Deepwater Port License Application: Texas GulfLink LLC, 53144-53147 [2021-20284]
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53144
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Notices
unlawful attack by one person upon
another.’’
Questions to the Public
FTA seeks to gather information to
support the identification and
evaluation of transit worker safety
concerns. Respondents to this RFI may
respond to any question and do not
need to respond to all questions. This
RFI offers labor unions, transit industry
personnel, researchers, contractors,
government entities, safety advocates,
transit users, railway operators, and
other interested parties the opportunity
to inform FTA’s potential action on
these topics.
The following list of questions and
topic areas are intended to guide
respondents in this effort:
Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection
(1) How often do RTA workers work
on or about the roadway while
passenger trains or other equipment
moves are made?
(2) Which RTAs currently have an
RWP program?
a. How are these programs
implemented?
b. What types of training and
certifications are required?
c. What costs are associated with
various programs?
(3) What types of redundant
protections (physical or procedural, as
categorized by FTA) do RTAs use?
a. How do RTAs implement the
requirements for redundant protections
or what steps do RTAs take to determine
what kinds of redundancies to
implement?
i. Should physical redundant
protections, such as shunts or derailers,
be required when train or equipment
moves are permitted?
ii. Should procedural redundant
protections, such as foul time, be
permitted in lieu of physical redundant
protections?
(4) How should RWP effectiveness be
reviewed and measured by an RTA or
other safety stakeholder?
a. How does an RTA review and
measure RWP effectiveness?
(5) What approaches to RWP have
been most effective and least effective?
(6) If FTA pursues RWP program
requirements, what minimum
requirements should be included?
a. Should the same requirements
apply to each rail transit mode, as
defined by the NTD?
(7) What other types of FTA actions
might be beneficial to support roadway
worker safety?
(8) What information do RTAs collect
on RWP that is not reportable to the
NTD?
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a. What internal thresholds do RTAs
use for tracking roadway worker safety
events other than those reportable to the
NTD?
b. On average, how many additional
roadway worker safety events occur per
year that do not meet a current NTD
reporting requirement?
c. What are or would be the costs
associated with collecting and tracking
these additional safety events?
(9) What technology is available to
improve roadway worker safety?
a. How can FTA better support the
development and implementation of
these technologies?
Transit Worker Assault Prevention
(10) What types of interactions
typically lead to transit worker assaults,
including operator assaults?
a. What actions could address and
limit these types of interactions?
b. What approaches could prevent
transit worker assaults?
c. What differences, if any, are there
in approaches to preventing transit
worker assaults across different types of
transit systems or modes?
(11) If FTA pursues requirements to
address transit worker assaults, what
minimum requirements should be
included?
a. How should the requirements apply
to different transit system types or
modes?
(12) What other types of FTA actions
might be beneficial to support transit
worker assault prevention?
(13) What information is collected on
transit worker assaults that is not
reportable to the NTD?
a. What internal threshold do RTAs
use for tracking transit worker assaults
other than those reportable to the NTD?
b. On average, how many additional
transit worker assaults occur per year
that do not meet a current NTD
reporting requirement?
i. How many of these additional
transit worker assaults are operator
assaults?
c. What are or would be the costs
associated with tracking these
additional assaults?
(14) What technology is available to
address transit worker assaults,
including operator assaults?
a. How can FTA better support the
development and implementation of
these technologies?
Please clearly indicate which
question(s) you address in your
response and any evidence to support
assertions, where practicable.
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Public Participation
How do I prepare and submit
comments?
To ensure that your comments are
filed correctly, please include the
docket number provided in (FTA–2021–
0012) in your comments.
Please submit one copy of your
comments, including any attachments,
to the docket following the instructions
given above under ADDRESSES. Please
note, if you are submitting comments
electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file,
these documents must be scanned using
an Optical Character Recognition
process, thus allowing the Agency to
search and copy certain portions of
submissions.
Will FTA consider late comments?
FTA will consider all comments
received before the close of business on
the comment closing date indicated
above under DATES. To the extent
practicable, the Agency may also
consider comments received after that
date.
How can comments submitted by other
people be read?
Comments received may be read at
the Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001. The hours
of the docket are indicated above in the
same location. Comments may also be
located on the internet, identified by the
docket number at the heading of this
notice, at https://www.regulations.gov.
