[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39813-39816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17108]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2018-0114]


Deepwater Port License Application: Texas Gulf Terminals, Inc.

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of intent; notice of public meeting; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), in coordination with the Maritime 
Administration (MARAD), will prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) as part of the environmental review of the Texas Gulf Terminals, 
Inc. (TGTI) deepwater port license application. The application 
proposes the ownership, construction, operation and eventual 
decommissioning of an offshore oil export deepwater port that would be 
located in Federal waters approximately 12.7 nautical miles off the 
coast of Corpus Christi, Texas in a water depth of approximately 93 
feet. The deepwater port would allow for the loading of Very Large 
Crude Carriers (VLCCs) via a single point mooring buoy system.
    This Notice of Intent (NOI) requests public participation in the 
scoping process, provides information on how to participate and 
announces an informational open house and public meeting in Texas. 
Pursuant to the criteria provided in the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as 
amended, 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. (the Act), Texas is the designated

[[Page 39814]]

Adjacent Coastal State for this application.

DATES: There will be one public scoping meeting held in connection with 
the TGTI deepwater port application. The meeting will be held in Corpus 
Christi, Texas on September 12, 2018, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The 
public meeting will be preceded by an informational open house from 
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    The public meeting may end later than the stated time, depending on 
the number of persons wishing to speak. Additionally, materials 
submitted in response to this request for comments on the TGTI 
deepwater port license application must reach the Federal Docket 
Management Facility as detailed below by September 14, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The open house and public meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas 
will be held at the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel, 900 North Shoreline 
Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, phone: (361) 887-1600, web 
address: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/corpus-christi. Free parking 
is available at the venue.
    The public docket for MARAD-2018-0114 is maintained by the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590.
    The license application is available for viewing at the 
Regulations.gov website: http://www.regulations.gov under docket number 
MARAD-2018-0114.
    We encourage you to submit comments electronically through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If you submit 
your comments electronically, it is not necessary to also submit a hard 
copy. If you cannot submit material using http://www.regulations.gov, 
please contact either Mr. Roddy Bachman, USCG or Mr. Wade Morefield, 
MARAD, as listed in the following FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this document, which also provides alternate instructions 
for submitting written comments. Additionally, if you go to the online 
docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when comments 
are posted. Anonymous comments will be accepted. All comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will 
include any personal information you have provided. The Federal Docket 
Management Facility's telephone number is 202-366-9329, the fax number 
is 202-493-2251.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roddy Bachman, USCG, telephone: 
202-372-1451, email: [email protected], or Mr. Wade Morefield, 
MARAD, telephone: 202-366-7026, email: [email protected]. For 
questions regarding viewing the Docket, call Docket Operations, 
telephone: 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Meeting and Open House

    We encourage you to attend the informational open house and public 
meeting to learn about, and comment on, the proposed deepwater port. 
You will have the opportunity to submit comments on the scope and 
significance of the issues related to the proposed deepwater port that 
should be addressed in the EIS.
    Speaker registrations will be available at the door. Speakers at 
the public scoping meeting will be recognized in the following order: 
Elected officials, public agencies, individuals or groups in the sign-
up order and then anyone else who wishes to speak.
    In order to allow everyone a chance to speak at a public meeting, 
we may limit speaker time, extend the meeting hours, or both. You must 
identify yourself, and any organization you represent by name. Your 
remarks will be recorded and/or transcribed for inclusion in the public 
docket.
    You may submit written material at a public meeting, either in 
place of, or in addition to, speaking. Written material must include 
your name and address and will be included in the public docket.
    Public docket materials will be made available to the public on the 
Federal Docket Management Facility website (see ADDRESSES).
    Our public meeting location is wheelchair-accessible and compliant 
with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you plan to attend an open 
house or public meeting and need special assistance such as sign 
language interpretation, non-English language translator services or 
other reasonable accommodation, please notify the USCG or MARAD (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 5 business days in advance of 
the public meeting. Include your contact information as well as 
information about your specific needs.

