2013-15082. Magnolia LNG, LLC; Liquefied Natural Gas Limited; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Magnolia Liquefied Natural Gas Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public ...

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 Magnolia Liquefied Natural Gas Project (Magnolia LNG Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia) in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. 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 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. Please note that the scoping period will close on July 19, 2013.

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 meeting scheduled as follows:

FERC Public Scoping Meeting, Magnolia LNG Project, July 11, 2013; 6:00 p.m. local time.

Historic Cash & Carry Building, 801 Enterprise Blvd., Lake Charles, LA 70601.

This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental mailing list for this project. State and local government representatives should notify their constituents of this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

Summary of the Planned Project

Magnolia, a newly formed subsidiary of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, plans to build, own, and operate the Magnolia LNG facility located on land at the Port of Lake Charles within Calcasieu Parish, south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The facility would receive natural gas from North American sources via an existing pipeline and would liquefy and store it for export and domestic use.

The Magnolia LNG Project would consist of the following facilities:

• Four liquefaction trains, with a capacity of 2.0 metric tons per annum (mtpa) for a total of 8.0 mtpa nominal capacity;
• approximately 200 feet of interconnect pipeline located entirely within the project site;
• two LNG storage tanks with a capacity of approximately 160,000 cubic meters each;
• an LNG vessel loading terminal and berth; and
• an LNG truck loading area, as well as other ancillary facilities.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.^[1]

Land Requirements for Construction

The planned liquefaction facilities would be constructed on an approximately 108-acre parcel of land located within Industrial Canal South Shore PLC Tract 475 at the Port of Lake Charles. The construction of the LNG vessel loading terminal and berth would require approximately 1.3 million cubic yards of material to be dredged from the Industrial Canal. The location is zoned for heavy industrial use on an industrial canal off the main Calcasieu River Ship Channel. Magnolia is still in the planning phase for the Magnolia LNG Project and some additional workspace requirements have not been finalized.

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 3a of the Natural Gas Act. NEPA also requires us ^[2] to discover 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 the important environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EIS. We will consider all filed comments 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 these general headings:

• Geology and soils;
• land use;
• water resources and wetlands;
• cultural resources;
• vegetation, fisheries, and wildlife;
• socioeconomics;
• air quality and noise;
• endangered and threatened species; and
• public safety.

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 resource areas.

Although no formal application has been filed, we have already initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process. The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before the FERC receives an application. As part of our pre-filing review, we have begun to contact some federal and state agencies to discuss their involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EIS. In addition, representatives from the FERC participated in the public open house sponsored by Magnolia in Lake Charles, Louisiana on May 2, 2013 to explain the environmental review process and answer questions from interested stakeholders.

The EIS will present our independent analysis of the issues. We will publish and distribute the draft EIS for public comment. After the comment period, we will consider all timely comments and revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation section beginning on page 5 of this notice.

With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues related to this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EIS.^[3] 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. Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have expressed their intention to participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.

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 the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to solicit its views and those of other government agencies, interested Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on historic properties.^[4]

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 area, contractor storage yards, 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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

We have already identified several issues that we think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities and the environmental information provided by Magnolia. This preliminary list of issues may change based on your comments and our analysis. Issued identified include:

• Potential impacts on ship and barge traffic, recreational fishing, and aquatic resources in the Calcasieu Ship Channel;
• potential water quality impacts from dredging;
• visual effects on surrounding areas;
• public safety and hazards associated with the transport of natural gas and LNG; and
• potential impacts and benefits of the construction workforce on local housing, infrastructure, public services, and the economy.

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 recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before July 19, 2013. This is not your only public input opportunity; please refer to the Environmental Review Process flowchart in Appendix 2.

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 (PF13-9-000) with your submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert staff available to assist you at [phone] or [e-mail].

(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.

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) 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 (Appendix 3).

Becoming an Intervenor

Once Magnolia LNG, LLC files 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. To know when a formal application is filed with the Commission, we recommend that interested parties eSubscribe to the docket for this project (PF13-9-000). Directions to eSubscribe are detailed below.

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., PF13-9). 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]. 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/​esubscribenow.htm.

Finally, 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.

Dated: June 18, 2013.

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.

2. “We,” “us,” and “our” refer to the environmental staff of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.

3.  The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, § 1501.6.

4.  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 for Historic Places.