Deepwater Port License Application: Blue Marlin LLC (BMOP)-Draft Environmental Impact Statement, 10444-10446 [2025-02895]

Agencies

• Maritime Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 34 (Friday, February 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10444-10446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02895]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2020-0127]


Deepwater Port License Application: Blue Marlin LLC (BMOP)--Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meeting; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Maritime Administration 
announce the start of the comment period and the public meeting for the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the BMOP LLC (BMOP) 
deepwater port license application for the export of oil from the 
United States to nations abroad. The BMOP application proposes the 
ownership, construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning of an 
offshore oil export deepwater port that would be located within and 
adjacent to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in West Cameron Lease 
Blocks (WC) 509 and 508 and East Cameron (EC) Block 263. Following the 
existing Stingray pipeline, the DWP will be approximately 99 statute 
miles off the coast of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, with an approximate 
water depth of 162 feet. The deepwater port would allow for loading 
Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and other sized crude oil cargo 
carriers via a Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM).

DATES: The USCG and MARAD will hold two public meetings in connection 
with the BMOP deepwater port license application. The first public 
meeting will be held on March 11, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. central 
time in the Cameron Parish Police, Jury West Annex, 148 Smith Circle, 
Cameron, LA. The second public meeting will be held on March 12, 2025, 
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. central time in the Bob Bowers Civic Center, 3401 
Cultural Center Drive, Port Arthur, TX 77640. Each public meeting will 
be preceded by an Informational Open House, which will take place 
between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. central time. Depending on the number of 
persons who wish to comment on the record, the meetings may end later 
than the stated time. Anyone interested in attending or speaking during 
the meetings must register. Registration information is provided in the 
Public Participation section of this Notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the DEIS should be submitted to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation's Docket Management Facility or online to 
www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2020-0127 no later than 
45 days after this Federal Register Notice publishes. The address of 
the Docket Management Facility is as follows: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, MARAD-2020-0127, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. Improperly submitted 
comments may not be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Martha Mannion, Project Manager, 
USCG, telephone: 202-372-4500, email: [email protected]; or Dr. 
Efrain Lopez, Transportation Industry Analyst, Office of Deepwater 
Ports and Port Conveyance, MARAD, telephone: 202-366-4000, email: 
[email protected].
    Please include ``MARAD-2020-0127, BMOP Comment'' in the subject 
line of the message. For written comments and other material 
submissions, please follow the directions under the ``How do I submit 
comments?'' question in the Public Participation section of this 
notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Prior Federal Actions

    On October 1, 2020, USCG and MARAD received an application from 
Blue Marlin Offshore Port LLC (BMOP) for Federal authorizations 
required for a license to own, construct, and operate a deepwater port 
for the export of oil as authorized by the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, 
as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. (the Act), and implemented under 33 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 148, 149, and 150.
    A Notice of Application that summarized the BMOP Deepwater Port 
License Application was published in the Federal Register on November 
4, 2020 (85 FR 70233). A Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) and a Notice of Public Scoping Meeting were 
published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2020 (85 FR 70707). 
The Federal agencies involved held a public scoping meeting in 
connection with the evaluation of the BMOP license application. The 
meetings were held virtually for the communities of Cameron Parish, 
Louisiana, and Jefferson and Orange County, Texas, on December 2, 2020, 
and December 3, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time 
(CST). The public scoping meeting summary report is included on the 
public docket located at https://www.regulations.gov/document/MARAD-2020-0127-0035.

Summary of the License Application

    BMOP is proposing to construct, own, and operate a deepwater port 
terminal in the Gulf of America 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 80,000 barrels per hour 
(bph). The BMOP deepwater port would allow for up to one (1) Very Large 
Crude Carrier (VLCCs) or other crude oil carrier to moor at the 
catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) 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 approximately 2 
million barrels per day (1,920,000), 365 days per year.
    The overall project would consist of offshore and marine components 
as well as onshore components as described below.

