Notice2023-09489
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
Primary source
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Published
May 4, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28539-28541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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:
<bullet> two liquefaction trains (Trains 3 and 4) each with a
maximum LNG production capacity of 6.73 MTPA (13.46 MTPA total);
<bullet> one new low-pressure ground flare;
<bullet> new flare knockout drums;
<bullet> one new boil-off gas (BOG) compressor unit to compress BOG
and deliver as fuel to gas turbines;
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<bullet> two new utility and instrument air compressor packages to
deliver air to two new air drier packages;
<bullet> one new 3.675 megawatt capacity diesel powered standby
generator; and
<bullet> 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 <a href="https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search">https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search</a>, 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 (<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 Supplemental EA 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. CP20-55-000). Be
sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance,
please contact FERC Online Support at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#91d7f4e3f2defffdf8fff4c2e4e1e1fee3e5d1f7f4e3f2bff6fee7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e2a4879081ad8c8e8b8c87b19792928d9096a284879081cc858d94">[email protected]</span></a> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbfddec9d8f4d5d7d2d5dee8cecbcbd4c9cffbdddec9d895dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bdfbd8cfdef2d3d1d4d3d8eec8cdcdd2cfc9fddbd8cfde93dad2cb">[email protected]</span></a>. Please carefully follow these
instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> You can file your comments electronically by using the
eFiling feature also 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 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
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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
<a href="https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene">https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene</a>.
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
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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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a> 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
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