Alaska Gasline Development Corporation; BP Alaska LNG, LLC; Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG Company; ExxonMobil Alaska LNG, LLC; TransCanada Alaska Midstream, LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Alaska Lng Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 13366-13369 [2015-05691]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices
the project will be approximately $149.1
million.
Pursuant to section 157.9 of the
Commission’s rules (18 CFR 157.9),
within 90 days of this Notice, the
Commission staff will either: complete
its environmental assessment (EA) and
place it into the Commission’s public
record (eLibrary) for this proceeding; or
issue a Notice of Schedule for
Environmental Review. If a Notice of
Schedule for Environmental Review is
issued, it will indicate, among other
milestones, the anticipated date for the
Commission staff’s issuance of the final
environmental impact statement (FEIS)
or EA for this proposal. The filing of the
EA in the Commission’s public record
for this proceeding or the issuance of a
Notice of Schedule for Environmental
Review will serve to notify federal and
state agencies of the timing for the
completion of all necessary reviews, and
the subsequent need to complete all
federal authorizations within 90 days of
the date of issuance of the Commission
staff’s FEIS or EA.
There are two ways to become
involved in the Commission’s review of
this project. First, any person wishing to
obtain legal status by becoming a party
to the proceedings for this project
should, on or before the comment date
stated below file with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
a motion to intervene in accordance
with the requirements of the
Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)
and the Regulations under the NGA (18
CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party
status will be placed on the service list
maintained by the Secretary of the
Commission and will receive copies of
all documents filed by the applicant and
by all other parties. A party must submit
seven copies of filings made in the
proceeding with the Commission and
must mail a copy to the applicant and
to every other party. Only parties to the
proceeding can ask for court review of
Commission orders in the proceeding.
However, a person does not have to
intervene in order to have comments
considered. The second way to
participate is by filing with the
Secretary of the Commission, as soon as
possible, an original and two copies of
comments in support of or in opposition
to this project. The Commission will
consider these comments in
determining the appropriate action to be
taken, but the filing of a comment alone
will not serve to make the filer a party
to the proceeding. The Commission’s
rules require that persons filing
comments in opposition to the project
provide copies of their protests only to
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the party or parties directly involved in
the protest.
Persons who wish to comment only
on the environmental review of this
project should submit an original and
two copies of their comments to the
Secretary of the Commission.
Environmental commentors will be
placed on the Commission’s
environmental mailing list, will receive
copies of the environmental documents,
and will be notified of meetings
associated with the Commission’s
environmental review process.
Environmental commentors will not be
required to serve copies of filed
documents on all other parties.
However, the non-party commentors
will not receive copies of all documents
filed by other parties or issued by the
Commission (except for the mailing of
environmental documents issued by the
Commission) and will not have the right
to seek court review of the
Commission’s final order.
The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filings of comments, protests
and interventions in lieu of paper using
the ‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://
www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file
electronically should submit an original
and 7 copies of the protest or
intervention to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Comment Date: March 25, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–05685 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. PF14–21–000]
Alaska Gasline Development
Corporation; BP Alaska LNG, LLC;
Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG Company;
ExxonMobil Alaska LNG, LLC;
TransCanada Alaska Midstream, LP;
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Planned Alaska Lng Project and
Request for Comments on
Environmental Issues
The staff of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
that will discuss the environmental
impacts of the Alaska LNG Project
involving construction and operation of
facilities by Alaska Gasline
Development Corporation; BP Alaska
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LNG, LLC; Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG
Company; ExxonMobil Alaska LNG,
LLC; and TransCanada Alaska
Midstream, LP (Applicants) in Alaska.
The Commission will use this EIS in its
decision-making process to determine
whether the project is in the public
convenience and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of
the scoping process the Commission
and its cooperating agencies will use to
gather input from the public and
interested agencies on the project. Your
input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues they need to
evaluate in the EIS. Understanding that
affected stakeholders may include
communities that depend on seasonal
subsistence activities, the scoping
period will remain open for an extended
period, closing on December 4, 2015.
This is not your only public input
opportunity; please refer to the
Environmental Review Process flow
chart in attachment 1.
You may submit comments in written
form or verbally. Further details on how
to submit written comments are in the
Public Participation section of this
notice. In lieu of or in addition to
sending written comments, the
Commission invites you to attend the
public scoping meetings to provide
verbal and/or written comments on the
project.
