167 FERC ¶ 61,054

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Before Commissioners: Neil Chatterjee, Chairman;

 Cheryl A. LaFleur, Richard Glick,

and Bernard L. McNamee.

Driftwood LNG LLC

Driftwood Pipeline LLC

 Docket Nos. CP17-117-000

 CP17-118-000

ORDER GRANTING AUTHORIZATIONS UNDER SECTIONS 3 AND 7 

OF THE NATURAL GAS ACT

(Issued April 18, 2019)

On March 31, 2017, in Docket No. CP17-117-000, Driftwood LNG LLC 

(Driftwood LNG) filed an application for authorization under section 3 of the Natural 

Gas Act (NGA)1 and Part 153 of the Commission’s regulations2 to site, construct, and 

operate facilities for the liquefaction and export of natural gas (Driftwood LNG Project) 

at a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on 790 acres of land near the city of 

Carlyss in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.

On the same day, in Docket No. CP17-118-000, Driftwood Pipeline LLC 

(Driftwood Pipeline) filed an application under NGA section 7(c)3 and Part 157 of the 

Commission’s regulations4 for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to 

construct and operate a new interstate natural gas pipeline system (Driftwood Pipeline 

Project) in Evangeline, Acadia, Jefferson Davis, and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana. The 

proposed Driftwood Pipeline Project comprises a new 96-mile-long mainline pipeline, a 

new 3.4-mile-long lateral pipeline, 15 new meter stations, and three new compressor 

stations to transport natural gas to the Driftwood LNG Project for liquefaction and export.

 1 15 U.S.C. § 717b (2012).

2 18 C.F.R. pt. 153 (2018).

3 15 U.S.C. § 717f (2012).

4 18 C.F.R. pt. 157 (2018).
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 2 -

For the reasons discussed below, we will authorize Driftwood LNG’s proposal 

under section 3 to site, construct, and operate the Driftwood LNG Project. We will also 

authorize Driftwood Pipeline’s proposal under section 7(c) to construct and operate the 

Driftwood Pipeline Project. These authorizations are subject to the conditions discussed

herein. 

I. Background

Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline are Delaware limited liability companies 

with their principal place of business in Houston, Texas. Both companies are 

wholly-owned subsidiaries of Tellurian, Inc. Upon commencing the operations proposed 

in its application, Driftwood Pipeline will become a natural gas company within the 

meaning of section 2(6) of the NGA,5 and, as such, will be subject to the jurisdiction of 

the Commission.

II. Proposals

A. Driftwood LNG Project (CP17-117-000)

Driftwood LNG seeks authorization to construct and operate the Driftwood LNG 

Project on the west bank of the Calcasieu River near the city of Carlyss in Calcasieu 

Parish, Louisiana. The project will produce up to 27.6 million metric tonnes per annum

of LNG for export.

The Driftwood LNG Project consists of the following major components: 

five liquefaction plants, three LNG storage tanks, marine facilities, and associated 

infrastructure and support facilities. Each of the liquefaction plants, which will liquefy 

the natural gas delivered to the facility, will consist of: one gas pre-treatment unit,

6 one 

condensate stabilization unit,7 and four heavy hydrocarbon removal and liquefaction 

units. LNG produced by the five plants will be stored in the three on-site, aboveground 

 5 15 U.S.C. § 717a(6) (2012).

6 The gas pre-treatment unit at each liquefaction plant will consist of an acid gas 

removal unit, a dehydration unit, and a mercury removal unit.

7 Condensate will be periodically transported from the liquefaction plants via road 

tankers with a capacity of 8,000 to 12,000 gallons. The precise number of road tankers 

per day will depend on the inlet feed-gas quality. At the design feed gas composition, 

Driftwood LNG estimates there will be about five 10,000-gallon road tankers per day. 

Road tankers will also periodically deliver and remove other materials (e.g., aqueous 

ammonia, oily wastewater, biomass, and replacement refrigerants).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 3 -

storage tanks. Each full-containment storage tank will have a net capacity of 

approximately 235,000 cubic meters (m3

).

Three marine berths will be located in a dredged slip, recessed from the Calcasieu 

River Ship Channel. Each berth will be capable of accommodating LNG carriers up 

to 216,000 m3

. The marine facilities will have cryogenic piping and loading arms for 

loading LNG carriers, and each berth will include a vapor management system to transfer 

boil off gas (BOG) from LNG ships to the storage tanks and from there to the BOG 

handling system. The LNG storage tanks will be fitted with pumps to transfer LNG 

to ships at each berth at a loading rate of up to 12,000 m3 per hour.

8

 At full capacity, 

Driftwood LNG proposes to load a ship a day or approximately 365 ships per year.

To facilitate construction deliveries, Driftwood LNG proposes to construct a 

materials off-loading facility where barges will deliver construction supplies. The 

materials off-loading facility will be a two-berth facility, located on the western bank 

of the Calcasieu River Ship Channel, to the north of the LNG marine berths.

Driftwood LNG also proposes to construct an administration area, consisting of 

an operations center, maintenance building, warehouse building, laboratory building, 

foam trailer storage shed, main gate guardhouse, and the associated infrastructure 

necessary to support operations. 

The Driftwood LNG Project will comprise four parcels of land, totaling about 

790 acres, in an area zoned for heavy industrial use. Driftwood LNG owns two parcels, 

totaling 140 acres, and has secured the other two parcels, totaling 650 acres, through 

lease agreements with options to enter longer-term leases for a total duration of 50 years. 

Land use in, adjacent to, and surrounding the Driftwood LNG Project consists of 

undeveloped lands, rural residential lands, and developed lands including other industrial 

facilities.

Driftwood LNG received authorization from the Department of Energy, Office 

of Fossil Energy (DOE/FE) in February 2017 to export annually up to 1,496.5 billion 

cubic feet (Bcf) equivalent of natural gas in the form of LNG to countries with which 

the United States has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).9

 In addition, Driftwood LNG 

 8 Although up to three ships could berth simultaneously, only two ships could 

be loaded simultaneously. 

9 Driftwood LNG LLC, FE Docket No. 16-144-LNG, Order No. 3968 

(February 28, 2017).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 4 -

currently has pending before the DOE/FE an application to export annually up to 

1,496.5 Bcf equivalent to non-FTA nations.10

B. Driftwood Pipeline Project (CP17-118-000)

1. Facilities and Service

In conjunction with the Driftwood LNG Project, Driftwood Pipeline proposes to 

construct and operate a new interstate natural gas transmission system, consisting of a 

new 96-mile-long mainline pipeline, a new 3.4-mile-long lateral pipeline, 15 new meter 

stations, and three new compressor stations, to provide up to 3,954,000 dekatherms per 

day (Dth/d)11 of firm natural gas transportation service. Natural gas transported on 

Driftwood Pipeline will be delivered to the Driftwood LNG Project for liquefaction and 

export. The pipeline will interconnect with 14 interstate pipelines along its route. 

Driftwood Pipeline proposes to construct the Driftwood Pipeline Project in three 

phases, to match the corresponding construction schedule of the Driftwood LNG Project.

Following the completion of Phase 1, the Driftwood Pipeline Project will have sufficient 

capacity to supply feed gas to up to three liquefaction plants; after the completion of 

Phase 2, the project will have sufficient capacity to supply up to four plants; and after the 

completion of Phase 3, the project will have sufficient capacity to support operation of all 

five proposed liquefaction plants.

Facilities to be constructed as part of Phase 1 consist of the following:

• approximately 50.8 miles of 48-inch-diameter pipeline, extending from the 

Driftwood LNG Project in Calcasieu Parish to a proposed interconnect with 

Tennessee Gas Pipeline (Tennessee interconnect) near Kinder, Louisiana,

in Jefferson Davis Parish;

 10 The application, filed on September 28, 2016, is pending before DOE/FE in 

FE Docket No. 16-144-LNG.

