[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 47 (Friday, March 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10470-10473]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04709]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF17-8-000]

Commonwealth LNG LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Commonwealth LNG
Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of
Public Scoping Session

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that
will discuss the environmental impacts of the Commonwealth LNG Project
involving construction and operation of facilities by Commonwealth LNG
LLC (Commonwealth LNG) in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The Commission
will use this EIS in its decision-making process to determine whether
the project is in the public interest.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested
agencies on the project. You can make a difference by providing us with
your specific comments or concerns about the project. Your comments
should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable
alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts.
Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they
need to evaluate in the EIS. To ensure that your comments are timely
and properly recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission
receives them in Washington, DC on or before March 26, 2018.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the
opening of this docket on July 28, 2017, you will need to file those
comments in Docket No. PF17-8-000 to ensure they are considered as part
of this proceeding.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for this project. State and local government
representatives should notify their constituents of this planned
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled An Interstate Natural
Gas

Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know? is available for viewing
on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet addresses a number
of typically asked questions, including the use of eminent domain and
how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.

Public Participation

    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 verbally. The Commission encourages electronic filing of
comments and has expert staff available to assist you at<PHONE_NUMBER>
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
Documents and Filings. 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
Documents and Filings. 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
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to
the following address. Be sure to reference the project docket number
(PF17-8-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington,
DC 20426.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the
Commission invites you to attend the public scoping session its staff
will conduct in the project area, scheduled as follows:

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                           Date and time                                               Location
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m..........................  Johnson Bayou Community Center, 5556 Gulf
                                                                      Beach Highway, Johnson Bayou, LA 70631.
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    The primary goal of these scoping sessions is to have you identify
the specific environmental issues and concerns that should be
considered in the EIS to be prepared for this project. Individual
verbal comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a court
reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount of
verbal comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
    The scoping session is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. CDT.
You may arrive at any time after 3:30 p.m. There will not be a formal
presentation by Commission staff when the session opens, and we note
that no refreshments will be served. If you wish to speak, the
Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival.
Comments will be taken until 8:00 p.m. However, if no additional
numbers have been handed out and all individuals who wish to provide
comments have had an opportunity to do so, staff may conclude the
session at 7:30 p.m.
    Your scoping comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with
FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public
record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on
FERC's eLibrary system (see below for instructions on using eLibrary).
If a significant number of people are interested in providing verbal
comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be
implemented for each commentor.
    It is important to note that verbal comments hold the same weight
as written or electronically submitted comments. Although there will
not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available
throughout the comment session to answer your questions about the
environmental review process. Representatives from Commonwealth LNG
will also be present to answer project-specific questions.
    Please note this is not your only public input opportunity; please
refer to the review process flow chart in appendix 2.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all
those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at
www.ferc.gov using the link called eLibrary or from the Commission's
Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, or
call<PHONE_NUMBER>. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary,
refer to the last page of this notice.
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Summary of the Planned Project

    Commonwealth LNG plans to construct and operate a liquefied natural
gas (LNG) terminal on the west side of the Calcasieu Ship Channel near
Johnson Bayou in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Commonwealth LNG intends to
use the terminal to liquefy, store, and deliver LNG for export to
global markets. The terminal would have a peak capacity of nine million
metric tonnes of LNG per annum (MTPA). Commonwealth LNG would also
dredge a ship berth and turning basin at the terminal.
    The Commonwealth LNG Project would consist of the following
facilities:
     A 3.7-mile-long natural gas receiving pipeline (either
single 30-inch or dual 24-inch pipes) extending from existing pipelines
operated by Kinetica Partners LLC and Bridgeline Holdings LP to the
terminal;
     four 2.0 MTPA gas pre-treatment trains;
     eight liquefaction trains, with a nominal LNG production
capacity of approximately 1 MTPA each;
     six LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 40,000
cubic meters (m\3\);
     electric plant powered by a 80-megawatt gas turbine;
     boil-off gas handling system, utilities, and
communications system; and
     one marine berth sized to accommodate LNG carriers up to
about 215,000 m\3\ in capacity.
    The general location of the planned LNG facility, as well as
several potential pipeline routes, are shown in appendix 1.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the planned facilities would disturb about 132.6
acres of land for the upland terminal and pipeline. This acreage may
vary somewhat depending on which pipeline route is selected. About 64.6
acres would be affected in the Calcasieu Ship Channel for the creation
of the turning basin. Following construction, Commonwealth LNG would
maintain about 122.4 acres for permanent operation of the upland
terminal and pipeline right-of-way. Temporary construction areas would
be restored and revert to former uses.

