80 FR 62596 - Deepwater Port License Application: Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Port Ambrose Deepwater Port; Final Application Public Hearing and Final Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 200 (October 16, 2015)

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announce: (1) The schedule and locations of public hearings; and (2) the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Port Ambrose Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port license application for the importation of natural gas. The Port Ambrose application describes an offshore natural gas deepwater port facility that would be located 16.1 nautical miles southeast of Jones Beach, New York, 24.9 nautical miles east of Long Branch, New Jersey, and 27.1 nautical miles from the entrance to New York Harbor in a water depth of approximately 103 feet. The FEIS complies with the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) (DWPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500 to 1508). MARAD and the USCG request public comments on the FEIS and the application. Publication of this notice begins a 45-day comment period, requests public participation in the process, provides information on how to participate in the process and announces informational open houses and public hearings in New York and New Jersey. Pursuant to the criteria provided in the DWPA, both New Jersey and New York have been designated as Adjacent Coastal States (ACS) for this application. Please note that this application is only for the construction and operation of a deepwater port that could only be used as a natural gas import facility. The considerable technical, operational and environmental differences between import and export operations for natural gas deepwater ports is such that any licensed deepwater port facility that proposed to convert from import to export operations would be required to submit a new license application (including application fee) and conform to all licensing requirements and regulations in effect at such time of application. In addition to payment of the application fee, licensing requirements include, but are not limited to, completion of an extensive environmental impact assessment which would include public participation and a financial responsibility review which would include public participation.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 200 (Friday, October 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62596-62598]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25727]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket Number USCG-2013-0363]


Deepwater Port License Application: Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Port 
Ambrose Deepwater Port; Final Application Public Hearing and Final 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

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

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG) announce: (1) The schedule and locations of public hearings; and 
(2) the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) 
for the Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Port Ambrose Liquefied Natural Gas 
Deepwater Port license application for the importation of natural gas.
    The Port Ambrose application describes an offshore natural gas 
deepwater port facility that would be located 16.1 nautical miles 
southeast of Jones Beach, New York, 24.9 nautical miles east of Long 
Branch, New Jersey, and 27.1 nautical miles from the entrance to New 
York Harbor in a water depth of approximately 103 feet. The FEIS 
complies with the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended (33 U.S.C. 
1501 et seq.) (DWPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
(42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), as implemented by the Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500 to 1508). MARAD and the USCG request 
public comments on the FEIS and the application.
    Publication of this notice begins a 45-day comment period, requests 
public participation in the process, provides information on how to 
participate in the process and announces informational open houses and 
public hearings in New York and New Jersey. Pursuant to the criteria 
provided in the DWPA, both New Jersey and New York have been designated 
as Adjacent Coastal States (ACS) for this application.
    Please note that this application is only for the construction and 
operation of a deepwater port that could only be used as a natural gas 
import facility. The considerable technical, operational and 
environmental differences between import and export operations for 
natural gas deepwater ports is such that any licensed deepwater port 
facility that proposed to convert from import to export operations 
would be required to submit a new license application (including 
application fee) and conform to all licensing requirements and 
regulations in effect at such time of application. In addition to 
payment of the application fee, licensing requirements include, but are 
not limited to, completion of an extensive environmental impact 
assessment which would include public participation and a financial 
responsibility review which would include public participation.