11 As noted in Exhibit P of Driftwood Pipeline’s Application, Driftwood Pipeline 

uses a heat conversion factor of 1029 british thermal units per cubic foot. The 3,954,000 

Dth/d is derived from converting the billing determinants provided by Driftwood 

Pipeline, which were provided in thousand cubic feet, with the heat conversion factor 

provided.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 5 -

• approximately 3.4 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline lateral, installed 

parallel and adjacent to the 48-inch mainline between milepost (MP) 36.5 

and 39.9 in Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis Parishes;

• a new compressor station, consisting of three natural gas-fired compressor 

turbines with a total of 90,000 horsepower (hp),12 located at MP 39.9 in 

Jefferson Davis Parish (Gillis Compressor Station); and

• one delivery meter station and five receipt meter stations in Calcasieu and 

Jefferson Davis Parishes.13

Facilities to be constructed as part of Phase 2 consist of the following:

• approximately 23.3 miles of 48-inch-diameter pipeline, extending from the 

Tennessee interconnect to a proposed interconnect with ANR Pipeline 

(ANR interconnect) near Eunice, Louisiana, in Acadia Parish;

• approximately 5.2 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline, extending from 

the ANR interconnect to a proposed interconnect with Texas Eastern 

Transmission (Texas Eastern interconnect) near Egan, Louisiana, in 

Evangeline Parish; 

• a new compressor station, consisting of one 18,500-hp natural gas-fired 

compressor turbine, located at MP 71.7 in Acadia Parish (Basile 

Compressor Station);14 and

 12 Three 30,000-hp gas compressor turbines will be installed during Phase 1, but 

only two will be required for Phase 1 operations. The third unit will be installed as a 

standby redundant unit to ensure consistent operations during startup and will be removed 

from standby status for full use in Phase 2.

13 The receipt meter stations are located at interconnects with Kinder Morgan 

Pipeline (MP 0.0), Creole Trail Pipeline (MP 1.8), Cameron Pipeline (MP 7.8), Trunkline 

Pipeline (MP 65.6), Texas Eastern Transmission (MP 39.9), and Tennessee Gas Pipeline 

(MP 50.8).

14 In addition, the 30,000-hp standby unit at the Gillis Compressor Station will be 

converted to operating status in Phase 2.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 6 -

• six receipt meter stations in Acadia and Evangeline Parishes.15

Facilities to be constructed as part of Phase 3 consist of the following:

• approximately 5.4 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline, extending from 

the Texas Eastern interconnect to Driftwood Pipeline’s new Mamou 

Compressor Station near Mamou, Louisiana, in Evangeline Parish;

• approximately 11.3 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline, extending from the 

Mamou Compressor Station to a proposed interconnect with Columbia Gulf 

Transmission near Ville Platte, Louisiana, in Evangeline Parish;

• a new compressor station, consisting of two natural gas-fired compressor 

turbines with a total of 41,000 hp,16 located at MP 84.6 in Evangeline 

Parish (Mamou Compressor Station);

• two additional 30,000-hp natural gas-fired compressor turbines installed at 

Gillis Compressor Station, for a total of 150,000 hp at the station;

• two additional 30,000-hp natural gas-fired compressor turbines installed at 

Basile Compressor Station, for a total of 78,500 hp at the station; and

• two receipt meter stations in Evangeline Parish.17

Driftwood Pipeline estimates the total cost for the entire Driftwood Pipeline 

Project to be approximately $2.34 billion.18

Driftwood Pipeline states that it conducted a binding open season from 

September 11 to September 22, 2017, for the proposed firm transportation capacity. 

Driftwood Pipeline states that it received one bid through the open season process, from 

 15 The receipt meter stations are located at interconnects with Egan Pipeline 

(MP 71.7), Texas Gas Pipeline (72.4), Florida Gas Transmission and Pine Prairie Pipeline 

(MP 73.1), ANR Pipeline (MP 74.0), and Texas Eastern Transmission (MP 79.2).

16 Two 20,500-hp gas compressor turbines will be installed.

17 The receipt meter stations are located at interconnects with Transco Pipeline 

(MP 84.6) and Columbia Gulf Transmission (MP 95.9).

18 Driftwood Pipeline’s Application at Exhibit K.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 7 -

Driftwood LNG for the full capacity of the pipeline,19 for which Driftwood Pipeline has 

executed a precedent agreement.20

Driftwood Pipeline also requests approval of its pro forma tariff. Driftwood 

proposes to offer firm transportation service under Rate Schedule FTS, interruptible 

transportation service under Rate Schedule ITS, and park and loan service under Rate 

Schedule PALS. 

2. Blanket Certificates

Driftwood Pipeline requests a blanket certificate of public convenience and 

necessity pursuant to Part 284, Subpart G of the Commission’s regulations, authorizing 

Driftwood Pipeline to provide transportation service to customers requesting and 

qualifying for transportation service under its proposed FERC Gas Tariff, with 

pre-granted abandonment authorization.21

Driftwood Pipeline also requests a blanket certificate of public convenience and 

necessity pursuant to Part 157, Subpart F of the Commission’s regulations, authorizing 

certain future facility construction, operation, and abandonment.22

III. Notice, Interventions, and Comments

Notice of the applications was issued on April 11, 2017, and published in the 

Federal Register on April 17, 2017.23 The notice established May 2, 2017, as the 

deadline for filing comments and interventions. Magnolia LNG, LLC; Lake Charles 

Pilots Association LLC; Cameron LNG, LLC; Port Arthur Pipeline, LLC; Cameron 

Interstate Pipeline, LLC; and Cheniere LNG Terminals, LLC filed timely motions to 

intervene.24 Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline LLC filed an untimely motion to 

intervene, which was granted by Secretary’s Notice on June 1, 2017. Louisiana 

 19 Driftwood Pipeline’s September 29, 2017 Supplemental Filing.

20 Driftwood Pipeline’s November 26, 2017 Supplemental Filing.

21 18 C.F.R. § 284.221 (2018).

22 18 C.F.R. § 157.204 (2018).

23 82 Fed. Reg. 18,140.

24 Timely, unopposed motions to intervene are granted by operation of Rule 

214(c)(1) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. 18 C.F.R. 

§ 385.214(c)(1) (2018).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 8 -

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries filed comments, noting necessary state 

authorizations for the proposal and providing recommendations for pipeline construction. 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ comments were addressed in 

Commission staff’s environmental analysis, as discussed below.

IV. Discussion

A. Driftwood LNG Project (CP17-117-000)

Because the proposed LNG terminal facilities will be used to export natural gas 

to foreign countries, the siting, construction, and operation of the facilities require 

Commission approval under section 3 of the NGA.25 Although section 3 provides that an 

application for the exportation or importation of natural gas shall be approved unless the 

proposal “will not be consistent with the public interest,” section 3 also provides that an 

application may be approved “in whole or in part, with such modification and upon such 

terms and conditions as the Commission may find necessary or appropriate.”26 

As noted above, DOE/FE, pursuant to its authority under NGA section 3, issued 

Driftwood LNG authorization to export annually up to 1,496.5 Bcf equivalent of LNG by 

vessel to all FTA nations from the proposed Driftwood LNG Project in Calcasieu Parish,

 25 The regulatory functions of NGA section 3 were transferred to the Secretary of 

Energy in 1977 pursuant to section 301(b) of the Department of Energy Organization 

Act, Pub. L. No. 95-91, 42 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq. In reference to regulating the imports or 

exports of natural gas, the Secretary of Energy subsequently delegated to the Commission 

the authority to approve or disapprove the construction and operation of natural gas 

import and export facilities and the site at which such facilities shall be located. The 

most recent delegation is in DOE Delegation Order No. 00-004.00A, effective 

May 16, 2006. Applications for authorization to import or export natural gas must be 

submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE). The Commission does not authorize 

importation or exportation of the commodity itself. See EarthReports, Inc. v. FERC, 

828 F.3d 949, 952-53 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (detailing how regulatory oversight for the 

export of LNG and supporting facilities is divided between the Commission and DOE).

