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LNG - Environmental Impact Statements
(EISs)
Staff of FERC issue Final Environmental Impact Statement on Casotte Landing LNG Project (Docket No. CP05-420-000)
Issued: December 22, 2006
Staff of FERC issue Final Environmental Impact Statement on Casotte Landing LNG Project (Docket No. CP05-420-000)
FERC staff prepared a final environmental impact statement for Bayou Casotte Energy, LLP, Casotte Landing LNG Project. The proposed project is located on Bayou Casotte (East Harbor), Port of Pascagoula in Jackson County,Mississippi and consists of an LNG import terminal and pipeline connections to existing natural gas pipelines.
FERC's environmental staff concludes that the Bayou Casotte Energy, LLP, Casotte Landing LNG Project with appropriate mitigating measures, as recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality cooperated in preparation of the EIS.
Staff concludes the project would be an environmentally acceptable action (with appropriate mitigation) because:
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The siting of the proposed terminal site next to the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery would provide numerous synergies and environmental benefits, including use of existing services for security and safety, minimization of landowner impacts, and use of waste heat from the Refinery to accomplish LNG vaporization;
- Only short lengths of pipeline are required to tie in to the existing pipeline grid;
- The project would be unlikely to adversely effect Threatened or Endangered species;
- No residences are near construction areas;
- Bayou Casotte Energy would implement a modified version of the FERC's Plan and Procedures to minimize impacts on soils, wetlands, and waterbodies;
- No noise sensitive areas are located near the project;
- Appropriate consultations with the Corps, the EPA, the FWS, NOAA, SHPO, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality would be required before Bayou Casotte Energy would be allowed to begin construction;
- Safety features would be incorporated into the design and operation of the LNG terminal facilities and LNG vessels;
- Operational controls would be imposed by the local pilots and the Coast Guard to direct movement of LNG ships, and security provisions would be imposed to deter attacks by a potential terrorists; and
- The environmental and engineering inspection and mitigation monitoring program for this project would ensure compliance with all mitigation measures that become conditions of any FERC authorization.
FERC Commissioners will take into consideration staff's recommendations and the final EIS when they make a decision on the project.
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