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[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28205-28207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11413]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Lake Charles Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project 
(DOE/EIS-0464D)

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the Lake Charles Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project Draft

[[Page 28206]]

Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0464D) for public review and 
comment, as well as the dates, locations, and times for two public 
hearings. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzes the 
potential environmental impacts associated with the Lake Charles Carbon 
Capture and Sequestration Project, which would be constructed and 
operated by Lake Charles Clean Energy, LLC (LCCE), an affiliate of 
Leucadia Energy, LLC (Leucadia). Leucadia's proposal was selected by 
DOE to receive financial assistance under the Industrial Carbon Capture 
and Sequestration program.
    DOE prepared this draft EIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that implement the 
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), the DOE 
procedures implementing NEPA (10 CFR Part 1021), the DOE procedures for 
compliance with floodplain and wetland environmental review 
requirements (10 CFR Part 1022), and the General Conformity Rule for 
air emissions in non-attainment or maintenance areas (40 CFR 93.150-
165).

DATES: DOE invites the public to comment on the draft EIS during the 
public comment period, which ends June 25, 2013. DOE will consider all 
comments postmarked or received during the public comment period in 
preparing the final EIS and will consider late comments to the extent 
practicable.
    DOE will conduct public hearings on June 4, 2013 at Westlake City 
Hall, 1001 Mulberry Street, in Westlake, Louisiana, and on June 5, 2013 
at Berry Miller Junior High School, 3301 Manvel Road, in Pearland, 
Texas, to obtain comments on the draft EIS. Requests to speak at the 
public hearings can be made by calling or writing to Mrs. Pierina N. 
Fayish (see ADDRESSES). Requests to speak may also be made at the 
meetings. Comments will be recorded by a court reporter and will become 
part of the public record. Oral and written comments will be given 
equal consideration.
    The hearings will begin at 6 p.m. with an informational session. 
The formal presentations and formal comment period will be held from 7 
p.m. to approximately 9 p.m., or until all registered commenters have 
been given the opportunity to speak.
    All meetings will be accessible to people with disabilities. Any 
individual needing specific assistance, such as a sign language 
interpreter or a translator, should contact Mrs. Fayish (see ADDRESSES) 
at least 48 hours in advance of the hearings so that arrangements can 
be made.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information about this draft EIS and requests 
to receive a copy of it should be directed to: Mrs. Pierina N. Fayish, 
U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, M/S 
922-243D, P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236. Additional information 
about the draft EIS may also be requested by electronic mail: 
LeucadiaEIS@netl.doe.gov or by telephone at 1-(888)-322-7436, extension 
5428. The draft EIS is available for download at http://energy.gov/nepa/andhttp://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/others/nepa/index.html. 
Copies of the draft EIS are also available for review at the locations 
listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Notice.
    Written comments on the draft EIS can be mailed to Mrs. Fayish at 
the address noted above. Written comments may also be submitted by fax 
to: (412) 386-4775, or submitted electronically to: 
LeucadiaEIS@netl.doe.gov. Oral comments on the draft EIS will be 
accepted verbatim during the public hearings scheduled for the dates 
and locations provided in the (see DATES) section of this Notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the 
proposed project or the draft EIS, please contact Mrs. Fayish (see 
ADDRESSES). For general information regarding the DOE NEPA process, 
please contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy 
and Compliance (GC-54), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585; telephone, (202) 586-4600; fax, (202) 
586-7031; or leave a message at, (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE proposes to provide limited financial 
assistance (approximately $261.4 million), through a cooperative 
agreement, to Leucadia for the proposed Lake Charles Carbon Capture and 
Storage (CCS) Project. The total cost of the Lake Charles CCS Project 
is estimated at $435.6 million (2010 dollars). DOE has already provided 
a portion of the total funding (approximately $9.5 million) to Leucadia 
for DOE's share of the costs of preliminary design and project 
definition.
    The Lake Charles CCS Project would involve the capture and 
sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the LCCE 
gasification plant, a petroleum coke gasification plant to be 
constructed by LCCE in Calcasieu Parish adjacent to the Port of Lake 
Charles, Louisiana. Approximately 4.6 million tons per year of 
CO2 generated by the gasification process would be captured, 
compressed, and delivered via a new connecting pipeline to the existing 
Green Pipeline for use in existing commercial enhanced oil recovery 
(EOR) operations in a portion of the West Hastings oil field in 
Brazoria County, Texas. The project includes a monitoring, verification 
and accounting (MVA) program aimed at providing an accurate accounting 
of approximately 1 million tons per year of stored CO2 and a 
high level of confidence that the CO2 will remain 
sequestered permanently in a portion in the West Hastings oil field 
through existing EOR operations. The research MVA activities would 
supplement on-going monitoring activities conducted in conjunction with 
existing commercial EOR operations.
    Though DOE funds would only apply to the CCS Project, which 
consists of the carbon capture unit, compression and associated 
equipment, a new pipeline approximately 12 miles in length connecting 
the plant to the existing Green Pipeline, and the research MVA program, 
DOE determined that the LCCE Gasification Plant is a connected action 
in accordance with 40 CFR 1508.25 (a), and its impacts are analyzed in 
the draft EIS.
    The LCCE gasification plant would use a state-of-the-art process to 
gasify approximately 2.6 million tons per year of petroleum coke, 
producing syngas that would be converted into methanol and hydrogen 
gas. The LCCE gasification plant also produces steam during the 
gasification and auxiliary processes, which would be used in turbines 
to generate power, covering a significant portion of the plant's energy 
demand.
    The draft EIS evaluates the potential impacts of DOE's proposed 
action; Leucadia's proposed project, the connected action, and 
reasonable alternatives. DOE analyzed two alternatives in the draft 
EIS: the proposed action described above and the no-action alternative. 
The proposed project also included an alternative route for the 
CO2 pipeline and alternative routes for linear facilities 
for the LCCE gasification plant, all of which are still under 
consideration and evaluated in the draft EIS.
    The draft EIS considers the environmental consequences that may 
result from the proposed project and describes mitigation that might be 
used to reduce impacts. Potential impacts identified during the scoping 
process and analyzed in the draft EIS relate to the following:

[[Page 28207]]

    Air quality; soils, geology, and mineral resources; ground water; 
surface water; biological resources; cultural resources; land use; 
socioeconomics; environmental justice; community services; utility 
systems; transportation; materials and waste management; human health, 
safety, and accidents; and noise. Because the proposed project may 
affect wetlands, the draft EIS includes an assessment of impacts to 
wetlands in accordance with DOE regulations for Compliance with 
Floodplains and Wetlands Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR Part 
1022). In accordance with 40 CFR 93.156, DOE is also publishing a draft 
conformity analysis for the Lake Charles area, which is contained in 
the draft EIS.

Availability of the Draft EIS

    Copies of the draft EIS have been distributed to members of 
Congress; Native American tribal governments; federal, state, and local 
officials; and agencies, organizations, and individuals who have 
expressed interest. The draft EIS will be available on the internet at 
http://energy.gov/nepa/ and http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/others/nepa/index.html. Copies of the draft EIS are available for 
public review at the following locations: Sulphur Regional Library, 
1160 Cypress Street in Sulphur, Louisiana; Westlake Library, 937 
Mulberry Street in Westlake, Louisiana; Maplewood Library, 91 Center 
Circle in Sulphur, Louisiana; and Pearland Library, 3522 Liberty Drive 
in Pearland, Texas. Additional copies also can be requested (see 
ADDRESSES).

    Dated: May 8, 2013.
Mark J. Matarrese,
Director, Office of Environment, Security, Safety & Health, Office of 
Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013-11413 Filed 5-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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