[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1851-1853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00263]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP13-2-000]


Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC and Sabine Pass LNG, L.P.; Notice 
of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 
Sabine Pass Liquefaction Modification Project and Request for Comments 
on Environmental Issues

    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 Sabine Pass Liquefaction 
Modification Project (Project) involving the modification of facilities 
for Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC and Sabine Pass LNG (Sabine Pass) in 
Cameron County, Louisiana. The Project facilities, described below, are 
proposed in support of the Sabine Pass facilities that were previously 
authorized (CP11-72-000) and are currently under construction. 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

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scoping period will close on February 4, 2013.
    Comments on the Project may be submitted in written form or 
electronically, as described in the Public Participation section of 
this notice. This notice is being sent to the Commission's current 
environmental mailing for this Project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this proposed 
Project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    The Project would consist of the following facilities:
     Construction and operation of a heavies removal unit (HRU) 
to be located within the existing Sabine Pass facility;
     condensate storage, metering and send-out facilities;
     four gas pipeline meter stations;
     additional workspaces, laydown and parking areas;
     construction and operation of two additional water supply 
pipelines to be installed via horizontal directional drill (HDD) and 
the associated workspace for the HDD entry and exit sites; and
     natural gas liquids (NGL) truck loading facilities.
    A Project location map depicting the proposed facilities is 
attached to this notice as Appendix 1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not printed in 
the Federal Register, but they are being provided to all those who 
receive this notice in the mail. Copies of the NOI can be obtained 
from the Commission's Web site at the ``eLibrary'' link, 
Commission's Public Reference Room, or by calling (202) 502-8371. 
For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the end of this 
notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    The HRU, condensate storage, and metering facilities would be 
located within the existing Sabine Pass LNG Import Terminal (SPLNG 
Terminal) property. No additional land would be required for these 
facilities. The additional workspace and parking would affect 
approximately 153.6 acres of land outside of the boundary of the SPLNG 
Terminal. Construction and operation of the two additional water supply 
pipelines would temporarily impact approximately 0.92 acres of 
additional land in an upland area also located outside the SPLNG 
Terminal.

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. We will 
consider all filed comments 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 results of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     Reliability; and
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
Project or portions of the Project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA 
will be available in the public record through eLibrary. Depending on 
the comments received during the scoping process, we may also publish 
and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We 
will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendation 
to the Commission. To ensure your comments are considered, please 
carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation section 
beginning on page 4.
    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. 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 applicable State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), 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 projects, the APE at a minimum 
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include 
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor 
stations, and access roads). Our EA for this Project will document our 
findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status 
on 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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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 in your comments 
so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before February 
7, 2013.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the project docket number (CP13-2-000) 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 www.ferc.gov 
under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an easy method 
for interested persons 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 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

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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 file a paper copy of your comments 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; interested 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 
proposed 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

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, 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.

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 at 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., 
CP13-2). 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 now 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: January 3, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-00263 Filed 1-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P