Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2006 / Notices

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2006 / Notices

Additional Information

Additional information about the

project is available from the

Commission’s Office of External Affairs,

at 1–866–208–FERC or on the FERC

Internet Web site (http://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. Be sure you have selected

an appropriate date range. For

assistance, please contact FERC Online

Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov

or toll free at 1–866–208–3676, 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 now

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.

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. E6–4036 Filed 3–20–06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. PF06–11–000]

Quoddy Bay, LLC; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement for the Proposed Quoddy

Bay LNG Project, Request for

Comments on Environmental Issues

and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

March 14, 2006.

The Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission (FERC or Commission) and

the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security, U.S. Coast Guard (Coast

Guard) are in the process of evaluating

the Quoddy Bay L.L.C. (Quoddy Bay)

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import and

Regasification Terminal project (the

Project) which involves the construction

and operation of facilities by Quoddy

Bay on the western shore of

Passamaquoddy Bay in Washington

County, Maine. The Project would

consist of an onshore LNG import

terminal located in Pleasant Point, ME

with an approximate eight-mile-long

pipeline connecting to a storage facility

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19:01 Mar 20, 2006

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located in Perry, Maine., and 35-milelong natural gas sendout pipeline

interconnecting with the Maritimes and

Northeast (M&NE) Pipeline system.

As part of this evaluation, FERC staff

will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) that will address the

environmental impacts of the project

and the Coast Guard will assess the

maritime safety and security of the

Project. As explained further in the

Public Participation Section of this

notice, the FERC and Coast Guard will

hold joint public scoping meetings to

allow the public and interested agencies

the opportunity to provide input to

these assessments.

This notice explains the scoping

process that will help us 1 determine

which issues/impacts need to be

evaluated in the EIS. This EIS will be

used by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine whether

the Project is in the public convenience

and necessity. Please note that the

scoping period for the Project will close

on April 28, 2006.

The FERC will be the lead Federal

agency in the preparation of an EIS that

will satisfy the requirements of the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA). The Coast Guard; the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers; and

Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian

Affairs will serve as cooperating

agencies during preparation of the EIS.

In addition, we have invited the U.S.

Department of Commerce, National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, National Marine

Fisheries Service; the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency; the

U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish

and Wildlife Service; the Advisory

Council on Historic Preservation, the

Natural Resources Conservation Service;

the Maine Department of Environmental

Protection; the Maine Department of

Marine Resources; and the Maine

Division of Inland Fisheries and

Wildlife.

Comments may be submitted in

written form or verbally. In lieu of or in

addition to sending written comments,

you are invited to attend the public

scoping meetings that have been

scheduled in the Project area. Further

instructions on how to submit written

comments and additional details of the

public scoping meetings are provided in

the public participation section of this

NOI.

The Coast Guard is responsible for

matters related to navigation safety,

vessel engineering and safety standards,

and all matters pertaining to the safety

1 ‘‘We,’’, ‘‘us’’, and ‘‘our’’ refer to the

environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects.

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of facilities or equipment located in or

adjacent to navigable waters up to the

last valve immediately before the

receiving tanks. The Coast Guard also

has authority for LNG facility security

plan review, approval, and compliance

verification as provided in Title 33 CFR

105, and recommendation for siting as

it pertains to the management of vessel

traffic in and around the LNG facility.

Upon receipt of a letter of intent from

an owner or operator intending to build

a new LNG facility, the Coast Guard

Captain of the Port (COTP) conducts an

analysis that results in a letter of

recommendation issued to the owner or

operator and to the state and local

governments having jurisdiction,

addressing the suitability of the

waterway to accommodate LNG vessels.

Specifically the letter of

recommendation addresses the

suitability of the waterway based on:

• The physical location and layout of

the facility and its berthing and mooring

arrangements.

• The LNG vessels’ characteristics

and the frequency of LNG shipments to

the facility.

• Commercial, industrial,

environmentally sensitive, and

residential area in and adjacent to the

waterway used by the LNG vessels en

route to the facility.

• Density and character of the marine

traffic on the waterway.

