Southern LNG Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed LNG Truck Loading Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

Kimberly D. Bose
September 20, 2010

[Federal Register: September 20, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 181)]
[Notices]               
[Page 57269-57271]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20se10-43]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP10-477-000]

 
Southern LNG Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed LNG Truck Loading Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public 
Scoping Meeting

September 13, 2010.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the LNG Truck Loading Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Southern LNG 
Company, LLC (Southern) in Chatham County, Georgia. This EA will be 
used by the Commission in its decision-making process to make a public 
interest determination 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 need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on October 13, 2010.
    Comments may be submitted in written form or verbally. Further 
details on how to submit written comments are provided 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, LNG Truck Loading Project, September 29, 
2010, 7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Savannah Midtown, 5711 Abercorn Street, 
Savannah, Georgia 31405.

    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned 
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet 
addresses a number of typically-asked questions, including the use of 
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Southern seeks to abandon by removal a portion of the existing 
truck loading facilities at its existing Elba Island Liquefied Natural 
Gas (LNG) Terminal located on Elba Island in Chatham County, Georgia. 
Southern also proposes to reactivate, expand, and modify the remainder 
of its existing truck loading facilities at the Terminal. The proposed 
activities would be completed in two phases: Phase I would include 
removal of certain out-dated facilities and construction of two loading 
facilities; Phase II would include an expansion of the trucking 
facilities to provide two additional loading bays.
    Southern intends to operate and lease the truck loading facilities 
to Southeast LNG Distribution Company, LLC (Southeast LNG), a joint 
venture between El Paso Corporation and a subsidiary of AGL Resources 
Inc. Southeast LNG would distribute LNG by truck from the Elba Island 
Terminal to end users throughout the Southeast, to peak shaving 
facilities in Georgia and as an alternative fuel for use by heavy-duty 
vehicles. Southeast LNG anticipates distribution from about ten trucks 
per day at the start of reactivation and ramping up over a 10-year 
period to about 58 trucks per day. Southern proposes to commence 
construction during the second quarter of 2011, with an in-service date 
of November 2012.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
http://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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Land Requirements for Construction

    All land disturbance would occur on 2.20 acres within the existing 
Elba Island LNG Terminal. The new facilities would replace those 
authorized as part of the original terminal construction.

The EA 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 a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. 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 EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species; and
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.

[[Page 57270]]

    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on the 
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 
is published for review. We will consider all comments on the EA before 
we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments 
are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section beginning on page 5.
    We are already involved in discussions with other jurisdictional 
agencies to identify their issues and concerns. These agencies include, 
but are not limited to, the U.S. Department of Transportation's 
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Georgia 
Department of Transportation. With this notice, we are asking agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues to formally cooperate with us in the preparation 
of the EA. These agencies may choose to participate once they have 
evaluated the proposal relative to their responsibilities. 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.

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 Georgia State Historic Preservation Office, 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.\3\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential 
Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project is further 
developed. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum 
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include 
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor 
stations, and access roads). Our EA for this project will document our 
findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status 
of consultations under section 106.
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    \3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. 
Historic properties are defined in those regulations as any 
prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or 
object included in or eligible for inclusion in the National 
Register for Historic Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities, the 
results of the public open house hosted by Southern on August 24, 2010, 
and the environmental information provided by Southern. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
     Public safety, and
     Public concern over LNG trucking on local highways.
    While we will address concerns related to LNG trucking in the EA, 
it is important for commentors to understand that the FERC has no 
jurisdiction over truck transport of LNG.

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 they will be received in Washington, DC on or before October 13, 
2010.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit written comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the project docket number (CP10-477-000) with your 
submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and 
has expert eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 
efiling@ferc.gov.
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://
www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an 
easy method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments 
on a project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://
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 will be asked to select the 
type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is 
considered a ``Comment on a Filing; '' or
    (3) You may file a paper copy of your comments at 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) who are potential right-of-way grantors, 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 
proposed project.
    If the EA is published for distribution, copies 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 compact-
disk version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, 
please return the attached Information Request (appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, 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 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site.

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 at http://www.ferc.gov using the

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``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., CP10-477). Be sure you have selected 
an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online 
Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208-3676, 
or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. 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 http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/
EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-23361 Filed 9-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P