A schedule of the public scoping
meeting dates, locations, and times will
be issued in a separate notice at least
one month prior to the date of the
meetings.
This notice is being sent to the
Commission’s current environmental
mailing list for this project. The
environmental mailing list includes
potentially affected landowners (crossed
by or adjacent to the project route);
landowners within 0.5 mile of
compressor station sites, the gas
treatment plant (GTP), and the
liquefaction terminal; federal, state, and
local government agencies; elected
officials; environmental and public
interest groups; Alaska Native tribes;
local libraries and newspapers; and
other interested parties. State, local, and
tribal government representatives are
asked to notify their constituents of this
planned project and encourage them to
comment on their areas of concern.
A fact sheet prepared by the FERC
entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas
Facility On My Land? What Do I Need
To Know?’’ is available for viewing on
the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). This
fact sheet addresses a number of
typically-asked questions, including the
use of eminent domain and how to
participate in the Commission’s
proceedings.
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Summary of the Planned Project
The Applicants plan to develop,
construct, and operate facilities that
would commercialize the natural gas
resources on Alaska’s North Slope.
The Alaska LNG Project would
consist of the following major facilities,
associated ancillary facilities would also
be needed:
GTP/Associated Pipelines:
• Three parallel treatment systems
(trains) with a capacity up to 4.3 billion
cubic feet per day;
• a 1-mile-long, large diameter
aboveground pipeline to transport gas
from the existing central gas facility to
the GTP;
• a 60-mile-long 30-inch-diameter
pipeline to transport gas from the Point
Thomson Unit to the GTP;
• Prudhoe Bay Unit improvements to
the West Dock loading and unloading
facilities; and
• water reservoir, pump facilities, and
a transfer line to provide water to the
GTP.
Mainline facilities include:
• About 800 miles of 42-inchdiameter pipeline from the planned GTP
to the planned liquefied natural gas
(LNG) plant in Nikiski Alaska; and
• Eight natural gas driven compressor
stations, four custody transfer meter
stations, multiple pig launching/
receiving 1 stations, heater stations,
cathodic protection facilities; and
mainline block valves.
LNG Liquefaction Facilities include:
• Marine terminal facilities;
• three liquefaction trains capable of
liquefying 20 million tons per year of
LNG; and
• three 160,000 cubic meter storage
tanks.
A number of support facilities that are
not under FERC jurisdiction would also
be undertaken to complete and operate
the FERC jurisdictional facilities. These
include:
• Updates to existing transportation
infrastructure;
• gravel quarries; and
• construction camps.
The planned Alaska LNG Project
would start at the GTP and generally
follow the existing Trans-Alaska
Pipeline System crude oil pipeline
(TAPS) and adjacent highways south to
Livengood, Alaska. From Livengood, the
mainline would diverge from TAPS and
generally head south-southwest to
Trapper Creek following the Parks
Highway and Beluga Highway. Then the
project turns south-southeast around
1 A pipeline ‘‘pig’’ is an internal device to clean
or inspect the pipeline. A pig launcher/receiver is
an aboveground facility where pigs are inserted into
or retrieved from the pipeline.
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Viapan Lake. Finally, it crosses the Cook
Inlet in the vicinity of Shorty Creek to
Boulder Point on the Kenai Peninsula.
A map depicting the general location of
project facilities is included as
attachment 2.2
The Applicants anticipate starting
construction in 2018 or early 2019, with
construction and startup taking
approximately seven years. On this
basis, the planned project system would
be placed into service about 2025–2026.
Land Requirements for Construction
The planned Alaska LNG Project
facilities current design includes about
30,000 acres of land that would be
temporarily impacted during
construction, with about half of those
acres within the permanent (or
operational) right-of-way.
The EIS Process
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to
take into account the environmental
impacts that could result from an action
whenever it considers the issuance of an
Authorization under Section 3 of the
Natural Gas Act. NEPA also requires us 3
to identify and address concerns the
public may have about proposals. This
process is referred to as ‘‘scoping.’’ The
main goal of the scoping process is to
focus the analysis in the EIS on
important environmental issues. By this
notice, the Commission requests public
comments on the scope of the issues to
be addressed in the EIS. All comments
received during the scoping period will
be considered during the preparation of
the EIS.
