[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58558-58559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25308]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP17-66-000; CP17-67-000]


Venture Global Plaquemines LNG, LLC and Venture Global Gator 
Express, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Plaquemines LNG and Gator Express Pipeline 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Plaquemines LNG and Gator Express Pipeline Project, proposed by 
Venture Global Plaquemines LNG, LLC and Venture Global Gator Express, 
LLC (collectively called Venture Global) in the above-referenced 
dockets. Venture Global requests authorization to construct and operate 
a new LNG export terminal and associated facilities along the west bank 
of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana (LNG 
Terminal) and to construct and operate two new 42-inch-diameter natural 
gas pipeline laterals that would connect to the LNG Terminal. The new 
liquefaction facilities would have a design production capacity of 20 
million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Plaquemines LNG and Gator Express 
Pipeline Project in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval 
of the proposed project, with the mitigation measures recommended in 
the draft EIS, would have some adverse environmental impacts. These 
impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels with the 
implementation of Venture Global's proposed mitigation measures 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. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of 
Transportation participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation 
of the 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 draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     LNG Terminal: Construction and operation of various 
liquefaction, LNG distribution, and appurtenant facilities within the 
boundaries of the site leased by Venture Global on the Mississippi 
River, including:
    [cir] Six pretreatment facilities (three in each phase);
    [cir] a liquefaction plant with 18 integrated single-mixed 
refrigerant blocks and support facilities (otherwise referred to as 
liquefaction blocks or blocks) to be constructed in two phases (nine 
blocks in each phase);
    [cir] four 200,000-cubic-meter aboveground LNG storage tanks;
    [cir] three LNG loading docks within a common LNG berthing area; 
and
    [cir] air-cooled electric power generation facilities.
     Pipeline System: Construction and operation of two 
parallel 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipelines that share one right-
of-way corridor for the majority of their respective routes and 
appurtenant aboveground facilities, including the following:
    [cir] 15.1-mile-long Southwest Lateral Tennessee Gas Pipeline, LLC 
(TGP) Pipeline;
    [cir] 11.7-mile-long Southwest Lateral Texas Eastern Transmission, 
LP (TETCO) Pipeline;
    [cir] TGP metering and regulation station; and
    [cir] TETCO metering and regulation station.

[[Page 58559]]

    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability 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; and newspapers and libraries in the project 
area. The draft EIS is only available in electronic format. It may be 
viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the 
Environmental Documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis.asp). In addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using 
the eLibrary link on the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link 
(https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp), click on General 
Search, and enter the docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field, 
excluding the last three digits (i.e. CP17-66 or CP17-67). 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, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.
    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. Your 
comments should focus on draft EIS's disclosure and discussion of 
potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures 
to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. 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 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time on January 7, 2019.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided verbally. The Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 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 website (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 website (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. Be sure to reference the project docket numbers 
(CP17-66-000 and CP17-67-000) with your submission: 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 session its staff 
will conduct in the project area to receive comments on the draft EIS, 
scheduled as follows:

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               Date and time                          Location
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Tuesday, December 11, 2018 (4:00 p.m.-7:00  Belle Chasse Library, 8442
 p.m. CST).                                  Hwy 23, Belle Chasse,
                                             Louisiana 70037, (504) 394-
                                             3570.
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    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify 
the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. 
Individual verbal comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a 
court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount 
of verbal comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
    The comment session is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST. 
You may arrive at any time after 4:00 p.m. There will not be a formal 
presentation by Commission staff when the session opens. If you wish to 
speak, the Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your 
arrival. Comments will be taken until 7:00 p.m. However, if no 
additional numbers have been handed out and all individuals who wish to 
provide comments have had an opportunity to do so, staff may conclude 
the session at 6:30 p.m. Please see appendix 1 for additional 
information on the session format and conduct.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE, Washington, 
DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to 
eLibrary, refer to page 2 of this notice.
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    Your verbal comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with 
FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public 
record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on 
FERC's eLibrary system (see below for instructions on using eLibrary). 
If a significant number of people are interested in providing verbal 
comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be 
implemented for each commentor.
    It is important to note that verbal comments hold the same weight 
as written or electronically submitted comments. Although there will 
not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available 
throughout the comment session to answer your questions about the 
environmental review process.
    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). Motions to intervene are 
more fully described at http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or 
judicial review 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.

Questions?

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the 
FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. The eLibrary link 
also provides access to the texts of all 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: November 13, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-25308 Filed 11-19-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P