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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBroadwater Energy Project 200612~5-3011 Issued by FERC OSEC 12/15/2006 in Docket#: CP06-54-000 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Broadwater Energy LLC Broadwater Pipeline LLC Docket No. CP06-054-000 Docket No. CP06-055-000 NOTICE OF INTENT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEAR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED BROADWATER LNG PROJECT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (December 15,2006) On November 17,2006, Commission staff delivered the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS) for the proposed Broadwater LNG Project to the Environmental Protection Agency and mailed it to resource and land management agencies, interested organizations, and individuals. The draft EIS addresses the proposal to construct and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline (referred to as the Broadwater LNG Project) proposed by Broadwater Energy LLC and Broadwater Pipeline LLC (jointly referred to as Broadwater) in the above- referenced dockets. The draft EIS was noticed in the Federal Register on November 27, 2006 (71 FR 68597-68599). The public comment deadline is January 23,2007. In addition to or in lieu of sending written comments, we along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District (USACE) invite you to attend the public comment meetings that we will conduct in January 2007 at the following locations: Date and time Tuesday, January 9,2007 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Location Mitchell College, Clarke Auditorium 437 Pequot Avenue - New London, CT Phone: (860) 701-5000 Wednesday, January 10, 2007 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Smithtown West High School Auditorium 100 Central Road - Smithtown, NY Phone: (631) 382-2117 Thursday, January II, 2007 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Shoreham-Wading River Middle School Auditorium 100 Randall Road - Shoreham, NY Phone: (631) 821-8268 Tuesday, January 16, 2007 Branford High School Auditorium 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. 18 East Main Street - Branford, CT 200612~5-3011 Issued by FERC OSEC 12/15/2006 in Docket#: CP06-54-000 CP06-54-000 and CP06-55-000 2 Phone: (203) 488-7291 The locations and times of these meetings will also be posted on the Commission's calendar located at http:/www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other relevant information. The U.S. Coast Guard will participate in these public meetings since it plans to adopt all or pertinent portions of this EIS to satisfy the NEP A review requirements for its letter ofrecommendation (LOR) action. The public meetings will also support the review of Broadwater's permit application that is before the USACE. The New York State Department of State (DOS) will participate in the public meetings at Smithtown and Shoreham, NY in order to assist in the DOS review of the proposal for its consistency with the New York Coastal Management Program as it is reflected in the Long Island Sound Regional Coastal Management Program. For those unable to attend and make statements at the New York meetings, they may send written comments to DOS addressed to the Consistency Review Unit, Division of Coastal Resources, New York State Department of State, 41 State Street, Albany, New York 12231 (Telephone (518) 474-6000; Fax (518) 473-2464). DOS will receive comments until January 23rd, 2007. Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend the public comment meetings and present oral comments on the draft EIS. A transcript of the meetings will be prepared and submitted to the docket for public review. This announcement supplements the USACE public notice, dated November 24, 2006, on the Broadwater permit application which can be found on the USACE web site at htto:/ /www.nan.usace.armV.millbusiness/buslinks/regulat/pnotices/2 00600265. pdf. The Corps will be in attendance at the public meetings in order to hear comments on the permit application submitted by Broadwater. These public meetings will meet USACE requirements for public hearings, as found in Title 33 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 327. In addition, USACE has extended the public notice comment period on its permit application until January 26,2007. Note that the comment period to FERC in response to the draft EIS remains unchanged. Due to the large interest in the Project, the start and end times for the meetings must be strictly adhered to. We expect to have numerous attendees and speakers at each of the four meetings. Based on the attendance at previous meetings, commentors may be required to limit verbal presentations to no more than 5 minutes or less; therefore, we request you structure your comments so that they are as specific and concise as possible. This will allow us to accommodate all who are interested in speaking. If you would prefer, you may submit written comments at the public meeting or directly to the FERC docket at your convenience. Oral comments will not receive greater attention than written comments. We will address oral and written comments equally. 20061415-3011 Issued by FERC OSEC 12/15/2006 in Docket#, CP06-54-000 CP06-54-000 and CP06-55-000 3 The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of your connnents. For information on electronically filing connnents, please see the instructions on the Connnission's web site at htto://www.ferc.gov under the "e-Filing" link and the link to the User's Guide as well as information in 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(I)(iii). Before you can file connnents you will need to create a free account, which can be accomplished on-line. The draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Connnission Public Reference Room 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A Washington, DC 20426 (202) 502-8371 CD-ROM copies of the draft EIS were mailed to federal, state, and local agencies; public interest groups; individuals who requested a copy ofthe draft EIS or provided connnents during scoping; libraries and newspapers in the Project area; and parties to this proceeding. Hard copy versions of the draft EIS were mailed to those specifically requesting them. A limited number of hard copies and CD-ROMs are available from the Public Reference Room identified above. 