Notice2022-15966
Deepwater Port License Application: SPOT Terminal Services LLC-Final General Conformity Determination
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
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 General Conformity Determination to ensure that the air emissions associated with the proposed Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) Deepwater Port Project (Project or SPOT Project) conform with the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SPOT Project proposes to provide United States (U.S.) crude oil loading services on very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and other crude oil carriers for export to the global market. A detailed description of the proposed project and prior federal action is provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 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 45847-45849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15966]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[Docket Number MARAD-2019-0011]
Deepwater Port License Application: SPOT Terminal Services LLC--
Final General Conformity Determination
AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of Final General Conformity Determination.
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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG) announce the availability of the Final General Conformity
Determination to ensure that the air emissions associated with the
proposed Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) Deepwater Port Project (Project
or SPOT Project) conform with the Texas State Implementation Plan
(SIP). The SPOT Project proposes to provide United States (U.S.) crude
oil loading services on very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and other
crude oil carriers for export to the global market. A detailed
description of the proposed project and prior federal action is
provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: The SPOT Deepwater Port License Application, the FEIS, this
Final General Conformity Determination, and other associated documents
are available for viewing at https://
[[Page 45848]]
www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2019-0011 (<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2019-0011">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2019-0011</a>).
The public docket for the SPOT Deepwater Port License Application
is maintained by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Management Facility, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. The Federal Docket
Management Facility's telephone number is 202-366-9317 or 202-366-9826;
the fax number is 202-493-2251.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Efrain Lopez, MARAD, via telephone
at (202) 366-9761 or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#673437283338222e342703081349000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ad9dac5ded5cfc3d9caeee5fea4ede5fc">[email protected]</span></a>; and Mr. Matthew Layman,
USCG, via telephone at (202) 372-1421 or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c0829293c3b2d38293e1c233e383f0c393f2f2b62212520"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c7859594c4b5d48594e6c534e484f7c494f5f5b12515550">[email protected]</span></a>. Include MARAD-2019-0011 in the subject line of
the message and provide your comments in the body of the email or as an
attachment.
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 Meetings was published in the Federal Register on
October 29, 2021 (86 FR 60093). A Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is being published simultaneously
with this announcement under a separate notice. It is noted that
comments received on the Draft General Conformity are addressed in the
following appendices of the SPOT FEIS: Appendix C2--Comments on the
Supplemental Draft EIS and Appendix V--Final General Conformity
Determination.
Background
On January 31, 2019, MARAD and USCG received an application from
SPOT for all Deepwater Ports related Federal authorizations required
for a license to own, construct, and operate a deepwater port for the
export of oil. The proposed deepwater port would be located in Federal
waters approximately 27.2 to 30.8 nautical miles off the coast of
Brazoria County, Texas. Texas was designated as the Adjacent Coastal
State for the SPOT license application.
The Federal agencies 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 this Final General
Conformity Determination is to ensure that the air emissions associated
with the SPOT Project conform with the Texas SIP in accordance with 40
CFR part 93, subpart B. The Final General Conformity Determination is
available for public review at the Federal docket website: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> under docket number MARAD-2019-0011. As
aforementioned, a Notice of Availability of the FEIS is being published
simultaneously with this announcement.
This review and determination is triggered by air emissions from
construction activities proposed by SPOT Terminal, LLC (the Applicant)
that would exceed the applicable General Conformity de minimis
threshold of 50 tons per year of nitrogen oxides or volatile organic
compounds set by Determinations of Attainment by the Attainment Date,
Extensions of the Attainment Date, and Reclassification of Several
Areas Classified as Moderate for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards, published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2019
(84 FR 44238), within the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area. The
HGB area includes Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris,
Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller counties and extends nine nautical
miles offshore over state water.
Summary of the License Application
The proposed SPOT Deepwater Port (DWP) would be located in the U.S.
Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, in Galveston Area Outer
Continental Shelf lease blocks 463 and A-59, approximately 27.2 to 30.8
nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas, in water depths
of approximately 115 feet. The proposed project's onshore components
would be located in both Brazoria and Harris counties.
The overall project would consist of both onshore and offshore
marine components. The onshore components would consist of:
<bullet> Modifications to the existing Enterprise Crude Houston
(ECHO) Terminal, including four electric motor-driven mainline crude
oil pumps, four electric motor-driven booster crude oil pumps, and one
measurement skid to support the delivery of crude oil to the proposed
Oyster Creek Terminal;
<bullet> One 50.1-mile, 36-inch-diameter ECHO to Oyster Creek
Pipeline;
<bullet> One pipeline interconnection from the existing Rancho II
36-inch-diameter pipeline to the ECHO to Oyster Creek Pipeline (Rancho
II Junction);
<bullet> A new Oyster Creek Terminal on approximately 140 acres of
land, including six electric motor-driven mainline crude oil pumps with
the capacity to push crude oil to the offshore pipelines at a rate of
up to 85,000 bph, four electric motor-driven booster crude oil pumps,
seven aboveground storage tanks (each with a capacity of 685,000
barrels [600,000 barrels of working storage]) for a total onshore
storage capacity of approximately 4.8 million barrels (4.2 million
barrels working storage) of crude oil, metering equipment, two
permanent and one portable vapor combustion units, and a firewater
system;
<bullet> Two collocated 12.2-mile, 36-inch-diameter Oyster Creek to
Shore Pipelines; and
<bullet> Ancillary facilities for the onshore pipelines, including
ten mainline valves, of which six would be along the ECHO to Oyster
Creek Pipeline and four along the Oyster Creek to Shore Pipelines, pig
launchers for the ECHO to Oyster Creek Pipeline, and pig launchers and
receivers for the Oyster Creek to Shore Pipelines.
The offshore and marine components would consist of:
<bullet> Two collocated, bi-directional, 46.9-mile, 36-inch-
diameter crude oil offshore pipelines for crude oil delivery from the
Oyster Creek Terminal to the platform; and
<bullet> Nine nautical miles of the above-mentioned forms part of
the Final General Conformity Determination.
As stated, the purpose of this notice is to announce the
availability of the Final General Conformity Determination to ensure
that the SPOT Project conforms with the Texas SIP.
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
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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. 2022-15966 Filed 7-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P
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