[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19918-19919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07283]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP19-502-000; CP19-502-001]


Commonwealth LNG, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Commonwealth LNH 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Commonwealth LNG Project, proposed by Commonwealth LNG, LLC 
(Commonwealth) in the above-referenced docket. Commonwealth requests 
authorization to site, construct, and operate a natural gas 
liquefaction and export terminal and an integrated Natural Gas Act 
Section 3 natural gas pipeline, in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Commonwealth LNG Project in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, 
with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would result in 
some adverse environmental impacts. Most of these impacts on the 
environment would be reduced to less than significant levels; however, 
FERC staff conclude there would be significant impacts on visual 
resources and environmental justice communities. Regarding climate 
change impacts, this EIS is not characterizing the project's greenhouse 
gas emissions as significant or insignificant because the Commission is 
conducting a generic proceeding to determine whether and how the 
Commission will conduct significance determinations going forward.\1\
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    \1\ See Order on Draft Policy Statements, 178 FERC ] 61,197 
(2022).
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    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department 
of Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous 
Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service participated as 
cooperating agencies in the preparation of the draft 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:
     Six liquefaction trains;
     six gas pre-treatment trains;
     two flare systems;
     six liquid natural gas (LNG) storage tanks;
     one marine facility consisting of an LNG carrier berth, 
barge dock;
     utilities (e.g., electricity generation, water, plant air, 
nitrogen, hot oil system);
     operation and safety systems (e.g., access and haul roads, 
storm protection structures, stormwater drainage systems, spill 
containment system, fire suppression facilities, facility lighting and 
security, emergency shutdown systems);
     appurtenant facilities (e.g., administrative facilities, 
maintenance and warehouse buildings, marine facility operator 
buildings, equipment enclosures and electrical rooms);
     3.0 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline;
     two interconnection facilities with existing pipelines; 
and
     one metering station.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
draft 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 draft EIS is only available in electronic format. It 
may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on 
the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents). In 
addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on 
the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search) select ``General Search'' and enter 
the docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field (i.e. CP19-502). 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.
    The draft EIS is not a decision document. It presents Commission 
staff's independent analysis of the environmental issues for the 
Commission to consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this 
proceeding. 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 May 23, 2022.
    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 orally. 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 
FERC Online. 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 
FERC Online. With eFiling, you can provide

[[Page 19919]]

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 Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP19-
502-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service 
must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the 
Commission invites you to attend one of the virtual public comment 
sessions its staff will conduct by telephone to receive comments on the 
draft EIS, scheduled as follows:

Date and Time

    Monday, April 25, 2022, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (CDT), Call in number: 800-
779-8625, Participant Passcode: 3472916.
    Tuesday, April 26, 2022, 2:30-4:30 p.m. (CDT), Call in number: 800-
779-8625, Participant Passcode: 3472916.
    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify 
the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. 
There will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the 
session opens. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one 
basis with a court reporter present on the line. This format is 
designed to receive the maximum amount of oral comments, in a 
convenient way during the timeframe allotted, and is in response to the 
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Prospective commentors are encouraged to 
review the draft EIS to familiarize themselves with the project prior 
to participating in the meeting.
    Each comment session is scheduled from either 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. or 
else 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Central Daylight Time. You may call at any 
time after the listed start times, at which point you will be placed on 
mute and hold. Calls will be answered in the order they are received. 
Once answered, you will have the opportunity to provide your comment 
directly to a court reporter with FERC staff or representative present 
on the line. A time limit of 5 minutes will be implemented for each 
commentor.
    Transcripts of all comments received during the comment sessions 
will be publicly available on FERC's eLibrary system (see page 2 of 
this notice for instructions on using eLibrary).
    It is important to note that the Commission provides equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided at a virtual comment session.
    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 https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides. 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 https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 
register for eSubscription.

    Dated: March 31, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-07283 Filed 4-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P