Please note, this RFI will serve as a
planning document. The RFI should not
be construed as policy, a solicitation for
applications, or an obligation on the
part of the Government.
Nuria I. Fernandez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021–20744 Filed 9–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[Docket No. MARAD–2019–0093]
Deepwater Port License Application:
Texas GulfLink LLC
Maritime Administration, U.S.
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of availability, Notice of
virtual public meeting, Request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Maritime Administration
(MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Notices
(USCG) announce the availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) for the Texas GulfLink LLC
(GulfLink) deepwater port license
application for the export of crude oil
from the United States to nations abroad
and the re-opening of the public
comment period for the DEIS. The DEIS
is being reissued to ensure the
meaningful engagement of identified
Spanish-speaking Limited English
Proficient (LEP) persons in the
environmental impact review process.
Additionally, MARAD and USCG
announce a virtual public meeting and
virtual open house for the DEIS.
DATES: To ensure comments on the DEIS
will be considered, materials submitted
in response to this request for comments
must be submitted to the
www.regulations.gov website or the
Federal Docket Management Facility as
detailed in the ADDRESSES section below
no later than 45 days after the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its notice of availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for GulfLink Deepwater Port License
Application MARAD–2019–0093 in the
Federal Register.
MARAD and USCG will hold one
virtual public meeting in connection
with the reissuance of the GulfLink
DEIS. The public meeting will be held
virtually on October 14, 2021, from 6:00
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time. The
virtual public meeting may end later
than the stated time, depending on the
number of persons who wish to make a
comment on the record.
Anyone that is interested in attending
the virtual public meeting or speaking
during the virtual public meeting must
register. Registration information is
provided in the Public Meeting and
Open House and Registration sections of
this Notice.
ADDRESSES: The virtual public meeting
will be held remotely due to the
nationwide impacts of the existing
public health emergency under Section
319 of the Public Health Service Act in
response to Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID–19). Further, the President’s
declaration of a national emergency due
to the COVID–19 outbreak, and state
and local actions in response to COVID–
19, have impacted the public’s ability to
assemble and provide feedback on the
GulfLink deepwater port license
application through in-person public
meetings.
The GulfLink deepwater port license
application, comments, supporting
information and the DEIS are available
for viewing at the Regulations.gov
website: https://www.regulations.gov
under docket number MARAD–2019–
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0093. The Final EIS (FEIS), when
published, will be announced and
available at this site as well.
The public docket for the GulfLink
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.
Comments on the DEIS may be
submitted to this address and must
include the docket number for this
project, which is MARAD–2019–0093.
The Federal Docket Management
Facility’s telephone number is 202–366–
9317 or 202–366–9826, the fax number
is 202–493–2251. Comments are due to
the Federal Docket Management Facility
by 45 days after EPA publishes the
notice of availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the
GulfLink Deepwater Port License
Application MARAD–2019–0093 in the
Federal Register.
We encourage you to submit
comments electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://
www.regulations.gov. If you submit your
comments electronically, it is not
necessary to also submit a hard copy by
mail. If you cannot submit material
using https://www.regulations.gov,
please contact either Mr. Patrick W.
Clark, USCG, or Dr. Linden Houston,
MARAD, as listed in the following FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document below. Additionally, if
you go to the online docket and sign up
for email alerts, you will be notified
when comments are posted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Patrick W. Clark, Project Manager,
USCG, telephone: 202–372–1358, email:
Patrick.W.Clark@uscg.mil; or Dr. Linden
Houston, Transportation Specialist,
Office of Deepwater Port Licensing and
Port Conveyance, MARAD, telephone:
202–366–4839, email: Linden.Houston@
dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice
of Application that summarized the
GulfLink deepwater port license
application was published in the
Federal Register on June 26, 2019 (84
FR 30298–30300). A Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and Notice of Public
Meetings was published in the Federal
Register on July 3, 2019 (84 FR 32008–
32010). A Notice of Availability; Notice
of Virtual Public Meetings; Request for
Comments for the GulfLink deepwater
port license application was published
in the Federal Register on November 27,
2020 (85 FR 76157–76159). This Notice
of Availability incorporates the
aforementioned Federal Register
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53145
Notices by reference. The application
describes a project that would include
pipelines and a crude oil storage
terminal located onshore in Brazoria
County, Texas, and an offshore pipeline
leading to a deepwater port located
approximately 26.6 nautical miles off
the coast of Brazoria County, Texas.
