[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65650-65652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27638]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP16-480-000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Annova LNG Brownsville Project: Annova LNG 
Common Infrastructure, LLC, Annova LNG Brownsville A, LLC, Annova LNG 
Brownsville B, LLC, Annova LNG Brownsville C, LLC

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Annova LNG Brownsville Project (referred to as the Annova LNG 
Project, or Project). Annova LNG Common Infrastructure LLC, Annova LNG 
Brownsville A LLC, Annova LNG Brownsville B LLC, and Annova LNG 
Brownsville C, LLC (collectively referred to as Annova LNG) request 
authorization to site, construct, and operate liquefied natural gas 
(LNG) export facilities on the Brownsville Ship Channel in Cameron 
County, Texas. The Project would include a new LNG export terminal 
capable of producing up to 6.95 million metric tons per year of LNG for 
export. The LNG terminal would receive natural gas to the export 
facilities from an as-yet undetermined third-party intrastate pipeline.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the Project would result in some 
adverse environmental impacts. However, with the mitigation measures 
recommended in the EIS and Annova's proposed mitigation measures, 
impacts in the Project area would be avoided or minimized, and would 
not be significant. In addition, the Annova LNG Project, combined with 
other projects in the geographic scope, including the Texas LNG and Rio 
Grande LNG Projects, would result in certain significant cumulative 
impacts. Construction and operation of the Project would result in 
mostly temporary or short-term environmental impacts; however, some 
long-term and permanent environmental impacts would occur.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Department 
of Transportation; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; National Parks Service; the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service; Federal 
Aviation Administration; and U.S. Department of Energy 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. Although the cooperating agencies provided input to the 
conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the 
agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations in 
their respective Records of Decision for the project.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following Project facilities:
     Pipeline meter station;
     Liquefaction facilities;
     Two LNG storage tanks;
     Marine and LNG transfer facilities;
     Control room, administration/maintenance building;
     Site access road; and
     Utilities (power, water, and communication systems).
    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

[[Page 65651]]

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., CP16-
480). 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 February 4, 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 number 
(CP16-480-000) 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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Thursday, January 10, 2019,    Port Isabel Convention Center, 309 E.
 5:00-9:00 p.m. CST.            Railroad Ave, Port Isabel, TX 78578, 956-
                                433-7195.
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    The primary goal of the comment session 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 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST. 
You may arrive at any time after 5:00 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 the closing hour for the comment 
session. 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 30 minutes before the closing hour. 
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 page 2 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 commenter.
    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.


[[Page 65652]]


    Dated: December 14, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-27638 Filed 12-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P