[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45849-45851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15965]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number MARAD-2019-0011]


Deepwater Port License Application: SPOT Terminal Services LLC--
Final Environmental Impact Review

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation

ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of final hearing; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG) announce the availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the SPOT Terminal Services LLC (SPOT) deepwater 
port license application for the export of crude oil from the United 
States to nations abroad. The SPOT deepwater port license application 
describes a proposed project that would be located approximately 27.2 
to 30.8 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. 
Publication of this notice begins a 45-day comment period, requests 
public participation in the final environmental impact review process, 
provides information on how to participate in the final environmental 
impact review process, and announces the availability of an 
informational website and a virtual Final Hearing that will be held via 
Zoom. Registration information is provided in the Virtual Final Hearing 
and Informational website section of this notice. A Notice of 
Availability of the Final General Conformity Determination is being 
published simultaneously with this announcement under a separate 
notice.

DATES: Comments on the FEIS must be received on or before 45 days from 
the date of publication of this Federal Register Notice. MARAD and USCG 
will hold one virtual public Final Hearing in connection with the SPOT 
FEIS. This Final Hearing will be held via Zoom on August 23, 2022, from 
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT). The Final Hearing 
will end no earlier than 8:00 p.m. CDT, but it may end later than the 
stated time, depending on the number of persons who wish to comment on 
the record. Anyone interested in attending the virtual public meeting 
or speaking during the virtual public meeting must register. 
Additionally, materials submitted in response to this request for 
comments on the FEIS must be submitted to the www.regulations.gov 
website or the Federal Docket Management Facility as detailed in the 
ADDRESSES section below by the end of the comment period.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number 
MARAD-2019-0011 by any one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov, search MARAD-2019-0011 and follow the instructions 
for submitting comments.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: The Docket Management Facility is 
in the West Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation. The Docket Management Facility location address is U.S. 
Department of Transportation, MARAD-2019-0011, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. Due to flexible 
work schedules in response to Covid 19, call 202-493-0402 to determine 
facility hours prior to hand delivery.

    Note:  If you mail or hand-deliver your comments, we recommend 
that you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, 
and/or a telephone number on a cover page so that we can contact you 
if we have questions regarding your submission.

    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and specific docket number. All comments received will be posted 
without change to the docket at www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting 
comments, see the section entitled Public Participation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MARAD via email at [email protected]; 
and the USCG via email at [email protected]. Include MARAD-2019-
0011 in the subject line of the message. For written comments and other 
material submissions, please follow the directions under ADDRESSES 
above, and do not submit written comments or other materials to the 
email addresses in this section. Improperly submitted comments 
interfere with MARAD's ability to help others seeking assistance with 
comment submission or public meeting attendance. Improperly submitted 
comments may be rejected from consideration.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Prior Federal Action

    A Notice of Application that summarized the SPOT Deepwater Port 
License Application was published in the Federal Register on March 4, 
2019 (84 FR 7413). A Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting was 
published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2019 (84 FR 8401). A 
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) and Notice of Public Meeting was published in the Federal 
Register on February 7, 2020 (85 FR 7381). A Notice of Availability of 
the Draft General Conformity Determination was published in the Federal 
Register on October 8, 2021 (86 FR 56349). A Notice of Availability of 
the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) and 
Notice of Public Meeting was published in the Federal Register on 
October 29, 2021 (86 FR 60093).

Request for Comments

    We request public comments or other relevant information related to 
the FEIS for the proposed SPOT deepwater port. These comments will 
inform MARAD's Record of Decision. We encourage you to review the 
information on the website and attend the virtual Final Hearing. Also, 
you may submit comments electronically. It is preferred that comments 
be submitted electronically. Please see the information in the 
ADDRESSES section above on how to properly submit comments. All 
comments submitted to the docket via www.regulations.gov or delivered 
to the Federal Docket Management Facility 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 such information makes it public. You 
may view docket submissions at the DOT Docket Management Facility or 
electronically at the www.regulations.gov website.

Virtual Final Hearing and Informational Website

    You are invited to learn about the proposed SPOT deepwater port via 
the informational website (www.SPOTNEPAProcess.com). You are also 
invited to attend the virtual Final Hearing and encouraged to provide 
comments on the proposed action and the environmental impact analysis 
contained in the FEIS for the proposed SPOT deepwater port. Speakers 
must register for the virtual Final Hearing via the informational 
website. Speakers may also register via phone number (888)

[[Page 45850]]

731-5089. To register for the final hearing on August 23, please leave 
your name along with the correct spelling and phone number after the 
tone. When registering, please indicate if you would like the 
opportunity to provide a live comment during the meeting or if you are 
participating to listen only. Speakers will be recognized in the 
following order during the Final Hearing: elected officials, public 
agency representatives, and 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. Written 
material must include the author's name. We ask attendees to respect 
the meeting procedures in order to ensure a constructive information-
gathering session. The presiding officer will use his/her discretion to 
conduct the meeting in an orderly manner.
    The Final Hearing will be conducted in English; however, 
translation services will be provided in Spanish and Vietnamese. Final 
Hearing attendees who require special assistance, such as translation 
services or other reasonable accommodation, please notify MARAD and 
USCG (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least five business days 
in advance. Please include contact information as well as information 
about specific needs.

