FERC updates on Magnolia LNG

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has posted a report on the current status of the Magnolia LNG project environmental review process, including the ongoing preparation of the draft EIS.

Magnolia LNG LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (LNG Ltd), plans to construct an LNG export facility in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, US. The proposed LNG project consists of two LNG storage tanks, four LNG liquefaction trains, a 40 ft pipeline connecting to an existing interstate pipeline, an LNG vessel loading terminal and berth, an LNG truck loading area, and other ancillary facilities.

The FERC report includes a summary of the steps involved in this overall process and the status of Magnolia LNG within this sequence of activities.

Highlights of the FERC report

Commenting on the next steps in the process, the report states: “We are currently preparing the draft EIS for the projects based on the information we have received from the applicants and the comments we have received from stakeholders. After we have all the information to complete our analysis, we will issue a Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review. This Notice will announce the target date for issuing the final EIS and disclose the 90-day federal authorisation action/decision deadline.

When the draft EIS is completed, a Notice of Availability will appear in the Federal Register, and the draft EIS will be mailed to the environmental mailing list. There will be a 45-day comment period to review and comment on the document. In addition to accepting written comments, the date and location of a public comment meeting will be announced in the draft EIS and in the Notice of Availability.

At the close of the comment period, we will consider all comments received on the draft EIS, prepare written responses to those comments, and revise the draft EIS, as necessary, to create the final EIS. The final EIS will also be mailed to the environmental mailing list. The Commission will consider the findings in the final EIS when it makes its decision about whether or not to approve the projects.”

FERC noted that the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard, US Department of Energy, US Environmental Protection Agency, and US Department of Transportation are cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.

The report continued: “ To date, we attended one open house sponsored by Magnolia to provide information about FERC and the EIS process. For each project, we issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, which opened a scoping period to seek public comments. We also conducted a public scoping meeting in Lake Charles, Louisiana; issued three environmental data requests and four engineering and design data request to Magnolia; and issued three environmental data requests to Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline (KMLP).

Presently, we are conducting our environmental analysis of the proposed projects, the results of which will be presented in the draft EIS. The draft EIS will describe the potential environmental impacts of the projects, mitigation measures proposed for each project, alternatives considered, and will include an engineering design review of the proposed facilities. The draft EIS will also present our recommendations for additional mitigation and/or conservation measures to avoid or further reduce impacts on the affected environment.

In addition to the companies' applications and project data, we will analyse information that has been filed by other stakeholders and commenters in the proceeding. All substantive issues identified by commenters will be addressed in the draft EIS.”

Concerns

FERC also noted several issues that it has currently identified during scoping of the Magnolia LNG Project and Lakes Charles Expansion Project, including the following:

• Purpose of and need for the projects.
• System alternatives.
• Storage of hazardous materials and fuel oil.
• Impacts on groundwater, existing hydrology, and drinking water supply.
• Noise and visual effects.
• Effects on public health and safety.
• Cumulative effects to health, safety and the environment.
• Impacts on air quality.
• Effects on threatened and endangered species and habitat.

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/19032015/ferc-updates-on-magnolia-lng-446/