In the EIS, we will discuss impacts
that could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the
planned project under the following
general headings:
• Geology and soils;
• water resources, fisheries, and
wetlands;
• vegetation and wildlife;
• endangered and threatened species;
• cultural resources;
• socioeconomics and subsistence;
• land use, recreation, and visual
resources;
2 Attachments 1 (Process Flow Chart), 2 (General
Location Map), and 3 (Mailing List/Environmental
Document Request Form) are not being printed in
the Federal Register. Copies are available on the
Commission’s Web site (www.ferc.gov) at the
‘‘eLibrary’’ link or from the Commission’s Public
Reference Room at 202–502–8371. For instructions
on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the ‘‘Availability
of Additional Information’’ section at the end of this
notice. The General Project Map and Mailing List/
Environmental Document Request Form were sent
to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
3 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the
environmental staff of the FERC’s Office of Energy
Projects.
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• air quality and noise;
• public health and safety; and
• cumulative impacts.
We will also evaluate possible
alternatives to the planned project or
portions of the project, and make
recommendations on how to lessen or
avoid impacts on the various resources.
Although no formal application has
been filed, we have already initiated our
NEPA review under the FERC’s prefiling process.4 The purpose of the prefiling process is to encourage early
involvement of interested stakeholders
and to identify and resolve issues before
an application is filed with the FERC.
As part of our pre-filing review, we have
already started to meet with the
Applicants, jurisdictional agencies,
Alaska Native tribes, local officials, and
other interested stakeholders to discuss
the project and identify issues/impacts
and concerns before the FERC receives
an application. In addition, with this
NOI, we are formally initiating
government-to-government consultation
with federally-recognized Alaska Native
tribes.
We participated in 14 public open
house meetings in Alaska hosted by the
Applicants in October 2014 through
January 2015. Additionally, we have
begun meeting with interested state and
federal agencies to discuss their possible
involvement in the scoping process and
the preparation of the EIS.
Our independent analysis of the
issues will be presented in the EIS. The
draft EIS will be published and
distributed for a 45-day public review
and comment period. We will consider
all timely comments and revise the
document, as necessary, before issuing a
final EIS. To ensure your comments are
considered, please carefully follow the
instructions in the Public Participation
section of this notice.
With this notice, we are asking
agencies with jurisdiction and/or statewide special expertise with respect to
environmental issues to formally
cooperate with us in the preparation of
the EIS. Cooperating agencies will be
expected to provide project-wide
perspectives on environmental issues.
These agencies may choose to
participate once they have evaluated the
proposal relative to their
responsibilities. Agencies that would
like to request cooperating agency status
should follow the instructions for filing
comments provided under the Public
Participation section of this notice.
The FERC is the lead federal agency
in preparing the EIS to satisfy the
requirements of NEPA. In accordance
4 The FERC granted the Applicants’ request to
begin the pre-filing process on September 12, 2014.
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with the 2004 Interagency Agreement on
the safety and security review of
waterfront import/export LNG facilities,
the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S.
Department of Transportation will
participate as cooperating agencies.
Further, under our 2002 Memorandum
of Understanding 5 with the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), and U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), these
permitting agencies will participate as
cooperating agencies in the preparation
of the EIS to satisfy their NEPA
responsibilities.
The COE has jurisdictional authority
pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act, which governs the discharge
of dredged or fill material into waters of
the United States, and Section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act, which regulates
any work or structures that potentially
affect the navigability of a waterway.
Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas
Act, Title 15 of the U.S. Code, Part 717b,
the DOE would authorize the export of
natural gas, including LNG, to countries
with which the United States has not
entered into a free trade agreement
requiring national treatment for trade in
natural gas, unless it finds that the
proposed export will not be consistent
with the public interest. For the Project,
the purpose and need for DOE’s action
is to respond to the Alaska LNG
application, filed with DOE on July 18,
2014 (FE Docket No. 14–96–LNG)
seeking authorization to export
domestic natural gas as LNG for a 30year term commencing the earlier of the
date of first export or 12 years from the
date that the requested authorization is
granted. DOE’s authorization of the
Alaska LNG application would allow
the export of LNG to any country with
the capacity to import LNG and with
which trade is not prohibited by U.S.
law or policy.
