[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 229 (Friday, November 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76157-76159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25843]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2019-0093]


Deepwater Port License Application: Texas GulfLink LLC

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of virtual public meetings; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG) announce the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the Texas GulfLink LLC (GulfLink) deepwater port 
license application for the export of crude oil from the United States 
to nations abroad. Publication of this notice announces a 45-day 
comment period, requests public participation in the environmental 
impact review process, provides information on how to participate in 
the environmental impact review process, and announces the two virtual 
public meetings and an informational open house website for the DEIS.

DATES: To ensure comments on the DEIS will be considered, materials 
submitted in response to this request for comments must be submitted to 
the www.regulations.gov website or the Federal Docket Management 
Facility as detailed in the ADDRESSES section no later than 45 days 
after the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of 
availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for GulfLink 
Deepwater Port License Application MARAD-2019-0093 in the Federal 
Register.
    MARAD and USCG will hold two virtual public meetings in connection 
with the GulfLink DEIS. The first virtual public meeting will be held 
via webinar/teleconference on December 16, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 
p.m. Central Standard Time. The second virtual public meeting will be 
held via webinar/teleconference on December 17, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 
8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. The public meetings may end later than 
the stated time, depending on the number of persons who wish to make a 
comment on the record.
    Anyone that is interested in attending and/or speaking at the 
virtual public meetings must register. Registration information is 
provided on both the Virtual Open House website, which is located at 
TexasGulfLinkDWP-EIS.consultation.ai, and the Registration part of this 
notice.

ADDRESSES: The informational open house and virtual public meetings 
will take place virtually (via webinar/teleconference) due to the 
nation-wide public health emergency.
    The GulfLink deepwater port license application, comments, 
supporting information and the DEIS are available for viewing and 
electronic comment submission at http://www.regulations.gov under 
docket number MARAD-2019-0093. The Final EIS (FEIS), when published, 
will be announced and available at the site as well.
    If you are unable to provide electronic comments using 
www.regulations.gov, you may submit hard copy comments to include the 
docket number ``MARAD-2019-0093'' by mail to U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West Building, Room W12-
140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. The Federal 
Docket Management Facility's telephone number is 202-366-9317 or 202-
366-9826, the fax number is 202-493-2251.
    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 by mail. If you are unable to submit electronic comments using 
http://www.regulations.gov, but wish to submit comments electronically, 
please contact either Mr. Patrick W. Clark, USCG, or Mr. Linden 
Houston, MARAD, as listed in the following FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document. Additionally, if you go to the public 
docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when comments 
are posted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Patrick W. Clark, Project Manager, 
USCG, telephone: 202-372-1358, email: [email protected]; or Mr. 
Linden Houston, Transportation Specialist, Office of Deepwater Ports 
and Port Conveyance, MARAD, telephone: 202-366-4839, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Application that summarized the 
GulfLink deepwater port license application for a project that would 
include pipelines and a crude oil storage terminal located onshore in 
Brazoria County, Texas, and an offshore pipeline leading to a deepwater 
port to be located 26.6 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria 
County, Texas was published in the Federal Register on June 26, 2019 
(84 FR 30298-30300). A Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) and Notice of Public Meetings was published in 
the Federal Register on July 3, 2019 (84 FR 32008-32010).

Request for Comments

    MARAD requests public comments or other relevant information 
related to the DEIS for the proposed GulfLink deepwater port. These 
comments will inform preparation of the FEIS. Attendance is encouraged 
at the virtual public meetings. If you are unable to submit electronic 
comments using http://www.regulations.gov, and wish to submit comments 
electronically, please

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contact either Mr. Patrick W. Clark, USCG, or Mr. Linden Houston, 
MARAD, as listed in the following FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section. All comments and/or material submitted will be posted, without 
change, to the Federal Docket Management Facility website (http://www.regulations.gov), and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You 
may wish to read the Privacy and Use Notice that is available on the 
www.regulations.gov website, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) 
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 DOT Docket Management Facility or electronically at the 
www.regulations.gov website.

Virtual Public Meeting and Informational Open House

    We encourage you to visit the informational open house website and 
attend one of the virtual public meetings to learn about, and to 
comment on the proposed action and the environmental impact analysis 
contained in the DEIS.
    The informational open house website (TexasGulfLinkDWP-
EIS.consultation.ai) will be available throughout the public comment 
period, which will end 45 days after the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its notice of availability of the DEIS for GulfLink 
Deepwater Port License Application MARAD-2019-0093 in the Federal 
Register. The website includes information about the project, including 
the DEIS presented in a virtual open house format. The project docket, 
located online at www.regulations.gov (docket number MARAD-2019-0093) 
will be available for viewing during the public comment period as well 
as after the end of the public comment period.
    The public meetings will be hosted on the Zoom platform and will be 
accessible via webinar online and by phone. The virtual public meetings 
will be recorded and transcribed for placement in the public docket for 
the GulfLink project. The Zoom platform can be accessed online by 
visiting the Zoom website at www.zoom.us.

Registration

    Interested parties wishing to speak during the virtual public 
meetings as well as to attend the meetings must register prior to the 
public meetings. You may register online at TexasGulfLinkDWP-
EIS.consultation.ai or obtain help registering by contacting AECOM toll 
free at 833-588-1191.