Publication of this notice announces a
45-day comment period, requests public
participation in the environmental
impact review process, provides
information on how to participate in the
environmental impact review process,
and announces the informational open
house and public meeting that will take
place virtually.
This Federal Register Notice is being
published to reissue the DEIS that was
published in the Federal Register on
November 27, 2020 (85 FR 76157–
76158). Spanish language translation
and interpretation services will be
available during the virtual
informational open house and public
meeting, but it is requested that you
advise MARAD and the USCG
accordingly when registering to
participate as noted in the Registration
section of this Notice.
Request for Comments
We request public comments or other
relevant information related to the DEIS
for the proposed GulfLink deepwater
port. These comments will inform our
preparation of the FEIS. We encourage
participation in the virtual public
meeting; however, you may submit
comments electronically, and it is
preferred that comments be submitted
electronically to the Federal Docket
Management Facility website (https://
www.regulations.gov). If you are unable
to submit electronic comments, please
contact either Mr. Patrick Clark, USCG,
or Dr. Linden Houston, MARAD as
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section. Regardless of the
method you use to submit comments or
material, all submissions will be posted,
without change, to the Federal Docket
Management Facility website (https://
www.regulations.gov), and will include
any personal information you provide.
Therefore, submitting this information
makes it public. You may wish to read
the Privacy and Use Notice that is
available on the www.regulations.gov
website, and the Department of
Transportation (DOT) Privacy Act
Notice that appeared in the Federal
Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477), see PRIVACY ACT. You may
view docket submissions at the DOT
Docket Management Facility or
electronically at the
www.regulations.gov website.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Notices
Virtual Public Meeting and Open House
You are invited to learn about the
proposed GulfLink deepwater port at
the virtual informational open house
and to comment on the proposed action
and the environmental impact analysis
contained in the DEIS during the virtual
public meeting.
The virtual informational open house
website (https://TexasGulfLinkDWP_
EIS.consultation.ai) will be available
throughout the public comment period
for the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS), which will end 45
days after the FEIS Notice of
Availability for the Gulflink Deepwater
Port License Application is published in
the Federal Register.
The website includes information
about the project, including the DEIS,
presented in a virtual open house
format. The project docket, located
online at www.regulations.gov (docket
number MARAD–2019–0093) will be
available for viewing during the DEIS
public comment period as well as after
the end of the DEIS public comment
period.
The public meeting will be a virtual
event hosted on the Zoom platform. The
virtual public meeting will be recorded
and transcribed for placement in the
public docket for the GulfLink project.
The Zoom program can be accessed
online by visiting the Zoom website at
www.zoom.us. Meeting details, such as
the virtual room number and access
code, will be provided after registration.
See the Registration section of this
Notice for details.
Registration
Interested parties must register to
speak during the virtual public meeting
as well as to attend the meeting. You
may register at https://
TexasGulfLinkDWP_EIS.consultation.ai
or obtain help registering by contacting
AECOM toll free at 833–588–1191.
Public meetings are intended to be
accessible to all participants.
Individuals who require special
assistance such as sign language
services, Spanish language interpreters
or other reasonable accommodation,
please indicate your special assistance
need when registering either at https://
TexasGulfLinkDWP_EIS.consultation.ai
or toll free at 833–588–1191. Requests
for special assistance must be made at
least five business days in advance of
the virtual public meeting. It is
requested that you advise AECOM of
any language needs (such as
interpretation) when registering. Please
include contact information as well as
information about your specific needs.
Those requiring special assistance such
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16:50 Sep 23, 2021
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as sign language services, Spanish
language interpreters, or other
reasonable accommodations will need
to attend the virtual meeting via a
computer, tablet, telephone, or smart
phone for these services to be
accessible. Instructions for accessing the
meeting will be sent to all registrants via
email or will be provided by AECOM by
registrants calling the toll-free number.
Meeting Procedure
Registered speakers will be
recognized in the following order:
elected officials, public agency
representatives, 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 to ensure a
constructive information-gathering
session. The presiding officer will use
his/her discretion to conduct the
meeting in an orderly manner.
Background
On January 31, 2019, MARAD and
USCG received a license application
from GulfLink for all Federal
authorizations required for a license to
construct, own, and operate a deepwater
port for the export of crude oil. The
proposed deepwater port would be
located in Federal waters approximately
26.6 nautical miles off the coast of
Brazoria County, Texas. Texas was
designated as the Adjacent Coastal State
(ACS) for the GulfLink license
application.
