[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 125 (Friday, July 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35280-35281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14188]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Alaska LNG Project
AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: On April 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of
Fossil Energy (DOE/FE) granted a request for rehearing of a final order
issued to Alaska LNG Project LLC (Alaska LNG) for the export of
liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced from Alaskan sources to non-free
trade agreement countries, pursuant to the Natural Gas Act (NGA). In
the Rehearing Order, DOE stated that it was granting rehearing for the
purpose of conducting two Alaska-specific environmental studies
(collectively, the Alaska environmental study proceeding). To this end,
DOE intends to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement
(SEIS) for the Alaska environmental study proceeding (DOE/EIS-0512-S1),
consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The SEIS
will include analysis of potential environmental impacts associated
with natural gas production on the North Slope of Alaska and a life
cycle analysis (LCA) calculating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for
LNG exported from the proposed Alaska LNG Project.
ADDRESSES: Documents related to the SEIS process will be posted at:
https://energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0512-s1-supplemental-environmental-impact-statement-alaska-lng-project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the SEIS or
requests to be placed on the SEIS distribution list should be sent to:
Brian Lavoie, U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of Regulation,
Analysis, and Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building,
Room 3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585; (202)
586-2459; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 20, 2020, DOE issued DOE/FE Order No. 3643-A (the Alaska
LNG Order) \1\ to Alaska LNG Project LLC (Alaska LNG) under section
3(a) of the NGA.\2\ DOE/FE authorized Alaska LNG to export LNG produced
from Alaskan sources to any country with which the United States has
not entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) requiring national
treatment for trade in natural gas, and with which trade is not
prohibited by U.S. law or policy (non-FTA countries). Alaska LNG is
authorized to export LNG in a volume equivalent to 929 billion cubic
feet per year (Bcf/yr) of natural gas (2.55 Bcf per day), for a term of
30 years, with export operations required to commence within 12 years
of the date that the Alaska LNG Order was issued. Exports will occur by
vessel from a liquefaction facility to be constructed in the Nikiski
area of the Kenai Peninsula in south central Alaska (Liquefaction
Facility), which will be part of the proposed Alaska LNG Project.\3\
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\1\ Alaska LNG Project LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 3643-A, FE Docket
14-96-LNG, Final Opinion and Order Granting Long-Term Authorization
to Export Liquefied Natural Gas to Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations
(Aug. 20, 2020), available at: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2020/08/f77/ord3643a.pdf [hereinafter Alaska LNG Order].
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 717b(a). The authority to regulate the imports and
exports of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, under
section 3 of the NGA (15 U.S.C. 717b) has been delegated to the
Assistant Secretary for FE in Redelegation Order No. S4-DEL-FE1-
2021, issued on March 25, 2021.
\3\ See Alaska LNG Project LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 3643-B, FE
Docket 14-96-LNG, Order on Rehearing (Apr. 15, 2021), available at:
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/ord3643b.pdf
[hereinafter Rehearing Order].
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Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), an independent,
public corporation of the State of Alaska, applied to the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for authorization to site,
construct, and operate the Alaska LNG Project. As approved by FERC on
May 21, 2020,\4\ the Alaska LNG Project includes the following three
elements:
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\4\ Alaska Gasline Dev. Corp., Order Granting Authorization
Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, 171 FERC ] 61,134, ]] 1-2
(May 21, 2020) [hereinafter FERC Order].
(i) Producing natural gas from stranded resources on the North
Slope of Alaska at a proposed natural gas treatment plant to be
located on the North Slope;
(ii) Transporting the natural gas on a proposed 800-mile long
pipeline; and
(iii) Liquefying the natural gas for export from the proposed
Liquefaction Facility, which has a planned liquefaction capacity of
20 million metric tons per year of LNG (equivalent to approximately
929 Bcf/yr of natural gas).\5\
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\5\ Rehearing Order at 3.
In sum, AGDC holds the FERC authorization for the Alaska LNG
Project, and Alaska LNG holds the DOE authorization to export LNG from
the Alaska LNG Project. Both the DOE and FERC authorizations have been
challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit (D.C. Circuit).\6\ Those lawsuits are ongoing and are currently
subject to various pending procedural motions.
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\6\ See Sierra Club v. U.S. Dep't of Energy, Petition for
Review, Case No. 20-1503 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 16, 2020); Center for
Biological Diversity, et al., v. Federal Energy Regulatory Comm'n,
Petition for Review, Case No. 20-1379 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 21, 2020);
see also Rehearing Order at 5-6.
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To fulfill its obligations under NEPA,\7\ DOE/FE participated as a
cooperating agency in FERC's review of the Alaska LNG Project.\8\ FERC
issued the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Alaska
LNG Project on March 6, 2020,\9\ and DOE/FE adopted the final EIS on
March 16, 2020 (DOE/EIS-0512).\10\ Subsequently, DOE/FE issued the
Alaska LNG Order, conditioning it on Alaska LNG's compliance with the
165 environmental conditions adopted in the FERC Order (see supra note
4), among other requirements.\11\
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\7\ 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
\8\ See Alaska LNG Order at 23, 32.
\9\ Federal Energy Regulatory Comm'n, Alaska LNG Project Final
Environmental Impact Statement, Docket No. CP17-178-000 (Mar. 6,
2020), available at: https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/final-environmental-impact-statement-0 [hereinafter final EIS].
\10\ Letter from Amy Sweeney, DOE/FE, to Julie Roemele, U.S.
