[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 223 (Friday, November 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60310-60312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27975]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[USCG-2006-24644]


TORP Terminal LP, Bienville Offshore Energy Terminal Liquefied 
Natural Gas Deepwater Port License Application; Preparation of 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability; Notice of public meeting; Request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration, in cooperation with the U.S. 
Coast Guard announces the availability of the Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the TORP Terminal LP, 
Bienville Offshore Energy Terminal (BOET) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) 
Deepwater Port license amended application. The amended application 
describes a project that would be located in the Gulf of Mexico, in 
Main Pass block MP 258, approximately 63 miles south of Mobile Point, 
Alabama. Publication of this notice begins a 45 day comment period and 
provides information on how to participate in the process.

DATES: The public meeting will be held in Mobile, Alabama on December 
9, 2009, from 6 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 this request for comments must reach the 
Docket Management Facility by January 4, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The open house and public meeting will be held at the: 
Mobile Convention Center, One South Water Street, Mobile, Alabama 
36602; telephone: 251-208-2100.
    The amended application, comments and associated documentation are 
available for viewing at the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) 
Web site: http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2006-
24644.
    Docket submissions for USCG-2006-24644 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 the above 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: Mr. Patrick Marchman, Maritime 
Administration, telephone: 202-366-8805, e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Mr. 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 immediately 
afterwards on the proposed action and the evaluation contained in the 
DSEIS. In order to allow everyone a

[[Page 60311]]

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 Maritime Administration (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 
DSEIS. The public meeting is not the only opportunity you have to 
comment. In addition to or in place of attending this meeting, you may 
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-2006-24644.
     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[frac12] 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

    The Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental EIS for the proposed 
action was published in the Federal Register at 74 FR 39136, August 5, 
2009. The DSEIS, 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 the ``Summary of 
the Application'' below. The alternatives to approving and licensing 
the proposed port are: (1) Approving and licensing with conditions 
(including conditions designed to mitigate environmental impact), or 
(2) denying the application, which for purposes of environmental review 
is the ``no-action'' alternative. These alternatives are more fully 
discussed in the DSEIS. The Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast 
Guard are the lead Federal agencies for the preparation of the 
Supplemental EIS. You can address any questions about the proposed 
action or the DSEIS to the Maritime Administration project managers 
identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Summary of the Application

    TORP Terminal LP proposes to own, construct, and operate a 
deepwater port, the Bienville Offshore Energy Terminal (BOET), in the 
Federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelf on Main Pass Block MP 
258, approximately 63 miles south of Mobile Point, Alabama, in a water 
depth of approximately 425 feet. The proposed BOET deepwater port would 
be capable of mooring a single LNG carrier (LNGC) of up to 
approximately 265,000 cubic meters (m3) (8.8 million cubic feet [ft3]) 
in capacity.
    The LNGC would be off-loaded using a HiLoad LNG off-loading and 
regasification unit (HiLoad), which is proprietary technology 
consisting of a remotely operated floating LNG transfer and 
regasification unit that connects to the hull of the LNGC. The HiLoad 
unit would regasify the LNG and deliver the gas via flexible gas pipes 
to the floating regasification unit (FRU) located approximately 250 ft 
(150 m) from the HiLoad unit. Ambient air vaporizers (AAVs) with 
methanol as an intermediate fluid (IF) would be located aboard the FRU 
and would provide the heat required to regasify the LNG, all in a 
closed-loop vaporization system design.
    At the FRU, the gas would be metered and sent out via interconnect 
pipelines to four existing offshore pipelines (Dauphin Natural Gas 
Pipeline, Williams Natural Gas Pipeline, Destin Natural Gas Pipeline, 
and Viosca Knoll Gathering System [VKGS] Gas Pipeline) that connect to 
the onshore natural gas transmission pipeline system. The natural gas 
would be delivered to customers through existing facilities. BOET would 
have an average throughput capacity of 1.2 billion standard cubic feet 
of gas per day (Bscfd) (33.9 million cubic meters of gas per day [m3/
day]).
    BOET's major components would include a turret mooring system 
(TMS), a FRU, a HiLoad unit, two mooring lines that connect the HiLoad 
to the FRU, two high pressure (HP) flexible gas pipes, two floating IF 
hoses, two umbilicals, and 22.7 mi (36 km) of new subsea pipelines.
    No new onshore pipelines or LNG storage facilities are proposed 
with this action. A shore based facility will be used to facilitate 
movement of personnel, equipment, supplies, and disposable materials 
between the terminal and shore.
    BOET 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.
    Should a license be issued, construction of the deepwater port 
would be expected to take 30 months with startup of commercial 
operations anticipated in 2014. 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

    Electronic copies 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.


[[Page 60312]]


    Authority: 49 CFR 1.66.

    Dated: November 16, 2009.

    By order of the Maritime Administrator.

Christine Gurland,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-27975 Filed 11-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P