[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 75 (Thursday, April 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21012-21014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8343]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2006-28532]


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

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 Port Dolphin Energy LLC, Port Dolphin Energy Liquefied 
Natural Gas Deepwater Port 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 
45 day comment period and provides information on how to participate in 
the process.

DATES: The public meeting in Palmetto, FL will be held on May 6th, 
2008. The public meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will be 
preceded by an open house from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The public meeting 
may end earlier or later than the stated time, depending on the number 
of persons wishing to speak. Material submitted in response to the 
request for comments must reach the Docket Management Facility by June 
2, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Public Open House and Meeting: The Manatee Convention 
Center, Conference Center, One Haben Blvd., Palmetto, Florida 3422. 
(941) 722-3244.
    The DEIS, the application, and associated documentation is 
available for viewing at the Federal Docket Management System Web site: 
http://www.regulations.gov under docket number 28532.
    Docket submissions for USCG-2006-28532 should be addressed to: 
Department of Transportation, Docket 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: Ray Martin, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-372-1449, 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 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.
    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 
Federal Docket Management System (FDMS). See ``Request for Comments'' 
for information about FDMS and your rights under the Privacy Act.
    All public meeting locations 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 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 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 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 give 
you the opportunity to review and comment. If you want that notice sent 
directly to you please contact representatives at the public meeting or 
the Coast Guard representative identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    Submissions should include:
     Docket number USCG-2006-28532.
     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. If you mail your submission and want to know 
when it reaches the Facility, include a

[[Page 21013]]

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 you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You 
may wish to read the Privacy Act notice that is available on the FDMS 
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 FDMS website.

Background

    Information about deepwater ports, the statutes, and regulations 
governing licensing, and the receipt of the current application for the 
proposed Port Dolphin liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port 
appears in the Federal Register on June 25, 2007 (72 FR 34741). The 
Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the proposed action was 
published in the Federal Register in Volume 72 FR 38116, Thursday, July 
12, 2007. 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 available for the 
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

    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.
    The buoys would be designed to moor specialized type of LNG vessels 
called Shuttle and Regasification Vessels (SRV) of 145,000 and 217,000 
cubic meter capacities. 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).
    The 36-inch gas transmission line will make landfall on Port 
Manatee property. The onshore portion of the transmission pipeline will 
proceed in a generally easterly direction for approximately 4 miles to 
interconnection points with the Gulfstream and TECO pipeline systems.
    Only shuttle and regasification vessels (SRVs) will call on Port 
Dolphin. Offloading should 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.
    Concurrent with their application for the deepwater port, the 
Applicant submitted an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity 
(Certificate) under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), as amended, 
to construct and operate a new natural gas pipeline and ancillary 
facilities in Florida. FERC is the cooperating Federal agency 
responsible for the review of the onshore portion of the natural gas 
pipelines and associated aboveground components. The application was 
assigned FERC Docket Nos. CP07-191 and 192. FERC issued a Notice of 
Application in the Federal Register for the Proposed Onshore Pipeline 
on May 9, 2007.
    After discussions with Florida Department of Natural Resources, the 
Applicant made changes to their onshore pipeline route. Subsequently, 
the Applicant filed an amended application with the FERC. On January 
28, 2008, the FERC issued a new Notice of Amendment for the Proposed 
Onshore Pipeline, which was published in the Federal Register on 
February 4, 2008. The amended application was assigned Docket No. CP07-
191-001. FERC also opened an additional scoping period to solicit 
comments on the proposed revisions to the onshore pipeline route.
    As required by FERC regulations, FERC will also maintain a docket 
for the FERC portion of the project. The docket number is CP07-191-001. 
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 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 participate in the NEPA process as described in 40 
CFR 1501.6; and will

[[Page 21014]]

incorporate the EIS into their permitting processes.
    Construction of the deepwater port is expected to take 
approximately 11 months with startup of commercial operations following 
construction, should a license be issued. 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 by 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: April 11, 2008.
Christine Gurland,
Acting Secretary, Maritime Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-8343 Filed 4-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P