2018-22727. Rio Grande LNG, LLC, Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Rio Grande LNG Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Rio Grande LNG Project (Project) proposed by Rio Grande LNG, LLC (RG LNG) and Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (RB Pipeline) (collectively referred to as the RG Developers) in the above-referenced dockets. RG LNG requests authorization pursuant to section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to construct and operate liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in Cameron County, Texas, and RB Pipeline requests a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity pursuant to section 7(c) of the NGA to construct, operate, and maintain a new pipeline system in Jim Wells, Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy, and Cameron Counties, Texas.

The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Project would result in some adverse environmental impacts, but these impacts would be reduced to less than significant levels. However, the Rio Grande LNG Project, combined with other projects within the geographic scope, would result in certain significant cumulative impacts.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the DOT's Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—National Marine Fisheries Service participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. Although the cooperating agencies provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations in their respective Records of Decision for the Project.

The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the following proposed facilities:

• Six liquefaction trains at the Rio Grande LNG Terminal, each with a nominal capacity of 4.5 million tons per annum of LNG for export, resulting in the total nominal capacity of 27.0 million tons per annum;
• four LNG storage tanks, each with a net capacity of 180,000 cubic meters;
• LNG truck loading facilities with four loading bays, each with the capacity to load 12 to 15 trucks per day;
• a refrigerant storage area and truck unloading facilities;
• a condensate storage area and truck loading facilities;
• a new marine slip with two LNG vessel berths to accommodate simultaneous loading of two LNG vessels, an LNG vessel and support vessel maneuvering area, and an LNG transfer system;
• a materials off-loading facility;
• 2.4 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline, including 0.8 mile of dual pipeline, to gather gas from existing systems in Kleberg and Jim Wells Counties (referred to as the Header System);
• 135.5 miles of parallel 42-inch-diameter pipelines originating in Kleberg County and terminating at the Rio Grande LNG Terminal in Cameron County (referred to as Pipelines 1 and 2);
• four stand-alone metering sites along the Header System;
• two new interconnect booster compressor stations, each with a metering site;
• three new compressor stations (one at the LNG Terminal site); and
• other associated utilities, systems, and facilities (yards, access roads, etc.).

The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability to federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the project area. The draft EIS is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the Environmental Documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/​industries/​gas/​enviro/​eis.asp). In addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​elibrary.asp), click on General Search, and enter the docket number in the Docket Number field, excluding the last three digits (i.e. CP16-454 or CP16-455). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll free at [phone], or for TTY, contact [phone].

Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. Your comments should focus on draft EIS's disclosure and discussion of potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. To ensure consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is important that the Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 3, 2018.

For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form or provided verbally. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at [phone] or [e-mail]. Please carefully follow these instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.

(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for submitting brief, text-only comments on a project;

(2) You can file your comments electronically by using the eFiling feature on the Commission's website (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. If you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select “Comment on a Filing” as the filing type; or

(3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to the following address. Be sure to reference the Project docket numbers (CP16-454-000, CP16-455-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426

(4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the Commission invites you to attend one of the public comment sessions its staff will conduct in the Project area to receive comments on the draft EIS, scheduled as follows:

Date and time	Location
Tuesday, November 13, 2018: 5:00-8:00 p.m. local time	Texas A&M, 700 University Blvd., Kingsville, TX 78363, 361-593-4173.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018: 5:00-8:00 p.m. local time	La Quinta, 128 N Expressway 77, Raymondville, TX 78750, 956-689-4000.
Thursday, November 15, 2018: 5:00-9:00 p.m. local time	Port Isabel Convention Center, 309 E. Railroad Ave., Port Isabel, TX 78578, 956-433-7195.

The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. Individual verbal comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount of verbal comments in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.

The Kingsville and Raymondville scoping sessions are scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time, and the Port Isabel scoping session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time. You may arrive at any time after 5:00 p.m. There will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the session opens. If you wish to speak, the Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival. Comments will be taken until the closing hour for all scoping sessions. However, if no additional numbers have been handed out and all individuals who wish to provide comments have had an opportunity to do so, staff may conclude the session 30 minutes before the closing hour. Please see appendix 1 for additional information on the session format and conduct.^[1]

Your verbal comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on FERC's eLibrary system (see below for instructions on using eLibrary). If a significant number of people are interested in providing verbal comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be implemented for each commentor.

It is important to note that verbal comments hold the same weight as written or electronically submitted comments. Although there will not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the comment session to answer your questions about the environmental review process.

Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR part 385.214). Motions to intervene are more fully described at http://www.ferc.gov/​resources/​guides/​how-to/​intervene.asp. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of the Commission's decision. The Commission grants affected landowners and others with environmental concerns intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding that no other party can adequately represent. Simply filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.

Questions?

Additional information about the Projects is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of all formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.

In addition, the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription that 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.

Dated: October 12, 2018.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov using the link called eLibrary or from the Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, or call [phone]. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.