The Federal agencies involved held a
public scoping meeting in connection
with the GulfLink license application.
The public scoping meeting was held in
Lake Jackson, Texas on March 20, 2019.
The transcript of the scoping meeting is
included in the public docket located at
www.regulations.gov under docket
number MARAD–2019–0093.
MARAD and USCG issued a
regulatory ‘‘stop-clock’’ letter to
GulfLink for its application on May 31,
2019, which remained in effect until
October 23, 2019, when MARAD, in
consultation with the USCG,
determined the agencies received
sufficient information to continue the
Federal review process. A second ‘‘stop
clock letter’’ was issued to GulfLink on
September 15, 2020 for additional
information requests and remained in
effect until November 30, 2020.
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On December 16, 2020 and December
17, 2020, MARAD and USCG held
virtual DEIS public meetings for the
GulfLink deepwater port license
application. During the December 16,
2020 public meeting, the public
requested Spanish language assistance.
MARAD and the USCG provided
limited Spanish language translation at
the December 17, 2020 meeting.
After thorough review and
consultation with the USCG, MARAD
found that the affected environmental
justice communities and Limited
English Proficient persons had not been
provided sufficient and adequate
opportunity to fully participate in the
complete scope of the application and
environmental review process for the
GulfLink Deepwater Port License
application. Therefore, MARAD and
USCG are re-opening the public
comment period for the DEIS for an
additional 45 days and hosting this
virtual public meeting to provide
affected communities, including
Limited English Proficient persons,
further opportunity to review and
comment on the DEIS. This Federal
Register Notice reissues the DEIS that
was published in the Federal Register
on November 27, 2020 (85 FR 76157–
76158).
The purpose of the DEIS is to analyze
reasonable alternatives to, and the
direct, indirect, and cumulative
environmental impacts of, the proposed
action. The DEIS is currently available
for public review at the Federal docket
website: www.regulations.gov under
docket number MARAD–2019–0093.
Summary of the License Application
GulfLink is proposing to construct,
own, 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 GulfLink 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. The
maximum frequency of loading VLCCs
or other crude oil carriers would be 1.1
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 GulfLink deepwater port offshore
and marine components would consist
of the following:
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Notices
• An Offshore Platform: One fixed
offshore platform with piles in Outer
Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease
Block GA–423, approximately 26.6
nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria
County, Texas in a water depth of
approximately 104 feet. The fixed
offshore platform would have four decks
comprising of personal living space,
pipeline metering, a surge system, a pig
receiving station, generators, lease
automatic custody transfer unit, oil
displacement prover loop, sample
system, radar tower, electrical and
instrumentation building, portal cranes,
a hydraulic crane, an Operations/Traffic
Room, and helicopter deck.
• One 42-inch outside diameter, 28.1nautical-mile long crude oil pipeline
would be constructed from the shoreline
crossing in Brazoria County, Texas, to
the GulfLink deepwater port for crude
oil delivery. This pipeline would
connect the proposed onshore Gulflink
Jones Creek Terminal described below
to the offshore GulfLink deepwater port.
• The fixed offshore platform is
connected to VLCC tankers for loading
by two separate 42-inch diameter
departing pipelines. Each pipeline will
depart the fixed offshore platform,
carrying the crude oil to a Pipeline End
Manifold (PLEM) in approximately 104
feet water depth located 1.25 nautical
miles from the fixed offshore platform.
Each PLEM is then connected through
two 24-inch hoses to a Single Point
Mooring (SPM) Buoy. Two 24-inch
floating loading hoses will connect the
SPM Buoy to the VLCC or other crude
oil carrier. SPM Buoy 1 is in Outer
Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease
Block GA–423 and SPM Buoy 2 is in
Outer Continental Shelf Galveston Area
Lease Block GA–A36.
The GulfLink deepwater port onshore
storage and supply components would
consist of the following:
• An Onshore Storage Terminal: The
proposed Gulflink Jones Creek Terminal
would be located in Brazoria County,
Texas, on approximately 262 acres of
land, consisting of eight above ground
storage tanks, each with a working
storage capacity of 708,168 barrels, for
a total onshore storage capacity of
approximately 6 million barrels. The
facility can accommodate four
additional tanks, bringing the total to
twelve tanks or 8.0 million barrels of
shell capacity.