26 15 U.S.C. §§ 717b(a), (e)(3) (2012). For a discussion of the Commission’s 

authority to condition its approvals of LNG facilities under section 3 of the NGA, see 

Distrigas Corp. v. FPC, 495 F.2d 1057, 1063-64 (D.C. Cir. 1974), cert denied, 419 U.S. 

834 (1974), and Dynegy LNG Production Terminal, L.P., 97 FERC ¶ 61,231 (2001).
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 9 -

Louisiana.27 DOE/FE’s order approving Driftwood LNG’s export volumes states that 

“[i]n light of DOE’s statutory obligation to grant this Application without modification or 

delay, there is no need for DOE/FE to review other arguments asserted by Driftwood 

LNG in support of the Application.”28

We have reviewed Driftwood LNG’s application to determine if the siting, 

construction, and operation of its LNG facilities would be inconsistent with the public 

interest.29 The proposed site for the Driftwood LNG Project is an area zoned for heavy 

industrial use, and the operation of project facilities will be consistent with other 

industrial facilities along the Calcasieu River. Further, as discussed below, the final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared for the proposed projects finds that most 

of the direct environmental impacts from construction of the proposed facilities are 

expected to be temporary or short-term.

30 All impacts from construction and operation of 

the facilities will be reduced to less-than-significant levels if the projects are constructed 

and operated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and the environmental 

mitigation measures recommended in the final EIS and adopted by this order.31 

In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 

August 31, 2018, by the Commission and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

 27 Driftwood LNG LLC, FE Docket No. 16-144-LNG, Order No. 3968 

(February 28, 2017). Driftwood LNG’s non-FTA application is currently under DOE 

review in FE Docket No. 16-144-LNG.

28 Id. at 6. Section 3(c) of the NGA provides that the exportation and importation 

of natural gas to and from countries with which there is in effect a Free Trade Agreement 

“shall be deemed to be consistent with the public interest, and applications for such 

importation and exportation shall be granted without modification or delay.” 15 U.S.C. 

§ 717b(c) (2012).

29 See National Steel Corp., 45 FERC ¶ 61,100, at 61,332-33 (1998) (observing 

that DOE, “pursuant to its exclusive jurisdiction, has approved the importation with 

respect to every aspect of it except the point of importation,” and that the “Commission’s 

authority in this matter is limited to consideration of the place of importation, which 

necessarily includes the technical and environmental aspects of any related facilities.”).

30 Final EIS at 5-1 (noting the projects would result in permanent impacts on soils, 

water, wetlands, vegetation, wildlife, visual resources, land use, socioeconomics, air 

quality, and noise).

31 Id. at ES-14 to ES-15 and 5-1.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 10 -

Administration (PHMSA) within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT),32

PHMSA undertook a review of the proposed facility’s ability to comply with the federal 

safety standards contained in Part 193, Subpart B, of Title 49 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations. 33 On December 18, 2018,

34 PHMSA issued a Letter of Determination 

(LOD) indicating Driftwood LNG has demonstrated that the siting of its proposed LNG 

facilities complies with those federal safety standards. If the proposed project is 

subsequently modified so that it differs from the details provided in the documentation 

submitted to PHMSA, further review would be conducted by PHMSA.

Driftwood LNG is proposing to operate its LNG terminal under the terms and 

conditions mutually agreed to by its customers and will solely bear the responsibility for 

the recovery of any costs associated with construction and operation of the terminal. 

Accordingly, Driftwood LNG’s proposal does not trigger NGA section 3(e)(4).35

Accordingly, we find that, subject to the conditions imposed in this order, 

Driftwood LNG’s proposal is not inconsistent with the public interest. Therefore, we will 

grant Driftwood LNG’s application for authorization under NGA section 3 to site, 

construct, and operate its proposed LNG terminal facilities.

B. Driftwood Pipeline Project (CP17-118-000)

Because Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed pipeline facilities will be used to transport 

natural gas in interstate commerce subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, the 

construction and operation of the facilities are subject to the requirements of subsections 

(c) and (e) of section 7 of the NGA.36

 32 Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of Transportation and 

the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Regarding Liquefied Natural Gas 

Transportation Facilities (Aug. 31, 2018), https://www.ferc.gov/legal/mou/2018/FERCPHMSA-MOU.pdf.

33 49 C.F.R. pt. 193, Subpart B (2018).

34 See Commission staff’s December 19, 2018 Memo filed in Docket 

No. CP17-17-000 (containing PHMSA’s Letter of Determination).

35 15 U.S.C. § 717b(e)(4) (2012) (governing orders for LNG terminal offering 

open access service).

36 15 U.S.C. §§ 717f(c), (e) (2012).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 11 -

1. Certificate Policy Statement

The Certificate Policy Statement provides guidance for evaluating proposals to 

certificate new construction.37 The Certificate Policy Statement establishes criteria for 

determining whether there is a need for a proposed project and whether the proposed 

project will serve the public interest. The Certificate Policy Statement explains that in 

deciding whether to authorize the construction of major new natural gas facilities, the 

Commission balances the public benefits against the potential adverse consequences. 

The Commission’s goal is to give appropriate consideration to the enhancement of 

competitive transportation alternatives, the possibility of overbuilding, subsidization 

by existing customers, the applicant’s responsibility for unsubscribed capacity, the 

avoidance of unnecessary disruptions of the environment, and the unneeded exercise of 

eminent domain in evaluating new pipeline construction.

Under this policy, the threshold requirement for applicants proposing new projects 

is that the applicant must be prepared to financially support the project without relying on 

subsidization from its existing customers. The next step is to determine whether the 

applicant has made efforts to eliminate or minimize any adverse effects the project might 

have on the applicant’s existing customers, existing pipelines in the market and their 

captive customers, and landowners and communities affected by the construction of the 

new natural gas facilities. If residual adverse effects on these interest groups are 

identified after efforts have been made to minimize them, the Commission will evaluate 

the project by balancing the evidence of public benefits to be achieved against the 

residual adverse effects. This is essentially an economic test. Only when the benefits 

outweigh the adverse effects on economic interests will the Commission proceed to 

consider the environmental analysis where other interests are addressed. 

As noted above, the threshold requirement for applicants proposing new interstate 

gas pipeline facilities is that the pipeline must be prepared to financially support the 

project without relying on subsidization from its existing customers. Driftwood Pipeline 

is a new company with no existing shippers. Thus, there is no potential for subsidization 

on Driftwood Pipeline’s system or degradation of service to existing customers. 

In addition, there is no evidence that the Driftwood Pipeline Project will adversely 

affect other pipelines or their customers. The project is not intended to replace service on 

other pipelines. Further, no pipeline company or their captive customers have protested 

Driftwood Pipeline’s application.

 37 Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline Facilities, 88 FERC 

¶ 61,227 (1999), clarified, 90 FERC ¶ 61,128, further clarified, 92 FERC ¶ 61,094 (2000) 

(Certificate Policy Statement).
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 12 -

We are also satisfied that Driftwood Pipeline has taken appropriate steps to 

minimize adverse impacts on landowners and surrounding communities. Approximately 

70 percent of the pipeline route will be collocated with or adjacent to existing pipeline, 

roadway, or utility rights-of-way corridors. Some of the remaining portion of the route 

will cross private land. Driftwood Pipeline engaged in public outreach during the prefiling process, working with all interested stakeholders, soliciting input on any route 

concerns, and engaging in reroutes where practicable to minimize impacts on landowners 

and communities.38 Accordingly, for purposes of our consideration under the Certificate 

Policy Statement, we find that Driftwood Pipeline has taken sufficient steps to minimize 

impacts on landowners and surrounding communities.

Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed project will enable it to transport natural gas to the 

Driftwood LNG Project, where the gas will be liquefied for export. Driftwood Pipeline 

executed a precedent agreement with Driftwood LNG for the full capacity of the pipeline. 

Based on the benefits the proposed project will provide, the lack of adverse effects on 

existing customers, other pipelines and their captive customers, and the minimal adverse 

impacts on landowners and surrounding communities, we find, consistent with the 

Certificate Policy Statement and section 7 of the NGA, that the public convenience and 

necessity requires approval of Driftwood Pipeline’s proposal, as conditioned in this order.

2. Blanket Certificates

Driftwood Pipeline requests a Part 284, Subpart G blanket certificate in order 

to provide open-access transportation services. Under a Part 284 blanket certificate, 

Driftwood Pipeline will not need individual authorizations to provide transportation 

services to particular customers. Driftwood Pipeline filed a pro forma Part 284 tariff

to provide open-access transportation services. Because a Part 284 blanket certificate 

is required for Driftwood Pipeline to participate in the Commission’s open-access 

regulatory regime, we will grant Driftwood Pipeline a Part 284 blanket certificate, 

subject to the conditions imposed herein.

Driftwood Pipeline also requests a Part 157, Subpart F blanket certificate. The 

Part 157 blanket certificate gives an interstate pipeline NGA section 7 authority to 

automatically, or after prior notice, perform a restricted number of routine activities 

related to the construction, acquisition, abandonment, replacement, and operation of 

existing pipeline facilities provided the activities comply with constraints on costs and 

environmental impacts.

39 Because the Commission has previously determined through a 

rulemaking that these blanket-certificate eligible activities are in the public convenience 

 38 See Final EIS at Appendix A, Table 1.3-3.

39 18 C.F.R. § 157.203 (2018).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 13 -

and necessity,40 it is the Commission’s practice to grant new natural gas companies a 

Part 157 blanket certificate if requested.41 Accordingly, we will grant Driftwood Pipeline 

a Part 157 blanket certificate, subject to the conditions imposed herein. 

3. Rates

a. Initial Rates

Driftwood Pipeline proposes to offer firm transportation service under Rate 

Schedule FTS, interruptible transportation service under Rate Schedule ITS, and park and 

loan service under Rate Schedule PALS. Driftwood Pipeline proposes a capital structure 

comprising 50 percent long-term debt and 50 percent common equity, with a proposed 

return on equity of 14 percent and a cost of debt of 6.50 percent. These figures render an 

overall rate of return of 10.25 percent. Driftwood Pipeline proposes to use a depreciation 

rate of 4.0 percent based on an estimated 25-year life of the project. Driftwood Pipeline 

states that the cost of constructing the pipeline will be approximately $1,151,639,133 for 

Phase 1; $1,782,578,998 for Phases 1 and 2; and $2,342,251,700 for Phases 1, 2, and 3

(i.e., the entire pipeline project). 

On February 2, 2018, in response to a staff data request, Driftwood Pipeline 

provided adjusted costs of service and recalculated its originally proposed initial recourse 

rates for Phases 1, 2, and 3 to reflect changes in the federal tax code, as per the Tax Cuts 

and Jobs Act of 2017,42 which became effective January 1, 2018.

43 For Phase 1, based on

 40 Revisions to the Blanket Certificate Regulations and Clarification Regarding 

Rates, Order No. 686, 117 FERC ¶ 61,074, at P 9 (2006) , order on reh’g, Order No. 686-

A, 119 FERC ¶ 61,303, order on reh’g, Order No. 686-B, 120 FERC ¶ 61,249 (2007).

41 C.f. Rover Pipeline LLC, 161 FERC ¶ 61,244, at P 13 (2017) (denying a request 

for a blanket certificate where the company’s actions had eroded the Commission’s 

confidence it would comply with all the requirements of the blanket certificate program, 

including the environmental requirements).

42 Pub. L. No. 115-97, 131 Stat. 2054 (Dec. 22, 2017).

43 On April 23, 2018, in response to a staff data request, Driftwood Pipeline 

indicated that its proposed income tax allowance is reflected in the revised Exhibit P 

submitted on February 2, 2018. Driftwood Pipeline also stated that it is not a Master 

Limited Partnership and that its “income or loss will be reported through its parent 

company’s income tax returns, which are the tax returns of Tellurian Investments, Inc.”
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 14 -

a first year cost of service of $228,947,040 and billing determinants of 2,335,000 Dth/d,

44

Driftwood Pipeline proposes a maximum reservation charge under Rate Schedule FTS of 

$8.3273/Dth, a maximum usage charge of $0.0027/Dth, and an authorized overrun charge 

of $0.2765/Dth. For services under Rate Schedule ITS and Rate Schedule PALS, 

Driftwood Pipeline proposes a maximum usage charge of $0.2765/Dth. 

Upon in-service of the Phase 2 facilities, based on a first year cost of service of 

$353,323,141 and total billing determinants of 2,574,000 Dth/d, Driftwood Pipeline 

proposes a maximum reservation charge under Rate Schedule FTS of $11.6824/Dth, a 

maximum usage charge of $0.0030/Dth, and an authorized overrun charge of 

$0.3870/Dth. For services under Rate Schedule ITS and Rate Schedule PALS, Driftwood

Pipeline proposes a maximum usage charge of $0.3870/Dth. 

Upon in-service of the Phase 3 facilities, based on a first year cost of service of 

$469,097,425 and total billing determinants of 3,954,000 Dth/d, Driftwood Pipeline 

proposes a maximum reservation charge under Rate Schedule FTS of $10.0405/Dth, 

a maximum usage charge of $0.0044/Dth, and an authorized overrun charge of 

$0.3345/Dth. For services under Rate Schedule ITS and Rate Schedule PALS, Driftwood 

Pipeline proposes a maximum usage charge of $0.3345/Dth. Driftwood Pipeline

indicates that its proposed ITS, PALS, and overrun rates are based on a 100 percent load 

factor equivalent of its proposed FTS rates. 

On June 11, 2018, in response to a staff data request, Driftwood Pipeline provided 

updated accumulated depreciation figures to account for the different in-service dates of 

the Phase 1, 2, and 3 services. Because this will have an impact on its proposed rates, 

Driftwood Pipeline is directed to revise its proposed rates to account for its updated 

accumulated depreciation figures. 

In addition, in its June 11, 2018 response, Driftwood Pipeline provided revised 

proposed retainage percentages. Driftwood Pipeline explained that, upon further review, 

it determined its proposed retainage percentages were inconsistent with the system flow 

diagrams included in Exhibits G and G-1 of its application. Driftwood Pipeline’s revised 

proposed retainage percentages are 0.46 percent, 0.76 percent, and 1.14 percent for 

Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3, respectively. Driftwood Pipeline is directed to reflect the 

revised retainage percentages when it files actual tariff records, as directed herein. The 

Commission approves these fuel rates as the initial fuel rates for the project. 