[[Page 10445]]

    The BMOP deepwater port offshore and marine components would 
consist of the following:
    Two new CALM Buoys installed, one in WC 508 (CALM Buoy No. 1) and 
the other in EC 263 (CALM Buoy No. 2). The CALM Buoys will be anchored 
to the seafloor via an engineered mooring system capable of 
accommodating mooring forces exerted by a VLCC or other large seafaring 
vessels during loading operations. Two 24-inch diameter floating hoses 
will be connected to each CALM Buoy. The hoses will be approximately 
1,500 feet long and used for loading operations.
    Two new PLEMs installed and anchored on the seafloor. Two 24-inch 
undersea flexible hoses will be connected to each PLEM and associated 
CALM Buoy.
    Two Crude Oil Loading Pipelines, approximately 4,710 feet long to 
PLEM/CALM Buoy No. 1 and 6,085 feet long to PLEM/CALM Buoy No. 2, 
installed from the WC 509 Platform Complex to the PLEM and CALM 
locations, one for each PLEM and CALM Buoy. The pipelines will be 
installed with the top of pipe at least three feet below the natural 
seafloor.
    New MLV on WC 148 Platform;
    Two new 36-inch risers connected to the Crude Oil Loading Pipelines 
on WC 509B Platform;
    New control room on WC 509B Platform;
    Three new pig barrels, one on the WC 509A Platform and two on WC 
509B Platform;
    Meter station for crude oil on the WC 509B Platform;
    New living quarters (LQ) and heliport on the WC 509C Platform;
    Surge valves and tank on the WC 509B Platform; and
    New ancillary equipment for the 509 Platform (e.g., power 
generators, instrument/utility air system, fuel tanks, AC units, 
freshwater makers, firewater system, seawater and freshwater system, 
sewage treatment unit, fuel gas system, diesel system, closed drain 
system, open drain system, hydraulic power unit, hypochlorite system, 
cranes, communications tower and system, radar) to support the 
operation of the offshore facilities.
    The BMOP deepwater port would consist of the following:
    Safety Zone--The Applicant is requesting that the USCG Captain of 
the Port establish a Safety Zone around the entire DWP operations area. 
Generally, a DWP Safety Zone would only be open to entry for VLCCs or 
other crude oil carriers prepared for connection for loading of crude 
oil, and the necessary service vessels supporting that process.
    Anchorage area--Existing USCG-designated anchorage areas will be 
utilized for VLCCs (or other crude carriers) awaiting mooring at a CALM 
Buoy or if they must disconnect from the CALM Buoys for safety reasons.
    Support vessel mooring area--A designated Service Vessel Mooring 
Area will be established by the Applicant in proximity to the offshore 
WC 509 facilities.
    Temporary pre-fabrication yards--Component fabrication will occur 
at multiple existing fabrication facilities within the GOA coastal 
region.
    Support facilities--Facilities within the GOA coastal region 
providing support for offshore operations and maintenance activities 
(e.g., helicopters, supply vessels, work boats, equipment suppliers, 
and maintenance workers).

Request for Comments

    You are encouraged to provide comments on the proposed action and 
the environmental impact analysis contained in the DEIS for the 
proposed BMOP deepwater port. We encourage you to review the 
information on the project's docket located online at 
www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2020-0127.
    Please see the information in the Public Participation section 
below on how to properly submit comments. All comments submitted to the 
docket via www.regulations.gov or delivered to the Federal Docket 
Management Facility will be posted, without change, to the Federal 
Docket Management Facility website (www.regulations.gov) and will 
include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting 
such information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy and 
Use Notice 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 
section of this Notice. You may view docket submissions at the DOT 
Docket Management Facility or electronically at the www.regulations.gov 
website.

