[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20489-20490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08740]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Lake Charles Liquefaction Project


Trunkline Gas Company, LLC...  Docket Nos. CP14-119-000.
Lake Charles LNG Company, LLC  CP14-120-000.
Lake Charles LNG Export        CP14-122-000.
 Company, LLC.
 


    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Lake Charles Liquefaction Project, proposed by Trunkline Gas 
Company, LLC (Trunkline), Lake Charles LNG Company, LLC, and Lake 
Charles LNG Export Company, LLC in the above-referenced dockets. 
Trunkline requests authorization to construct, install, and operate new 
natural gas pipeline and compression facilities and meter stations; 
modify certain existing pipeline facilities; modify certain compressor 
and meter stations; and abandon one compressor unit in the states of 
Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana (collectively referred to as the 
Non-Liquefaction Facilities). Lake Charles LNG Company, LLC and Lake 
Charles LNG Export Company, LLC (collectively referred to as Lake 
Charles LNG) jointly request authorization to site, construct, and 
operate new liquefaction facilities adjacent to an existing liquefied 
natural gas (LNG) terminal located in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, and 
to construct and operate certain facility modifications at the existing 
LNG terminal. The new liquefaction facilities would have a design 
production capacity of 16.45 million metric tons of LNG per annum.
    Lake Charles LNG Company, LLC also requests authorization to 
abandon certain terminal facilities previously certificated under the 
Natural Gas Act (NGA) section 7; abandon services provided under its 
existing FERC Gas Tariff and Certificates of Public Convenience and 
Necessity; cancel its FERC Gas Tariff, including all rate schedules 
therein; and convert such certificated facilities and operation under 
NGA section 3, so that the entirety of the company's facilities and 
operations are authorized solely under NGA section 3.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of 
construction and operation of the Lake Charles Liquefaction Project in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act. The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project 
would have some adverse environmental impacts; however, most of these 
impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels with the 
implementation of Lake Charles LNG's and Trunkline's proposed 
mitigation and the additional measures recommended in the draft EIS.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department 
of Energy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department of 
Transportation 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 a 
proposal and participate in the National Environmental Policy Act 
analysis. 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 determinations for the project.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction, modification, and operation of the following project 
facilities:
     Three liquefaction trains, each with a production capacity 
sufficient to produce 5.48 million metric tons per annum of LNG for 
export (each train would contain metering and gas treatment facilities, 
liquefaction and refrigerant units, safety and control systems, and 
associated infrastructure);
     modifications and upgrades at the existing LNG terminal;
     about 0.5 mile of 48-inch-diameter feed gas line to supply 
natural gas to the liquefaction facility from existing gas transmission 
pipelines;
     approximately 17.9 miles of 24- and 42-inch-diameter 
natural gas pipeline;
     a new 98,685 horsepower (hp) compressor station;
     abandonment of a 3,000-hp compressor unit, installation of 
a 15,002-hp unit, and piping modifications at one existing compressor 
station;
     modification of station piping at three other existing 
compressor stations;
     five new meter stations and modifications and upgrades of 
five existing meter stations;
     modification of certain existing pipeline facilities; and

[[Page 20490]]

     construction of miscellaneous auxiliary and appurtenant 
facilities.
    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; other interested individuals and non-
governmental organizations; newspapers and libraries in the project 
area; and parties to this proceeding. Paper copy versions of this EIS 
were mailed to those specifically requesting them; all others received 
a compact disk version. 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 hardcopies 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 June 
1, 2015.
    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 number(s) (CP14-119-000, CP14-120-000, and CP14-122-000) 
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].
    (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.
    (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 a 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. A transcript of the meeting will be 
available for review in eLibrary under the project docket numbers. The 
meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. and is scheduled as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Date                               Location
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May 7, 2015............................  Holiday Inn Lake Charles--W.
                                          Sulphur, 330 Arena Road,
                                          Sulphur, Louisiana 70665,
                                          (337) 527-0858.
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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 (Title 18 Code of Federal Regulations 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 that 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(s) excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field 
(i.e., CP14-119, CP14-120, and CP14-122). 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; 
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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.

    Dated: April 10, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-08740 Filed 4-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P