Letter of Recommendation; Proposed Broadwater LNG Project, Long Island Sound, 48180-48182 [05-16287]

Agencies

• Coast Guard
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48180-48182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16287]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2005-21863]


Letter of Recommendation; Proposed Broadwater LNG Project, Long 
Island Sound

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Request for comments; notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements in Title 33 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 127.009, the U.S. Coast Guard 
Captain of the Port (COTP) Long Island Sound, is preparing a Letter of 
Recommendation as to the suitability of Long Island Sound for liquefied 
natural gas (LNG) marine traffic. This Letter of Recommendation will 
encompass the marine safety and security aspects associated with the 
proposed Broadwater LNG facility. The letter of recommendation is in 
response to a Letter of Intent submitted by Broadwater Energy, a joint 
venture of Shell Oil and TransCanada Corporation, to construct and 
operate an offshore floating, storage and regasification unit (FSRU) 
for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the New York State waters of Long 
Island Sound. Because the proposed facility would be located in state 
waters, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the lead 
Federal agency for this proposed project. The COTP Long Island Sound is 
soliciting written comments and related material, and will join FERC at 
four public meetings seeking comments, pertaining specifically to 
maritime safety and security aspects of the proposed LNG facility. In 
preparation for issuance of a letter of recommendation and the 
completion of certain other regulatory mandates, the COTP Long Island 
Sound will consider comments received from the public as input into the 
Coast Guard's assessment of potential waterway safety and port security 
issues associated with the proposed facility.

DATES: All written comments and related material must reach the Coast 
Guard on or before October 7, 2005. In addition, four public meetings 
will be held regarding this proposal, on the following dates and 
locations:
     September 13, 2005, at Stony Brook University, Charles B. 
Wang Center, RT 25A, Stony Brook, NY;
     September 14, 2005, at Shoreham-Wading River Middle School 
(Albert Prodell Middle School), 100 Randall Road, Shoreham, NY;
     September 20, 2005, at E. Lyme High School, 30 
Chesterfield Road, East Lyme, CT; and
     September 21, 2005, at Branford High School, 185 East Main 
Street, Branford, CT;
    All four public meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The 
comment period associated with the public meeting will remain open 
until October 7, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2005-21863, to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. Comments submitted to the Coast Guard 
should relate to the marine safety and security aspects associated with 
the proposed Broadwater LNG facility. To avoid duplication, please use 
only one of the following methods:
    1. Web site: https://dms/dot/gov.
    2. Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    3. Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    4. Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 
(202) 366-9329.
    5. Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
    You may also submit comments relating to the maritime safety and 
security of the proposed facility to Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast 
Guard Sector Long Island Sound. All comments received by Sector Long 
Island Sound will be forwarded to the Docket Management Facility. 
Duplicate copies of comments submitted to the Docket Management 
Facility need not be submitted to the COTP Long Island Sound. COTP Long 
Island Sound will review and consider all comments submitted to the 
Docket Management Facility as well as those received directly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
contact LT Andrea Logman at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound by one 
of the methods listed below:
    (1) Phone at (203) 468-4429;
    (2) E-mail at alogman@sectorlis.uscg.mil; or
    (3) Fax to (203) 468-4445.
    If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the 
docket, call Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, 
telephone (202) 366-0271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Written Comments

    We encourage you to submit written comments and related material 
pertaining specifically to marine safety and security aspects 
associated with the proposed Broadwater LNG facility. If you do so, 
please include your name and address, identify the docket number for 
this notice (USCG-2005-21863) and give the reason for each comment. You 
may also submit your comments and related material by mail, 
electronically or hand delivery, as described in ADDRESSES, or you may 
send them by fax or e-mail using the contact information under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. To avoid confusion and duplication, please 
submit your comments and material by only one means.
    If you submit comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the Docket Management Facility or U.S. 
Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, please enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope.
    All comments received will be posted, without charge, to https://
dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation 
(DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy 
Act'' paragraph below.

[[Page 48181]]

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the document, go to https://dms.dot.gov at any 
time and conduct a simple search using the docket number, USCG-2005-
21863. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 
on the Plaza Level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    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.). You may review the Department of 
Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit https://
dms.dot.gov.

Public Meeting

    Due to the scope and complexity of this project, we have decided to 
jointly hold four public meetings with FERC to allow the public the 
opportunity to comment on the proposed LNG facility. The dates and 
locations of these meetings are listed under DATES above. Organizations 
and members of the public may provide oral statements regarding the 
suitability of Long Island Sound for LNG vessel traffic at these 
meetings. In the interest of time and use of the public meeting 
facility, the length of oral statements may be limited. Written 
comments may be submitted at the meeting or to the Docket up to October 
7, 2005.