Public Meeting Information

    You are invited to attend the Public Meeting and encouraged to 
provide comments on the BMOP deepwater port application. Speakers are 
requested to register for the Public Meeting. Registration instructions 
are listed under the ``How do I register to speak at the public 
meeting?'' section under the Public Participation section of this 
notice. Speakers will be recognized in the following order during the 
Public Meeting: elected officials, public agency representatives, and 
then individuals or groups in the order in which they registered. In 
order to accommodate all speakers, speakers' 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 their discretion to conduct the meeting in 
an orderly manner.
    The Public Meeting will be conducted in English, Spanish, and 
Vietnamese in Texas and English in Louisiana. Public Meeting attendees 
who require special assistance, such as translation services or other 
reasonable accommodation, please notify the USCG or MARAD (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least five business days in advance. 
Please include contact information as well as information about 
specific needs.

Public Participation

How do I prepare comments?

    To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, 
please include the docket number (MARAD-2020-0127) shown at the 
beginning of this document in your comments. If you are submitting 
comments electronically as a .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) File, the USCG and 
MARAD ask that the documents be submitted using the Optical Character 
Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agencies to search and 
copy certain portions of your submissions.
    Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, for substantive 
data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the 
information quality standards set forth in the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) and Department of Transportation (DOT) Data Quality Act 
guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines in 
preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at 
www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. DOT's guidelines may 
be accessed at www.bts.gov/programs/statistical_policy_and_research/data_quality_guidelines.

How do I submit comments?

    You may submit comments for the BMOP deepwater license application 
DEIS (identified by DOT Docket Number MARAD-2020-0127) by any one of 
the following methods:

[[Page 10446]]

    Mail or Hand Delivery: The Docket Management Facility is in the 
West Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. Department of Transportation. 
The Docket Management Facility location address is U.S. Department of 
Transportation, MARAD-2020-0127, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. Call 202-493-0402 to 
determine facility hours prior to hand delivery.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. Search 
``MARAD-2020-0127'' and follow the instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Fax: Comments may be faxed to the Docket Management Facility at 
202-493-2251. Your comment must include the docket number (MARAD-2020-
0127) to be placed to the proper docket.

    Note: If you mail or hand-deliver your comments, we recommend 
that you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, 
and/or a telephone number on a cover page so that we can contact you 
if we have questions regarding your submission. All submissions 
received must include the agency name and specific docket number to 
ensure your comment is filed in the appropriate docket. All comments 
received will be posted without change to the docket at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. If 
you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. The instructions listed in this 
section are the only methods in which comments will be accepted for 
submission to the docket. It is the commenter's responsibility to 
comply with the instructions above to ensure that their comments are 
properly submitted for consideration and review. Comments that are 
submitted in any other manner and to any other location may not be 
considered.

What will happen if I submit comments in any other manner?

    Comments that are not submitted directly to the Docket Management 
Facility using the methods specified and outlined within this Federal 
Register notice may not be considered. It is the commenter's 
responsibility to comply with the instructions above to ensure that 
their comments are properly submitted for review.

How long do I have to submit comments?

    The comment period for the public to submit comments will commence 
with the publication of this Federal Register Notice and will end 45 
calendar days from this date. I provided the USCG and MARAD comments on 
the BMOP scoping meeting orally or in writing, in another forum. May I 
provide comments in response to this notice as well?
    Yes, the USCG and MARAD encourage any member of the public to 
submit relevant comments for the docket, including input that has 
previously been communicated to the agencies.

How can I be sure that my comments sent by mail were received?

    If you wish for Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

Will the Agency consider late comments?

    The USCG and MARAD will review all substantive comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under the DATES section. Comments submitted 
outside the comment period may not be considered.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under the ADDRESSES section of this Notice. The 
hours of the Docket Management Unit are indicated above in the same 
location. You may also see the comments on the internet. To read the 
comments on the internet, go to www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets.

How do I register to speak at the public meeting?

    You may register for the proceedings onsite prior to or during the 
public meeting. No pre-registration is required.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). For information on DOT's compliance with 
the Privacy Act, visit www.transportation.gov/privacy.

(Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1501, et seq.; 49 CFR 1.93(h))

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-02895 Filed 2-20-25; 8:45 am]
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