81 FR 57599 - Waterway Suitability Assessment for Expansion of Liquefied Natural Gas Facility; Ingleside, TX

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 163 (August 23, 2016)

The Coast Guard, at Sector Corpus Christi, announces receipt of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and Waterways Suitability Assessment (WSA) for three construction projects expanding Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities in Brownsville, Texas. The LOI and WSA for Annova LNG Common Infrastructure, LLC (Annova LNG) and Texas LNG Brownsville LLC (Texas LNG) were submitted by Rodino, Inc. The LOI and WSA for Rio Grande LNG, LLC was submitted by AcuTech Group, Inc. The Coast Guard is notifying the public of this action to solicit public comments on the proposed construction of these LNG facilities, as defined by 33 CFR 127.005.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57599-57600]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20088]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2016-0626]


Waterway Suitability Assessment for Expansion of Liquefied 
Natural Gas Facility; Ingleside, TX

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, at Sector Corpus Christi, announces receipt 
of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and Waterways Suitability Assessment (WSA) 
for three construction projects expanding Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) approved Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities in 
Brownsville, Texas. The LOI and WSA for Annova LNG Common 
Infrastructure, LLC (Annova LNG) and Texas LNG Brownsville LLC (Texas 
LNG) were submitted by Rodino, Inc. The LOI and WSA for Rio Grande LNG, 
LLC was submitted by AcuTech Group, Inc. The Coast Guard is notifying 
the public of this action to solicit public comments on the proposed 
construction of these LNG facilities, as defined by 33 CFR 127.005.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov, or reach the Docket Management Facility, on or 
before September 22, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2016-0626 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document: 
Call or email MST2 Rebekah Wagner, Sector Corpus Christi Waterways 
Management Division, Coast Guard; telephone 361-888-3162, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments (or related materials) on this 
notice for the waterway suitability assessments for the construction of 
LNG facilities. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our 
final action based on your comments. If you submit a comment, please 
include the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific 
section of this document to which each comment applies, and provide a 
reason for each suggestion or recommendation.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be 
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice and all public 
comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and 
can be viewed by following that Web site's instructions. Additionally, 
if you go to

[[Page 57600]]

the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified 
when comments are posted or a final rule is published.
    We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the 
docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal 
Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal 
Register (70 FR 15086).

Discussion

    Under 33 CFR 127.007, an owner or operator planning new 
construction to expand or modify marine terminal operations in an 
existing facility handling LNG or Liquefied Hazardous Gas (LHG), where 
the construction, expansion, or modification would result in an 
increase in the size and/or frequency of LNG or LHG marine traffic on 
the waterway associated with a proposed facility or modification to an 
existing facility, must submit an LOI to the Captain of the Port (COTP) 
of the zone in which the facility is or will be located. Under 33 CFR 
127.009, after receiving an LOI, the COTP issues a Letter of 
Recommendation (LOR) as to the suitability of the waterway for LNG or 
LHG marine traffic to the appropriate jurisdictional authorities. The 
LOR is based on a series of factors outlined in 33 CFR 127.009 that 
relate to the physical nature of the affected waterway and issues of 
safety and security associated with LNG or LHG marine traffic on the 
affected waterway.
    The purpose of this notice is to solicit public comments on the 
proposed construction and expansion project related to a FERC approved 
LNG facility as submitted by Rodino, Inc. on behalf of Annova LNG 
Common Infrastructure, LLC (Annova LNG) and Texas LNG Brownsville LLC 
(Texas LNG) and as submitted by AcuTech Group, Inc. on behalf of Rio 
Grande LNG, LLC. Input from the public may be useful to the COTP with 
respect to developing the LOR. The Coast Guard requests comments to 
help assess the suitability of the associated waterway for increased 
LNG marine traffic as it relates to navigation, safety, and security.
    On January 24, 2011, the Coast Guard published Navigation and 
Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-2011, ``Guidance Related to 
Waterfront Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Facilities.'' NVIC 01-2011 
provides guidance for owners and operators seeking approval to 
construct and operate LNG facilities. The Coast Guard will refer to 
NVIC 01-2011 for process information and guidance in evaluating the 
project included in the LOIs and WSAs submitted by Rodino, Inc. and 
AcuTech Group, Inc. A copy of NVIC 01-2011 is available for viewing in 
the public docket for this notice and also on the Coast Guard's Web 
site at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvic/2010s.asp.
    This notice is issued under authority of 33 U.S.C. 1223-1225, 
Department of Homeland Security Delegation Number 0170.1(70), 33 CFR 
127.009, and 33 CFR 103.205.

    Dated: August 16, 2016
M.T. Cunningham,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Captain of the Port Corpus Christi, 
TX.
[FR Doc. 2016-20088 Filed 8-22-16; 8:45 am]
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