• The Gulflink Jones Creek Terminal
also would include: Six electric-driven
mainline crude oil pumps; three electric
driven booster crude oil pumps; one
crude oil pipeline pig launcher; one
crude oil pipeline pig receiver; two
measurement skids for measuring
incoming crude oil—one skid located on
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the Department of Energy’s Bryan
Mound facility, and one skid installed
for the outgoing crude oil barrels leaving
the tank storage to be loaded on the
VLCC; and ancillary facilities to include
an operations control center, electrical
substation, offices, and warehouse
building.
• Two onshore crude oil pipelines
would be constructed onshore to
support the GulfLink deepwater port
and include the following items:
Æ One proposed incoming 9.7 statute
mile 36-inch outside diameter pipeline
connected to a leased 40-inch
ExxonMobil pipeline originating at the
Department of Energy’s Bryan Mound
facility with connectivity to the Houston
market.
Æ One proposed outgoing 12.7 statute
mile 42-inch outside diameter
connection from the Gulflink Jones
Creek Terminal to the shore crossing
where this becomes the pipeline
supplying the proposed offshore
GulfLink deepwater port.
Additional information regarding the
proposed Texas GulfLink Deepwater
Port License Application can be found
in the public docket located at
www.regulations.gov under docket
number MARAD–2019–0093.
Privacy Act
Regardless of the method used for
submitting comments or materials, all
submissions will be posted, without
change, to www.regulations.gov and will
include any personal information you
provide. Therefore, submitting this
information to the docket makes it
public. You may wish to read the
Privacy and Security Notice, as well as
the User Notice, that is available on the
www.regulations.gov website. The
Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal
Docket Management System is available
in the March 24, 2005, issue of the
Federal Register (70 FR 15086).
(Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., 49 CFR
1.93(h)).
By Order of the Acting Maritime
Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021–20284 Filed 9–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–81–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Notice of OFAC Sanctions Action
Office of Foreign Assets
Control, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
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53147
The U.S. Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) is publishing the names
of one or more persons that have been
placed on OFAC’s Specially Designated
Nationals and Blocked Persons List
(SDN List) based on OFAC’s
determination that one or more
applicable legal criteria were satisfied.
All property and interests in property
subject to U.S. jurisdiction of this
person are blocked, and U.S. persons are
generally prohibited from engaging in
transactions with them.
DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section for effective date(s).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OFAC: Bradley T. Smith, Acting
Director, tel.: 202–622–2490; Associate
Director for Global Targeting, tel.: 202–
622–2420; Assistant Director for
Licensing, tel.: 202–622–2480; Assistant
Director for Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202–
622–4855; or the Assistant Director for
Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation,
tel.: 202–622–2490.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Electronic Availability
The Specially Designated Nationals
and Blocked Persons List and additional
information concerning OFAC sanctions
programs are available on OFAC’s
website (https://www.treasury.gov/ofac).
Notice of OFAC Action(s)
On September 21, 2021, OFAC
determined that the property and
interests in property subject to U.S.
jurisdiction of the following person are
blocked under the relevant sanctions
authority listed below.
Entity
1. SUEX OTC, S.R.O. (a.k.a.
‘‘SUCCESSFUL EXCHANGE’’), Presnenskaya
Embankment, 12, Federation East Tower,
Floor 31, Suite Q, Moscow 123317, Russia;
Skorepka 1058/8 Stare Mesto, Prague 110 00,
Czech Republic (Latin: Skorˇepka 1058/8
Stare´ Meˇsto, Praha 110 00, Czech Republic);
website suex.io; Digital Currency Address—
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Currency Address—XBT
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alt. Digital Currency Address—XBT
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alt. Digital Currency Address—XBT
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53144-53147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20284]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[Docket No. MARAD-2019-0093]
Deepwater Port License Application: Texas GulfLink LLC
AGENCY: Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of availability, Notice of virtual public meeting,
Request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard
[[Page 53145]]
(USCG) announce the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for the Texas GulfLink LLC (GulfLink) deepwater port
license application for the export of crude oil from the United States
to nations abroad and the re-opening of the public comment period for
the DEIS. The DEIS is being reissued to ensure the meaningful
engagement of identified Spanish-speaking Limited English Proficient
(LEP) persons in the environmental impact review process. Additionally,
MARAD and USCG announce a virtual public meeting and virtual open house
for the DEIS.