• Bridges or other manmade

obstructions in the waterway.

• Depth of water.

• Tidal range.

• Natural hazards, including rocks

and sandbars.

• Underwater pipelines and cables.

• Distance of berthed LNG vessels

from the channel, and the width of the

channel.

In addition, the Coast Guard will

review and approve the facility’s

operations manual and emergency

response plan (33 CFR 127.019), as well

as the facility’s security plan (33 CFR

105.410). The Coast Guard will also

provide input to other Federal, state,

and local government agencies

reviewing the project.

In order to complete a thorough

analysis and fulfill the regulatory

mandates cited above, the COTP Sector

Northern New England will be

conducting a formal risk assessment

evaluating the various safety and

security aspects associated with the

Quoddy Bay’s LNG proposed project.

This risk assessment will be

accomplished through a series of

workshops focusing on the areas of

waterways safety, port security, and

consequence management, with

involvement from a broad cross-section

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2006 / Notices

of government and port stakeholders

with expertise in each of the respective

areas. The workshops will be by

invitation only. However, comments

received during the public comment

period will be considered as input in

the risk assessment process.

This notice is being sent to affected

landowners within 0.5 mile of the

proposed LNG Terminal; landowners

within 200 feet of the pipeline route

under consideration; Federal, state, and

local government agencies; elected

officials; environmental and public

interest groups; Native American tribes;

and local libraries and newspapers; and

other interested parties.

Some affected landowners may be

contacted by a project representative

about the acquisition of an easement to

construct, operate, and maintain the

proposed facilities. If so, Quoddy Bay

and the affected landowners should

seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable

agreement. In the event that the Project

is certificated by the Commission, that

approval conveys the right of eminent

domain for securing easements for the

facilities. Therefore, if easement

negotiations fail to produce an

agreement, Quoddy Bay could initiate

condemnation proceedings in

accordance with state law.

A fact sheet prepared by the FERC

entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas

Facility On My Land? What Do I Need

To Know?’’ addresses a number of

typically asked questions, including the

use of eminent domain and how to

participate in the Commission’s

proceedings. It is available for viewing

on the FERC Internet Web site (http://

www.ferc.gov).

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

Summary of the Proposed Project

Quoddy Bay proposes to site,

construct, and operate an LNG terminal

and storage facility, and associated

natural gas sendout pipeline with a

capacity of 2.0 billion cubic feet per

day. More specifically, Quoddy Bay’s

facilities would consist of:

• An LNG import and marine LNG

terminal, including a double, staggered

berth, 1,700-foot-long pier, capable of

handling about 90 LNG tankers per year,

ranging in size from 135,000 to 200,000

cubic meters (m3) per ship;

• An onshore storage and

regasification facility which includes

three full-containment insulated storage

tanks with a capacity of 160,000 m3

each.

• LNG being unloaded from either of

two berths. Each berth has four identical

unloading arms, three in liquid service

and one in vapor service. Each arm is

provided with an emergency release

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system. Tankers can be unloaded at

4,000 to 12,000 cubic meters per hour;

• The platform on the unloading pier

will be equipped with submerged

combustion vaporizers which can

vaporize the LNG on site and send gas

directly to the sendout line bypassing

the shore side storage facility;

• The electrical power distribution,

including power substations,

transformers, switchgear, multiple

voltage distribution, emergency and

UPS power systems;

• Ancillary terminal facilities being

located on the pier, including enclosed

control rooms, and platform firefighting

capability;

• A computer-based distributed

control system, measurement controls

and natural gas metering facilities;

• LNG being pumped via a cryogenic

transfer line approximately 6,000 ft.,

crossing under a state highway, across a

small inlet bay to the storage facility.

• A comprehensive hazard

monitoring system incorporating

flammable gas detectors, high and low

temperature detectors, smoke detectors,

and local emergency shut-down

controls.

• The proposed sendout pipeline

would consist of a 35.1 miles of 36-inch

diameter pipeline that would extend

from the Import Facility through the

Storage Facility and interconnect with

the M&NE Pipeline in Princeton, Maine.