 44 As explained above, the billing determinants used in this order are converted 

from those provided in Driftwood Pipeline’s Application. See supra note 11.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 15 -

The Commission has reviewed Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed costs of service and 

initial rates, as updated in the February 2, 2018 and June 11, 2018 data responses, and 

finds that they reflect current Commission policy, as conditioned and modified above. 

b. Negotiated Rates

In General Terms & Conditions (GT&C) Section 6.30 of its pro forma tariff, 

Driftwood Pipeline proposes the ability to provide service to shippers under negotiated 

rates. Driftwood Pipeline must file either a negotiated rate agreement or a tariff record 

setting forth the essential elements of any such agreement in accordance with the 

Alternative Rate Policy Statement45 and the Commission’s negotiated rate policies.46 

Driftwood Pipeline must file the negotiated rate agreements or tariff records at least 

30 days, but no more than 60 days, before the proposed effective dates for such rates.47

c. Three Year Filing Requirement 

Consistent with Commission precedent, Driftwood Pipeline is required to file a 

cost and revenue study no later than three months after the end of its first three years 

of actual operation of the Phase 3 facilities to justify its existing cost-based firm and

 45 Alternatives to Traditional Cost-of-Service Ratemaking for Natural Gas 

Pipelines; Regulation of Negotiated Transportation Services of Natural Gas Pipelines, 

74 FERC ¶ 61,076, order granting clarification, 74 FERC ¶ 61,194, reh’g and 

clarification denied, 75 FERC ¶ 61,024, reh’g denied, 75 FERC ¶ 61,066, reh’g 

dismissed, 75 FERC ¶ 61,291 (1996), petition for review denied sub nom. Burlington 

Resources Oil & Gas Co. v. FERC, 172 F.3d 918 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (Alternative Rate 

Policy Statement).

46 Natural Gas Pipelines Negotiated Rate Policies and Practices; Modification of 

Negotiated Rate Policy, 104 FERC ¶ 61,134 (2003), order on reh’g and clarification, 

114 FERC ¶ 61,042, reh’g dismissed and clarification denied, 114 FERC ¶ 61,304 

(2006).

47 Driftwood Pipeline is also required to file any service agreement containing 

non-conforming provisions and to disclose and identify any transportation term or 

agreement in a precedent agreement that survives the execution of the service agreement. 

See e.g., Texas Eastern Transmission, LP, 149 FERC ¶ 61,198, at P 33 (2014); 18 C.F.R. 

§ 154.112(b) (2018).
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 16 -

interruptible recourse rates.48 In its filing, the projected units of service should be no 

lower than those upon which Driftwood Pipeline’s approved initial rates are based. The 

filing must include a cost and revenue study in the form specified in section 154.313 

of the Commission’s regulations to update cost of service data.49 Driftwood Pipeline’s 

cost and revenue study should be filed through the eTariff portal using a Type of Filing 

Code 580. In addition, Driftwood Pipeline is advised to include as part of the eFiling 

description a reference to Docket No. CP17-118-000 and the cost and revenue study.50 

After reviewing the data, the Commission will determine whether to exercise its authority 

under NGA section 5 to investigate whether the rates remain just and reasonable. In the 

alternative, in lieu of this filing, Driftwood Pipeline may make a NGA section 4 general 

rate filing to propose alternative rates to be effective no later than three years after the 

in-service date of the entire pipeline. 

4. Tariff

As part of its application, Driftwood Pipeline filed a pro forma open-access tariff 

applicable to services provided on its proposed pipeline. We approve the pro forma tariff 

as generally consistent with Commission policies, with the following exceptions.

a. Price Index 

Commission policy requires that a particular price index used in a jurisdictional 

tariff must meet certain criteria. The index must be published or provided by an index 

developer that has met all or substantially all of the standards in five areas addressing: 

(1) code of conduct and confidentiality; (2) completeness; (3) data verification, error 

correction, and monitoring; (4) verifiability; and (5) accessibility.51 Further, the index 

location must meet or exceed one or more of the minimum criteria for liquidity (i.e., the 

index must be developed based on a sufficient number of reported transactions involving 

 48 Florida Southeast Connection, LLC, 154 FERC ¶ 61,080, at P 139 (2016); Bison 

Pipeline LLC, 131 FERC ¶ 61,013, at P 29 (2010); Ruby Pipeline, L.L.C., 128 FERC 

¶ 61,224, at P 57 (2009); MarkWest Pioneer, L.L.C., 125 FERC ¶ 61,165, at P 34 (2008).

49 18 C.F.R. § 154.313 (2018).

50 Electronic Tariff Filings, 130 FERC ¶ 61,047, at P 17 (2010).

51 Order Regarding Future Monitoring of Voluntary Price Formation, Use of 

Price Indices in Jurisdictional Tariffs, and Closing Certain Tariff Dockets, 109 FERC 

¶ 61,184, at PP 39, 66, ordering para. (C) (2004) (citing Policy Statement on Natural Gas 

and Electric Price Indices, 104 FERC ¶ 61,121 (2003) (Price Index Policy Statement)).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 17 -

sufficient volumes of natural gas or electricity).52 Only indices based on physical (cash) 

market transactions (as opposed to financial transactions) are appropriate to be used in 

jurisdictional tariffs and contracts.53

In its proposed GT&C Section 5.1.4.B.2, Driftwood Pipeline references the 

“Midpoint Average of the Henry Hub index as given in Platt’s Monthly Price Guide.” 

While the Henry Hub index price does meet Commission standards, Driftwood Pipeline

is directed to revise this reference so that it matches the official name of the relevant 

publication. That is, “Platts Inside FERC” or “Platts IFERC” should be substituted for 

“Platt’s Monthly Price Guide.” 

b. Force Majeure

Upon review of Driftwood Pipeline’s force majeure and reservation charge 

crediting language, the Commission has determined that three proposed provisions 

are inconsistent with Commission policy and therefore need to be modified. First, 

proposed GT&C Section 6.8.G provides that “Shipper shall not be entitled to reservation 

charge credits as a result of any of the following: (a) gas supply, (b) markets, or 

(c) transportation upstream of Transporter’s pipeline system.” (Emphasis added). 

However, in Sierrita Gas Pipeline, LLC, the Commission stated that although it allows 

exemptions from reservation charge crediting, such exemptions are only applicable when 

the pipeline’s failure to perform is caused solely by the conduct of others or events 

beyond the control of the pipeline.54 Consistent with Commission precedent, in the event 

that a force majeure situation affected both pipelines, partial reservation charge credits 

should be provided.55 Driftwood Pipeline is directed to qualify its proposed language to 

reflect this policy. 

Second, proposed GT&C Section 6.8.H provides that reservation charge credits 

will be provided based on the “lesser of Shipper’s average usage of primary Rate 

Schedule FTS service for the seven (7) Gas Days prior to the first day of the curtailment

or interruption of service or the Shipper’s nominations to Primary Receipt or Primary 

Delivery Points for that Gas Day.” This language is inconsistent with Commission 

 52 Id. at ordering para. (D).

53 Price Index Policy Statement, 104 FERC ¶ 61,121 at P 34.

54 Sierrita Gas Pipeline, LLC, 147 FERC ¶ 61,192, at P 91 (2014) (Sierrita).

55 Paiute Pipeline Co., 139 FERC ¶ 61,089, at PP 30-31 (2012) (Paiute) (finding 

that where a force majeure event was not solely caused by the upstream pipeline, the 

general policy regarding partial force majeure credits should apply).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 18 -

policy. Credits should only be based on seven days’ usage when the notice of an outage

is provided to shippers beforehand.56 Driftwood Pipeline is directed to revise the first 

sentence of Section 6.8.H consistent with this policy. 

Third, proposed GT&C Section 6.8.I provides that when there has been a capacity 

release, reservation charge credits will be allocated between releasing and replacement 

shippers “in a not unduly discriminatory manner.” This provides Driftwood Pipeline 

with discretion in dividing credits and is inconsistent with Commission policy. 

Commission policy outlining how credits should be provided when there is a capacity 

release has been set forth in Paiute,

57 and Driftwood Pipeline is directed to revise Section 

6.8.I in a manner consistent with the discussion therein. 

c. Monthly Balancing 

Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed GT&C Section 6.13.E provides the nomination and 

scheduling provisions applicable to a shipper that “desires to schedule the delivery of gas 

to Transporter or the receipt of gas from Transporter for the resolution of an accrued 

under- or over-delivery within a Month[.]” A shipper is required to submit a nomination 

for the receipt or delivery of gas in accordance with the nomination procedures set forth 

in GT&C Section 6.10. 