DATES: To ensure comments on the DEIS will be considered, materials
submitted in response to this request for comments must be submitted to
the www.regulations.gov website or the Federal Docket Management
Facility as detailed in the ADDRESSES section below no later than 45
days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its
notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
GulfLink Deepwater Port License Application MARAD-2019-0093 in the
Federal Register.
MARAD and USCG will hold one virtual public meeting in connection
with the reissuance of the GulfLink DEIS. The public meeting will be
held virtually on October 14, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central
Time. The virtual public meeting may end later than the stated time,
depending on the number of persons who wish to make a comment on the
record.
Anyone that is interested in attending the virtual public meeting
or speaking during the virtual public meeting must register.
Registration information is provided in the Public Meeting and Open
House and Registration sections of this Notice.
ADDRESSES: The virtual public meeting will be held remotely due to the
nationwide impacts of the existing public health emergency under
Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act in response to Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Further, the President's declaration of a
national emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and state and local
actions in response to COVID-19, have impacted the public's ability to
assemble and provide feedback on the GulfLink deepwater port license
application through in-person public meetings.
The GulfLink deepwater port license application, comments,
supporting information and the DEIS are available for viewing at the
Regulations.gov website: https://www.regulations.gov under docket number
MARAD-2019-0093. The Final EIS (FEIS), when published, will be
announced and available at this site as well.
The public docket for the GulfLink 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. Comments on the DEIS
may be submitted to this address and must include the docket number for
this project, which is MARAD-2019-0093. The Federal Docket Management
Facility's telephone number is 202-366-9317 or 202-366-9826, the fax
number is 202-493-2251. Comments are due to the Federal Docket
Management Facility by 45 days after EPA publishes the notice of
availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
GulfLink Deepwater Port License Application MARAD-2019-0093 in the
Federal Register.
We encourage you to submit comments electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. If you submit
your comments electronically, it is not necessary to also submit a hard
copy by mail. If you cannot submit material using https://www.regulations.gov, please contact either Mr. Patrick W. Clark, USCG,
or Dr. Linden Houston, MARAD, as listed in the following FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document below. Additionally, if
you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be
notified when comments are posted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Patrick W. Clark, Project Manager,
USCG, telephone: 202-372-1358, email: [email protected]; or Dr.
Linden Houston, Transportation Specialist, Office of Deepwater Port
Licensing and Port Conveyance, MARAD, telephone: 202-366-4839, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Application that summarized the
GulfLink deepwater port license application was published in the
Federal Register on June 26, 2019 (84 FR 30298-30300). A Notice of
Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Notice of
Public Meetings was published in the Federal Register on July 3, 2019
(84 FR 32008-32010). A Notice of Availability; Notice of Virtual Public
Meetings; Request for Comments for the GulfLink deepwater port license
application was published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2020
(85 FR 76157-76159). This Notice of Availability incorporates the
aforementioned Federal Register Notices by reference. The application
describes a project that would include pipelines and a crude oil
storage terminal located onshore in Brazoria County, Texas, and an
offshore pipeline leading to a deepwater port located approximately
26.6 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas.
Publication of this notice announces a 45-day comment period,
requests public participation in the environmental impact review
process, provides information on how to participate in the
environmental impact review process, and announces the informational
open house and public meeting that will take place virtually.
This Federal Register Notice is being published to reissue the DEIS
that was published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2020 (85 FR
76157-76158). Spanish language translation and interpretation services
will be available during the virtual informational open house and
public meeting, but it is requested that you advise MARAD and the USCG
accordingly when registering to participate as noted in the
Registration section of this Notice.
Request for Comments
We request public comments or other relevant information related to
the DEIS for the proposed GulfLink deepwater port. These comments will
inform our preparation of the FEIS. We encourage participation in the
virtual public meeting; however, you may submit comments
electronically, and it is preferred that comments be submitted
electronically to the Federal Docket Management Facility website
(https://www.regulations.gov). If you are unable to submit electronic
comments, please contact either Mr. Patrick Clark, USCG, or Dr. Linden
Houston, MARAD as listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section. Regardless of the method you use to submit comments or
material, all submissions will be posted, without change, to the
Federal Docket Management Facility website (https://www.regulations.gov), and will include any personal information you
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You
may wish to read the Privacy and Use Notice that is available on the
www.regulations.gov website, and the Department of Transportation (DOT)
Privacy Act Notice that appeared in the Federal Register on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477), see PRIVACY ACT. You may view docket submissions at
the DOT Docket Management Facility or electronically at the
www.regulations.gov website.