The BLM must issue a permit because
the project would cross federally
administered lands in Alaska. As a
cooperating agency, the BLM would
adopt the EIS per Title 40 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, Part 1506.3 to
meet its responsibilities under NEPA
regarding the Applicants’ application
for a Right-of-Way Grant and Temporary
Use Permit for crossing federally
administered lands. Impacts on
resources and programs, and the
proposed project’s conformance with
5 The Interagency Agreement on Early
Coordination of Required Environmental and
Historic Preservation Reviews Conducted in
Conjunction with the Issuance of Authorizations to
Construct and Operate Interstate Natural Gas
Pipelines Certificated by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission was put into place in May
of 2002.
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land use plans, will be considered in the
BLM’s decision.
Currently Identified Environmental
Issues
We have already identified a number
of issues that we think deserve attention
based on the public open houses,
interagency meetings, and our review of
the information provided by the
Applicants. This preliminary list of
issues may be changed based on your
comments and our analysis.
• Permafrost, Soils, and Reclamation
—Construction limitations and slope
stabilization in steep terrain and
permafrost.
—Potential for problematic reclamation
due to poor soils and permafrost
conditions.
—Material, design, and operations and
maintenance procedures/
specifications for permafrost and
subsidence locations for installation
and on-going future maintenance and
integrity management.
—Potential for introduction or spread of
invasive and/or noxious species of
vegetation during and after
construction.
• Cultural Resources
—Impacts on traditional Alaska Native
culture, historic sites, and landscapes.
• Water Resources and Wetlands
—Effects of construction and operation
on waterbodies and wetlands.
—Effects of dredging, dock construction,
and dumping dredged material into
ocean waters.
• Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, and
Sensitive Species
—Effects of project construction on fish
and wildlife and their habitat,
including federally listed threatened
and endangered species, marine
mammals, migratory birds, and big
game species.
—Effects of water depletion from
hydrostatic test water withdrawals
and ice road construction.
• Seismic Activity and Geohazards
—Pipeline and facility design in
seismically active areas.
—Construction in geohazard areas.
• Land Use, Recreation, and Special
Interest Areas
—Impacts on potential wilderness areas.
—Impacts on existing conservation
system units (e.g., Denali National
Park).
—Private land crossings.
—Impacts on recreation (e.g., fishing,
hunting, boating, camping, hiking,
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skiing, mushing, and
snowmachining).
• Socioeconomics
—Effects of construction workforce
demands on public services and
temporary housing.
—Economic impacts on local
communities.
—Environmental Justice.
• Subsistence and Public Health
—Effects of construction and operation
on fish, wildlife, marine mammal, and
plant species used for subsistence.
—Impacts on access to subsistence
resources.
—Health impacts on local communities.
• Air Quality and Noise
• Reliability and Safety
• Cumulative Impacts
Consultations Under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act
In accordance with the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation’s
implementing regulations for section
106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this
notice to initiate consultation with
applicable State Historic Preservation
Office(s) (SHPO), and to solicit their
views and those of other government
agencies, interested Indian tribes, and
the public on the project’s potential
effects on historic properties.6 We will
define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation
with the SHPO as the project develops.
On natural gas facility projects, the APE
at a minimum encompasses all areas
subject to ground disturbance (examples
include construction right-of-way,
contractor/pipe storage yards,
compressor stations, and access roads).
Our EIS for this project will document
our findings on the impacts on historic
properties and summarize the status of
consultations under section 106.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by
providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project.
Your comments should focus on the
potential environmental effects,
reasonable alternatives, and measures to
avoid or lessen environmental impacts.
The more specific your comments, the
more useful they will be. To ensure that
your comments are timely and properly
6 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 800. Those regulations define
historic properties as any prehistoric or historic
district, site, building, structure, or object included
in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places.
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
recorded, please send your comments so
that the Commission receives them in
Washington, DC on or before December
4, 2015. This is not your only public
input opportunity; please refer to the
Environmental Review Process
flowchart in attachment 1.
For your convenience, there are three
methods you can use to submit your
comments to the Commission. In all
instances, please reference the project
docket number (PF14–21–000) with
your submission. The Commission
encourages electronic filing of
comments and has expert staff available
to assist you at (202) 502–8258 or
efiling@ferc.gov.