DATES: There will be a total of four public hearings held in connection 
with the application and the FEIS; two public hearings will be held in 
Long Beach, New York on November 2, 2015 and November 3, 2015, from 
6:00 to 10:00 p.m.; and two public hearings will be held in Eatontown, 
New Jersey on November 4, 2015 and November 5, 2015, from 6:00 to 10:00 
p.m. Each public hearing will be preceded by an open house from 4:30 to 
5:30 p.m. The public hearing may end later than the stated time, 
depending on the number of persons wishing to speak. Additionally, 
materials submitted in response to the request for comments must reach 
the Docket Management Facility as detailed below, by close of business 
Monday, November, 30, 2015, or 45 days after publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register whichever is later.
    Federal and State agencies must also submit comments, recommended 
conditions for licensing, or letters of no objection by Monday, 
November 30, 2015, or 45 days after publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register whichever is later. Also, within 45 days following the 
final hearing, on or prior to December 21, 2015, the Governor of New 
York and the Governor of New Jersey (ACS Governors) may approve, 
disapprove, or notify MARAD of inconsistencies with State programs 
relating to environmental protection, land and water use, and coastal 
zone management for which MARAD may ensure consistency by placing 
conditions on the license.
    MARAD must issue a Record of Decision (ROD) to approve, approve 
with conditions, or deny the deepwater port license application, within 
90 days following the final license hearing, on or prior to February 3, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: The open houses and public hearings in Long Beach, New York 
will be held at the Long Beach Hotel, 405 East Broadway, Long Beach, 
New York, 11561; phone 516-544-4444. Free street parking is available, 
and the parking lot at the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) Long Beach Train 
Station, near Park Place and Park Avenue is available from 5:00 p.m. to 
5:00 a.m. The City of Long Beach operates local bus public 
transportation services between the LIRR Long Beach Train Station and 
the Long Beach Hotel. The open houses and public hearings in Eatontown, 
New Jersey will be held at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel, 6 Industrial 
Way East, Eatontown, NJ 07724; phone 732-542-6500. Free parking is 
available on site at the hotel.
    The FEIS, license application, comments, supporting information and 
other associated documentation are available for viewing at the Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site: http://www.regulations.gov 
under docket number USCG-2013-0363. The FEIS is also available at the 
following public libraries: Oceanside Library, 30 Davison Avenue, 
Oceanside, NY 11572; phone 516-766-2360; Long Beach Public Library, 111 
W Park Ave, Long Beach, NY 11561; phone 516-432-7200; Long Branch Free 
Public Library, 328 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740; phone 732-222-
3900; and Queens Library, 889-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11432; 
phone 718-990-0700.
    Docket submissions for USCG-2013-0363 should be addressed to: 
Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    The Federal Docket Management Facility accepts hand-delivered 
submissions and makes docket contents available for public inspection 
and copying at this address between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Facility telephone number 
is 202-366-

[[Page 62597]]

9329, fax number is 202-493-2251, and the Web site for electronic 
submissions to the FDMS or for electronic access to docket contents is 
http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roddy Bachman, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone 202-372-1451, email: [email protected], or Ms. Yvette 
M. Fields, Maritime Administration, telephone 202-366-0926, email: 
[email protected]. For questions regarding the Docket, please call 
Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Hearing and Open House

    You are invited to learn about the proposed Port Ambrose Deepwater 
Port at one of the above noticed informational open houses, and to 
comment on the application and the environmental impact analysis 
contained in the FEIS at any of the above public hearings or directly 
to the docket. The open houses, public hearings and docket comments 
will be used by MARAD to inform the Maritime Administrator's decision 
making process, including the ROD and any conditions that may be placed 
on a subsequent license to own, construct and operate a deepwater port.
    Speakers may register upon arrival (registration by proxy is not 
authorized) and will be recognized in the following order: Elected 
officials, public agencies, individuals or groups in the order in which 
they registered. In order to accommodate all speakers, speaker time may 
be limited, hearing hours may be extended, or both. Speakers' 
transcribed remarks will be included in the public docket. Written 
material may also be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Written material must include the author's name. We request attendees 
respect the hearing procedures in order to ensure a constructive 
hearing. Please do not bring signs or banners inside the hearing venue. 
The presiding officer will use his/her discretion to conduct the 
hearing in an orderly manner. In the interest of allowing all 
interested parties to speak, and because all comments that are 
received, both verbal and written, are included in the record and will 
be considered by MARAD before making a licensing decision, it is not 
necessary to sign up more than once to provide duplicate comments at 
subsequent meetings.
    Public hearing locations are wheelchair-accessible. However, 
attendees who require special assistance such as sign language 
interpretation or other reasonable accommodation, please notify the 
USCG at least five business days in advance. See FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Include contact information as well as information 
about specific needs.

