[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 56 (Monday, March 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15989-15991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06312]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP12-509-000; CP12-29-000]


Freeport LNG Development, L.P.; FLNG Liquefaction LLC; FLNG 
Liquefaction 2, LLC; FLNG Liquefaction 3, LLC; Notice of Availability 
of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Phase II 
Modification and Liquefaction Projects

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Freeport LNG Phase II Modification Project and the Liquefaction 
Project (Projects) proposed by Freeport LNG Development, L.P., FLNG 
Liquefaction LLC, FLNG Liquefaction 2, LLC, and FLNG Liquefaction 3, 
LLC (collectively referred to as Freeport LNG) in the above-referenced 
dockets. Freeport LNG requests authorization to export up to 13.2 
million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year from its proposed 
Liquefaction Plant and associated facilities in Brazoria County, Texas 
and modify its previously approved Phase II Project facilities within 
the town of Quintana.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Projects in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the Projects would have some adverse 
impacts; however, most of these impacts would be reduced to less than 
significant levels with the implementation of Freeport LNG's proposed 
mitigation and the additional measures recommended by the FERC staff in 
the draft EIS.
    The United States Department of Energy (USDOE), United States

[[Page 15990]]

Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), United States Department of 
Transportation (USDOT), the United States Army Corps of Engineers 
(USACE), and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
Fisheries participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of 
the draft EIS. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to resources potentially affected by the 
proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. The USACE, USEPA, and 
USDOE can adopt and use the EIS to support their respective permit 
decisions after an independent review of the document. The USDOT and 
NOAA Fisheries cooperated in the preparation of this draft EIS because 
of their special expertise with respect to resources potentially 
affected by the proposal. Although the cooperating agencies provided 
input on the conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft 
EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and 
recommendations in their respective Records of Decision or other 
determinations for the Projects.
    The proposed Phase II Modification Project includes modification to 
the previously authorized LNG vessel berthing dock, LNG transfer 
pipelines, LNG unloading arms, and the access road system and would 
eliminate or modify components of the previously authorized facility.
    The Liquefaction Project consists of facilities at and adjacent to 
the existing LNG terminal and facilities located beyond Quintana 
Island. The Liquefaction Plant, located at and adjacent to the existing 
LNG terminal, would consist of three propane pre-cooled mixed 
refrigerant liquefaction trains, each capable of producing a nominal 
4.4 million metric tons per annum of LNG for export, which equates to a 
total liquefaction capacity of approximately 1.8 billion cubic feet per 
day of natural gas.
    To support the Liquefaction Plant, Freeport LNG proposes to 
construct a natural gas Pretreatment Plant located about 2.5 miles 
north of the existing Quintana Island Terminal. The Pretreatment Plant 
would process the gas for liquefaction. In addition several 
interconnecting pipelines and utility lines including a five-mile-long, 
12-inch diameter boil-off gas feed pipeline from the Quintana Island 
terminal to the Pretreatment Plant (referred together as the Pipeline/
Utility Line System). The Liquefaction Plant, the Pretreatment Plant, 
and the Pipeline/Utility Line System, together with the associated 
appurtenant structures, are collectively referred to as the 
Liquefaction Project.
    The FERC staff mailed copies of the draft EIS to federal, state, 
and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; 
potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and 
groups; newspapers and libraries in the project area; and parties to 
this proceeding. Individuals who requested a paper copy, and those who 
filed a comment will receive hard copy of the draft EIS, and others on 
our environmental mailing list will receive a CD version of the draft 
EIS. In addition, the draft EIS is available for public viewing on the 
FERC's Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. A limited 
number of copies are available for distribution and public inspection 
at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 
First Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is 
important that the Commission receive your comments on or before May 5, 
2014.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
project docket numbers (CP12-209-000 or CP12-29-000) with your 
submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and 
has expert staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 
[email protected]. Please carefully follow these instructions so that 
your comments are properly recorded.
    (1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment 
feature on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to 
Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for submitting brief, 
text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You can file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature on the Commission's Web site (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.'' If you are filing a comment on a particular project, 
please select ``Comment on a Filing'' as the filing type; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the 
Commission invites you to attend the public comment meeting its staff 
will conduct in the project area to receive comments on the draft EIS. 
We encourage interested groups and individuals to attend and present 
oral comments on the draft EIS. Transcripts of the meeting will be 
available for review in eLibrary under the project docket number.
    The draft EIS comment meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is 
scheduled as follows:

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                  Date                               Location
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014..............  Lake Jackson Civic Center, 333
                                          Highway 332 E, Lake Jackson,
                                          TX 77566, (979) 415-2600.
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    Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a 
motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedures (18 CFR Part 385.214).\1\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision. The 
Commission grants affected landowners and others with environmental 
concerns intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which no other 
party can adequately represent. Simply filing environmental comments 
will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor 
status to have your comments considered.
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    \1\ See the previous discussion on the methods for filing 
comments.
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Questions?

    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 (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., CP12-

[[Page 15991]]

509, CP12-29). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnline 
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676; 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 that 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.

    Dated: March 14, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-06312 Filed 3-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P