[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32005-32008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14177]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2019-0094]


Deepwater Port License Application: Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC 
(Bluewater)

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Bluewater Texas 
Terminal LLC (Bluewater) 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 15 nautical miles off 
the coast of San Patricio County, Texas in a water depth of 
approximately 89 feet. The deepwater port would allow for the loading 
of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and other sized crude oil cargo 
carriers 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 Corpus 
Christi, Texas. Pursuant to the criteria provided in the Deepwater Port 
Act of 1974, as amended (the Act), Texas is the designated Adjacent 
Coastal State for this application.

DATES: There will be one public scoping meeting held in connection with 
the Bluewater Deepwater Port License Application. The meeting will be 
held in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Monday, July 22, 2019, 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 6:00 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 Bluewater 
application must reach the Federal Docket Management Facility as 
detailed below by Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The open house and public meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas 
will be held at the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel, 900 N Shoreline 
Boulevard, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78401, phone: (361) 887-1600, web 
address: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/corpus-christi. Parking is 
available at the venue.
    The public docket for the Bluewater Deepwater Port License 
Application 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-2019-0094.
    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 Ms. Yvette M. Fields, 
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 202-366-9317 or 202-366-9826, 
the fax number is 202-493-2251.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roddy Bachman, USCG, telephone: 
202-372-1451, email: [email protected], or Ms. Yvette M. Fields, 
MARAD, telephone: 202-366-0926, email: [email protected]. For 
questions regarding viewing the Docket, call Docket Operations, 
telephone: 202-366-9317 or 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Meeting and Open House

    We encourage you to attend the informational open house and public

[[Page 32006]]

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 the public meeting, either in 
place of, or in addition to, speaking. Written material should 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 the 
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 Bluewater 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-2019-0094.
    Public comment submissions should include:
     Docket number MARAD-2019-0094.
     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-2019-0094.
     By mail to the Federal Docket Management Facility (MARAD-
2019-0094), 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 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 Bluewater 
deepwater port appears in the Bluewater Notice of Application, 
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 edition of the Federal Register (84 FR 30301). 
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) evaluation of deepwater port and 
onshore site/pipeline route 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 
Bluewater, 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

[[Page 32007]]

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 after the Final EIS is 
made available for public review and comment.

Summary of the Application

    Bluewater is proposing to construct, own, and operate a deepwater 
port terminal in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to export domestically 
produced crude oil. The proposed project involves the design, 
engineering, and construction of a deepwater port, approximately 56.48 
miles of pipeline infrastructure, and a booster station. The Bluewater 
deepwater port would allow for up to two (2) very large crude carriers 
(VLCCs) or other crude oil carriers to moor at single point mooring 
(SPM) buoys and connect with the deepwater port via floating connecting 
crude oil hoses. During single vessel loading operations, the proposed 
project is capable of loading rates of up to approximately 80,000 
barrels per hour (bph) and during simultaneous vessel loading 
operations, the proposed project is capable of loading rates of 40,000 
bph. The facility is expected to service 16 Very Large Crude Carriers 
(VLCCs) per month.
    For the purposes of this application, the proposed Bluewater 
project is described in three distinguishable segments by locality, to 
include the onshore components, the inshore components and the offshore 
components.
    Onshore components associated with the proposed Bluewater project 
are defined as those components on the landward side of the western 
Redfish Bay Mean High Tide (MHT) line, located in San Patricio and 
Aransas Counties, Texas. The onshore project components include:
     Approximately 22.20 miles of two (2) new parallel 30-inch-
diameter crude oil pipelines extending from a planned multi-use 
terminal located south of the City of Taft in San Patricio County, 
Texas. The planned multi-use terminal will consist of multiple inbound 
and outbound crude oil pipelines. Two of those outbound pipelines 
compose the proposed pipeline infrastructure that will extend to the 
inshore pipeline which connects to the proposed Harbor Island Booster 
Station (Booster Station) described below.
    Inshore components associated with the proposed Bluewater project 
are defined as those components located between the western Redfish Bay 
MHT line and the MHT line located at the interface of San Jose Island 
and the GOM. Inshore project components include:
     Approximately 7.15 miles of two (2) new 30-inch-diameter 
crude oil pipelines connecting to the onshore facility, an 
approximately 19-acre booster station and a connection to the offshore 
pipeline. The onshore pipeline would be located within San Patricio 
County, Texas and Nueces County, Texas and the Booster Station would be 
located on Harbor Island in Nueces County, Texas.
     The Booster Station will include approximately 19 acres of 
land with two (2) aboveground crude oil storage tanks, each with a 
total storage capacity of 181,000 barrels and two (2) 181,000-barrel 
water storage tanks. The purpose of water tanks is to allow for the 
clearing of the pipeline infrastructure. During clearing operations, 
water from the water storage tanks would be pumped through the 
pipelines and back to the Booster Station. The displaced crude oil 
would be placed in the two crude oil storage tanks.
     Additionally, the Booster Station will contain equipment 
and piping to provide interconnectivity with the crude oil supply 
network for the Bluewater project. This would include the installation 
of four (4) 5,500 horsepower electrically powered motors in a series 
electronically locked into operation as two booster pumping systems 
delivering approximately 11,000 horsepower to each of the two (2) 30-
inch diameter pipelines. Further, the Booster Station would house the 
necessary infrastructure to support the transport of crude oil through 
the proposed pipeline infrastructure to the deepwater port for the 
loading of moored vessels to include a fire water tank, firewater 
pumps, stormwater runoff treatment plant and pumps, emergency 
generator, foam and water monitors and an operations office.
    Offshore components associated with the proposed Bluewater project 
are defined as those components located seaward of the MHT line located 
at the interface of San Jose Island and the GOM. The offshore project 
components include:
     Approximately 27.13 miles of two (2) new 30-inch-diameter 
crude oil pipelines extending from the shoreline crossing at the 
interface of San Jose Island to the offshore Bluewater deepwater port 
for crude oil delivery to Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoys.
     Two (2) SPMs in Outer Continental Shelf Matagorda Island 
Area TX4 lease blocks 698 and 699, approximately 15 nautical miles 
(17.26 statute miles) off the coast of San Patricio County, Texas in a 
water depth of approximately 89 feet.
     A catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) system for each SPM 
buoy connected to a pipeline end manifold (PLEM) system, mooring 
hawsers, floating hoses, and sub-marine hoses to allow for the loading 
of crude oil to vessels moored at the proposed deepwater port. The SPM 
buoy system will be permanently moored with a symmetrically arranged 
six-leg anchor dual chain configuration extending to twelve (12) 72-
inch-diameter pile anchors installed on the seafloor.
     Each of the proposed SPM buoy systems will consist of 
inner and outer cylindrical shells subdivided into twelve equal-sized 
watertight radial compartments. A rotating table will be affixed to the 
SPM buoy and allow for the connection of moored vessels to the SPM buoy 
system via mooring hawsers. Two floating hoses equipped with marine 
break-away couplings will be utilized for the transfer of crude oil 
from the SPM buoy systems to the moored vessel. Floating hoses will be 
equipped with strobe lights at 15-foot intervals for detection at night 
and low-light conditions.

Privacy Act

    The electronic form of all comments received into the FDMS can be 
searched by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). The Department of Transportation Privacy 
Act Statement can be viewed in the Federal Register published on April 
11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70, pages 19477-78) or by visiting http://www.regulations.gov.

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

    Dated: June 27, 2019.


[[Page 32008]]


    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-14177 Filed 7-2-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P