In addition, GT&C Section 6.13.E provides that “[t]he scheduling priority for 

such nominations shall be the priority of the service agreement on which the imbalance 

accrued.” This sentence is contrary to Commission policy and to the order of scheduling 

priorities provided in GT&C Section 6.10.C. GT&C Section 6.10.C provides that, in 

resolving imbalances, Driftwood Pipeline would schedule a Rate Schedule FTS shipper 

 56 Rockies Express Pipeline LLC, 142 FERC ¶ 61,075, at PP 29-34 (2013) (finding 

that “in situations where [a pipeline] has given notice of an outage before the first 

opportunity to schedule service for a Gas Day, the credits for that day will be based 

solely on each shipper’s usage during the preceding seven days up to their contract 

demand, and not on shippers’ nominations.”); Sierrita, 147 FERC ¶ 61,192 at P 93 

(requiring Sierrita to revise its proposal on how it will calculate the level of reservation 

credits because “if Sierrita has not given advance notice of an outage before the first 

opportunity to nominate service for the day, the shipper’s credits must be based on the 

quantities it nominates for scheduling... which were not delivered... and not on any 

measure of historical usage.”). 

57 Paiute, 139 FERC ¶ 61,089 at PP 15-18 (explaining that “during periods when 

a shipper releases its capacity to a replacement shipper the reservation charge credit 

applicable to the replacement shipper will be the reservation rate of either the releasing or 

replacement shipper, whichever is lower.”). 

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 19 -

utilizing its primary receipt/delivery points ahead of other Rate Schedule FTS shippers 

nominating for service “Secondary In-Path” or “Secondary Out-of-Path.” Further, 

GT&C Section 6.10.C proposes to schedule nominations for “Shipper imbalance payback 

under rates [sic] schedule FTS” after all other Rate Schedule FTS nominations have been 

scheduled. 

The Commission has stated that imbalance quantities for makeup or payback 

should not be given a higher scheduling priority than any firm service quantities, and that 

firm service with secondary scheduling rights is still firm service and should have a 

scheduling priority directly following primary firm service.58 Driftwood Pipeline is

directed to revise GT&C Section 6.13.E of its tariff to comply with Commission policy.59

d. Pre-Granted Abandonment and Right of First Refusal 

In Order No. 636-B, the Commission clarified that the right of first refusal permits 

the existing capacity holder to elect to retain a volumetric portion of its capacity subject 

to the right of first refusal (ROFR).60 Driftwood Pipeline is directed to revise its 

proposed GT&C Sections 6.21.B.4 and 6.21.B.5 to clarify that Shippers may elect to 

exercise their ROFRs for all or a volumetric portion of capacity. 

e. NAESB Standards 

Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed tariff provisions in GT&C Section 6.25 implement 

the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) 

Version 3.0 business practice standards that the Commission incorporated by reference in

 58 Colorado Interstate Gas Co., 111 FERC ¶ 61,216, at P 19 (2005); Panhandle 

Eastern Pipe Line Co., 78 FERC ¶ 61,202, at 61,872 (1997).

59 A further compliance obligation with respect to the term “payback” in 

Section 6.10.C(2) is discussed below.

60 Pipeline Service Obligations and Revisions to Regulations Governing SelfImplementing Transportation; and Regulation of Natural Gas Pipelines After Partial 

Wellhead Decontrol, Order No. 636-B, 61 FERC ¶ 61,272 (1992), order on reh’g, 

62 FERC ¶ 61,007 (1993), aff’d in part and remanded in part sub nom. United 

Distribution Cos. v. FERC, 88 F.3d 1105 (D.C. Cir. 1996), order on remand, Order 

No. 636-C, 78 FERC ¶ 61,186 (1997).
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 20 -

its regulations.61 In the time since Driftwood Pipeline filed its proposed tariff in this 

proceeding, the Commission amended its regulations to incorporate by reference, with 

certain enumerated exceptions, the NAESB WGQ Version 3.1 business practice 

standards.62 Thus, we direct Driftwood Pipeline to file revised tariff records, no less than 

60 days prior to its in-service date, implementing the NAESB WGQ Version 3.1 business 

practice standards. Further, Driftwood Pipeline is directed to revise its proposed tariff to:

a) Revise the text of GT&C Section 6.19.K.4(c)(ii), Evening Recall 

Notification, to provide that Transporter should provide notification of such 

recall to all affected Replacement Shippers no later than 6:00 p.m. on the 

day that Evening Nominations are due (Central Clock Time); 

b) Revise the text of GT&C Section 6.19.K.4(e)(i), Intraday 2 Recall 

Notification, to provide that a Releasing Shipper recalling capacity should 

provide notice of such recall to Transporter and first Replacement Shipper 

no later than 12:00 p.m. on the day that Intraday 2 Nominations are due; 

c) Revise the text of GT&C Section 6.19.K.4(e)(ii), Intraday 2 Recall 

Notification, to provide that Transporter should provide notification of such 

recall to all affected Replacement Shippers no later than 1:00 p.m. on the 

day that Intraday 2 Nominations are due (Central Clock Time); 

d) Include a new Section 6.19.K.4(f)(i), titled “Intraday 3 Recall Notification” 

in GT&C Section 6.19.K, Capacity Release – Rights and Obligation of the 

Releasing Shipper, providing that a Releasing Shipper recalling capacity 

should provide notice of such recall to Transporter and first Replacement 

Shipper no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day that Intraday 3 Nominations are 

due;

e) Include a new section 6.19.K.4(f)(ii), titled “Intraday 3 Recall Notification” 

in GT&C Section 6.19.K, Capacity Release – Rights and Obligation of the 

Releasing Shipper, providing that Transporter should provide notification 

 61 Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines; 

Coordination of the Scheduling Processes of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines and Public 

Utilities, Order No. 587-W, 153 FERC ¶ 61,061 (2015), order on reh’g, 154 FERC 

¶ 61,207 (2016).

62 Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines, Order 

No. 587-Y, 83 Fed. Reg. 62,242 (December 3, 2018), 165 FERC ¶ 61,109 (2018). Under 

Order No. 587-Y, interstate natural gas pipelines are required to file compliance filings 

with the Commission by April 1, 2019, and are required to comply with the Version 3.1 

standards incorporated by reference in this rule on and after August 1, 2019.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 21 -

of such recall to all affected Replacement Shippers no later than 5:00 p.m. 

on the day that Intraday 3 Nominations are due (Central Clock Time); 

f) Include a reference to Minor Correction “MC15005” in GT&C 

Section 6.25, NAESB Standards; 

g) Change the reference from “General Standards and Location Data 

Downloads:” to “General:” in GT&C Section 6.25, NAESB Standards; 

h) Include Standard 0.2.5 in a section titled “Definitions:” under the heading 

“Additional Standards: – General:” in GT&C Section 6.25, NAESB 

Standards; 

i) Remove Standard 0.2.5 from the section titled “Gas-Electric Operational 

Communications:” in GT&C Section 6.25, NAESB Standards; and 

j) Change the reference from “5.3.336” to “5.3.36” in Section titled “Capacity 

Release Standards:” in GT&C Section 6.25, NAESB Standards. 

5. Revised Tariff Records

On April 23, 2018, in response to Commission staff’s April 13, 2018 data request, 

Driftwood Pipeline proposed several revisions to its pro forma tariff. The revised pro 

forma tariff records filed in Driftwood Pipeline’s April 23, 2018 response reflect current 

Commission policy, except as discussed below. Driftwood Pipeline is directed to include 

the proposed revisions, as conditioned below, in its compliance filing. 

a. Nominations, Confirmations and Scheduling and 

Incidental Purchases and Sales

The April 13, 2018 data request noted that Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed GT&C 

Section 6.33.A – Incidental Purchases and Sales, reads in part, “[s]uch purchase or 

sales shall have a lower priority than service under Rate Schedule FTS.” Driftwood

Pipeline was asked to explain why it did not include the purchases referenced in GT&C 

Section 6.33.A in the list of scheduling priorities provided in its proposed GT&C 

Section 6.10. 

