Notice2022-15965
Deepwater Port License Application: SPOT Terminal Services LLC-Final Environmental Impact Review
Primary source
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Published
July 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentMaritime Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45849-45851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>
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:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, search MARAD-2019-0011 and follow the instructions
for submitting comments.
<bullet> 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6132312e353e24283221050e154f060e17"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b6e5e6f9e2e9f3ffe5f6d2d9c298d1d9c0">[email protected]</span></a>;
and the USCG via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#55113030252234213027053a27212615202636327b383c39"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c480a1a1b4b3a5b0a1b694abb6b0b784b1b7a7a3eaa9ada8">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or delivered
to the Federal Docket Management Facility will be posted, without
change, to the Federal Docket Management Facility website (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>) 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Virtual Final Hearing and Informational Website
You are invited to learn about the proposed SPOT deepwater port via
the informational website (<a href="http://www.SPOTNEPAProcess.com">www.SPOTNEPAProcess.com</a>). 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2019-0011-0019">https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2019-0011-0019</a>.
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2019-0011-1192">https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2019-0011-1192</a>.
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2019-0011">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2019-0011</a>. 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: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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:
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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).
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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:
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. 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 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-regulatory-affairs/information-policy/">https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-regulatory-affairs/information-policy/</a>. DOT's guidelines may be accessed at <a href="https://www.bts.gov/statistical-policy">https://www.bts.gov/statistical-policy</a> and also at <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/dot-information-dissemination-quality-guidelines">https://www.transportation.gov/dot-information-dissemination-quality-guidelines</a>.
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
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. 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 <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>.
(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
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