(1) You can file your comments
electronically using the eComment
feature located on the Commission’s
Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link
to Documents and Filings. This is an
easy method for interested persons to
submit brief, text-only comments on a
project;
(2) You can file your comments
electronically using the eFiling feature
located on the Commission’s Web site
(www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. 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.’’ You must select
the type of filing you are making. If you
are filing a comment on a particular
project, please select ‘‘Comment on a
Filing’’; or
(3) You can file a paper copy of your
comments by mailing them to the
following address: Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room
1A, Washington, DC 20426.
In addition to the methods listed
above, we will also hold public scoping
meetings and mail notices to our
environmental mailing list identifying
the date, time, and locations of these
meetings later this year.
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list
includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and
agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest
groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries
and newspapers. This list also includes
all affected landowners (as defined in
the Commission’s regulations) who are
potential right-of-way grantors, whose
property may be used temporarily for
project purposes, or who own homes
within certain distances of aboveground
facilities, and anyone who submits
comments on the project. We will
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update the environmental mailing list as
the analysis proceeds to ensure that we
send the information related to this
environmental review to all individuals,
organizations, and government entities
interested in and/or potentially affected
by the planned project.
Copies of the completed draft EIS will
be sent to the environmental mailing list
for public review and comment. If you
would prefer to receive a paper copy of
the document instead of the CD version,
or would like to remove your name from
the mailing list, please return the
attached Information Request
(attachment 3).
13369
documents. Go to www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/esubscription.asp.
Further, public meetings or site visits
will be posted on the Commission’s
calendar located at www.ferc.gov/
EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along
with other related information. Finally,
additional information about the project
can be seen from the Applicant’s Web
site at https://ak-lng.com.
Dated: March 4, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–05691 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
Becoming an Intervenor
Once the Applicants file its
application with the Commission, you
may want to become an ‘‘intervenor’’
which is an official party to the
Commission’s proceeding. Intervenors
play a more formal role in the process
and are able to file briefs, appear at
hearings, and be heard by the courts if
they choose to appeal the Commission’s
final ruling. An intervenor formally
participates in the proceeding by filing
a request to intervene. Instructions for
becoming an intervenor are in the User’s
Guide under the ‘‘e-filing’’ link on the
Commission’s Web site. Please note that
the Commission will not accept requests
for intervenor status at this time. You
must wait until the Commission
receives a formal application for the
project.
Additional Information
Additional information about the
project is available from the
Commission’s Office of External Affairs,
at (866) 208–FERC, or on the FERC Web
site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary
link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on
‘‘General Search’’ and enter the docket
number, excluding the last three digits
in the Docket Number field (i.e., PF14–
21). Be sure you have selected an
appropriate date range. For assistance,
please contact FERC Online Support at
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free
at (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, contact
(202) 502–8659. The eLibrary link also
provides access to the texts of 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
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. OR15–20–000]
Express Pipeline LLC; Notice of
Petition for Declaratory Order
Take notice that on February 27, 2015,
pursuant to Rule 207(a)(2) of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission’s
(Commission) Rules of Practice and
Procedure, 18 CFR 385.207(a)(2) (2014),
Express Pipeline LLC filed a petition for
a declaratory order seeking approval of
a committed rate structure and related
contract terms to support the cost of
additional tanks, pumps, and piping to
‘‘debottleneck, ’’ a constraint point on
its system, all as more fully explained
in the petition.
Any person desiring to intervene or to
protest this filing must file in
accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of
the Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214).
Protests will be considered by the
Commission in determining the
appropriate action to be taken, but will
not serve to make protestants parties to
the proceeding. Any person wishing to
become a party must file a notice of
intervention or motion to intervene, as
appropriate. Such notices, motions, or
protests must be filed on or before the
comment date. Anyone filing a motion
to intervene or protest must serve a copy
of that document on the Petitioner.
The Commission encourages
electronic submission of protests and
interventions in lieu of paper using the
‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://www.ferc.gov.
Persons unable to file electronically
should submit an original and 5 copies
of the protest or intervention to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First Street NE., Washington, DC
20426.