Background

    On January 31, 2019, MARAD and USCG received a license application 
from SPOT for a license to own, construct, and operate a deepwater port 
for the export of crude oil. The proposed deepwater port would be 
located in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, approximately 27.2 to 30.8 
nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. Texas was 
designated as the Adjacent Coastal State (ACS) for the SPOT license 
application.
    The Federal agencies involved held a public scoping meeting in 
connection with the evaluation of the SPOT license application. The 
public scoping meeting was held in Lake Jackson, Texas, on March 20, 
2019. The transcript of the scoping meeting is included on the public 
docket at https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2019-0011-0019. 
The Federal agencies also held a Draft EIS public comment meeting to 
receive comments on the Draft EIS. The public comment meeting was held 
in Lake Jackson, Texas on February 26, 2020. A second 30-day public 
comment period due to COVID began on May 1, 2020 and ended on May 31, 
2020. The transcripts of the DEIS public comment meetings are also 
included on the public docket at https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2019-0011-1192.
    The Federal agencies also held a Supplemental DEIS public comment 
meeting to receive comments on the SDEIS. The public meeting was held 
virtually on November 16, 2021. The transcripts of the SDEIS public 
comment meetings are also included on the public docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2019-0011. The Federal agencies also 
opened a 30-day public comment period for the Draft General Conformity 
Determination that began on October 8, 2021, and ended on November 7, 
2021.
    The purpose of the FEIS is to analyze the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative environmental impacts of the proposed action, and to 
identify and analyze the environmental impacts of a reasonable range of 
alternatives. The FEIS is currently available for public review and 
comment at the Federal docket website: www.regulations.gov under docket 
number MARAD-2019-0011. As stated previously, a Notice of Availability 
of the Final General Conformity Determination is being simultaneously 
published with this announcement.

Summary of the License Application

    SPOT is proposing to own, construct, 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 SPOT 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 and a floating vapor recovery hose. 
The maximum frequency of loading VLCCs or other crude oil carriers 
would be 2 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 SPOT deepwater port offshore and marine components would 
consist of the following:
     One fixed offshore platform with eight piles in Galveston 
Area Outer Continental Shelf lease block 463, approximately 27.2 to 
30.8 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas, in a water 
depth of approximately 115 feet. The fixed offshore platform would be 
comprised of four decks, including: a sump deck with shut-down valves 
and open-drain sump; a cellar deck with pig launchers and receivers, 
generators, and three vapor combustion units; a main deck with a lease 
automatic custody transfer (LACT) unit, oil displacement prover loop, 
living quarters, electrical and instrument building, and other 
ancillary equipment; and a laydown deck with a crane laydown area.
     Two single point mooring buoys (SPMs), each having: two 
(2) 24-inch inside diameter crude oil underbuoy hoses interconnecting 
with the crude oil pipeline end manifold (PLEM); two 24-inch inside 
diameter floating crude oil hoses connecting the moored VLCC or other 
crude oil carrier for loading to the SPM buoy; one 24-inch inside 
diameter vapor recovery underbuoy hose interconnecting with the vapor 
recovery PLEM; and one 24-inch inside diameter floating vapor recovery 
hose to connect to the moored VLCC or other crude oil carrier for 
loading. The floating hoses would be approximately 800 feet in length 
and rated for 300 psig (21-bar). Each floating hose would contain an 
additional 200 feet of 16-inch ``tail hose'' that is designed to be 
lifted and robust enough for hanging over the edge railing of the VLCC 
or other crude oil vessels. The underbuoy hoses would be approximately 
160 feet in length and rated for 300 psig (21-bar).
     Four PLEMs would provide the interconnection between the 
pipelines and the SPM buoys. Each SPM buoy would have two (2) PLEMs--
one PLEM for crude oil and one PLEM for vapor recovery. Each crude oil 
loading PLEM would be supplied with crude oil by two 30-inch outside 
diameter pipelines, each approximately 0.66 nautical miles in length. 
Each vapor recovery PLEM would route recovered vapor from the VLCC or 
other crude oil carrier through the PLEM to the three vapor combustion 
units located on the platform topside via two 16-inch outside diameter 
vapor recovery pipelines, each approximately 0.66 nautical miles in 
length.
     Two co-located 36-inch outside diameter, 40.8-nautical 
mile-long crude oil pipelines would be constructed from the shoreline 
crossing in Brazoria County, Texas, to the SPOT deepwater port for 
crude oil delivery. These pipelines, in conjunction with 12.2 statute 
miles of new-build onshore pipelines (described below), would connect 
the onshore crude oil storage facility and pumping station (Oyster 
Creek Terminal) to the offshore SPOT deepwater port. The crude oil 
would be metered at the offshore platform.

