured to eight (8) or nine (9) mooring lines, consisting of wire 
rope, chain, and buoyancy elements, each attached to anchor points on 
the sea bed. Anchor points would consist of a combination of suction 
piles and gravity anchors.
    The buoys would be designed to moor and unload (i) transport and 
regasification vessels (TRVs) and (ii) a storage and regasification 
ship (SRS). TRVs would be drawn from the existing and future global 
fleet as compatible with the unloading buoy system. A TRV would moor at 
the east buoy for four (4) to seven (7) days. When empty it would 
disconnect from the buoy and leave the port, followed by another full 
TRV that would arrive and connect to the buoy. The SRS would be a 
specialized, purpose built LNG carrier designed to accept LNG from 
conventional LNG carriers from the existing and future global fleet. 
The SRS would normally remain attached to its mooring buoy. To sustain 
continuous vaporization, the SRS' cargo tanks would be refilled 
approximately every two (2) to four (4) days by LNG carriers. The SRS 
would

[[Page 62305]]

detach from the buoy if threatened by a severe storm, such as a 
hurricane, and move under its own power to safety; then return and 
reconnect to the buoy and continue operations once the storm danger 
passed.
    Both vessels would be equipped to vaporize LNG cargo to natural gas 
through an onboard closed loop shell-and-tube vaporization system, and 
to odorize and meter gas for send-out by means of the unloading buoy to 
conventional subsea pipelines. The mooring buoys would be connected 
through the hull of the vessels to specially designed turrets that 
would enable the vessel to weathervane or rotate in response to 
prevailing winds, waves, and the current directions. When the vessels 
are not present the buoys would be submerged approximately 100 feet 
below the surface.
    The unloading buoys would connect through flexible risers and two 
(2) approximately 2.5 mile long 30-inch flow lines located on the 
seabed that would connect directly to the Calypso pipeline, a Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permitted pipeline, yet to be 
constructed which would then connect to existing onshore pipeline 
system.
    The Calypso would be capable of delivering natural gas in a 
continuous flow by having at least one TRV or the SRS regasifying at 
all times. The system would be designed so that a TRV and the SRS can 
regasify simultaneously for concurrent unloading of natural gas. 
Calypso would have an average throughput capacity of approximately 1.1 
billion standard cubic feet per day (bcsfd) and a peak delivery 
capacity of 1.9 bcsfd.
    Existing onshore delivery systems would be utilized and no new 
construction of onshore pipelines or LNG storage facilities are 
included as part of the proposed deepwater port. Existing shore based 
infrastructure will be used to facilitate movement of personnel, 
equipment, supplies, and disposable materials between the Terminal and 
shore.
    Construction of the deepwater port would be expected to take three 
(3) years should a license be issued. The deepwater port, if licensed, 
would be designed, constructed and operated in accordance with 
applicable codes and standards and would have an expected operating 
life of approximately 25 years.

Privacy Act

    The electronic form of all comments received into the Federal 
Docket Management System can 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.). The DOT Privacy Act 
Statement can be viewed in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (Volume 65, Number 70, pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://regulations.gov.

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.66)


    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: October 29, 2007.
Murray A. Bloom,
Acting Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-21602 Filed 11-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P