Request for Comments

    We request public comments on the FEIS and the application. The 
public hearing is not the only opportunity you have to comment. In 
addition to, or in place of, attending a hearing, you may submit 
comments to the Federal Docket Management Facility during the public 
comment period. See DATES. We will consider all comments and material 
received during the comment period.
    Submissions should include:
     Docket number USCG-2013-0363.
     Your name and address.
    Submit comments or material using only one of the following 
methods:
     Electronic submission (preferred to expedite processing) 
to the FDMS, http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax, mail, or hand delivery to the Federal Docket 
Management Facility. See ADDRESSES. Faxed or hand delivered submissions 
must be unbound, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, and suitable for 
copying and electronic scanning. If you mail your submission and want 
to confirm it reaches the Facility, include a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope.
    Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, 
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the FDMS Web site 
(http://www.regulations.gov) and will include any personal information 
you provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it a public 
record. See Privacy Act. You may view docket submissions at the 
Department of Transportation Docket Management Facility or 
electronically on the FDMS Web site. See ADDRESSES.

Background

    Information about deepwater ports, DWPA, other applicable statutes, 
regulations governing deepwater port licensing, including the 
application review process and the receipt of the current application 
for the proposed Port Ambrose liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater 
port was published in the Federal Register on June 14, 2013, 78 FR 
36014. The ``Summary of the Application'' from that publication is 
reprinted below for your convenience. The Notice of Intent to Prepare 
an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed action was 
published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2013, (78 FR 37878), and 
the Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the 
Federal Register on December 16, 2014, (79 FR 74808). The FEIS, 
application materials and associated comments and supporting 
information are available on the docket.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    USCG and MARAD are co-lead Federal agencies for the preparation of 
the FEIS; MARAD is the Federal licensing agency (action agency). The 
proposed action requiring environmental review is the Federal licensing 
of the proposed deepwater port described in the ``Summary of the 
Application'' below. The alternatives to licensing the proposed port 
are: (1) Licensing with conditions (including conditions designed to 
mitigate environmental impact) and (2) denying the application, which, 
for purposes of environmental review, is the ``no-action'' alternative. 
These alternatives are more fully discussed in the FEIS. You can 
address any questions about the proposed action or the FEIS to USCG or 
MARAD project managers identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Summary of the Application

    Liberty Natural Gas, LLC is proposing to construct, own and operate 
a LNG deepwater port import facility, known as Port Ambrose, located in 
the New York Bight. The Port Ambrose facility will be located at a 
different proposed location and include a different design than the 
previous deepwater port license application submitted by Liberty 
Natural Gas, LLC in 2010. Port Ambrose would consist of two Submerged 
Turret Loading Buoys (STL Buoys) in Federal waters 16.1 nautical miles 
southeast of Jones Beach, New York, 24.9 nautical miles east of Long 
Branch, New Jersey and 27.1 nautical miles from the entrance to New 
York Harbor, in a water depth of approximately 103 feet.
    LNG would be delivered from purpose-built LNG regasification 
vessels (LNGRVs), vaporized on site and delivered through the STL 
Buoys, flexible riser/umbilical, subsea manifold and lateral pipelines 
to a buried 18.8 nautical mile subsea mainline connecting to the 
existing Transco Lower New York Bay Lateral in New York State waters 
2.2 nautical miles southwest of Long Beach, New York and 13.1 nautical 
miles east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The STL Buoys would be lowered to 
rest on a landing pad when not in use and would also include a suction 
anchor mooring array.
    STL Buoy 1 is located at Latitude: 40[deg]19'24.61'' N and 
Longitude: 73[deg]25'45.33'' W. STL Buoy 2 is located at Latitude: 
40[deg]20'09.26'' N and Longitude 73[deg]23'51.92'' W. The Port