This filing is accessible on-line at
https://www.ferc.gov, using the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13366-13369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05691]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. PF14-21-000]
Alaska Gasline Development Corporation; BP Alaska LNG, LLC;
Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG Company; ExxonMobil Alaska LNG, LLC;
TransCanada Alaska Midstream, LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Alaska Lng Project and
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that
will discuss the environmental impacts of the Alaska LNG Project
involving construction and operation of facilities by Alaska Gasline
Development Corporation; BP Alaska LNG, LLC; Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG
Company; ExxonMobil Alaska LNG, LLC; and TransCanada Alaska Midstream,
LP (Applicants) in Alaska. The Commission will use this EIS in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the
public convenience and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the
Commission and its cooperating agencies will use to gather input from
the public and interested agencies on the project. Your input will help
the Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the
EIS. Understanding that affected stakeholders may include communities
that depend on seasonal subsistence activities, the scoping period will
remain open for an extended period, closing on December 4, 2015. This
is not your only public input opportunity; please refer to the
Environmental Review Process flow chart in attachment 1.
You may submit comments in written form or verbally. Further
details on how to submit written comments are in the Public
Participation section of this notice. In lieu of or in addition to
sending written comments, the Commission invites you to attend the
public scoping meetings to provide verbal and/or written comments on
the project.
A schedule of the public scoping meeting dates, locations, and
times will be issued in a separate notice at least one month prior to
the date of the meetings.
This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for this project. The environmental mailing list includes
potentially affected landowners (crossed by or adjacent to the project
route); landowners within 0.5 mile of compressor station sites, the gas
treatment plant (GTP), and the liquefaction terminal; federal, state,
and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental and
public interest groups; Alaska Native tribes; local libraries and
newspapers; and other interested parties. State, local, and tribal
government representatives are asked to notify their constituents of
this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of
concern.
A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for
viewing on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet addresses
a number of typically-asked questions, including the use of eminent
domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.
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Summary of the Planned Project
The Applicants plan to develop, construct, and operate facilities
that would commercialize the natural gas resources on Alaska's North
Slope.
The Alaska LNG Project would consist of the following major
facilities, associated ancillary facilities would also be needed:
GTP/Associated Pipelines:
Three parallel treatment systems (trains) with a capacity
up to 4.3 billion cubic feet per day;
a 1-mile-long, large diameter aboveground pipeline to
transport gas from the existing central gas facility to the GTP;
a 60-mile-long 30-inch-diameter pipeline to transport gas
from the Point Thomson Unit to the GTP;
Prudhoe Bay Unit improvements to the West Dock loading and
unloading facilities; and
water reservoir, pump facilities, and a transfer line to
provide water to the GTP.
Mainline facilities include:
About 800 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline from the
planned GTP to the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Nikiski
Alaska; and
Eight natural gas driven compressor stations, four custody
transfer meter stations, multiple pig launching/receiving \1\ stations,
heater stations, cathodic protection facilities; and mainline block
valves.
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\1\ A pipeline ``pig'' is an internal device to clean or inspect
the pipeline. A pig launcher/receiver is an aboveground facility
where pigs are inserted into or retrieved from the pipeline.
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LNG Liquefaction Facilities include:
Marine terminal facilities;
three liquefaction trains capable of liquefying 20 million
tons per year of LNG; and
three 160,000 cubic meter storage tanks.
A number of support facilities that are not under FERC jurisdiction
would also be undertaken to complete and operate the FERC
jurisdictional facilities. These include:
Updates to existing transportation infrastructure;
gravel quarries; and
construction camps.
The planned Alaska LNG Project would start at the GTP and generally
follow the existing Trans-Alaska Pipeline System crude oil pipeline
(TAPS) and adjacent highways south to Livengood, Alaska. From
Livengood, the mainline would diverge from TAPS and generally head
south-southwest to Trapper Creek following the Parks Highway and Beluga
Highway. Then the project turns south-southeast around Viapan Lake.