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 website (www.ferc.gov)usingtheeLibrarylink.ClickontheeLibrarylink.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 FERCOnlineSuvport(aJ,ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link on the FERC Internet website also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings. 200~1215-3011 Issued by FERC OSEC 12/15/2006 in Docket#, CP06-54-000 CP06-54-000 and CP06-55-000 4 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 the eSubscription link on the FERC Internet website. Magalie R. Salas Secretary , , ~ -... ~ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Legal Affairs, 14th Floor 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-1500 Phone: (518) 402-9185 . FAX: (518) 402-9018 Website: www.dec.state.ny.us January 31, 2007 The Honorable Magalie R. Salas Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First St. NE; Room lA Washington, DC 200426 FE8 - 2 2007 Re: Electronic Filing: OEP/DG2E/Gas Branch 3; Broadwater LNG Project; FERC Docket No. CP06-54-000, CP06-55-000; CORRECTED FILING Dear Secretary Salas: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) submitted comments on the November 2006 Draft Environmental hnpact Statement (DEIS) for the referenced project on January 23,2007. Prior to mailing that correspondence to the FERC Service List, certain revisions were made to remove ambiguities or add clarity, conform comments to DEIS page references (particularly in "Construction-Related Sediment Issues"), and correct a few typographical errors (particularly in the "Air Quality - Dispersion Analysis" section). Therefore, the following contains NYSDEC's revised comments on the DEIS, which will replace those submitted previously and constitute NYSDEC's transmittal to the FERC Service List: Marine Resources The DEIS inadequately supports its conclusion that the project will not significantly impact marine resources or public use of the Sound. The DEIS fails to provide a thorough alterp.atives analysis. The reports and information created by Broadwater are summarized in insufficient detail to inform the public as to the project's impacts. The major reports, models and supportinginformation relied on to support the DEIS's conclusions should be appended to the DEIS (accessibility on the project web site notwithstanding). The Department has a number of concerns regarding the project's impacts on aquatic resources and public use of those resources. Our foremost concern relative to marine impacts is the displacement of the traditional water-dependent uses oflobstering and commercial and recreational fishing in Long Island Sound. An accurate picture of how the closure zone surrounding the facility and the moving closures around the LNG carriers will affect their activities must be provided in the DEIS. Without this information, one cannot thoroughly assess or take into consideration the concerns of user groups on Long Island's East End. Department staff have met with East End commercial fishing and lobstering interests and believe that the DEIS minimizes the project's effects on these industries. These impacts, which should be addressed in the DEIS, are as follows: . While some larger fishing vessels exclusively use the east-west trawling lane located to the north of the facility that will be affected by the closed safety zone, many smaller fishing boats are not restricted to this area and trawl in both north- south and east-west directions. The closed safety zone and the moving closures surrounding the LNG carriers will negatively affect these activities: trawling activity may be either forbidden (surrounding the FSRU) or cut short due to the presence of the LNG carriers. . The movement of the LNG carriers through the Race and Long Island Sound will cause existing commercial and recreational vessels to alter their routes. This will lead to the loss of lobster and fishing gear in the altered routes. This may be especially true for commercial traffic traveling to the Conoco- Phillips terminal in Northville. Many of these vessels will take a more southerly route, directly into prime fishing grounds. Thus, a much wider area will be affected beyond the safety zone of the facility, possibly a mile or more. These potential impacts should be analyzed in the DEIS. . A fishing vessel that uses the east-west trawling lane will be unable to use the entire west end of the lane. It could trawl only the eastern extent of the lane, since it would need to bring his nets aboard and stearn around the safety zone to get to the western end. This would be necessary because deviating out of the trawling lane with a net deployed would put that vessel into conflict with set lobster gear or in Connecticut state waters, for which the vessel may not have a permit. The Department has received an anecdotal report that the western remnant of the trawling lane available outside of the safety zone is so short that the trip around the zone will be too expensive to be worthwhile. This could eliminates a vessel's access to about 70% of the lane. . The DEIS should explain how the $400,000 value of the lobster resource over 30 years in the area of the FSRU was derived. Reliance on specific harvest or resource information should be identified and presented. The DEIS says it is based on the present value of the resource, but this does not account for any potential (and likely) increases in the lobster population. . Because all available productive bottom is being utilized by a lobsterman or other resource user. Displaced