Request for Comments

    We request public comment on this proposal. The comments may relate 
to, but are not limited to, the environmental impact of the proposed 
action. All comments will be accepted. The public meeting is not the 
only opportunity you have to comment on the TGTI deepwater port license 
application. In addition to, or in place of, attending a meeting, you 
may submit comments directly to the Federal Docket Management Facility 
during the public comment period (see Dates). We will consider all 
comments and material received during the 30-day scoping period.
    The license application, comments and associated documentation, as 
well as the draft and final EISs (when published), are available for 
viewing at the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website: http://www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2018-0114.
    Public comment submissions should include:
     Docket number MARAD-2018-0114.
     Your name and address.
    Submit comments or material using only one of the following 
methods:
     Electronically (preferred for processing) to the Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMS) website: http://www.regulations.gov 
under docket number MARAD-2018-0114.
     By mail to the Federal Docket Management Facility (MARAD-
2018-0114), U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-
0001.
     By personal delivery to the room and address listed above 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
     By fax to the Federal Docket Management Facility at 202-
493-2251.
    Faxed, mailed or hand delivered submissions must be unbound, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches and suitable for copying and electronic 
scanning. The format of electronic submissions should also be no larger 
than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches. If you mail your submission and want to know 
when it reaches the Federal Docket Management Facility, please include 
a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    Regardless of the method used for submitting comments, all 
submissions will be posted, without change, to the FDMS website (http://www.regulations.gov) and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information to the docket makes it 
public. You may wish to read the Privacy and Use Notice that is 
available on the FDMS website and the Department of Transportation 
Privacy Act Notice that appeared in the Federal Register on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477), see Privacy Act. You may view docket submissions at 
the Federal

[[Page 39815]]

Docket Management Facility or electronically on the FDMS website.

Background

    Information about deepwater ports, the statutes, and regulations 
governing their licensing, including the application review process, 
and the receipt of the current application for the proposed TGTI 
deepwater port appears in the TGTI Notice of Application, August 6, 
2018 edition of the Federal Register. The ``Summary of the 
Application'' from that publication is reprinted below for your 
convenience.
    Consideration of a deepwater port license application includes 
review of the proposed deepwater port's impact on the natural and human 
environment. For the proposed deepwater port, USCG and MARAD are the 
co-lead Federal agencies for determining the scope of this review, and 
in this case, it has been determined that review must include 
preparation of an EIS. This NOI is required by 40 CFR 1501.7. It 
briefly describes the proposed action, possible alternatives and our 
proposed scoping process. You can address any questions about the 
proposed action, the scoping process or the EIS to the USCG or MARAD 
project managers identified in this notice (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed action requiring environmental review is the Federal 
licensing of the proposed deepwater port described in ``Summary of the 
Application'' below. The alternatives to licensing the proposed port 
are: (1) Licensing with conditions (including conditions designed to 
mitigate environmental impact), (2) proposed deepwater port site 
alternatives or (3) denying the application, which for purposes of 
environmental review is the ``no-action'' alternative.

Scoping Process

    Public scoping is an early and open process for identifying and 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Scoping 
begins with this notice, continues through the public comment period 
(see Dates), and ends when USCG and MARAD have completed the following 
actions:
     Invites the participation of Federal, state, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribe, the applicant, in this case TGTI, 
and other interested persons;
     Determines the actions, alternatives and impacts described 
in 40 CFR 1508.25;
     Identifies and eliminates from detailed study, those 
issues that are not significant or that have been covered elsewhere;
     Identifies other relevant permitting, environmental review 
and consultation requirements;
     Indicates the relationship between timing of the 
environmental review and other aspects of the application process; and
     At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40 
CFR 1501.7(b).
    Once the scoping process is complete, USCG and MARAD will prepare a 
draft EIS. When complete, MARAD will publish a Federal Register notice 
announcing public availability of the Draft EIS. (If you want that 
notice to be sent to you, please contact the USCG or MARAD project 
manager identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You will have 
an opportunity to review and comment on the Draft EIS. The USCG, MARAD 
and other appropriate cooperating agencies will consider the received 
comments and then prepare the Final EIS. As with the Draft EIS, we will 
announce the availability of the Final EIS and give you an opportunity 
for review and comment. The Act requires a final public hearing to be 
held in the Adjacent Coastal State. Its purpose is to receive comments 
on matters related to whether or not an operating license should be 
issued. The final public hearing will be held in Corpus Christi, Texas 
after the Final EIS is made available for public review and comment.

