[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 85 (Thursday, May 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18836-18837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08902]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket Nos. CP16-454-000; CP16-455-000]
Rio Grande LNG, LLC, Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of
Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed Rio Grande LNG Project
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Rio Grande LNG Project (Project)
[[Page 18837]]
proposed by Rio Grande LNG, LLC (RG LNG) and Rio Bravo Pipeline
Company, LLC (RB Pipeline) (collectively referred to as the RG
Developers) in the above-referenced dockets. RG LNG requests
authorization pursuant to section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to
construct and operate liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in
Cameron County, Texas, and RB Pipeline requests a Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity pursuant to section 7(c) of the NGA to
construct, operate, and maintain a new pipeline system in Jim Wells,
Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy, and Cameron Counties, Texas.
The final 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 construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG
Project would result in some adverse environmental impacts, but these
impacts would be reduced to less than significant levels. However, the
Rio Grande LNG Project, combined with other projects within the
geographic scope, including the Texas LNG and Annova LNG Projects,
would contribute to potential significant cumulative impacts from
construction noise during nighttime pile-driving; sediment/turbidity
and shoreline erosion within the Brownsville Ship Channel during
operations from vessel transits; on the federally listed ocelot and
jaguarundi from habitat loss and potential for increased vehicular
strikes during construction; on the federally listed northern aplomado
falcon from habitat loss in combination with past actions; and on
visual resources from the presence of aboveground structures.
Construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG 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 Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the DOT's Federal Aviation
Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park
Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration--National Marine Fisheries
Service 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
final EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and
recommendations in their respective Records of Decision for the
Project.
The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the following proposed facilities:
Six liquefaction trains at the Rio Grande LNG Terminal,
each with a nominal capacity of 4.5 million tons per annum of LNG for
export, resulting in the total nominal capacity of 27.0 million tons
per annum;
four LNG storage tanks, each with a net capacity of
180,000 cubic meters;
LNG truck loading facilities with four loading bays, each
with the capacity to load 12 to 15 trucks per day;
a refrigerant storage area and truck unloading facilities;
a condensate storage area and truck loading facilities;
a new marine slip with two LNG vessel berths to
accommodate simultaneous loading of two LNG vessels, an LNG vessel and
support vessel maneuvering area, and an LNG transfer system;
a materials off-loading facility;
2.4 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline, including 0.8 mile
of dual pipeline, to gather gas from existing systems in Kleberg and
Jim Wells Counties (referred to as the Header System);
135.5 miles of parallel 42-inch-diameter pipelines
originating in Kleberg County and terminating at the Rio Grande LNG
Terminal in Cameron County (referred to as Pipelines 1 and 2);
four stand-alone metering sites along the Header System;
two new interconnect booster compressor stations, each
with a metering site;
three new compressor stations (one at the LNG Terminal
site); and
other associated utilities, systems, and facilities
(yards, access roads, etc.).
The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the
final EIS 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 final 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 final 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., CP16-454 or CP16-455). 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.
Additional information about the Projects 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: April 26, 2019.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-08902 Filed 5-1-19; 8:45 am]
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