lobstermen will be unable to shift their effort away from the affected zone and into other locations. -2- In addition to these impacts on lobstering and commercial and recreational fishing, NYSDEC is concerned about the affects on marine resources from construction, changes in temperature, impingement and entrainment, and chlorination. . Summer temperatures in the Sound are at levels at which lobsters become stressed. Thus any rise in temperature may have an impact on lobsters and other marine species. The DEIS needs to better document and provide specific supporting information indicating there will be no change in seawater temperature from the LNG carriers and the pipeline that could affect survival or behavior in lobsters and other species, both in the water column and in the sediments. . The potential impacts of temperature and chlorine residual on crustacea larvae and other sensitive resources in the Sound, particularly lobsters, should be addressed. . The Draft EIS must provide supporting information that the chlorine residual from both the FSRU and the LNG carriers will not impact lobster larvae. . Ifthe pipeline is approved, the department advocates for complete burial of the pipeline to return the bottom to its pre-construction topography so that the benthic community is quickly restored and the trench does not impede the movement of lobsters and other marine organisms. . There is concern that heat released from the pipeline may raise water temperature directly adjacent to the pipe, which may act as a thermal barrier to lobsters and other motile benthic organisms. Burying the pipe would likely mitigate the thermal impacts. Therefore, if the pipeline is approved, the Department would support the FERC recommendation to fill the trench (3-15), and would further recommend that the pipe be buried to a depth sufficient to ensure that there is no increase to ambient water and surface sediment temperature along the pipeline corridor. A pipeline heat dissipation analysis should be conducted to demonstrate that such impacts are avoided. . The DEIS (3.3.1.2) states that pipeline impacts to LIS lobster population will be low since juvenile and EBP lobsters inhabit shallow sandy substrate, and adult lobsters migrate offshore during the winter. Lobsters in LIS do not display the same habitat preferences and migrations that are found in other lobster populations. Information from a NYSDEC pilot survey on juvenile lobsters collected the majority oflobsters all sizes at the deep muddy sites compared to the shallow sandy sites (McKown et aI., 2006). Tagging work conducted by CTDEP did not find evidence of long distance lobster movements. Also, there is an active lobster fishery year round in LIS. Pipeline impacts should be re-estimated using information on habitat use of LIS lobsters. . Should the project be approved by FERC, NYSDEC strongly endorses FERC's recommendation for the use of mid-line buoys on the anchor lines (3-13) to -3- mitigate impacts from chain contact with the bottom. NYSDEC also urges the use of on-site monitors to track and ensure compliance. . A mixing zone analysis must be done for the temperature rise related to the cleaning of the inert gas scrubber (3-33). The analysis must identify the volume of water and distance from the FSRU where the discharge of 52 degrees over ambient is reduced to low levels. It should also assess whether this temperature can be reduced by the use of dilution water. . The DEIS (3-41) states that there are no significant hard clam or surf clam resources in the area of the FSRU, or along the cable route; a conclusion based on video surveillance. However, video surveillance may be inadequate to assess populations of organisms living below the surface of the sediment. Benthic surveying with standard sampling techniques should be required in order to fully understand impacts to important infauna. . The FSRU and LNG carriers will withdraw an annual average of28.2 million gallons per day of water from the Sound (3-58), effectively equal to that of a small power plant. Estimates of the number of aquatic organisms entrained and impinged in the facility's intake range from 117.3 to 275 million per year; with a "most valid estimate" of 131.5 million organisms annually (3-58) . The Department considers the yearly elimination of 131.5 million organisms from the central basin of Long Island Sound to be a serious adverse impact to important aquatic resources. The DEIS should completely assess all alternatives that would avoid this serious adverse impact. In addition, the assessment should consider all feasible measures that would minimize as much as possible the negative effects of the intake on aquatic organisms. Lastly, all such impacts must be fully mitigated. The DEIS mentions use of fine mesh screens (E-38 and E-49), defined as 0.2 inch (5 mm). These screens would exclude larger fish but will not reduce entrainment. Further, the screens will be in-board where chlorination will occur; as a result, those fish not entrained will likely be killed by the chlorine. The Department recommends that consideration be given to placing the screens outboard, where chlorination effects can be avoided. . Should the project be approved, entrainment and impingement monitoring should be conducted during operations to evaluate the impacts on Long Island Sound resources. . Should the project be approved, benthic monitoring should be conducted pre- and post-construction to evaluate and monitor project impacts on the benthic community. -4- Air Quality - Dispersion Analysis The Department reviewed the air quality analysis portions of Section 3.9 of the FERC DEIS and also attempted to review the underlying dispersion modeling approach for the release of liquid/vapors due to accidental and intentional breaches associated with the FSRU and the carriers, as presented in Section 3.10 of the DEIS. The Department requires additional time to review this part of the DEIS. In order to submit comments