[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 50 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13551-13552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4922]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2008-0035]


Proposed Expansion of the Cove Point Facility, Cove Point, MD: 
Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of a draft 
supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed issuance of 
a Letter of Recommendation (LOR) on the suitability of the waterway for 
the expansion of the Cove Point LNG facility for Dominion Cove Point 
LNG, LP, in Cove Point, MD. The Coast Guard requests public comments on 
the draft supplemental EA.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before April 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2008-0035 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Online: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Hand delivery: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Room W12-140 on the Ground Floor of the 
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    (4) Fax: 202-493-2251.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice 
or the supplemental Environmental Assessment, call Lieutenant Commander 
Rogers Henderson, Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1411 or Mr. Ken Smith, 
Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1413. If you have questions on viewing 
or submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments or other related material on 
the draft supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA). All comments 
received will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov 
and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an 
agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use their 
Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph 
below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the 
docket number for this notice (USCG-2008-0035), and give the reason for 
each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic 
means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Federal Docket Management Facility 
at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and 
material by only one means. We recommend that you include your name and 
a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a phone number in the body of 
your document so that we can contact you if we have questions regarding 
your submission. For example, we may ask you to resubmit your comment 
if we are not able to read your original submission. If you submit them 
by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 
81/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you 
submit them by mail and would like to know that they reach the 
Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelop. 
We will consider all comments and material

[[Page 13552]]

received during the comment period for the draft supplemental EA.
    Viewing the comments and draft supplemental EA: To view the 
comments and draft supplemental EA, go to http://www.regulations.gov at 
any time. Enter the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2008-0035) 
in the box under ``Search'', and click go. You may also visit the 
Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the 
DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 30590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
Holidays. The draft supplemental EA is also available at public 
libraries in Maryland (P.D. Brown Memorial Library, Accokeek Library, 
Potomac Library, La Plata Library, Calvert Library, Southern Branch, 
Prince Frederick Branch, Fairview Branch and Twin Beaches Branch, 
Surratts-Clinton Library, Upper Marlboro Library, and the Public 
Documents Reference Library) and at the Loudoun County Public Library 
in Ashburn, VA.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets 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 the 
Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit 
http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

Proposed Action

    On August 8, 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 
requested Dominion Cove Point, LP, to prepare a Waterway Suitability 
Assessment (WSA) for the proposed Cove Point LNG Expansion Project to 
be submitted to the United States Coast Guard. The purpose of the WSA 
was to identify credible security threats and safety hazards associated 
with increased LNG marine transportation in the Chesapeake Bay and 
identify appropriate risk management measures. The Coast Guard Captain 
of the Port, Baltimore, and the Captain of the Port, Hampton Roads, 
received the WSA from Dominion Cove Point on January 17, 2006. The 
conclusions of the WSA were included in the Federal Register on 
February 14, 2006 (71 FR 7791). The Coast Guard solicited public 
comments on the WSA to consider when preparing preliminary 
recommendations to FERC for inclusion in their final Environmental 
Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Cove Point Expansion Project, which was 
completed April 2006, regarding the suitability of the Chesapeake Bay 
for the increased LNG vessel traffic. The FEIS was prepared to satisfy 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 
FEIS was intended to evaluate all foreseeable environmental impacts of 
the proposed Cove Point LNG Expansion Project including, but not 
limited to, possible environmental impacts from USCG issuance of the 
LOR on the suitability of the waterway for LNG vessel traffic. The 
Coast Guard later discovered that there were issues associated with 
issuance of the LOR that were not fully addressed in the FEIS. The 
applicant was notified of those issues and additional information was 
requested from the applicant. These issues were quickly addressed by 
additional information the applicant submitted to the Coast Guard. The 
Coast Guard assessed the applicant-prepared draft EA that supplements 
the FERC's final EIS for the Cove Point LNG Expansion Project. Based on 
Cove Point's follow-up research, analysis, and proposed mitigation 
measures provided to the Coast Guard to address issues needed to 
support the LOR, the Coast Guard has preliminarily concluded that the 
additional LNG vessel traffic associated with the Cove Point LNG 
Expansion Project does not pose an undue or significant environmental 
hazard to the environment for the LNG vessel transit route covered by 
our proposed LOR.
    The Coast Guard will take into consideration the results of the 
Cove Point assessment and public comments received when making its 
final conclusion on whether to adopt the proffered draft applicant-
prepared supplemental EA and issue a Finding of No Significant Impact. 
To make this decision, the Coast Guard will use comments received to 
further assess the possible impacts on endangered species, cultural 
resources, essential fish habitat issues, general environmental 
effects, and the other public interest factors. The results will also 
be considered as the Coast Guard prepares a Letter of Recommendation 
which will identify what actions and resources are necessary to make 
the waterway suitable for increased LNG traffic to the Cove Point LNG 
facility.

Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment

    The Coast Guard has assessed the applicant-prepared draft EA that 
supplements the FERC's final EIS. See ``Viewing the comments and draft 
supplementary EA'' above. The draft supplementary EA identifies and 
examines the reasonable alternatives and assesses their potential 
environmental impact.
    We are requesting your comments on environmental concerns that you 
may have related to the draft supplemental EA. We will consider all 
comments and material received during the comment period.

    Dated: March 7, 2008.
J.G Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-4922 Filed 3-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P