[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1571-1572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00345]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. 14-96-LNG]


Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Alaska LNG Project

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the 
Alaska LNG Project (DOE/EIS-0512-S1). The Final SEIS evaluates the 
potential environmental impacts associated with Alaska LNG Project 
LLC's (Alaska LNG) existing authorization to export liquefied natural 
gas (LNG) from Alaska Gasline Development Corporation's (AGDC) proposed 
Alaska LNG Project to non-free trade agreement countries. DOE prepared 
the Final SEIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (NEPA) to inform its decision on rehearing under the Natural 
Gas Act (NGA).

ADDRESSES: 
    Availability of the Final SEIS: DOE mailed notification letters to 
announce the Notice of Availability of the Final SEIS to federal, 
state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected 
officials; environmental and public interest groups; Tribes; other 
interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the 
project area.
    An electronic copy of the Final SEIS is available at https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0512-s1-supplemental-environmental-impact-statement-alaska-lng-project.
    Paper copies of the Final SEIS will be available for public review 
at the following locations: Anchorage Public Library (Z.J. Loussac 
Library), 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, AK 99503; Arctic Interagency 
Visitor Center, Mile 175 Dalton Highway, Coldfoot, AK 99701; Charles 
Evans Community School Library, 299 Antoski Drive, Galena, AK 99741; 
Noel Wien Public Library, 1215 Cowles Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701; 
Kenai Community Library, 163 Main Street Loop, Kenai, AK 99611; Trapper 
Creek Library, 8901 East Devonshire Drive, Trapper Creek, AK 99683; 
Tri-Valley Community Library, Suntrana Road, P.O. Box 518, Healy, AK 
99743; and Wasilla Public Library, 500 North Crusey Street, Wasilla, AK 
99654. Additional copies of the Final SEIS may be requested from the 
point of contact set forth below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Lusk, NEPA Compliance Officer, 
National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, (304) 
285-4145, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management \1\ is in the 
process of rehearing DOE/FE Order No. 3643-A, issued on August 20, 
2020, in Docket No. 14-96-LNG (Alaska LNG Order).\2\ In the Alaska LNG 
Order, DOE authorized Alaska LNG to export LNG from AGDC's proposed 
Alaska LNG Project to countries that do not have 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), under NGA section 3(a).\3\
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    \1\ The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) changed its name to the 
Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) on July 4, 
2021.
    \2\ See Alaska LNG Project LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 3643-A, 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), www.energy.gov/fecm/downloads/alaska-lng-project-llc-fe-dkt-no-14-96-lng-0. For all DOE documents referenced herein, 
please see the Alaska LNG docket at www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/alaska-lng-project-llc-fe-dkt-no-14-96-lng.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 717b(a).
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    As approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on 
May 21, 2020, the Alaska LNG Project involves producing natural gas 
from resources on the North Slope of Alaska, transporting the natural 
gas on a proposed 806.9-mile-long pipeline, and exporting the natural 
gas in the form of LNG by vessel from a liquefaction facility to be 
constructed in the Nikiski area of the Kenai Peninsula in south-central 
Alaska.\4\ Under the Alaska LNG Order, Alaska LNG is currently 
authorized to export this LNG in a volume equivalent to 929 billion 
cubic feet (Bcf) per year of natural gas (2.55 Bcf per day), for a term 
of 30 years.
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    \4\ See Alaska Gasline Dev. Corp., Order Granting Authorization 
Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, FERC Docket No. CP17-178-
000, 171 FERC ] 61,134 (2020). AGDC, an independent, public 
corporation of the State of Alaska, holds the authorization from 
FERC to site, construct, and operate the proposed Alaska LNG 
Project.
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    On April 15, 2021, in Order No. 3643-B, DOE announced that it was 
granting rehearing of the Alaska LNG Order under the NGA for the 
purpose of conducting additional environmental analysis.\5\ DOE stated 
that, based on findings from this additional analysis, DOE intended to 
issue an order under NGA section 3(a) in which DOE may exercise its 
authority to reaffirm, modify, or set aside the Alaska LNG Order, in 
whole or in part.
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    \5\ See Alaska LNG Project LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 3643-B, Docket 
14-96-LNG, Order on Rehearing (Apr. 15, 2021), www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/ord3643b.pdf. DOE's Order on Rehearing granted 
a Request for Rehearing filed by Sierra Club. See id. at 1-2, 5-6.
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    Subsequently, on July 2, 2021, DOE published a ``Notice of Intent 
to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Alaska 
LNG Project'' \6\ under NEPA.\7\ The SEIS was to include analysis from 
two environmental studies, and DOE's National Energy Technology 
Laboratory (NETL) was tasked with conducting both studies.\8\
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    \6\ See U.S. Dep't of Energy, Notice of Intent to Prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Alaska LNG 
Project, 86 FR 35280 (July 2, 2021); see also www.energy.gov/nepa/articles/doeeis-0512-s1-notice-intent-july-2-2021.
    \7\ 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
    \8\ 86 FR 35281.
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    The Final SEIS being issued today supplements the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Alaska LNG Project 
published by FERC on March 6, 2020, and adopted by DOE on March 16, 
2020 (DOE/EIS-0512). Specifically, the Final SEIS (1) examines the 
potential upstream environmental effects associated with incremental 
natural gas production on the North Slope of Alaska to support Alaska 
LNG's authorized exports of LNG, and (2) includes a life cycle analysis 
calculating the greenhouse gas emissions associated with exporting LNG 
by vessel from the proposed Alaska LNG Project to import markets in 
Asia (the markets targeted for exports from Alaska) and potentially in 
other regions.

NEPA Process and Public Involvement

    DOE prepared the SEIS in accordance with the Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations at title 40,

[[Page 1572]]

Code of Federal Regulations, parts 1500-1508 (40 CFR part 1500-1508) 
and DOE's NEPA implementing procedures at 10 CFR part 1021. DOE 
announced a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft SEIS on June 24, 
2022, and published the NOA in the Federal Register on June 29, 
2022.\9\ DOE invited public comments on the Draft SEIS during a 45-day 
period that began on July 1, 2022, and extended through August 15, 
2022. During the public comment period, a virtual public meeting was 
held on July 20, 2022. DOE collected verbal and written comments during 
the public meeting and throughout the public comment period. All 
comments received during the 45-day comment period were considered 
during the preparation of the Final SEIS.
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    \9\ 87 FR 38730 (June 29, 2022).
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DOE Action

    DOE will consider the information provided in the Final SEIS, among 
other factors, as part of the Record of Decision (ROD) to reaffirm, 
modify, or set aside the Alaska LNG Order. The ROD will be issued no 
sooner than 30 days from the date that a Notice of Availability is 
published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the 
Federal Register. In particular, DOE has announced that it will issue 
the final order and ROD on or before March 30, 2023.\10\
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    \10\ See Alaska LNG Project LLC, Docket 14-96-LNG, Second Notice 
of Amended Schedule for Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(Oct. 28, 2022).

    Signed in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2023.
Amy Sweeney,
Director, Office of Regulation, Analysis, and Engagement, Office of 
Resource Sustainability.
[FR Doc. 2023-00345 Filed 1-10-23; 8:45 am]
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