to the Commission, NYSDEC Staff expect to complete a review of the Sandia Report dispersion modeling assumptions used to calculate the consequences of these releases by February 9,2007. NYSDEC therefore respectfully requests the opportunity to supplement this letter with the results ofthat review. With respect to the air quality discussion section, it represents a brief summary of the applicable requirements and the modeling approach and resultant impacts. Considerable more detail was provided in a Resource Report #9, which Broadwater had previously submitted to FERC (although it is not referenced in the DEIS). This Report will need to be included in the air permit application to be submitted to the Department. More importantly, however, the modeling approach underlying the results presented uses methodologies that are inconsistent with EP A and NYSDEC guidance and comments, as the Department has stated in previous reviews of the modeling protocol (most recently September 13,2006). The DEIS recognizes this fact to some extent. A revised modeling protocol must be submitted to NYSDEC for review and approval before the resultant impacts and conclusions can be verified. In addition, it is noted that EPA must still make a formal determination of which sources need to be included in the PSD applicability determination which, in turn, will effect the consequent reviews. Thus, at this point NYSDEC cannot verify the conclusions reached in the DEIS related to the air quality impacts. In addition to the items noted above and previously relayed to Broadwater by NYSDEC staff, some further clarifications on the discussions in the DEIS are warranted: The accidental release of stored ammonia should be modeled and discussed, regardless of whether a determination is made that a RMP need not be submitted per Section 112@) of the Clean Air Act. A copy of the EPA 3/12/06 memorandum referenced on page 3-171 should be provided. . A number of references are made to BACT requirements in non-attainment areas and should be revised to LAER requirements. More importantly, the thresholds to be used for the determination of major source applicability for NSR purposes have to rely on the values in the regulations in effect at the time of the permitting and not on anticipated SIP revision dates for the revisions to the regulations (e.g. discussions on page 3-173). . The assessment ofPM2.5 relative to the requirements ofDEC Commissioner's Policy CP-33 is for direct emissions, not secondary emissions, as noted on page 3- 178. This assessment should address both the FSRU and the carriers at berth and -5- all associated emissions ofPM2.5. It should also be noted that as of December 17,2006 the revised 24 hour PM2.5 standard of35 ug/m3 is in effect. Thus, the results in Table 3.9.1-15 which show exceedence of this value should be revisited. Air Quality - General Conformity . As noted on Page 3-171, more information is required before FERC can make the federally-mandated General Conformity determination. While the DEIS clearly indicates that project level NOx emissions resulting from the construction activities for the project exceed the General Conformity applicability thresholds for both the I-hour and 8-hour ozone standard, the Department will defer all General Conformity comments and approvals until it has had an opportunity to review the detailed air quality analysis requested by FERC. . Page 3-176 notes that estimated NOx emissions exceed the General Conformity applicability threshold of 100 tons per year (assuming applicability of the 8-hour moderate ozone non-attainment threshold). The recent court decision, South Coast Air Quality Management District v. Environmental Protection Agency, December 22, 2006, requires conformity with the areas l-hour ozone non- attainment classification and the corresponding General Conformity threshold of 25 tons per year for NOx and VOC. . Page 3-176 of the DElS states that "Because the Project region is considered non- attainment for the ozone standard...." It should be noted that the Project region is non-attainment for both the ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standards. Therefore, both ozone and PM2.5 precursor emissions should be evaluated against the General Conformity applicability thresholds for this project. Construction-Related Sediment and Habitat Issues . Should the project be approved, FERC recommends (p.3-13) that either midline buoy's or a dynamically positioned lay barge be used during pipeline installation. NYSDEC has previously specified midline buoys for this project and concurs with the recommendation to use an alternate anchoring system (midline buoy system or dynamic positioning) to reduce impacts from anchor cable sweep. For the dynamic positioning alternative, the DEIS should identify the extent of resuspension of sediment based on use of the thrusters. . FERC recommended that, should the project be approved, the trench should be mechanically backfilled as opposed to Broadwater's proposed natural backfilling. The Department concurs with that recommendation. . Although the Mike3 model has been accepted for use on this project, if the project is approved, water column monitoring for actual TSS/turbidity during the installation of the pipeline will be required. -6- . For turbidity monitoring during pipeline placement, "the exact locations, frequency, and potential turbidity concentrations of concern would be determined in coordination with NYSDEC" as part of the certification process under 401 Water Quality Certification and not the "SPDES permitting process" as listed on pages ES-8, 3-45, 3-56 and possibly page 3-247. Thank you for this opportunity to present NYSDEC's revised comments on the DEIS. As noted above, we have respectfully requested the opportunity to file supplemental comments, if appropriate, in an expeditious manner. ReyP..~'~~./ 4de~'V William G. Little Associate Attorney Office of General Counsel cc.: FERC Service List DM# 252840 -7-