[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40909-40911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16259]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2006-26009]


Calypso LNG L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License 
Application; Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) 
announce the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS) for the Calypso LNG L.L.C., Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port 
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 the Maritime Administration 
request public comments on the FEIS. Publication of this notice begins 
a 45 day comment period and provides information on how to participate 
in the process.
    An announcement of the public hearing for matters relevant to the 
approval, denial, or approval with conditions of the license 
application will be published in the future and will include another 
opportunity to provide comments.

DATES: Material submitted in response to the request for comments on 
the FEIS must reach the Docket Management Facility by September 2, 
2008, ending the 45 day public comment period.
    As stated above, this notice is for the availability of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the project. We will announce the 
date and location for the final public hearing and once again provide 
the opportunity to comment. The 45 day period for Federal and State 
agencies' comments, recommended conditions for licensing, or letters of 
no objection; and the 45 day period for the Governor of Florida's (the 
adjacent coastal state) communication to approve, disapprove, or notify 
the Maritime Administration of inconsistencies with State programs 
relating to environmental protection, land and water use, and coastal 
zone management for which the Maritime Administration may condition the 
license to make consistent will not be affected by the publication of 
the FEIS and will occur after the final public hearing.
    In addition, the 90 day period by which the Maritime Administration 
must issue a record of decision (ROD) to approve, approve with 
conditions, or deny the DWP license application will not be affected by 
the publication of the FEIS and will occur 90 days after the public 
hearing on the application as described above.

ADDRESSES: The FEIS, the application, comments and associated 
documentation is available for viewing at the Federal Docket Management 
System Web site: http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-
2006-26009. The FEIS 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.

[[Page 40910]]

    Docket submissions for USCG-2006-26009 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://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LT Hannah Kim, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-372-1438, 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:

Request for Comments

    We request public comments or other information on the FEIS and 
application. You can submit comments to the Docket Management Facility 
during the public comment period (see DATES). The Coast Guard and the 
Maritime Administration will consider all comments and material 
received during the comment period.
    Submissions should 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://www.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 81/2 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 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 website 
(http://www.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 Web site, 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 Federal Docket Management 
Facility (see ADDRESSES ), electronically on the FDMS Web site, or 
later in this notice (see Privacy Act).

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 Volume 71 FR 67422, 
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 and the Notice of Availability of the Draft 
EIS was published in Volume 72 FR 62303, Friday, November 2, 2007. The 
FEIS, 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 of the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary of the 
Application'' below. The alternatives to licensing the proposed port 
are: (1) licensing with conditions (including conditions designed to 
mitigate environmental impact), and (2) denying the application, which 
for purposes of environmental review is the ``no-action'' alternative. 
These alternatives are more fully discussed in the FEIS. The Coast 
Guard and the Maritime Administration are the lead Federal agencies for 
the preparation of the EIS. You can address any questions about the 
proposed action or the FEIS to the Coast Guard project manager 
identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Summary of the Application

    Calypso LNG L.L.C., 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 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.
    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

[[Page 40911]]

(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 deepwater 
port 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://www.regulations.gov.

    Authority: 49 CFR 1.66.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: July 9, 2008.
Christine Gurland,
Acting Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-16259 Filed 7-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P