In its April 23, 2018 response, Driftwood Pipeline proposes to revise GT&C 

Section 6.10.C.1 of its pro forma tariff to include purchases and sales of operational gas 

in the list of scheduling priorities in GT&C Section 6.10.C.1(d), immediately following 

FTS service utilizing secondary out-of-path points and prior to interruptible services 

under Rate Schedules ITS and PALS, and authorized overrun service. Driftwood

Pipeline also proposes to revise GT&C Section 6.33.A to state that “[s]uch purchases or 

sales shall have a priority as indicated in Section 6.10.C of the General Terms and 

Conditions of this Tariff.” 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 22 -

GT&C Section 6.10.C.2 provides Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed receipt and 

delivery point scheduling priorities. Driftwood Pipeline proposes that, to the extent 

receipt or delivery point capacity is insufficient to schedule the nominations of Shipper’s 

awarded capacity in GT&C Section 6.10.C.1, it will allocate point capacity at the subject 

receipt and delivery point in the following order: (1) firm transportation service for 

Shippers under Rate Schedule FTS nominating quantities at primary receipt or delivery 

points within the Maximum Daily Quantity (MDQ) in the service agreement; 

(2) transportation service under Rate Schedule FTS utilizing secondary receipt or 

delivery points; (3) shipper imbalance payback under Rate Schedule FTS; and 

(4) interruptible services under Rate Schedules ITS and PALS and firm transportation 

service under Rate Schedule FTS over the MDQs specified in the service agreement. 

The Commission accepts Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed scheduling priorities, 

with one exception. Driftwood Pipeline introduces the term “payback,” which is not 

defined in its tariff and is not a service. We will require Driftwood Pipeline to either 

remove this payback provision from GT&C Section 6.10.C.2 or list it last after the other 

scheduling priorities. In addition, we note GT&C Section 6.13 provides that shippers 

may submit a nomination to resolve an under- or over-delivery of gas. If Driftwood 

Pipeline elects to list the “payback” provision last after its scheduling priorities, we direct 

Driftwood Pipeline to revise this provision to account for the scheduling of nominations 

submitted to resolve under-deliveries of gas. 

b. Discounting

GT&C Section 6.27 of Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed pro forma tariff provides 

that usage charges are subject to discounting. In the April 13, 2018 data request, 

Commission staff asked Driftwood Pipeline to clarify how this provision is consistent 

with section 284.10(c)(5)(ii)(A) of the Commission’s regulations.63 In its April 23, 2018

response, Driftwood Pipeline states that this provision is consistent with the 

Commission’s regulations, and that it will clarify GT&C Section 6.27 to provide that in 

all circumstances the discounted rate will not be greater than the maximum rate or less 

than the minimum rate for the applicable service as set forth in its pro forma tariff. 

The Commission does not permit pipelines to offer discounts below their 

minimum rates, which are based on the variable costs allocated to the service to which 

the rate applies. Therefore, a pipeline, such as Driftwood Pipeline, using a straight fixedvariable rate design cannot discount its usage charges, because those usage charges only 

 63 Section 284.10(c)(5)(ii)(A) of the Commission’s regulations states “[e]xcept as 

provided in paragraph (d)(5)(ii)(B) of this section the pipeline may charge an individual 

customer any rate that is neither greater than the maximum rate nor less than the 

minimum rate on file for that service.” 18 C.F.R. § 284.10(c)(5)(ii)(A) (2018).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 23 -

contain variable costs and are therefore already the minimum rates.64 Accordingly, 

Driftwood Pipeline is directed to remove usage charges from GT&C Section 6.27. 

6. Accounting

Driftwood Pipeline, a newly created company, proposes to calculate its Allowance 

for Funds Used During Construction (AFUDC) based on its proposed debt and equity 

capital structure. This approach is consistent with the accounting guidance we have 

given other newly created companies.65 Consistent with Commission precedent, we 

will require Driftwood Pipeline to capitalize the actual costs of borrowed and other funds 

for construction purposes not to exceed the amount of debt and equity AFUDC that 

would be capitalized based on the overall rate of return approved. This will ensure that 

the amounts of AFUDC are properly capitalized in this project consistent with the 

Commission’s requirements for newly created companies approved in other cases.

V. Environmental Analysis

To satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA),66 Commission staff evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the 

proposed projects in an EIS. On September 14, 2018, Commission staff issued the draft 

EIS addressing issues raised up to the point of publication. Notice of the draft EIS was 

published in the Federal Register on September 21, 2018, establishing a 45-day public 

comment period ending on November 5, 2018.67 Commission staff held three public 

comment sessions between October 9 and October 11, 2018, to receive comments on 

the draft EIS. At the public comment sessions, thirteen individuals provided verbal 

comments and four individuals provided written comments. The Commission also 

received 44 written comment letters from federal, state, and local agencies; Native 

American tribes; elected officials; companies/organizations; individuals; and the 

applicants in response to the draft EIS. The transcripts of the public comment sessions 

and all written comments on the draft EIS are part of the public record for the projects.

 64 Texas Eastern Transmission LP, 129 FERC ¶ 61,031, at P 6 (2009).

65 See, e.g., ETC Tiger Pipeline, LLC, 131 FERC ¶ 61,010, at P 80 (2010);

Ruby Pipeline, L.L.C., 128 FERC ¶ 61,224, at P 85 (2009); Southeast Supply Header,

LLC, 119 FERC ¶ 61,153, at P 64 (2007).

66 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq. (2012). See also the Commission’s NEPAimplementing regulations at Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 380.

67 83 Fed. Reg. 47,918.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 24 -

On January 18, 2019, Commission staff issued the final EIS for the projects, which 

addresses all substantive environmental comments received on the draft EIS.68 The final 

EIS addresses geology; soils; water resources; fisheries and aquatic resources; wetlands; 

vegetation; wildlife resources; threatened, endangered, and other special status species; 

land use, recreation, and visual resources; socioeconomics; cultural resources; air quality 

and noise; safety; cumulative impacts; alternatives; and the comments received on the 

draft EIS. The final EIS concludes that construction and operation of the projects will 

result in some adverse environmental impacts, but impacts will be reduced to less-thansignificant levels with the implementation of the applicants’ proposed mitigation 

measures and Commission staff’s recommended mitigation measures, which are included 

as conditions in the appendix to this order. The Commission received comments on the 

final EIS from one environmental non-governmental organization, one individual, and the 

applicants. Those comments and major environmental issues addressed in the final EIS

are discussed below.

A. Geology

The Driftwood LNG Project would be located in an area with historically low 

seismic risk and minimal seismic activity.69 The final EIS concludes that the Driftwood 

LNG Project would be designed to minimize the risk to structures from seismic activity.70 

Driftwood LNG proposes to design the site topography, including site elevation, to 

support construction of the facility and meet federal safety regulations.71 The Driftwood 

Pipeline Project would not cross any significant geologic hazards.72 Growth faults were 

identified as a potential issue of concern for the Driftwood Pipeline Project; however, the 

rate of movement from growth faults in the area is relatively low and the project would 

be designed to accommodate any shift.73 Blasting is not anticipated during construction 

of the projects, and no paleontological resources are anticipated within the project 

areas.74 Therefore, the final EIS concludes that the projects’ impacts on geological 

 68 Final EIS at Appendix F.

69 Id. at ES-3.

70 Id. at 5-2.

71 Id. at 4-1.

72 Id. at 5-2.

73 Id. at ES-3 and 4-11.

74 Id. at 5-2.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 25 -

resources would be adequately minimized and not significant, and the potential impacts 

on the projects from geologic hazards would be minimal. 

