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LNG - Environmental Impact Statements (EISs)
FERC staff issues
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Calhoun LNG Terminal and Pipeline Project
(Docket Nos. CP05-91-000 and CP05-380-000)
Issued: August 10, 2007
The FERC staff has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Calhoun LNG, L.P and Point Comfort Pipeline Company, L.P.’s (collectively referred to as Calhoun Point Comfort) proposed Calhoun LNG Terminal and Pipeline Project (Project).
The proposed Project would include the construction and operation of a new LNG receiving terminal capable of accommodating about 120 LNG vessels per year, two full containment LNG storage tanks, associated LNG vaporization and processing equipment, approximately 27.1 miles of 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline, two approximately 0.5-mile-long 8- and 16-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline laterals, ten natural gas pipeline interconnects, and associated pipeline facilities. These proposed facilities would be constructed and operated in Calhoun and Jackson Counties, Texas and LNG vessels utilizing the terminal would traverse approximately 22 miles of the Matagorda Ship Channel.
The purpose of the proposed Project is to provide facilities necessary to import, store, vaporize, and transport on average about 1.0 billion cubic feet per day of LNG to local industrial customers and existing interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.
This final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act and was prepared in cooperation with the: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The FERC staff concludes that if the proposed Project is found to be in the public interest and is constructed and operated in accordance with Calhoun Point Comfort’s proposed minimization and mitigation measures as well as our recommended mitigation measures, the potential environmental impacts resulting from proposed Project-related activities would be reduced to environmentally acceptable levels. The FERC staff reached this conclusion based in part on the following:
- Calhoun Point Comfort would construct its LNG terminal on manmade, industrial land owned by the Port of Port Lavaca–Point Comfort;
- Calhoun Point Comfort would minimize impact on soils, wetlands, and waterbodies by implementing the FERC’s Plan and Procedures;
- The Matagorda Bay Pilots indicated that they could continue to escort vessels into and out of the MSC in a safe and expeditious manner and that the Project would have minimal impacts on vessel traffic; and
- Safety features would be incorporated into the design and operation of the LNG import terminal and vessels.
The FERC Commissioners will take into consideration staff’s recommendations and the final EIS when they make decisions on the Project.
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