[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 166 (Friday, August 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53440-53442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21799]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF11-2-000]


Freeport LNG Development, LP; Freeport LNG Expansion, LP; FLNG 
Liquefaction LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment for the Planned Liquefaction Project, Request for Comments 
on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Liquefaction Project (Project) 
involving construction and operation of facilities proposed by Freeport 
LNG Development, LP, Freeport LNG Expansion, LP, and FLNG Liquefaction 
LLC (collectively referred to as Freeport) in Brazoria County, Texas. 
This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process 
to determine whether the project is in the public convenience and 
necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff 
determine what issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on September 19, 2011.
    Comments may be submitted in written form or verbally. Further 
details on how to submit written comments are provided in the Public 
Participation section of this notice. In lieu of or in addition to 
sending written comments, the Commission invites you to attend the 
public scoping meeting scheduled as follows:

FERC Public Scoping Meeting, Freeport Liquefaction Project, 7 p.m.--
Thursday, September 8, 2011.
Lake Jackson Civic Center, 333 Highway 332 E, Lake Jackson, TX 77566, 
(979) 415-2600.

    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned 
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

Summary of the Planned Project

    Freeport plans to add natural gas liquefaction and exportation 
capabilities to its existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import 
terminal on Quintana Island in Brazoria County, Texas. The Project 
would consist of the construction and installation of facilities to be 
used for liquefaction and export of domestic natural gas. In addition, 
A nonjurisdictional pretreatment facility would be constructed and 
operated at or near the Stratton Ridge underground storage and meter 
station sites.
    The planned facilities would consist of the following components:
     Three natural gas liquefaction refrigerant units;
     Expansion of existing Quintana Island Terminal Facility 
components; and
     The nonjurisdictional natural gas pre-treatment systems, 
additional compression, and minor modifications in the Stratton Ridge 
Meter Station area.

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    In addition, a second ship berthing area, third LNG storage tank, 
and additional LNG vaporization and natural gas send-out facilities 
that were previously authorized under FERC Docket CP05-361-000 but 
never constructed would be repurposed to meet the needs of the Project.
    Freeport indicates that the Project would produce about 12.0 
million metric tons per year of LNG. This would allow Freeport to 
convert domestically produced natural gas to LNG for storage and 
export. Freeport LNG plans to commence construction in December 2012 
and expects to be ready to commence LNG exports in late- 2015.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on 
connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the planned facilities would disturb about 116.9 
acres of land on Quintana Island. Additional land would be required for 
the pre-treatment facilities near Stratton Ridge Meter Station. 
Following construction, about 76 acres would be maintained for 
permanent operation of the project's facilities on Quintana Island; the 
remaining acreage may be restored and allowed to revert to former uses.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us 
\2\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. This process is referred to as scoping. The main goal of the 
scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
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    \2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the planned project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Water resources, and fisheries;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Cultural resources;
     Socioeconomics;
     Land use;
     Air quality and noise; and
     Reliability and public safety.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, we have already 
initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process. 
The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement 
of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before an 
application is filed with the FERC. As part of our pre-filing review, 
we have begun to contact some federal and state agencies to discuss 
their involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EA.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on the 
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 
is published for review. We will consider all comments on the EA before 
we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments 
are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section beginning on page 5.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may 
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to 
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments 
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with the Texas State Historic Preservation Office, and to solicit their 
views and those of other government agencies, interested Indian tribes, 
and the public on the project's potential effects on historic 
properties.\3\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential 
Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project is further 
developed. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum 
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance. Our EA for this 
project will document our findings on the impacts on historic 
properties and summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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    \3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic 
Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities and 
the environmental information provided by Freeport. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Air Quality
     Noise and vibration impacts
     Socioeconomic impacts
     Geology
     Wetlands and waterbodies
     Threatened and endangered species
     Public safety

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so 
that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before September 19, 
2011.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
project docket number PF11-2-000 with your submission. The Commission 
encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert eFiling staff 
available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or [email protected].
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an 
easy method for interested persons

[[Page 53442]]

to submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling, you 
can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a 
file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an 
account by clicking on ``eRegister.'' You will be asked to select the 
type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is 
considered a ``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You may mail a paper copy of your comments to the Commission at 
the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Indian tribes; other 
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also 
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's 
regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property 
may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within 
certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits 
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list 
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related 
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
planned project.
    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would 
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD 
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please 
return the attached Information Request (Appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once Freeport files its application with the Commission, you may 
want to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site. Please note that the Commission will not accept 
requests for intervenor status at this time. You must wait until a 
formal application for the project is filed with the Commission.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the 
FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click on 
the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket 
number, excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field 
(i.e., PF11-2-000). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date 
range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the 
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time 
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to 
the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: August 18, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-21799 Filed 8-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P