Provide a new source of natural gas to marketsin the Pacific Northwest

Tag : Connector
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC orCommission) has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement(EIS) for the construction and operation of the liquefied naturalgas (LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline facilitiesproposed by Jordan Cove Energy Project, LP (Jordan Cove) andPacific Connector Gas Pipeline LP (Pacific Connector) in theabove-referenced dockets. We /1/ call this the Jordan Cove Energyand Pacific Connector Pipeline (JCE & PCGP) Project, or simplythe Project. The JCE & PCGP Project facilities would be locatedin Coos, Douglas, Jackson, and Klamath Counties, Oregon.
FOOTNOTE 1 The pronouns "we," "us," or "our" refer to theenvironmental staff of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects. ENDFOOTNOTE
The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of theNational Environmental Policy Act. The United States (U.S.)Department of Agriculture Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department ofHomeland Security Coast Guard, Pipeline and Hazardous MaterialsSafety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation,U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management andBureau of Reclamation, and Douglas County, Oregon, are cooperatingagencies for the development of this EIS. A cooperating agency hasjurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to potentialenvironmental impacts associated with the proposal and is involvedin the NEPA analysis.
Based on the analysis included in the draft EIS, the FERC staffconcludes that the proposed action would have limited adverseenvironmental impacts. However, if the Project is constructed andoperated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, andwith implementation of Jordan Cove's and Pacific Connector'sproposed mitigation measures, and the additional mitigationmeasures recommended by staff, environmental impacts would besubstantially reduced.
The purpose of the Project is to provide a new import access pointfor overseas LNG and provide a new source of natural gas to marketsin the Pacific Northwest, northern Nevada, and northern California.LNG is natural gas that has been turned into a liquid state bycooling it to about -260 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce its volumefor transport in specially designed carriers some distance acrossoceans from its point of origin to the proposed Jordan Cove LNGimport terminal in Coos Bay. Jordan Cove would off-load and wouldstore the LNG in specially designed tanks at its terminal, vaporizethe LNG back into natural gas, and provide up to 1.0 billion cubicfeet per day of natural gas to the region through the PacificConnector sendout pipeline and interconnections with an intrastatepipeline, and four interstate pipeline systems.
ft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects associatedwith the construction and operation of the facilities listed below.Jordan Cove's import terminal, located on the bay side of the NorthSpit of Coos Bay, at about Channel Mile 7.5 up the existing CoosBay navigation channel, in Coos County, Oregon, would include:
* Access channel from the existing Coos Bay navigation channel andslip;
* LNG unloading berth and transfer pipeline;
* Two full-containment LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity160,000 m3 (or 1,006,000 barrels);
* Vapor handling system, and vaporization equipment capable ofregasifying the LNG for delivery into the natural gas sendoutpipeline;
* Piping, ancillary buildings, safety systems, and other supportfacilities;
* A natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction facility, with the NGL tobe sold to an entity other than Jordan Cove and likely transportedfrom the terminal using existing railroad lines;
* 37-megawatt, natural gas-fired, simple-cycle combustion turbinepowerplant to provide electric power for the LNG terminal; and
* Three disposal areas for the storage of excavated and dredgedmaterials resulting from the construction of the access channel andslip.
Pacific Connector's natural gas facilities, extending from theJordan Cove terminal southeast across Coos, Douglas, Jackson, andKlamath Counties Oregon, to its terminus near Malin, withinterconnections with Avista Corporation, Williams NorthwestPipeline Corporation (Williams Northwest), Gas TransmissionNorthwest Corporation, Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company, andPacific Gas and Electric Company, would include:
* 229.5-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter welded steel undergroundinterstate natural gas pipeline;
* Natural gas compressor station at Butte Falls, in Jackson County,consisting of two new 10,310-horsepower (hp) compressor units;
* Four natural gas meter stations, including the Jordan CoveReceipt Meter Station in Coos County, Clarks Branch Delivery MeterStation in Douglas County, Shady Cove Delivery Meter Station inJackson County, and the adjoining Tule Lake, Russell Canyon, andBuck Butte Meter Stations in Klamath County;
* Gas control communication system, consisting of new radio towersat each meter station and the compressor station, use of anexisting communication site owned by Williams Northwest and leasedspace on seven other existing communication towers;
* Mainline block valves (MLV) at approximately 16 locations alongthe Pacific Connector pipeline; and
* Five pig /2/ launchers and receivers, four co-located with meterstations and the compressor station, and the fifth co-located witha MLV.
