[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 247 (Thursday, December 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80454-80455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32348]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number USCG-2013-0363]


Deepwater Port License Application: Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Port 
Ambrose Deepwater Port; Withdrawal of Application and Termination of 
Federal Application Review Process

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of termination of Federal review.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) announces the termination 
of the Liberty Natural Gas LLC (Liberty) Port Ambrose Deepwater Port 
License Application and all related Federal processing activities 
required by applicable provisions of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as 
amended (Act).
    On September 28, 2015, Liberty submitted to MARAD and the U.S. 
Coast Guard (USCG) an application under the Act for a license and all 
Federal authorizations required to own, construct, and operate a 
deepwater port for the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into 
the United States. The deepwater port, known as Port Ambrose, was 
proposed to be located in the offshore waters of New York and New 
Jersey, in the New York Bight. On June 14, 2013, MARAD and USCG deemed 
the application complete, designated New York and New Jersey as 
adjacent coastal states (ACS) and commenced the Federal application 
review process required under the Act. This process also included a 
comprehensive environmental assessment, public meetings and 
coordination of the application review process with relevant Federal 
and State agencies.
    Upon completion of the environmental review process required by the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the final public licensing 
hearings, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of the State of New York, notified 
the Maritime Administration, by letter dated November 12, 2015, of his 
disapproval of the Liberty Port Ambrose deepwater port project. 
Governor Cuomo's disapproval was issued in accordance with the 
provisions outlined in 33 U.S.C. Section 1508(c)(8) which state, the 
Secretary (or Maritime Administrator by delegated authority) may issue 
a deepwater port license only if the Governor of the ACS approves or is 
presumed to approve, issuance of the license. In light of Governor 
Cuomo's disapproval of the application, Liberty notified MARAD, by 
letter dated November 18, 2015, of its withdrawal of the Port Ambrose 
license application from the Federal review process. As a consequence 
of Liberty's withdrawal of its application, the Federal application 
review process and all related Federal processing activities were 
terminated on November 18, 2015. This Federal Register Notice shall 
serve as official announcement to the public that the Federal review 
and processing of the Liberty Port Ambrose deepwater port license 
application is terminated.

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].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 28, 2012, Liberty submitted to 
MARAD and USCG an application for a license and all Federal 
authorizations required to own, construct, and operate a natural gas 
import deepwater port known as Port Ambrose. Specifically, the Port 
Ambrose license application proposed construction and operation of an 
offshore natural gas deepwater port facility that would have been 
located 16.1 nautical miles southeast of Jones Beach, New York, 24.9 
nautical miles east of Long Branch, New Jersey, and 27.1 nautical miles 
from the entrance to New York Harbor in a water depth of approximately 
103 feet.
    As required under the Act, MARAD and USCG, acting as co-lead 
agencies, commenced a formal review of the Port Ambrose deepwater port 
license application. The review included an application completeness 
determination, development of a comprehensive Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) as required by NEPA, in-depth review of the financial 
capacity of the applicant to construct, operate and decommission the 
proposed deepwater port and assessment of the applicant's ability to 
meet all other license criteria of the Act. The initial Port Ambrose 
deepwater port Notice of Application (NOA) was published in the Federal 
Register on June 14, 2013 (78 FR 36014). The NOA announced completeness 
of MARAD's and USCG's initial review of the application and 
commencement of the formal application review process. Thereafter, the 
required Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and conduct public scoping 
meetings was published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2013 (78 FR 
37878). The required public scoping meetings were held in Long Beach, 
New York on July 9, 2013, and in Edison, New Jersey on July 10, 2013. 
Additionally, an NOA of the Draft EIS (DEIS) was published in the 
Federal Register on December 16, 2014 (79 FR 74808), and subsequent 
public meetings seeking public comments on the DEIS were held in 
Jamaica, New York on January 7, 2015, and in Eatontown, New Jersey on 
January 8, 2015. On October 16, 2015, an NOA of the Final EIS and 
Notice of Final Public Licensing Hearings was published in the Federal 
Register (80 FR 62596). The final hearings were held on November 2, 
2015 and November 3, 2015 in Long Beach, New York, and on November 4, 
2015 and November 5, 2015 in Eatontown, New Jersey.
    Upon conclusion of the final public licensing hearings and 
completion of consistency reviews by the relevant state agencies, New 
York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, by letter dated November 12, 2015, 
advised MARAD of his disapproval of Liberty's Port Ambrose deepwater 
port license application. Governor Cuomo disapproved the application in 
accordance with his authority as an ACS Governor, as provided under 
Section 1508(b)(1) of the Act. Governor Cuomo's disapproval was based 
on concerns related to his assessment of the proposed project's 
inherent security risks, impacts of extreme weather events, disruption 
of commercial navigation and fishing activities, and the potential 
interference with currently pending renewable energy projects proposed 
for the State of New York.
    On November 18, 2015, in light of Governor Cuomo's disapproval of 
the Port Ambrose license application, Liberty notified MARAD of its 
withdrawal of the application from the Federal review process. As a 
consequence of the withdrawal of the application, the Federal review 
process was terminated on November 18, 2015. This public notice serves 
as an official announcement of the termination of the Liberty Natural 
Gas Port Ambrose deepwater port license application and all other 
related Federal processing activities.
    Further, as a result of the termination of the application and 
related processing activities, no Record of Decision (ROD) will be 
issued by MARAD for the Liberty Port Ambrose license application. It 
should be noted, however, that all project related information compiled 
and assessed during the application review will be incorporated into 
the final administrative record for the Liberty Port Ambrose deepwater 
license application.
    Additional information regarding the Liberty Port Ambrose deepwater 
port license application, comments, supporting information and other

[[Page 80455]]

associated documentation are available for viewing at the Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site: http://www.regulations.gov 
under docket number USCG-2013-0363.

    (Authority: 49 CFR 1.93)
* * *

    Dated: December 18, 2015.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-32348 Filed 12-23-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-81-P