[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62242-62244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24609]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number MARAD-2014-0132]


Deepwater Ports License Application Process for Offshore Export 
Facilities

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of proposed policy.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is seeking public comment 
on the agency's proposed policy to accept, evaluate and process license 
applications for the construction and operation of offshore deepwater 
port facilities for the export of oil and natural gas from the United 
States to foreign markets abroad, and to use the existing Deepwater 
Port License regulations, cited at 33 CFR Parts 148, 149 and 150 for 
such purposes.

DATES: Written public comments regarding this notice of proposed policy

[[Page 62243]]

should be submitted on or before December 15, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number 
MARAD-2014-0132 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Search MARAD-2014-0132 and follow the instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include MARAD-2014-0132 
in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590. If you would like to confirm that your 
comments reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Management 
Facility is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
on Federal holidays.

    Note:  If you fax, mail or hand deliver your input, we recommend 
that you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, 
or a telephone number in the body of your document so that you can 
be contacted if there are questions regarding your submission. If 
you submit your inputs by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing.

    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number. All comments received will be posted without change 
to the docket at www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting comments 
and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the section 
entitled Public Participation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Yvette M. Fields, Director, Office 
of Deepwater Ports and Offshore Activities, Maritime Administration, 
telephone: 202-366-0926, email: [email protected]. If you have 
questions on viewing the Docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 
Docket Operations, telephone: 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 20, 2012, the Coast Guard and 
Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (Title III, Sec. 312) amended 
Section 3(9)(A) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 
1502(9)(A)) to insert the words ``or from'' before the words ``any 
State'' in the definition of Deepwater Port. This amendment grants 
MARAD, as delegated by the Secretary of Transportation, the authority 
to license the construction and operation of Deepwater Ports for the 
export of oil and natural gas from domestic sources within the United 
States.\1\ This amendment will be implemented in accordance with 
existing legislative and regulatory requirements pertaining to the 
Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended (the Act). The Coast Guard and 
Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 provided no other amendments to the 
Act.
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    \1\ With regard to exports from a State that are intended for 
non-United States markets, the Department of Energy is responsible 
for approving applications to export natural gas to Free Trade 
Agreement and Non-Free Trade Agreement nations. As a general 
proposition, the export of oil from the United States is restricted 
(see e.g., the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 or the 
Export Administration Act of 1979).
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    The amended Act defines a Deepwater Port, in part, as ``any fixed 
or floating manmade structure other than a vessel, or any group of such 
structures, that are located beyond State seaward boundaries and that 
are used or intended for use as a port or terminal for the 
transportation, storage, or further handling of oil or natural gas for 
transportation to or from any State . . . .''
    The Act grants the Maritime Administrator authority to license 
Deepwater Ports (by delegation from the Secretary of Transportation, 
published on August 17, 2012 [77 FR 49964]). Deepwater Port license 
applications are jointly processed by MARAD and the U.S. Coast Guard 
(Coast Guard) under delegations from, and between, the Secretary of 
Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security. In general, the 
Coast Guard is the lead agency for compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act and is responsible for matters related to 
navigation safety, engineering and safety standards, and facility 
inspections. MARAD is responsible for determining citizenship and 
financial capability of the potential licensees, and for preparing the 
project Record of Decision and issuing or denying the license. The 
various other responsibilities under the Act, including the duty of 
consultation, are shared by the Coast Guard and MARAD. Statutory and 
regulatory requirements for Deepwater Port licensing appear in 33 
U.S.C. 1501 et seq. and in 33 CFR Parts 148, 149 and 150.
    The Coast Guard has previously developed comprehensive regulatory 
guidance for Deepwater Port license applications and remains the 
Federal agency responsible for the promulgation of rules relating to 
the Deepwater Port license application process. Regulations detailing 
the requirements of the Deepwater Port license application process; 
design, construction and equipment; and port operations can be found in 
33 CFR Parts 148, 149 and 150. These regulations pertain to the 
application review process, planning, environmental review, design, 
construction and operation of deepwater port facilities without 
specific regard to whether the facility imports or exports oil and/or 
natural gas products. With the addition of oil and natural gas 
exportation under the amendment to the Act, MARAD does not foresee any 
reason to alter the Deepwater Port licensing application process. As 
such, this notice is provided to inform the public that MARAD, with the 
concurrence of the Coast Guard's Deepwater Ports Standards Division, 
intends to use the existing Deepwater Port regulations for the review, 
evaluation and processing of any Deepwater Port license application 
involving the export of oil or natural gas from domestic sources within 
the United States as provided for in 33 CFR Part 148, 149 and 150.
    Any proposed Deepwater Port involving the export of oil or natural 
gas from domestic sources within the United States will require the 
submission of an export-specific comprehensive license application 
conforming to all established and applicable Deepwater Port licensing 
requirements and regulations. The considerable technical, operational 
and environmental differences between import and export operations for 
oil or natural gas projects are such that any licensed Deepwater Port 
facility, or any proponent of a deepwater port that has an application 
in process, that proposes to convert from import to export operations 
will be required to submit a new license application (including 
application fee) and conform to all licensing requirements and 
regulations in effect at such time of application. For licensed 
deepwater ports, an application to convert from import operations to 
export operations will require, at a minimum: (1) Approval from the 
Department of Energy or other approval authority to export oil or 
natural gas to free trade and/or non-free trade agreement countries; 
(2) a new or supplemental environmental impact analysis (Environmental 
Impact