Background and Purpose

    In accordance with the requirements of 33 CFR 127.007, Shell Oil 
and TransCanada Corporation under the joint company Broadwater LNG, 
submitted a letter of Intent on November 9, 2004, notifying the COTP 
Long Island Sound that they intend to construct and operate an offshore 
FSRU for LNG, named Broadwater Energy, in the New York State waters of 
Long Island Sound. An Amendment to the Letter of Intent was submitted 
on April 26, 2005, updating the location of the proposed FSRU. The 
proposed location of the FSRU is approximately nine (9) miles off the 
coast of Riverhead, New York, and about 11 miles from the nearest 
Connecticut shoreline.
    FERC will be the lead agency for the Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act. To help FERC 
make sure that the EIS covers the Coast Guard's Letter of 
Recommendation and other actions under this proposal, the Coast Guard 
will serve as a cooperating agency.
    The proposed FSRU would serve as an LNG import terminal. LNG 
carriers (ships) would berth at the FSRU and LNG would be transferred 
from the carriers to the storage tanks located on the FSRU. The 
Broadwater FSRU is designed to have an onboard LNG storage capacity of 
up to 350,000 cubic meters (m3). The LNG would then be re-
gasified and metered into natural gas pipelines. The terminal would 
connect with the existing subsea Iroquois Gas Transmission System 
pipeline via an underwater connecting pipeline that would be about 25 
miles long.
    LNG would be delivered to the terminal in double-hulled LNG 
carriers. Typical LNG carriers currently have a carrying capacity of 
135,000 m3 (4,767,480 ft3). The largest LNG 
tanker in operation has a capacity of 145,000 m3 (5,120,627 
ft3). Current LNG carriers are approximately 900 to 1000 
feet long with up to approximately a 145 foot wide beam, and draw 
between 36 and 39 feet of water. Larger LNG carriers capable of 
transporting as much as 225,000 m3 to 250,000 m3 
(7,945,799 ft33 to 8,828,666 ft33) of LNG are 
being considered. The Broadwater FSRU would receive approximately 
between 2 and 3 vessels per week, or approximately 100 to 160 LNG 
vessels per year, depending upon natural gas demand and carrier size.
    The U.S. Coast Guard exercises regulatory authority over LNG 
facilities which affect the safety and security of port areas and 
navigable waterways under Executive Order 10173, the Magnuson Act (50 
U.S.C. 191), the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972, as amended (33 
U.S.C. 1221, et seq.) and the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 
2002 (46 U.S.C. 701). The Coast Guard is responsible for matters 
related to navigation safety, vessel engineering and safety standards. 
The Coast Guard also has authority for LNG facility security plan 
review, approval, and compliance verification as provided in Title 33 
CFR part 105, and recommendation for siting as it pertains to the 
management of vessel traffic in and around the LNG facility.
    Upon receipt of a letter of intent from an owner or operator 
intending to build a new LNG facility, the Coast Guard COTP conducts an 
analysis that results in a letter of recommendation issued to the owner 
or operator and to the state and local governments within whose 
jurisdictions the proposed facility lies, addressing the suitability of 
the waterway to accommodate LNG vessels. Specifically, the letter of 
recommendation addresses the suitability of the waterway based on:
     The physical location and layout of the facility and its 
berthing and mooring arrangements.
     The LNG vessels' characteristics and the frequency of LNG 
shipments to the facility.
     Commercial, industrial, environmentally sensitive, and 
residential areas in and adjacent to the waterway used by the LNG 
vessels en route to the facility.
     Density and character of marine traffic on the waterway.
     Bridges or other manmade obstructions in the waterway.
     Depth of water.
     Tidal range.
     Natural hazards, including rocks and sandbars.
     Underwater pipelines and cables.
     Distance of berthed LNG vessels from the channel, and the 
width of the channel.
    In addition, the Coast Guard will review and approve the facility's 
operations manual and emergency response plan (33 CFR 127.019), as well 
as the facility's security plan (33 CFR 105.410). The Coast Guard will 
also provide input to other Federal, State, and local government 
agencies reviewing the project.
    FERC is the lead Federal agency responsible for licensing LNG 
facilities located on shore and within state waters. Under an 
interagency agreement, the Coast Guard will provide input to, and 
coordinate with, FERC on maritime safety and security aspects of the 
proposed Broadwater LNG project. FERC will be the lead agency for the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) mandated by the National 
Environmental Policy Act. To help FERC make sure that the EIS covers 
the Coast Guard's Letter of Recommendation and other actions under this 
proposal, the Coast Guard will serve as a cooperating agency.
    In order to complete a thorough analysis and fulfill the regulatory 
mandates cited above, the COTP Long Island Sound will be conducting an 
assessment of the various safety and security aspects associated with 
the proposed Broadwater LNG proposed project. This assessment will be 
accomplished through a series of workshops focusing on the areas of 
waterways safety, port security, and consequence management, with 
involvement from a broad cross-section of government and port 
stakeholders with expertise in each of the respective areas. The 
workshops will be by invitation only. However, comments

[[Page 48182]]

received during the public comment period will be considered as input 
into the assessment process.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the Broadwater LNG project is 
available from FERC's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC or 
on the FERC Internet Web site (https://www.ferc.gov) using their 
eLibrary link. Comments relating to aspects other than marine safety 
and security aspects associated with the proposed Broadwater LNG 
facility may be submitted at this Web site. For assistance, please 
contact FERC online support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free 
at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY contact 1-202-502-8659.
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities. For 
information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities, or to request assistance at the meeting, contact LT A. 
Logman listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as 
possible.

    Dated: August 9, 2005.
Peter J. Boynton,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port Long Island Sound.
[FR Doc. 05-16287 Filed 8-12-05; 1:32 pm]
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