Finally, it crosses the Cook Inlet in the vicinity of Shorty Creek to
Boulder Point on the Kenai Peninsula. A map depicting the general
location of project facilities is included as attachment 2.\2\
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\2\ Attachments 1 (Process Flow Chart), 2 (General Location
Map), and 3 (Mailing List/Environmental Document Request Form) are
not being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on
the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) at the ``eLibrary'' link or
from the Commission's Public Reference Room at 202-502-8371. For
instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the ``Availability
of Additional Information'' section at the end of this notice. The
General Project Map and Mailing List/Environmental Document Request
Form were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
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The Applicants anticipate starting construction in 2018 or early
2019, with construction and startup taking approximately seven years.
On this basis, the planned project system would be placed into service
about 2025-2026.
Land Requirements for Construction
The planned Alaska LNG Project facilities current design includes
about 30,000 acres of land that would be temporarily impacted during
construction, with about half of those acres within the permanent (or
operational) right-of-way.
The EIS Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of an
Authorization under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act. NEPA also
requires us \3\ to identify and address concerns the public may have
about proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping.'' The main
goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EIS on
important environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests
public comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed in the EIS.
All comments received during the scoping period will be considered
during the preparation of the EIS.
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\3\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects.
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In the EIS, we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the construction and operation of the planned project under the
following general headings:
Geology and soils;
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
vegetation and wildlife;
endangered and threatened species;
cultural resources;
socioeconomics and subsistence;
land use, recreation, and visual resources;
air quality and noise;
public health and safety; and
cumulative impacts.
We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned project
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen
or avoid impacts on the various resources.
Although no formal application has been filed, we have already
initiated our NEPA review under the FERC's pre-filing process.\4\ The
purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement of
interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before an
application is filed with the FERC. As part of our pre-filing review,
we have already started to meet with the Applicants, jurisdictional
agencies, Alaska Native tribes, local officials, and other interested
stakeholders to discuss the project and identify issues/impacts and
concerns before the FERC receives an application. In addition, with
this NOI, we are formally initiating government-to-government
consultation with federally-recognized Alaska Native tribes.
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\4\ The FERC granted the Applicants' request to begin the pre-
filing process on September 12, 2014.
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We participated in 14 public open house meetings in Alaska hosted
by the Applicants in October 2014 through January 2015. Additionally,
we have begun meeting with interested state and federal agencies to
discuss their possible involvement in the scoping process and the
preparation of the EIS.
Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the
EIS. The draft EIS will be published and distributed for a 45-day
public review and comment period. We will consider all timely comments
and revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. To
ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the
instructions in the Public Participation section of this notice.
With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or
state-wide special expertise with respect to environmental issues to
formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EIS. Cooperating
agencies will be expected to provide project-wide perspectives on
environmental issues. These agencies may choose to participate once
they have evaluated the proposal relative to their responsibilities.
Agencies that would like to request cooperating agency status should
follow the instructions for filing comments provided under the Public
Participation section of this notice.
The FERC is the lead federal agency in preparing the EIS to satisfy
the requirements of NEPA. In accordance
[[Page 13368]]
with the 2004 Interagency Agreement on the safety and security review
of waterfront import/export LNG facilities, the U.S. Coast Guard and
U.S. Department of Transportation will participate as cooperating
agencies. Further, under our 2002 Memorandum of Understanding \5\ with
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), these permitting agencies
will participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS
to satisfy their NEPA responsibilities.
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\5\ The Interagency Agreement on Early Coordination of Required
Environmental and Historic Preservation Reviews Conducted in
Conjunction with the Issuance of Authorizations to Construct and
Operate Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines Certificated by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission was put into place in May of 2002.
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The COE has jurisdictional authority pursuant to Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act, which governs the discharge of dredged or fill
material into waters of the United States, and Section 10 of the Rivers
and Harbors Act, which regulates any work or structures that
potentially affect the navigability of a waterway.
Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, Title 15 of the U.S. Code,
Part 717b, the DOE would authorize the export of natural gas, including
LNG, to countries with which the United States has not entered into a
free trade agreement requiring national treatment for trade in natural
gas, unless it finds that the proposed export will not be consistent
with the public interest. For the Project, the purpose and need for
DOE's action is to respond to the Alaska LNG application, filed with
DOE on July 18, 2014 (FE Docket No. 14-96-LNG) seeking authorization to
export domestic natural gas as LNG for a 30-year term commencing the
earlier of the date of first export or 12 years from the date that the
requested authorization is granted. DOE's authorization of the Alaska
LNG application would allow the export of LNG to any country with the
capacity to import LNG and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S.
law or policy.