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Statement or Environmental Assessment--Finding of No Significant 
Impact) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act that assesses 
the significance of the environmental impact of the proposed change in 
operations; and (3) a revised operations manual that fully describes 
the proposed change in port operations. Only after all required 
application processes are completed, and after consideration of the 
nine factors specified in the Act (33 U.S.C. 1503(c)), may the Maritime 
Administrator approve (or disapprove) an application to export oil or 
natural gas through a deepwater port. In the event the Maritime 
Administrator approves the application to convert to export operations, 
the applicant's existing license shall be surrendered and the Maritime 
Administrator will issue a new license with conditions appropriate to 
all intended activities, including, if applicable, authority to engage 
in bidirectional oil or natural gas import and export operations. In 
all other cases, the Maritime Administrator will issue a new license 
with conditions appropriate to the applied for activity.
    This proposed policy will take effect upon the date of the final 
Federal Register Notice of Policy and will remain in effect until such 
time that additional or other related regulations are promulgated. As 
previously stated, all statutory provisions of the Deepwater Port Act 
of 1974, as amended, shall apply to the final authorization and 
licensure of export oil and natural gas Deepwater Ports.

Public Participation

    Your comments must be written and provided in English. To ensure 
that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include 
the docket number in your comments. MARAD encourages you to provide 
concise comments. However, you may attach necessary additional 
documents to your comments. There is no limit on the length of the 
attachments. Please submit your comments, including the attachments, 
following the instructions provided under the above heading entitled 
ADDRESSES.
    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Department of Transportation, Maritime 
Administration, Office of Legislation and Regulations, MAR-225, W24-
220, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. When you send 
comments containing information claimed to be confidential information, 
you should include a cover letter setting forth with specificity the 
basis for any such claim.
    MARAD will consider all comments received before the close of 
business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To 
the extent possible, MARAD will also consider comments received after 
that date. If a comment is received too late for MARAD to consider in 
developing a final policy (assuming one is issued), MARAD will consider 
that comment as an informal suggestion for future policy action.
    For access to the docket to read background documents, including 
those referenced in this document, or to submit or read comments 
received, go to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Management Facility is open 9:00 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays. 
To review documents, read comments or to submit comments, the docket is 
also available online at http://www.regulations.gov., keyword search 
MARAD-2014-0132.
    Please note that even after the comment period has closed, MARAD 
will continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
MARAD recommends that you periodically check the Docket for new 
material.

Privacy Act

    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the DOT 
Privacy Act system of records notice for the Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) in the Federal Register published on January 17, 2008, 
(73 FR 3316) at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-785.pdf.

    Authority:  49 CFR 1.93.

    Dated: October 10, 2014.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator
Thomas M. Hudson,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-24609 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P