[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5025-5027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1514]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2008-1239]


Texas Offshore Port System Crude Oil Deepwater Port License 
Application

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.

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

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration announces that the Coast Guard, in 
coordination with the Maritime Administration, will prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the environmental 
review of this license application. The application describes a project 
that would be located approximately 30 statute miles southeast of 
Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas. Publication of this notice begins a 
scoping process that will help identify and determine the scope of 
environmental issues to be addressed in

[[Page 5026]]

the EIS. This notice requests public participation in the scoping 
process and provides information on how to participate.

DATES: The public meeting in Freeport, TX will be held on February 18, 
2009. The public meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will 
be preceded by an open house from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The public meeting 
may end later than the stated time, depending on the number of persons 
wishing to speak.
    The public meeting in Texas City, TX will be held on February 19, 
2009. The public meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will 
be preceded by an open house from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The public meeting 
may end later than the stated time, depending on the number of persons 
wishing to speak.
    Material submitted in response to the request for comments on the 
license application must reach the Docket Management Facility by 
February 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The open house and public meeting in Freeport will be held 
at: The Freeport Intermediate School, cafeteria and gymnasium, 
respectively, 1815 W. 4th Street, Freeport 77541. (979) 730-7240.
    The open house and public meeting in Texas City will be held at: 
The Nessler Center, Surf Room and Captain Room, respectively, 2010 5th 
Avenue North, Texas City, Texas 77590. (409) 643-5990.
    The license application, comments and associated documentation is 
available for viewing at the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) 
Web site: http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2008-
1239.
    Docket submissions for USCG-2008-1239 should be addressed to: 
Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001
    The 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: Ray Martin, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone: 202-372-1449, e-mail: [email protected], or Linden 
Houston, Maritime Administration, telephone: 202-366-4839, 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 
environmental issues related to the proposed deepwater port. Your 
comments will help us identify and refine the scope of the 
environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS.
    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 Facility (see Request for Comments).
    Our public meeting location is 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 
environmental issues related to the proposed deepwater port. 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 
Docket Management Facility during the public comment period (see 
DATES). We will consider all comments and material received during the 
comment period.
    Submissions should include:
     Docket number USCG-2008-1239.
     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 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 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://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 and Use 
Notice that is available on the FDMS Web site, and the Department of 
Transportation Privacy Act Notice that appeared in the Federal Register 
on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), see PRIVACY ACT. You may view docket 
submissions at the Department of Transportation Docket Management 
Facility or electronically on the FDMS Web site (see ADDRESSES).

Background

    Information about deepwater ports, the statutes, and regulations 
governing their licensing, and the receipt of the current application 
for the proposed Texas Offshore Port System crude oil deepwater port 
appears in the Federal Register on January 9, 2009 (74 FR 984). The 
``Summary of the Application'' from that publication is reprinted below 
for your convenience.
    Consideration of a deepwater port license application includes 
review of the proposed deepwater port's natural and human environmental 
impacts. The Coast Guard is the lead agency for determining the scope 
of this review, and in this case the Coast Guard has determined that 
review must include preparation of an EIS. This notice of intent is 
required by 40 CFR 1501.7, and briefly describes the proposed action 
and possible alternatives and our proposed scoping process. You can 
address any questions about the proposed action, the scoping process, 
or the EIS to the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

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

[[Page 5027]]

the application, which for purposes of environmental review is the 
``no-action'' alternative.

Scoping Process

    Public scoping is an early and open process for identifying and 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Scoping 
begins with this notice, continues through the public comment period 
(see DATES), and ends when the Coast Guard has completed the following 
actions:
     Invites the participation of Federal, State, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the applicant, and other 
interested persons;
     Determines the actions, alternatives, and impacts 
described in 40 CFR 1508.25;
     Identifies and eliminates, from detailed study, those 
issues that are not significant or that have been covered elsewhere;
     Allocates responsibility for preparing EIS components;
     Indicates any related environmental assessments or 
environmental impact statements that are not part of the EIS;
     Identifies other relevant environmental review and 
consultation requirements;
     Indicates the relationship between timing of the 
environmental review and other aspects of the application process; and
     At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40 
CFR 1501.7(b).
    Once the scoping process is complete, the Coast Guard will prepare 
a draft EIS, and we will publish a Federal Register notice announcing 
its public availability. (If you want that notice to be sent to you, 
please contact the Coast Guard project manager identified in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.) You will have an opportunity to review 
and comment on the draft EIS. The Coast Guard will consider those 
comments and then prepare the final EIS. As with the draft EIS, we will 
announce the availability of the final EIS and once again give you an 
opportunity for review and comment.

Summary of the Application

    Texas Offshore Port System, a general partnership consisting of 
Oiltanking Freeport, L.P., TEPPCO O/S Port System, LLC and Enterprise 
Offshore Port System, LLC, proposes to own, construct, and operate a 
deepwater port (DWP), named Texas Offshore Port System (TOPS), in the 
Federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelf in Minerals Management 
Service (MMS) lease block Galveston Area A56 (GA 56), approximately 30 
statute miles southeast of Freeport, Texas, in a water depth of 
approximately 120 feet. The proposed DWP will serve as an offshore 
crude oil receiving terminal and transmission facility. An average of 
1,700,000 barrels of oil per day will be offloaded at the terminal and 
will be delivered via a new pipeline that will terminate at a crude oil 
storage terminal located in Texas City, Texas. Two Single Point Mooring 
(SPM) Buoys will be installed to offload crude oil from crude oil 
tankers. A third SPM may be added in the future. Dual 42-inch outside 
diameter (OD), 4,000-ft (1,219-m) long offloading pipelines will carry 
the crude oil to a new Metering and Pumping Platform. At the platform 
the crude oil will be increased in pressure to 1,950 pounds per square 
inch gauge discharge pressure to achieve a flow rate of up to 100,000 
barrels per hour into the departing Offshore Pipeline. A Quarters and 
Control Platform will be connected by a bridge to the Metering and 
Pumping Platform. A new 8 and 5/8-inch OD fuel gas pipeline that will 
be approximately 36 miles long (58 km) will supply natural gas to the 
Metering and Pumping Platform. It will originate from an existing 
platform in MMS lease block Brazos Area BR 538 (BR 538). The new 
Offshore Pipeline will be a 42-inch OD pipeline and approximately 34.86 
miles long. It will transport the crude oil to a new valve station 
located in Freeport, Texas. From the valve station a new 48-mile, 42-
inch OD Onshore Pipeline will transfer the crude oil to a new crude oil 
storage terminal in Texas City, Texas. A new intermediate Onshore Pump 
Station will be located along the Onshore Pipeline to boost the 
pressure of the crude oil. The new crude oil storage terminal, the 
Texas City Crude Terminal, will consist of seven tanks, six with a 
storage capacity of 600,000 barrels and one with a storage capacity of 
300,000 barrels.
    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 U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (USACE). TOPS 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. EPA 
and the USACE, among others, are cooperating agencies and will assist 
in the NEPA process as described in 40 CFR 1501.6; may participate in 
scoping meetings; and will incorporate the environmental impact 
statement (EIS) into their permitting processes. Comments sent to EPA 
or USACE will also be incorporated into the DOT docket and EIS to 
ensure consistency with the NEPA process.
    Should a license be issued, TOPS anticipates being able to offload 
and transport crude oil in November 2010. 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 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)


    Dated: January 16, 2009.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Leonard Sutter,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
 [FR Doc. E9-1514 Filed 1-27-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P