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Virtual Public Meeting and Open House
You are invited to learn about the proposed GulfLink deepwater port
at the virtual informational open house and to comment on the proposed
action and the environmental impact analysis contained in the DEIS
during the virtual public meeting.
The virtual informational open house website (https://TexasGulfLinkDWP_EIS.consultation.ai) will be available throughout the
public comment period for the Final Environmental Impact Statement
(FEIS), which will end 45 days after the FEIS Notice of Availability
for the Gulflink Deepwater Port License Application is published in the
Federal Register.
The website includes information about the project, including the
DEIS, presented in a virtual open house format. The project docket,
located online at www.regulations.gov (docket number MARAD-2019-0093)
will be available for viewing during the DEIS public comment period as
well as after the end of the DEIS public comment period.
The public meeting will be a virtual event hosted on the Zoom
platform. The virtual public meeting will be recorded and transcribed
for placement in the public docket for the GulfLink project. The Zoom
program can be accessed online by visiting the Zoom website at
www.zoom.us. Meeting details, such as the virtual room number and
access code, will be provided after registration. See the Registration
section of this Notice for details.
Registration
Interested parties must register to speak during the virtual public
meeting as well as to attend the meeting. You may register at https://TexasGulfLinkDWP_EIS.consultation.ai or obtain help registering by
contacting AECOM toll free at 833-588-1191.
Public meetings are intended to be accessible to all participants.
Individuals who require special assistance such as sign language
services, Spanish language interpreters or other reasonable
accommodation, please indicate your special assistance need when
registering either at https://TexasGulfLinkDWP_EIS.consultation.ai or
toll free at 833-588-1191. Requests for special assistance must be made
at least five business days in advance of the virtual public meeting.
It is requested that you advise AECOM of any language needs (such as
interpretation) when registering. Please include contact information as
well as information about your specific needs. Those requiring special
assistance such as sign language services, Spanish language
interpreters, or other reasonable accommodations will need to attend
the virtual meeting via a computer, tablet, telephone, or smart phone
for these services to be accessible. Instructions for accessing the
meeting will be sent to all registrants via email or will be provided
by AECOM by registrants calling the toll-free number.
Meeting Procedure
Registered speakers will be recognized in the following order:
elected officials, public agency representatives, 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 to ensure a
constructive information-gathering session. The presiding officer will
use his/her discretion to conduct the meeting in an orderly manner.
Background
On January 31, 2019, MARAD and USCG received a license application
from GulfLink for all Federal authorizations required for a license to
construct, own, and operate a deepwater port for the export of crude
oil. The proposed deepwater port would be located in Federal waters
approximately 26.6 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County,
Texas. Texas was designated as the Adjacent Coastal State (ACS) for the
GulfLink license application.
The Federal agencies involved held a public scoping meeting in
connection with the GulfLink license application. The public scoping
meeting was held in Lake Jackson, Texas on March 20, 2019. The
transcript of the scoping meeting is included in the public docket
located at www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2019-0093.
MARAD and USCG issued a regulatory ``stop-clock'' letter to
GulfLink for its application on May 31, 2019, which remained in effect
until October 23, 2019, when MARAD, in consultation with the USCG,
determined the agencies received sufficient information to continue the
Federal review process. A second ``stop clock letter'' was issued to
GulfLink on September 15, 2020 for additional information requests and
remained in effect until November 30, 2020.
On December 16, 2020 and December 17, 2020, MARAD and USCG held
virtual DEIS public meetings for the GulfLink deepwater port license
application. During the December 16, 2020 public meeting, the public
requested Spanish language assistance. MARAD and the USCG provided
limited Spanish language translation at the December 17, 2020 meeting.
After thorough review and consultation with the USCG, MARAD found
that the affected environmental justice communities and Limited English
Proficient persons had not been provided sufficient and adequate
opportunity to fully participate in the complete scope of the
application and environmental review process for the GulfLink Deepwater
Port License application. Therefore, MARAD and USCG are re-opening the
public comment period for the DEIS for an additional 45 days and
hosting this virtual public meeting to provide affected communities,
including Limited English Proficient persons, further opportunity to
review and comment on the DEIS. This Federal Register Notice reissues
the DEIS that was published in the Federal Register on November 27,
2020 (85 FR 76157-76158).