Summary of the Application

    TGTI is proposing to construct, own, and operate a deepwater port 
terminal in the Gulf of Mexico to export domestically produced crude 
oil. Use of the DWP would include the loading of various grades of 
crude oil at flow rates of up to 60,000 barrels per hour (bph). 
Approximately eight Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) vessels (or 
equivalent volumes) would be loaded per month from the proposed 
deepwater port. Loading of one VLCC vessel is expected to take 48 
hours, including vessel approach, mooring, cargo transfer, and vessel 
departure.
    The overall project would consist of three distinct, but 
interrelated components: (1) The ``offshore'' component, (2) the 
``inshore'' component, and (3) the ``onshore'' component.
    The proposed deepwater port (offshore component) would be located 
approximately 12.7 nautical miles off the coast of North Padre Island 
(Kleberg County, TX) and consists of 14.71 miles of two new parallel 
30-inch diameter crude oil pipelines, which terminate at a single point 
mooring (SPM) buoy. The SPM buoy system would be positioned in water 
depths of approximately 93 feet and consist of a pipeline end manifold, 
catenary anchor leg mooring system, and other associated equipment. The 
SPM would be located in BOEM lease block number 823 at latitude N 
27[deg]28'42.60'' and longitude W 97[deg]00'48.43''.
    The inshore components associated with the proposed project include 
5.74 miles of two new parallel 30-inch diameter pipelines and onshore 
valve stations used to connect the onshore project components to 
offshore project components. The inshore portions of the proposed 
pipeline infrastructure cross the Laguna Madre Bay complex, the Gulf 
Intracoastal Waterway, and extend across North Padre Island to the mean 
high tide line located at the interface of North Padre Island and the 
Gulf of Mexico. The inshore project components include the installation 
of an onshore valve station on North Padre Island to allow for the 
isolation of portions of the proposed pipeline infrastructure for 
servicing, maintenance, and inspection operations.
    Onshore components associated with the proposed project include the 
construction and operation of an onshore storage terminal facility 
(OSTF), booster station, and approximately 6.36 miles of two new 
parallel 30-inch diameter pipelines located within Nueces and Kleberg 
Counties, TX. The OSTF would occupy approximately 150 acres in Nueces 
County, TX and would consist of all necessary infrastructure to 
receive, store, measure and transport crude oil through the proposed 
inshore and deepwater port pipeline infrastructure. The proposed 
booster station would occupy approximately 8.25 acres in Kleberg 
County, TX and would consist of the necessary pumping infrastructure to 
support the transport of crude oil from the OSTF to the deepwater port. 
Onshore pipeline infrastructure would extend from the OSTF to the 
landward side of the mean high tide line located at the interface of 
the western shoreline of the Laguna Madre.

Privacy Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its administrative and rulemaking processes. 
DOT posts comments, without edit, to www.regulations.gov, as described 
in the system of records notice, DOT/ALL-14 FDMS, accessible through 
www.dot.gov/privacy. To facilitate comment tracking and response, we 
encourage commenters to provide their name, or the name of their 
organization;

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however, submission of names is completely optional. Whether or not 
commenters identify themselves, all timely comments will be fully 
considered. If you wish to provide comments containing proprietary or 
confidential information, please contact the agency for alternate 
submission instructions.

(Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1501, et seq.; 49 CFR 1.93(h))

    Dated: August 6, 2018.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-17108 Filed 8-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-81-P