[[Page 45851]]

Pipelines would be bi-directional for the purposes of maintenance, 
pigging, changing crude oil grades, or evacuating the pipeline with 
water.
    The SPOT deepwater port onshore storage and supply components would 
consist of the following:
     New equipment and piping at the existing Enterprise Crude 
Houston (ECHO) Terminal to provide interconnectivity with the crude oil 
supply network for the SPOT Project. This would include the 
installation of four booster pumps, one measurement skid, and four 
crude oil pumps.
     An interconnection between the existing Rancho II pipeline 
and the proposed ECHO to Oyster Creek pipeline consisting of a physical 
connection as well as ultrasonic measurement capability for pipeline 
volumetric balancing purposes.
     The proposed Oyster Creek Terminal located in Brazoria 
County, Texas, on approximately 140 acres of land consisting of seven 
aboveground storage tanks, each with a total storage capacity of 
685,000 barrels (600,000 barrels working storage capacity), for a total 
onshore storage capacity of approximately 4.8 million barrels (4.2 
million barrels working storage) of crude oil. The Oyster Creek 
Terminal also would include: Six (6) electric-driven mainline crude oil 
pumps; four electric-driven booster crude oil pumps (two per pipeline), 
working in parallel to move crude oil from the storage tanks through 
the measurement skids; two crude oil pipeline pig launchers/receivers; 
one crude oil pipeline pig receiver; two measurement skids for 
measuring incoming crude oil--one skid located at the incoming pipeline 
from the existing ECHO Terminal, and one skid installed and reserved 
for a future pipeline connection; two measurement skids for measuring 
departing crude oil; three vapor combustion units--two permanent and 
one portable; and ancillary facilities to include electrical 
substation, office, and warehouse buildings.
     Three onshore crude oil pipelines would be constructed 
onshore to support the SPOT deepwater port. These would include: one 
50.1 statute mile long 36-inch crude oil pipeline from the existing 
ECHO Terminal to the Oyster Creek Terminal. This pipeline would be 
located in Harris County and Brazoria County, Texas; two 12.2 statute 
mile long, co-located 36-inch crude oil export pipelines from the 
Oyster Creek Terminal to the shore crossing where these would join the 
above-described subsea pipelines supplying the SPOT deepwater port. 
These pipelines would be located in Brazoria County, Texas.
    As previously stated, the purpose of this notice is to announce 
that the FEIS is currently available for public review and a 45-day 
public comment period. Comments can be submitted through the Federal 
docket website: www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2019-
0011.

Public Participation Instructions

How long do I have to submit comments?

    We are providing a 45-day comment period.

How do I prepare and submit comments?

    To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, 
please include the docket number shown at the beginning of this 
document in your comments.
    If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) 
File, MARAD and USCG ask that the documents be submitted using the 
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agencies 
to search and copy certain portions of your submissions. Comments may 
be submitted to the docket electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. Search using the MARAD docket number in this 
notice and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    You may also submit two copies of your comments, including the 
attachments, to Docket Management at the address given above under 
ADDRESSES.
    Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, for substantive 
data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the 
information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data Quality 
Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines 
in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-regulatory-affairs/information-policy/. DOT's guidelines may be accessed at https://www.bts.gov/statistical-policy and also at https://www.transportation.gov/dot-information-dissemination-quality-guidelines.

I provided MARAD and USCG comments on the SPOT FEIS, orally or in 
writing, in another forum. May I provide comments in response to this 
notice as well?

    Yes, MARAD and USCG encourage any member of the public to submit 
relevant comments for the docket, including input that has previously 
been communicated to the agencies.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

Will the agency consider late comments?

    MARAD and USCG will consider all substantive comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket Management 
Unit are indicated above in the same location. You may also see the 
comments on the internet. To read the comments on the internet, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets. Please note that even after the comment closing 
date, MARAD will continue to file relevant information in the Docket as 
it becomes available. Accordingly, we recommend that you periodically 
check the Docket for new material.

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.). For information on DOT's compliance with 
the Privacy Act, please visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93)

    By order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-15965 Filed 7-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P