The purpose of the DEIS is to analyze reasonable alternatives to,
and the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of, the
proposed action. The DEIS is currently available for public review at
the Federal docket website: www.regulations.gov under docket number
MARAD-2019-0093.
Summary of the License Application
GulfLink is proposing to construct, own, 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 GulfLink 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. The maximum frequency of
loading VLCCs or other crude oil carriers would be 1.1 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 GulfLink deepwater port offshore and marine components would
consist of the following:
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An Offshore Platform: One fixed offshore platform with
piles in Outer Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease Block GA-423,
approximately 26.6 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County,
Texas in a water depth of approximately 104 feet. The fixed offshore
platform would have four decks comprising of personal living space,
pipeline metering, a surge system, a pig receiving station, generators,
lease automatic custody transfer unit, oil displacement prover loop,
sample system, radar tower, electrical and instrumentation building,
portal cranes, a hydraulic crane, an Operations/Traffic Room, and
helicopter deck.
One 42-inch outside diameter, 28.1-nautical-mile long
crude oil pipeline would be constructed from the shoreline crossing in
Brazoria County, Texas, to the GulfLink deepwater port for crude oil
delivery. This pipeline would connect the proposed onshore Gulflink
Jones Creek Terminal described below to the offshore GulfLink deepwater
port.
The fixed offshore platform is connected to VLCC tankers
for loading by two separate 42-inch diameter departing pipelines. Each
pipeline will depart the fixed offshore platform, carrying the crude
oil to a Pipeline End Manifold (PLEM) in approximately 104 feet water
depth located 1.25 nautical miles from the fixed offshore platform.
Each PLEM is then connected through two 24-inch hoses to a Single Point
Mooring (SPM) Buoy. Two 24-inch floating loading hoses will connect the
SPM Buoy to the VLCC or other crude oil carrier. SPM Buoy 1 is in Outer
Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease Block GA-423 and SPM Buoy 2 is
in Outer Continental Shelf Galveston Area Lease Block GA-A36.
The GulfLink deepwater port onshore storage and supply components
would consist of the following:
An Onshore Storage Terminal: The proposed Gulflink Jones
Creek Terminal would be located in Brazoria County, Texas, on
approximately 262 acres of land, consisting of eight above ground
storage tanks, each with a working storage capacity of 708,168 barrels,
for a total onshore storage capacity of approximately 6 million
barrels. The facility can accommodate four additional tanks, bringing
the total to twelve tanks or 8.0 million barrels of shell capacity.
The Gulflink Jones Creek Terminal also would include: Six
electric-driven mainline crude oil pumps; three electric driven booster
crude oil pumps; one crude oil pipeline pig launcher; one crude oil
pipeline pig receiver; two measurement skids for measuring incoming
crude oil--one skid located on the Department of Energy's Bryan Mound
facility, and one skid installed for the outgoing crude oil barrels
leaving the tank storage to be loaded on the VLCC; and ancillary
facilities to include an operations control center, electrical
substation, offices, and warehouse building.
Two onshore crude oil pipelines would be constructed
onshore to support the GulfLink deepwater port and include the
following items:
[cir] One proposed incoming 9.7 statute mile 36-inch outside
diameter pipeline connected to a leased 40-inch ExxonMobil pipeline
originating at the Department of Energy's Bryan Mound facility with
connectivity to the Houston market.
[cir] One proposed outgoing 12.7 statute mile 42-inch outside
diameter connection from the Gulflink Jones Creek Terminal to the shore
crossing where this becomes the pipeline supplying the proposed
offshore GulfLink deepwater port.
Additional information regarding the proposed Texas GulfLink
Deepwater Port License Application can be found in the public docket
located at www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2019-0093.
Privacy Act
Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or materials,
all submissions will be posted, without change, to www.regulations.gov
and will include any personal information you provide. Therefore,
submitting this information to the docket makes it public. You may wish
to read the Privacy and Security Notice, as well as the User Notice,
that is available on the www.regulations.gov website. The Privacy Act
notice regarding the Federal Docket Management System is available in
the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal Register (70 FR 15086).
(Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., 49 CFR 1.93(h)).
By Order of the Acting Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-20284 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P