[[Page 62598]]

components would fall in the following U.S. Outer Continental Shelf 
(OCS) lease blocks:
    Buoy 1 (6708, 6709, 6758); Buoy 2 (6709); Lateral 1 (6708); Lateral 
2 (6708, 6709); ``Y'' Assembly (6708); Mainline Pipeline (6708, 6658, 
6657, 6607, 6606, 6556, 6555, 6554, 6504 and 6503).
    The 145,000 cubic meter LNGRVs would have onboard closed-loop 
vaporization and metering and odorant capability. Each vessel would 
have three vaporization units capable of maximum send-out of 750 
million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) (maximum pipeline system 
flow rate is 660 MMscfd with two buoys) with annual average expected to 
be 400 MMscfd. The LNGRVs have been designed to use a ballast water 
cooling system that will entirely re-circulate onboard the vessel 
during Port operations, eliminating vessel discharges associated with 
regasification while at the Port. Deliveries through Port Ambrose would 
be focused during peak demand winter and summer months, and it is 
anticipated that approximately 45 deliveries will occur each year.
    As proposed, the LNGRVs would access the port inbound from the 
Hudson Canyon to Ambrose Traffic Lane and depart via the Ambrose to 
Nantucket Traffic Lane. MARAD and USCG are aware that Port Ambrose 
falls within the proposed area of interest for the Long Island--New 
York City Offshore Wind Collaborative wind energy project. This project 
has been acknowledged and considered in the cumulative impacts analysis 
section of the FEIS based on currently available information. If 
approved, the majority of the port and pipeline construction and 
installation would occur in 2017, with commissioning estimated to be in 
December 2018.
    In addition, pipelines and structures such as the STL Buoy moorings 
will require permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and 
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which are administered by the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Port Ambrose will also require 
permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the 
provisions of the Clean Air Act, as amended, and the Clean Water Act, 
as amended.
    The new pipeline is included in the NEPA review as part of the 
deepwater port application process. The EPA and the USACE, among 
others, are cooperating agencies (40 CFR 1501.6) and have assisted in 
development of the FEIS. See 40 CFR 1501.6. To the extent required, 
each agency will incorporate the FEIS into their permitting processes. 
Comments sent to the EPA or USACE will be incorporated in the USCG Port 
Ambrose docket and considered under this notice to ensure consistency 
with the NEPA Process.
    There have been some proposed project changes since the original 
Port Ambrose application was submitted, which were set forth in the 
Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS (DEIS). In summary, these 
include: (1) The original Application proposed a plowed mainline 
pipeline burial depth of three (3) feet to top of pipe. Pursuant to 
USACE requirements, the mainline pipeline is now proposed to be plow-
buried to seven (7) feet (4 feet to top of pipe), and for approximately 
three (3) miles within the Ambrose Anchorage Area, buried to 10 feet (7 
feet to top of pipe). The pipeline within the Ambrose Anchorage Area 
will then be backfilled and covered with three (3) feet of 8-inch rock 
to a point. Once the rock has been placed, gravelly sand will be 
deposited on top of the rock covered pipeline to restore the seabed to 
near its original seafloor bottom elevation; (2) the originally 
proposed impact driven mooring pile anchors are now proposed to be 
suction anchors; (3) the original port construction and commissioning 
was proposed to occur in 2015. This timetable has been amended to occur 
in 2018 (assuming license is approved and issued). Should a license be 
issued, the deepwater port would be designed, fabricated, constructed, 
commissioned, maintained, inspected and operated in accordance with 
applicable codes and standards.

Privacy Act

    The electronic form of all comments received into the FDMS can be 
searched by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). The DOT Privacy Act Statement can be 
viewed in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477).

    Authority:  The Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended, 33 
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.; 49 CFR 1.93.
* * * * *

    Dated: October 5, 2015.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-25727 Filed 10-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-81-P