83 FR 52828 - 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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 202 (October 18, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52828-52829]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22727]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY



Federal Energy Regulatory Commission



[Docket Nos. CP16-454-000]




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 [email protected] or toll free 

at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

    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



[[Page 52829]]



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 (866) 208-3676 or 

[email protected]. 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:



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             Date and time                           Location

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Tuesday, November 13, 2018: 5:00-8:00    Texas A&M, 700 University

 p.m. local time.                         Blvd., Kingsville, TX 78363,

                                          361-593-4173.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018: 5:00-8:00  La Quinta, 128 N Expressway 77,

 p.m. local time.                         Raymondville, TX 78750, 956-

                                          689-4000.

Thursday, November 15, 2018: 5:00-9:00   Port Isabel Convention Center,

 p.m. local time.                         309 E. Railroad Ave., Port

                                          Isabel, TX 78578, 956-433-

                                          7195.

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    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\

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    \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 (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, 

refer to the last page of this notice.

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    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.

[FR Doc. 2018-22727 Filed 10-17-18; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P