Envtl. Prot. Agency (Mar. 16, 2020) (adoption of final EIS),
available at: https://www.energy.gov/nepa/downloads/doeeis-0512-notice-adoption.
\11\ See Alaska LNG Order at 42 (Ordering Para. H).
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[[Page 35281]]
Sierra Club filed a Request for Rehearing of the Alaska LNG Order,
and AGDC filed a Motion for Leave to Answer and Answer to Sierra Club's
Request for Rehearing.\12\ On April 15, 2021, DOE/FE issued the
Rehearing Order in which DOE/FE: (i) Granted AGDC's Motion for Leave to
Answer; (ii) granted Sierra Club's Rehearing Request for the purpose of
conducting the Alaska environmental study proceeding; and (ii) denied
Sierra Club's request for DOE/FE to withdraw the Alaska LNG Order,
without prejudice to Sierra Club's ability to request relief in the
future, should circumstances change.\13\
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\12\ See Rehearing Order at 5-6 (providing additional background
on DOE's rehearing proceeding). Sierra Club's and AGDC's arguments
on rehearing are summarized in the Rehearing Order at 6-10.
\13\ See id. at 2.
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DOE/FE explained that, since the issuance of the Alaska LNG Order
and while DOE/FE's action on Sierra Club's Rehearing Request was
pending, the President had issued two Executive Orders (E.O.) relevant
to the Alaska LNG proceeding: E.O. 13990, Protecting Public Health and
the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,\14\
and E.O. 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.\15\
Consistent with these Executive Orders and to address Sierra Club's
arguments on rehearing, DOE stated that it was appropriate to further
evaluate the environmental impacts of exporting LNG from the proposed
Alaska LNG Project to non-FTA countries. Therefore, DOE/FE announced
that it was commissioning the Alaska environmental study
proceeding.\16\
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\14\ Exec. Order 13990 of Jan. 20, 2021, Protecting Public
Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the
Climate Crisis, 86 FR 7037 (Jan. 25, 2021), available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01765/protecting-public-health-and-the-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis. E.O. 13990 directs agencies to ``immediately
review'' all regulations, orders, and other actions issued after
January 20, 2017, that may increase GHG emissions or have other
impacts on climate change.
\15\ Exec. Order No. 14008 of Jan. 27, 2021, Tackling the
Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, 86 FR 7619 (Feb. 1, 2021),
available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/02/01/2021-02177/tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad. E.O.
14008 sets forth additional policies to address climate change--
specifically to ``organize and deploy the full capacity of [Federal]
agencies to combat the climate crisis''--and requires the ``Federal
Government [to] drive assessment, disclosure, and mitigation of
climate pollution and climate-related risks in every sector'' of the
U.S. economy.
\16\ See Rehearing Order at 12-13.
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Supplemental EIS (SEIS)
DOE/FE intends to prepare a SEIS for the Alaska environmental study
proceeding. The SEIS will include an upstream analysis of potential
environmental impacts associated with natural gas production on the
North Slope of Alaska. This analysis will examine potential upstream
impacts associated with incremental natural gas production on the North
Slope of Alaska due to Alaska LNG's exports of LNG.
In addition, the SEIS will include a LCA calculating the GHG
emissions for LNG exported from the proposed Alaska LNG Project, taking
into account unique issues relating to production, pipeline
transportation, and liquefaction in Alaska.\17\ Specifically, the LCA
will examine the life cycle GHG emissions for LNG exported from Alaska
by vessel to import markets in Asia (the markets targeted for exports
from Alaska) and potentially in other regions.
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\17\ DOE/FE previously has explained that a LCA is a method of
accounting for cradle-to-grave GHG emissions over a single common
denominator. DOE considers GHG emissions from all processes in the
LNG supply chains--from the ``cradle'' when natural gas is extracted
from the ground, to the ``grave'' when electricity is used by the
consumer. See U.S. Dep't of Energy, Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas
Perspective on Exporting Liquefied Natural Gas From the United
States: 2019 Update--Response to Comments, 85 FR 72, 76 (Jan. 2,
2020); see also Rehearing Order at 14 n.90.
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DOE/FE has commissioned DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory
(NETL) to conduct both studies.
Potential Areas of Environmental Analysis
For the upstream production study, DOE/FE has tentatively
identified the following resource areas for analysis (although the
following list is not intended to be comprehensive or to predetermine
the potential impacts to be analyzed): Land use and visual resources;
geology and soils; water resources; air quality and noise; ecological
resources; cultural and paleontological resources; infrastructure;
waste management; occupational and public health and safety;
socioeconomics; transportation; and environmental justice. For the LCA,
DOE/FE will examine the global nature of GHG emissions associated with
exports of LNG from Alaska from a life cycle perspective, as stated
previously.
NEPA Process and Public Participation in the SEIS
DOE/FE will prepare the SEIS in accordance with the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and
DOE NEPA implementing procedures at 10 CFR part 1021. In accordance
with 10 CFR 1021.311(f), a public scoping process is not required for a
DOE-issued SEIS. DOE/FE will issue a notice in the Federal Register
detailing the release of the draft SEIS, dates of one or more internet-
based public hearings, and instructions for submitting public comments.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on June 28,
2021, by Jennifer Wilcox, Ph.D., Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil
Energy, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy.
That document with the original signature and date is maintained by
DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with
requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE
Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit
the document in electronic format for publication, as an official
document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no
way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on June 29, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2021-14188 Filed 7-1-21; 8:45 am]
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