A map depicting the general location

of the Project facilities and pipeline is

shown in Appendix 1.2

Quoddy Bay is requesting approval

such that the pier facilities are

completed and placed into service in

2009 with the storage facilities being

placed into service in 2010.

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the project would

disturb about 993 acres of land.

Following construction, about 337 to

340 acres of the total would be retained

for the operation of the LNG Terminal

and Sendout Pipeline.

As proposed, the Import Facility

would be constructed on submerged

lands that extend from mean low water

at Split Rock eastward towards the

United States shore between Pleasant

Point, Maine and Deer Island in New

Brunswick Canada. Construction of this

facility would require approximately

431 acres of land, of this amount, 30

acres consists of submerged lands that

2 The appendices referenced in this notice are not

being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are

available from the Commission’s Public Reference

and Files Maintenance Branch, at (202) 502–8371.

For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to

the last page of this Notice.

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14201

would be permanently impacted by the

operation of the facility.

The Support Facility would be

located on Split Rock within the

Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation in

Pleasant Point, Maine. About 4 acres of

land would be temporarily impacted by

the construction of the Support Facility,

of which about 2.5 acres of land would

be permanently impacted by the

operation of the proposed facility.

Construction of the LNG Transfer

System would temporarily impact about

8 acres of land and would including a

segment of submerged land in Half

Moon Cove. About 6 acres would be

required for operation of the LNG

Transfer System.

The Storage Facility would be located

in the town of Perry, Maine and affect

about 100 acres of land. About 88 acres

would be affected by operation.

The 35.1-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter

sendout pipeline in Washington County,

Maine would temporarily affect about

430 to 450 acres of land during

construction. About 210 to 213 acres

would be required for operations.

Quoddy Bay would use a maximum

100-wide right-of-way for construction,

of this amount 50 feet would consist of

permanent right-of-way and 50 feet

would consist of temporary workspace.

The construction right-of-way near

wetlands and water bodies would be

limited to 75 feet and in residential

areas to 50 feet.

The EIS Process

The Project is currently in the

preliminary stages of design, and at this

time a formal application has not been

filed with the Commission. For this

proposal, the Commission is initiating

the National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) review prior to receiving the

application. This allows interested

stakeholders to become involved early

in project planning and to identify and

resolve issues before an application is

filed with the FERC. A docket number

(PF06–11–000) has been established to

locate in the public record information

filed by Quoddy Bay and related

documents issued by the Commission.3

Once a formal application is filed with

the FERC, a new docket number will be

established.

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 under Section 7 of the Natural

Gas Act. NEPA also requires us to

3 To view information in the docket, follow the

instructions for using the eLibrary link at the end

of this notice.

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identify and address concerns the

public would 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

important environmental issues and

reasonable alternatives. By this Notice

of Intent, the Commission staff requests

agency and public comments on the

scope of the issues to be addressed in

the EIS. All comments received are

considered during the preparation of the

EIS.

In the EIS we will discuss impacts

that could occur as a result of the

construction, operation, maintenance,

and abandonment of the proposed

project under these general headings:

• Geology and Soils,

• Water Resources,

• Fish, Wildlife, and Vegetation,

• Endangered and Threatened

Species,

• Cultural Resources,

• Land Use, Recreation and Special

Interest Areas, and Visual Resources,

• Socioeconomics,

• Marine Transportation,

• Air Quality and Noise,

• Reliability and Safety, and

• Alternatives.

Our independent analysis of the

issues will be included in the draft EIS.

The draft EIS will be published and

mailed to Federal, state, and local

agencies, Native American tribes, public

interest groups, interested individuals,

affected landowners, newspapers,

libraries, and the Commission’s official

service list for this proceeding. A

comment period will be allotted for

review of the draft EIS. We will consider

all timely comments on the draft EIS

and revise the document, as necessary,

before issuing a final EIS.

We have already started to meet with

Quoddy Bay, agencies, and other

interested stakeholders to discuss the

Project and identify issues/impacts and

concerns. Between February 13 and 17,

2006, representatives of FERC staff

participated in public open houses