Meeting Procedure

    Registered speakers will be recognized in the following order: 
Elected officials, public agency representatives, then individuals or 
groups in the order in which they registered. In order to accommodate 
all speakers, speaker time may be limited, meeting hours may be 
extended, or both. Speakers' transcribed remarks will be included in 
the public docket. You may also submit written material for inclusion 
in the public docket throughout the 45-day comment period. Written 
material must include the author's name. Please respect the meeting 
procedures to ensure a constructive information-gathering session. The 
presiding officer will use their discretion to conduct the meetings in 
an orderly manner.
    The virtual public meetings are intended to be accessible to all 
participants. Individuals who require special assistance such as sign 
language services, language interpreters or other reasonable 
accommodation, please indicate your special assistance need when 
registering either at TexasGulfLinkDWP-EIS.consultation.ai or contact 
AECOM toll free at 833-588-1191. Requests for special assistance must 
be made at least five business days in advance of the virtual public 
meeting. Please include contact information as well as information 
about your specific needs.

Background

    On January 31, 2019, MARAD and USCG received a license application 
from GulfLink for all Federal authorizations required for a license to 
construct, own, and operate a deepwater port for the export of crude 
oil. The proposed deepwater port would be located in Federal waters 
approximately 26.6 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, 
Texas. Texas was designated as the Adjacent Coastal State (ACS) for the 
GulfLink license application.
    The Federal agencies involved held a public scoping meeting in 
connection with the GulfLink license application. The public scoping 
meeting was held in Lake Jackson, Texas on July 17, 2019. Transcripts 
of the scoping meetings are included in the public docket located at 
www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2019-0093.
    MARAD and USCG issued a regulatory ``stop-clock'' letter to 
GulfLink for its application on May 31, 2019, which remained in effect 
until October 23, 2019, when MARAD and USCG determined the agencies 
received sufficient information to continue the Federal review process. 
A second ``stop clock letter'' was issued to GulfLink on September 15, 
2020 for additional information requests and remained in effect until 
November 10, 2020.
    The purpose of the DEIS is to analyze reasonable alternatives to, 
and the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of the 
proposed action. The DEIS is currently available for public review at 
the Federal docket website: www.regulations.gov under docket number 
MARAD-2019-0093.

Summary of the License Application

    GulfLink 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 deepwater port would include the loading of 
various grades of crude oil at flow rates of up to 85,000 barrels per 
hour (bph). The GulfLink deepwater port would allow for up to two 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. The maximum frequency of 
loading VLCCs or other crude oil carriers would be one million barrels 
per day, 365 days per year.
    The overall project would consist of offshore and marine components 
as well as onshore components as described below.
    The GulfLink deepwater port offshore and marine components would 
consist of the following:
     An Offshore Platform: One fixed offshore platform with 
piles in Outer Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease Block GA-423, 
approximately 26.6 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, 
Texas in a water depth of approximately 104 feet. The fixed offshore 
platform would have four decks comprising of personal living space, 
pipeline metering, a surge system, a pig receiving station, generators, 
lease automatic custody transfer unit, oil displacement prover loop, 
sample system, radar tower, electrical and instrumentation building, 
portal cranes, a hydraulic crane, an Operations/Traffic Room, and 
helicopter deck.
     One 42-inch outside diameter, 28.1-nautical-mile long 
crude oil pipeline would be constructed from the shoreline crossing in 
Brazoria County, Texas, to the GulfLink deepwater port for crude oil 
delivery. This pipeline would connect the proposed onshore GulfLink 
Jones Creek Terminal (described below) to the offshore GulfLink 
deepwater port.
     The fixed offshore platform is connected to VLCC tankers 
for loading by two separate 42-inch diameter

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departing pipelines. Each pipeline will depart the fixed offshore 
platform, carrying the crude oil to a Pipeline End Manifold (PLEM) in 
approximately 104 feet water depth located 1.25 nautical miles from the 
fixed offshore platform. Each PLEM is then connected through two 24-
inch hoses to a Single Point Mooring (SPM) Buoy. Two 24-inch floating 
loading hoses will connect the SPM Buoy to the VLCC or other crude oil 
carrier. SPM Buoy 1 is in Outer Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease 
Block GA-423 and SPM Buoy 2 is in Outer Continental Shelf Galveston 
Area Lease Block GA A 36.
    The GulfLink deepwater port onshore storage and supply components 
would consist of the following:
     An Onshore Storage Terminal: The proposed GulfLink Jones 
Creek Terminal would be located in Brazoria County, Texas, on 
approximately 262 acres of land, consisting of eight above ground 
storage tanks, each with a working storage capacity of 708,168 barrels, 
for a total onshore storage capacity of approximately 6 million 
barrels. The facility can accommodate four (4) additional tanks, 
bringing the total to twelve tanks or up to 8.0 million barrels of 
working capacity.
     The GulfLink Jones Creek Terminal also would include: Six 
electric-driven mainline crude oil pumps; three electric driven booster 
crude oil pumps; one crude oil pipeline pig launcher; one crude oil 
pipeline pig receiver; two measurement skids for measuring incoming 
crude oil--one skid located on the Department of Energy's Bryan Mound 
facility, and one skid installed for the outgoing crude oil barrels 
leaving the tank storage to be loaded on the VLCC; and ancillary 
facilities to include an operations control center, electrical 
substation, offices, and warehouse building.
     Two crude oil pipelines would be constructed onshore to 
support the GulfLink deepwater port and include the following items:
    [cir] One proposed incoming 9.7 statute mile 36-inch outside 
diameter pipeline connected to a leased 40-inch ExxonMobil pipeline 
originating at the Department of Energy (DOE) facility in Bryan Mound 
with connectivity to the Houston market.
    [cir] One proposed outgoing 12.7 statute mile 42-inch outside 
diameter connection from the GulfLink Jones Creek Terminal to the shore 
crossing where this becomes the pipeline supplying the proposed 
offshore GulfLink deepwater port.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477-78), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

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

    Dated: November 18, 2020.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-25843 Filed 11-25-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P