The BLM must issue a permit because the project would cross
federally administered lands in Alaska. As a cooperating agency, the
BLM would adopt the EIS per Title 40 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 1506.3 to meet its responsibilities under NEPA
regarding the Applicants' application for a Right-of-Way Grant and
Temporary Use Permit for crossing federally administered lands. Impacts
on resources and programs, and the proposed project's conformance with
land use plans, will be considered in the BLM's decision.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified a number of issues that we think deserve
attention based on the public open houses, interagency meetings, and
our review of the information provided by the Applicants. This
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and
our analysis.
Permafrost, Soils, and Reclamation
--Construction limitations and slope stabilization in steep terrain and
permafrost.
--Potential for problematic reclamation due to poor soils and
permafrost conditions.
--Material, design, and operations and maintenance procedures/
specifications for permafrost and subsidence locations for installation
and on-going future maintenance and integrity management.
--Potential for introduction or spread of invasive and/or noxious
species of vegetation during and after construction.
Cultural Resources
--Impacts on traditional Alaska Native culture, historic sites, and
landscapes.
Water Resources and Wetlands
--Effects of construction and operation on waterbodies and wetlands.
--Effects of dredging, dock construction, and dumping dredged material
into ocean waters.
Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, and Sensitive Species
--Effects of project construction on fish and wildlife and their
habitat, including federally listed threatened and endangered species,
marine mammals, migratory birds, and big game species.
--Effects of water depletion from hydrostatic test water withdrawals
and ice road construction.
Seismic Activity and Geohazards
--Pipeline and facility design in seismically active areas.
--Construction in geohazard areas.
Land Use, Recreation, and Special Interest Areas
--Impacts on potential wilderness areas.
--Impacts on existing conservation system units (e.g., Denali National
Park).
--Private land crossings.
--Impacts on recreation (e.g., fishing, hunting, boating, camping,
hiking, skiing, mushing, and snowmachining).
Socioeconomics
--Effects of construction workforce demands on public services and
temporary housing.
--Economic impacts on local communities.
--Environmental Justice.
Subsistence and Public Health
--Effects of construction and operation on fish, wildlife, marine
mammal, and plant species used for subsistence.
--Impacts on access to subsistence resources.
--Health impacts on local communities.
Air Quality and Noise
Reliability and Safety
Cumulative Impacts
Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act
In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation
with applicable State Historic Preservation Office(s) (SHPO), and to
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on
historic properties.\6\ We will define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project
develops. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor
stations, and access roads). Our EIS for this project will document our
findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status
of consultations under section 106.
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\6\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regulations
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Those
regulations define historic properties as any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places.
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Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. Your comments should focus on
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your
comments are timely and properly
[[Page 13369]]
recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission receives
them in Washington, DC on or before December 4, 2015. This is not your
only public input opportunity; please refer to the Environmental Review
Process flowchart in attachment 1.
For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the
project docket number (PF14-21-000) with your submission. The
Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert
staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or efiling@ferc.gov.
(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment
feature located on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the
link to Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for interested
persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
(2) You can file your comments electronically using the eFiling
feature located on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the
link to Documents and Filings. 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.'' You must select the type of filing you are making. If
you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select
``Comment on a Filing''; or
(3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to
the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC
20426.
In addition to the methods listed above, we will also hold public
scoping meetings and mail notices to our environmental mailing list
identifying the date, time, and locations of these meetings later this
year.
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's
regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property
may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within
certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the
planned project.
Copies of the completed draft EIS will be sent to the environmental
mailing list for public review and comment. If you would prefer to
receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD version, or
would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please return the
attached Information Request (attachment 3).
Becoming an Intervenor
Once the Applicants file its application with the Commission, you
may want to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling.
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are in
the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the Commission's Web
site. Please note that the Commission will not accept requests for
intervenor status at this time. You must wait until the Commission
receives a formal application for the project.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the
FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click on the
eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket number,
excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field (i.e., PF14-
21). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the
texts of 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 www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Further, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information. Finally,
additional information about the project can be seen from the
Applicant's Web site at https://ak-lng.com.
Dated: March 4, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-05691 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
