[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28539-28541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09489]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP20-55-000]


Port Arthur LNG Phase II, LLC, PALNG Common Facilities Company, 
LLC; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the 
Proposed Port Arthur Expansion Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) 
for the Port Arthur LNG Expansion Project, proposed by Port Arthur LNG 
Phase II, LLC and PALNG Common Facilities Company, LLC (collectively 
referred to as Applicant) in the above-referenced docket. The Applicant 
requests approval to expand the previously authorized Port Arthur 
Liquefaction Terminal in Jefferson County, Texas by siting, 
constructing, and operating additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) 
facilities to increase the terminal's capability to liquefy natural gas 
for export by 13.46 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The Port Arthur 
LNG Expansion Project would increase the terminal's total liquefaction 
capacity from 13.46 MTPA to 26.92 MTPA.
    The Supplemental EA includes a summary of the project's impacts and 
responds to comments that were received on the Commission's January 15, 
2021 Environmental Assessment (EA).\1\ The Supplemental EA will assist 
the Commission in its consideration of the project's impacts on air 
quality, environmental justice communities, and climate change, and 
will inform the Commission in its review of the project under section 3 
of the Natural Gas Act. Commission staff conclude that approval of the 
Port Arthur LNG Expansion Project, with the mitigation measures 
recommended in this Supplemental EA, would not constitute a major 
federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment.
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    \1\ The Commission's January 15, 2021 Environmental Assessment 
of the Port Arthur LNG Expansion Project is available on eLibrary 
under accession no. 20210115-3014.
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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of 
Energy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Department of Transportation's 
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration participated as 
a cooperating agencies in the preparation of the Supplemental EA. 
Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with 
respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and 
participate in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis.
    The Supplemental EA incorporates the Commission's January 15, 2021 
EA, which addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     two liquefaction trains (Trains 3 and 4) each with a 
maximum LNG production capacity of 6.73 MTPA (13.46 MTPA total);
     one new low-pressure ground flare;
     new flare knockout drums;
     one new boil-off gas (BOG) compressor unit to compress BOG 
and deliver as fuel to gas turbines;

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     two new utility and instrument air compressor packages to 
deliver air to two new air drier packages;
     one new 3.675 megawatt capacity diesel powered standby 
generator; and
     shifting location of some equipment from Base Project and 
modifications and additions to approved utilities, fire and gas 
detection systems, control system, firewater system, spill containment, 
tertiary berm, and infrastructure needed to accommodate the two 
additional liquefaction trains.\2\
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    \2\ On January 18, 2023, FERC staff issued a letter approving 
design modifications related to Port Arthur LNG, LLC's Base Project 
under FERC Docket Number CP17-20-000, which included shifting and 
relocation of some equipment, including LNG storage tanks, and 
modifications and additions to utilities, and spill containment. The 
relocations and modifications do not involve any new facilities 
associated with the Expansion Project. See FERC eLibrary at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search, Accession Number 20230118-3011.
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    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
Supplemental Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Port Arthur LNG 
Expansion Project to federal, state, and local government 
representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and 
public interest groups; potentially affected landowners (as defined by 
the Commission's regulations) and other interested individuals and 
groups. The Supplemental EA 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 Supplemental EA 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. CP20-55-000). 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 Supplemental EA 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 Supplemental EA 
may do so. Your comments should focus on the Supplemental EA's 
disclosure and discussion of potential environmental effects and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure the Commission 
has the opportunity to consider your comments prior to making its 
decision on this project, it is important that the Commission receive 
your comments on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 30, 2023.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. 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.
     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;
     You can file your comments electronically by using the 
eFiling feature also on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under 
the link to FERC Online. With eFiling, you can provide 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
     You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them 
to the Commission. Be sure to reference the Project docket number 
(CP20-55-000) 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.
     In lieu of sending written comments, the Commission 
invites you to attend the virtual public comment sessions its staff 
will conduct by telephone, scheduled as follows:

Date and Time of Public Comment Sessions on the Supplemental EA

May 15, 2023

Session 1
Time: 1 p.m. local
Call in number: 888-396-9928
Participant passcode: 8598617
Session 2
Time: 6 p.m. local
Call in number: 888-396-9928
Participant passcode: 8707920

    The primary goal of the comment sessions is to have stakeholders 
identify specific environmental issues and concerns with the 
Supplemental EA. Note that the comment sessions will end once all 
participants wishing to comment have had the opportunity to do so, or 
after two hours, whichever comes first. Individual oral comments will 
be taken one at a time with a court reporter present on the line.
    There will be a brief introduction by Commission staff when the 
session opens, so please attempt to call in at the beginning of the 
session. All participants will be able to hear the comments provided by 
other participants; however, all lines will remain closed during the 
comments of others and then opened one at a time for providing 
comments. Once you call in, the operator will provide directions on how 
to indicate you would like to provide a comment. A time limit of 5 
minutes may be implemented for each commentor.
    Your oral comments will be recorded by the court reporter and 
become part of the public record for this proceeding. Transcripts of 
all comments received during the session 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 orally at a comment session.
    Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, 
but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered. 
Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of 
the Commission's decision. At this point in the proceeding, the 
timeframe for filing timely intervention requests has expired. Any 
person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion 
to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 214(b)(3) and (d) of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR part 
385.214(b)(3) and (d)) and show good cause why the time limitation 
should be waived. Motions to intervene are more fully described at 
https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene.
    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

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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 which 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: April 28, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-09489 Filed 5-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P