FOOTNOTE 2 A "pig" is a tool for cleaning and inspecting the insideof a pipeline. END FOOTNOTE
Comment Procedures
Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensureconsideration prior to the Commission making a decision on theproposals, it is important that the Commission receives yourcomments before December 4, 2008. Please carefully follow theinstructions below so that your comments are properly recorded.
For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submityour comments to the Commission. In all instances please referencethe Project Docket Numbers CP07-441-000 and CP07-444-000 with yoursubmission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of commentsand has dedicated eFiling expert staff available to assist you at202-502-8258 or efiling@ferc.gov.
(1) You may file your comments electronically by using the QuickComment feature, which is located on the Commission's internet Website at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents andFilings. A Quick Comment is an easy method for interested personsto submit text-only comments on a project;
(2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFilingfeature, which is located on the Commission's internet Web site athttp://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings.eFiling involves preparing your submission in the same manner asyou would if filing on paper, and then saving the file on yourcomputer's hard drive. You will attach that file as yoursubmission. New eFiling users must first create an account byclicking on "Sign up" or "eRegister." You will be asked to selectthe type of filing you are making. A comment on a particularproject is considered a "Comment on a Filing"; or
(3) You may file your comments via mail to the Commission bysending an original and two copies of your letter to: Kimberly D.Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 FirstSt., NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas Branch 3,PJ-11.3. Mail your comments promptly, so that they will be receivedin Washington, DC on or before December 4, 2008.
In addition to receiving written comments, by mail orelectronically, we will hold a series of public meetings at severallocations near the Project area in southwestern Oregon to take oralcomments on the draft EIS. The FERC will issue a notice in the nearfuture providing the dates, time, and locations of these publiccomment meetings.
After comments on the draft EIS are reviewed, any significant newissues are investigated, and modifications are made to the EIStext, a final EIS will be published and distributed. The final EISwill contain the staff's responses to timely comments received onthe draft EIS.
Comments will be considered by the Commission and the cooperatingagencies but will not serve to make the commentor a party to theproceeding. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceedingmust file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of theCommission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of theCommission's decision. Further instructions for becoming anintervenor are included in the User's Guide under the "e-filing"link on the Commission's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). You do notneed intervenor status to have your environmental commentsconsidered.
The draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC andis available for distribution and public inspection at: FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 FirstStreet, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
Volumes 1 and 2 of the draft EIS, containing text of the analysis,was printed in hard copy. Volume 3, containing the appendices, wasproduced as .pdf files on a compact disk (CD) that can be read by apersonal computer with a CD-ROM drive. A limited number of hardcopies and CDs of the draft EIS are available from the FERC'sPublic Reference Room, identified above. This draft EIS is alsoavailable for public viewing on the FERC's Internet Web site athttp://www.ferc.gov, via the eLibrary link.
Copies of the draft EIS have been mailed to federal, state, andlocal agencies; elected officials; Indian tribes and NativeAmerican organizations with an interest in the project area;interveners; regional environmental organizations and publicinterest groups; affected landowners; local libraries andnewspapers; and other interested parties. Hard copies of volumes 1and 2 were mailed to cooperating agencies; other appropriatefederal, state, and local government agencies who participated ininteragency meetings; intervenors; and parties that specificallyrequested hard copies. All others on the mailing list were sent asingle CD containing all volumes of the draft EIS.
--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originallypublished on the page number listed below--
Citation: "73 FR 52037"
Document Number: "Docket No. CP07-441-000; Docket No. CP07-444-000"
Federal Register Page Number: "52037"
"Notices"
Copyright 2008 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.
Provider:
Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. / Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission Documents and Publications
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