2024-25431. NFEnergía LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the San Juan Micro-Fuel Handling Facility Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, Notice of Public Scoping Session, and Schedule for ...

Date and time	Location
Monday, November 18, 2024; 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m	Hyatt Place San Juan, 580 Fernandez Juncos Avenue, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907.

The primary goal of these scoping sessions is to have you identify the specific environmental issues and concerns that should be considered in the environmental document. There will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the session opens. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount of oral comments in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.

The scoping sessions are scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. You may arrive at any time after 11:00 a.m. for the midday session and after 4:30 p.m. for the evening session. If you wish to provide a comment, the Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival. Comments will be taken until 1:00 p.m. for the midday session and 7:30 p.m. for the evening session. Please see appendix 1 for additional information on the session format and conduct.^[2]

Your oral comments will be recorded by a 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 the last page of this notice for instructions on using eLibrary). If a significant number of people are interested in providing oral comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 3 minutes may be implemented for each commentor. Although there will not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the scoping session to answer your questions about the environmental review process. FERC will have Spanish interpreters on site at the public scoping sessions. It is important to note that the Commission provides equal consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form or provided orally at a scoping session.

Additionally, the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription. This service provides automatic notification of filings made to subscribed dockets, document summaries, and direct links to documents. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/​ferc-online/​overview to register for eSubscription.

The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at [phone] or [e-mail].

Summary of the Proposed Project, the Project Purpose and Need, and Expected Impacts

NFEnergía proposes to continue operation of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and regasification facility ( i.e., the Project). The Project is on approximately 6.1 paved and fenced acres of an industrial area at Wharves A and B of the Puerto de San Juan (“Port of San Juan”), Puerto Rico, which is within existing industrial uses in northern Puerto Rico where it can supply natural gas. To operate the Project, shuttle LNG vessels bring LNG into the San Juan Harbor where the LNG is transferred from these vessels to a non-jurisdictional floating storage unit vessel that is semi-permanently moored adjacent to the Project site. The floating storage unit vessel transfers LNG onshore where some LNG is loaded onto trucks for over-the-road delivery to end users and the remaining LNG is regasified and made available to Units 5 and 6 of the adjacent San Juan Power Plant using an existing 75-foot-long, 10-inch-diameter segment of power plant piping. The Project has a regasification capacity of 120 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of natural gas and a truck loading capacity of 87.52 MMscfd of natural gas (or approximately 1,060,000 gallons of LNG) per day. In addition, NFEnergía constructed and operates a 220-foot-long, 10-inch-diameter pipeline at its LNG facility. NFEnergía stated that the pipeline was necessary to supply natural gas to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' emergency temporary generation project.^[3]

NFEnergía's stated purpose of the Project is to continue achieving the following:

• meeting existing demand for imported natural gas for delivery to Puerto Rico commercial and utility customers;
• supporting grid stability in Puerto Rico;
• meeting fuel supply obligations for natural gas-fired electric generation to maintain Puerto Rico's fuel diversity and energy supplies in Puerto Rico;
• enabling electric generation that supports improvements in air quality in the San Juan region, reduces sulfur dioxide emissions, and supports Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's efforts to achieve regional emissions reductions; and
• reducing electricity rates and fuel costs for NFEnergía's customers.

NFEnergía proposes to continue operating its Project at Wharves A and B of the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The general location of the Project facilities is shown in appendix 2. Commission staff have identified several expected impacts that deserve attention in the EIS. These resources include air quality, noise, and safety. The Project impact analysis is limited to operational impacts of the existing facility.

The NEPA Process and the EIS

The EIS issued by the Commission will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the operation of the Project under the relevant general resource areas:

• geology and soils;
• water resources and wetlands;
• vegetation and wildlife;
• essential fish habitat;
• threatened and endangered species;
• cultural resources;
• socioeconomics and environmental justice;
• land use;
• air quality and noise; and
• reliability and safety.

Commission staff will also make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas. Your comments will help Commission staff focus its analysis on the issues that may have a significant effect on the human environment. ( print page 87362)

The EIS will present Commission staff's independent analysis of the issues. The U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.^[4] Staff will prepare a draft EIS which will be issued for public comment. Commission staff will consider all timely comments received during the comment period on the draft EIS and revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. Any draft and final EIS will be available in electronic format in the public record through eLibrary ^[5] and the Commission's natural gas environmental documents web page ( https://www.ferc.gov/​industries-data/​natural-gas/​environment/​environmental-documents). If eSubscribed, you will receive instant email notification when the environmental document is issued.

Alternatives Under Consideration

The EIS will evaluate reasonable alternatives that are technically and economically feasible and meet the purpose and need for the proposed action.^[6] With this notice, the Commission requests specific comments regarding any additional potential alternatives to the proposed action or segments of the proposed action. Please focus your comments on reasonable alternatives (including alternative facility sites) that meet the Project objectives, are technically and economically feasible, and avoid or lessen environmental impact.

Consultation 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, the Commission is using this notice to initiate consultation with the applicable State Historic Preservation Office(s), and other government agencies, interested Indian tribes, and the public to solicit their views and concerns regarding the Project's potential effects on historic properties.^[7] The Project EIS will document findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status of consultations under section 106.

Schedule for Environmental Review

On September 29, 2021, the Commission issued its Notice of Application for the Project. Among other things, that notice alerted other agencies issuing Federal authorizations of the requirement to complete all necessary reviews and to reach a final decision on the request for a Federal authorization within 90 days of the date of issuance of the Commission staff's final EIS for the Project. This notice identifies the Commission staff's planned schedule for completion of the final EIS for the Project, which is based on an issuance of the draft EIS in May 2025, opening a 45-day comment period.

Issuance of Notice of Availability of the final EIS—November 7, 2025

90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline ^[8] —February 5, 2026

In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations, for EISs, agencies are to make schedules for completing the NEPA process publicly available.^[9] This notice identifies the Commission's anticipated schedule for issuance of the final order for the Project, which serves as the Commission's record of decision. We currently anticipate issuing a final order for the Project no later than:

Issuance of Final Order—February 19, 2026

If a schedule change becomes necessary, an additional notice will be provided so that the relevant agencies are kept informed of the Project's progress.

Permits and Authorizations

The table below lists the issued and anticipated permits and authorizations for the Project required under Federal law. This list may not be all-inclusive and does not preclude any permit or authorization if it is not listed here. Agencies with jurisdiction by law and/or special expertise may formally cooperate in the preparation of the Commission's EIS and may adopt the EIS to satisfy its NEPA responsibilities related to this Project. 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.

Agency	Permit
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	Natural Gas Act Section 3 Order of Authorization.
U.S. Department of Energy	Order to Import under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	Vessel General Permit under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service	Consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Bald and Gold Eagle Protection Act.
National Marine Fisheries Service	Consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
National Marine Fisheries Service	Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Consultation on Essential Fish Habitat.
Puerto Rico Planning Board	Coastal Zone Management Consistency Determination.
U.S. Coast Guard	Letter of Recommendation and Facility Security Plan Approval.
U.S. Department of Defense	Consultation for Effect on Military Installation.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit/Section 408 Permit/Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10 Permit/Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, Section 103.
Department of Environmental Quality	Clean Water Act Section 401, Water Quality Certification/NPDES Stormwater Discharge Permits/Clean Air Act, Air Permit/40 CFR 52 Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule Permits.
Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Officer	Consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.