The EIS Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a
Certificate of Public Convenience and

Necessity. NEPA also requires us \2\ to discover and address concerns
the public may have about proposals. This process is referred to as
scoping. The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis
in the EIS on the important environmental issues. By this notice, the
Commission requests public comments on the scope of the issues to
address in the EIS, including pipeline routing. We will consider all
filed comments during the preparation of the EIS.
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    \2\ We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff of the
Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EIS we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the construction and operation of the planned project under these
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     land use;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species;
     public safety; and
     cumulative impacts.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned project
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, we have already
initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process.
The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement
of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before
the FERC receives an application. As part of our pre-filing review, we
have begun to contact some federal and state agencies to discuss their
involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EIS.
    The EIS will present our independent analysis of the issues. We
will publish and distribute the draft EIS for public comment. After the
comment period, we will consider all timely comments and revise the
document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. To ensure we have
the opportunity to consider and address your comments, please carefully
follow the instructions in the Public Participation section, beginning
on page 2.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues
related to this project to formally cooperate with us in the
preparation of the EIS.\3\ Agencies that would like to request
cooperating agency status should follow the instructions for filing
comments provided under the Public Participation section of this
notice. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has expressed its
intention to participate as a cooperating agency in the preparation of
the EIS to satisfy its NEPA responsibilities related to this project.
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    \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 1501.6.
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Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation
with the applicable State Historic Preservation Office(s), and to
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on
historic properties.\4\ We will define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO(s) as the project
develops. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor
stations, and access roads). Our EIS for this project will document our
findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status
of consultations under section 106.
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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regulations
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Those
regulations define historic properties as any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities and
the environmental information provided by Commonwealth LNG. This
preliminary list of issues may change based on your comments and our
analysis:
     Selection of pipeline route;
     evaluation of temporary and permanent impacts on wetlands
and the development of appropriate mitigation;
     potential impacts on fish and wildlife habitat, including
potential impacts on federally listed threatened and endangered
species;
     potential visual effects of the aboveground facilities;
     potential impacts of the construction workforce on local
housing, infrastructure, public services, transportation, and economy;
     impacts on air quality and noise associated with
construction and operation of the project; and
     public safety and hazards associated with LNG facilities.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's
regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property
may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within
certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the
planned project.
    Copies of the completed draft EIS will be sent to the environmental
mailing list for public review and comment. If you would prefer to
receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD version or would
like to remove your name from the mailing list, please return the
attached Information Request (appendix 3).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once Commonwealth LNG files its application with the Commission,
you may want to become an intervenor which is an official party to the
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling.
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a
request to intervene. Motions to intervene are more fully described at
http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Instructions
for becoming an intervenor are in the Document-less Intervention Guide
under the e-filing link on the Commission's website. Please note that
the Commission will not accept requests for intervenor status at this
time. You must wait until the Commission receives a formal application
for the project.

Additional Information

    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. Click on the
eLibrary link, click on General Search and enter the docket number,
excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field (i.e., PF17-
8). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected] or toll free at<PHONE_NUMBER>, or for TTY,
contact<PHONE_NUMBER>. The eLibrary link also provides access to the
texts of 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 www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
    Finally, public sessions or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: February 22, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-04709 Filed 3-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P