Notice2022-07283
Commonwealth LNG, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Commonwealth LNH Project
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 6, 2022
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19918-19919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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:
<bullet> Six liquefaction trains;
<bullet> six gas pre-treatment trains;
<bullet> two flare systems;
<bullet> six liquid natural gas (LNG) storage tanks;
<bullet> one marine facility consisting of an LNG carrier berth,
barge dock;
<bullet> utilities (e.g., electricity generation, water, plant air,
nitrogen, hot oil system);
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> appurtenant facilities (e.g., administrative facilities,
maintenance and warehouse buildings, marine facility operator
buildings, equipment enclosures and electrical rooms);
<bullet> 3.0 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline;
<bullet> two interconnection facilities with existing pipelines;
and
<bullet> 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 (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>), on
the natural gas environmental documents page (<a href="https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents">https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents</a>). In
addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on
the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (<a href="https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search">https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search</a>) 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d492b1a6b79bbab8bdbab187a1a4a4bba6a094b2b1a6b7fab3bba2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cd8ba8bfae82a3a1a4a3a89eb8bdbda2bfb98daba8bfaee3aaa2bb">[email protected]</span></a> 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
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4a0c2f382905242623242f193f3a3a25383e0a2c2f3829642d253c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8acceff8e9c5e4e6e3e4efd9fffafae5f8fecaeceff8e9a4ede5fc">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) 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 (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) 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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides</a>. 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 (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) 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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a> 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
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