B. Soils

Construction of the projects would disturb soils and increase the potential for 

erosion, compaction, and the mixing of topsoil and subsoil.75 Soils in the project 

areas generally are not erodible, but are compaction-prone.76 Compaction impacts in 

residential and agricultural areas would be mitigated through use of timber mats and 

low-pressure tires on vehicles crossing compaction-prone soils.77 Although 385 acres 

of land that would be permanently impacted by the Driftwood LNG Project can be 

characterized as prime farmland, the site is zoned as industrial, and therefore is not 

consistent with the designation of prime farmland.78 Construction of the Driftwood 

Pipeline Project would impact 1,622 acres of prime farmland, but most of this land 

would be restored to pre-construction conditions in accordance with the applicants’ 

project-specific Upland Erosion Control, Revegetation and Maintenance Plan (projectspecific Plan) and Wetland and Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures

(project-specific Procedures); operation of the Driftwood Pipeline Project would only 

impact 135 acres of prime farmland.79

An area of known soil, sediment, and groundwater contamination has been 

identified adjacent to the Driftwood LNG Project.

80 The Louisiana Department of 

Environmental Quality (Louisiana DEQ) has defined the extent of contamination, 

developed a course for remediation, and has reviewed and approved a project-specific 

risk management plan.81 Contaminated sediments delineated within the project area 

would be managed with separate remediation and excavation actions prescribed by 

Louisiana DEQ, and only sediments defined as “uncontaminated dredged material” 

 75 Id.

76 Id.

77 Id. at 4-16.

78 Id. at 5-2.

79 Id. at ES-3 to ES-4.

80 Id. at 5-2.

81 Id. at 4-20.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 26 -

would be used for the applicants’ proposed marsh development.82 In addition, Driftwood 

LNG has developed a Risk Management Plan to address the possibility of encountering 

contaminated materials while dredging in the area. Therefore, the final EIS concludes 

that overall impacts on soil resources would not be significant.

C. Water Resources

The Driftwood LNG Project lies within the Chicot Aquifer System, which is 

designated as a sole-source aquifer.83 Withdrawal of large volumes of water could 

minimally lower the water table, however, Driftwood LNG does not propose to use direct 

withdrawal of groundwater during project construction or operation.84 Rather, Driftwood 

would use municipal water supply to meet project construction and operation water 

needs. As noted above, an area of known soil, sediment, and groundwater contamination 

has been identified adjacent to the Driftwood LNG Project. This area would not be 

dredged or directly disturbed.85 The Driftwood Pipeline Project would cross six wellhead 

protection areas, and there are eight active private water wells within 150 feet of the 

project workspace.86 To minimize potential impacts on water wells, Driftwood Pipeline 

would implement measures in its Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures Plan. 

The final EIS concludes that, with implementation of the applicants’ proposed plans and 

measures, impacts on groundwater from the projects would be minimal.

Surface water impacts from construction and operation of the Driftwood LNG 

Project could occur during site grading activities, fill activities, dredging and construction 

activities, vessel traffic, hydrostatic testing, and spills or leaks of hazardous materials.87 

With implementation of Driftwood LNG’s proposed mitigation measures for each of 

those activities, the final EIS concludes that impacts on surface waters from construction 

and operation of the Driftwood LNG Project would be temporary and minor. The 

Driftwood Pipeline Project would cross 317 waterbodies; Driftwood Pipeline would 

avoid surface impacts to 15 of these waterbodies with the proposed use of horizontal 

 82 Id.

83 Id. at 5-2.

84 Id. at 5-2 to 5-3.

85 Id. at ES-4.

86 Id.

87 Id. at 4-41.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 27 -

directional drilling.

88 To minimize impacts on surface waters, Driftwood Pipeline 

proposes to implement its project-specific Procedures, a Horizontal Directional Drilling 

Contingency and Fluid Monitoring Plan, and to perform all work in accordance with 

applicable permits. With implementation of Driftwood Pipeline’s proposed mitigation 

measures, the final EIS concludes that the Driftwood Pipeline Projects would not 

significantly impact surface waters.

D. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

Dredging and construction of the marine facilities for the Driftwood LNG Project 

would temporarily affect fisheries and aquatic resources.89 Impacts on fisheries and 

aquatic resources would vary by species, but most fish species are highly mobile and 

would be able to avoid areas during dredging and pile driving activities.90 To minimize 

impacts from pile driving, Environmental Condition 17 requires Driftwood LNG to 

develop an In-Water Pile Driving Plan in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS) prior to the start of in-water pile driving activities. Cooling water intake 

associated with LNG carriers would result in impacts on ichthyoplankton and other small 

organisms, but the impacts would not be significant given the high abundance of these 

species in estuarine waters.91 As noted above, the Driftwood Pipeline Project would 

cross 317 waterbodies. Driftwood Pipeline proposes to implement horizontal directional 

drilling and the measures in its project-specific Procedures to minimize and mitigate 

impacts on aquatic resources from these crossings, and the final EIS concludes that the 

majority of impacts from the project would be temporary and minor.92 

Construction of the Driftwood LNG Project would also have permanent and 

temporary impacts on Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).93 To mitigate impacts on EFH, 

Driftwood proposes to use dredged material to restore historical emergent wetlands. 

Due to the relatively small area of EFH that would be impacted and Driftwood LNG’s 

 88 Id. at ES-4.

89 Id.

90 Id. at ES-4 and 4-50.

91 Id. at 5-5.

92 Id. at 4-58.

93 Id. at 4-63 to 4-65.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 28 -

proposed mitigation, NMFS concluded that construction of the Driftwood LNG Project 

would not result in significant adverse impacts on EFH.94

Therefore, the final EIS concludes that impacts on fisheries and aquatic resources 

would not be significant. 

E. Wetlands

Construction and operation of the Driftwood LNG Project would result in the 

permanent loss of approximately 319 acres of wetlands.95 Construction and operation of 

the Driftwood Pipeline Project would temporarily affect approximately 426 acres of 

wetlands, but would permanently impact only approximately 78 acres.96 The applicants 

propose to follow their project-specific Procedures to minimize impacts on wetlands. To 

mitigate unavoidable impacts on wetlands, the applicants would contribute dredged 

material to Louisiana’s Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program to build and restore 

dredged coastal wetlands.97 Additionally, Environmental Condition 18 requires 

Driftwood Pipeline to revise its horizontal directional drilling crossing plan for the 

Calcasieu River to avoid impacts on a forested wetland complex. The final EIS 

concludes that impacts on wetlands due to construction and operation of the projects 

would not be significant. 

F. Vegetation

Construction of the Driftwood LNG Project would result in the clearing of 

689 acres of vegetation, of which approximately 551 acres would be permanently lost.

98 

Because of the abundance of similar vegetation resources in the region, the final EIS 

concludes that the Driftwood LNG Project’s impact on vegetation would not be 

significant. Construction of the Driftwood Pipeline Project would result in the clearing of 

approximately 1,751 acres of vegetation, of which approximately 644 acres would be 

permanently lost due to operation of the pipeline right-of-way and the proposed 

 94 Id. at 4-61.

95 Id. at ES-5.

96 Id.

97 Id.

98 Id. at 4-77.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 29 -

aboveground facilities.

99 The Driftwood Pipeline Project would be parallel or co-located 

with existing disturbed corridors for about 68 miles (70 percent of the entire pipeline 

length), which reduces the amount of forest fragmentation.100 Following construction, 

Driftwood Pipeline would restore construction workspaces to pre-construction 

conditions. Driftwood Pipeline proposes to use temporary and permanent erosion control 

measures, topsoil segregation in agricultural and residential uplands and unsaturated 

wetlands, testing and mitigation for soil compaction, and limited routine vegetation 

maintenance during operation of the permanent pipeline right-of-way. Therefore, the 

final EIS concludes that the Driftwood Pipeline Project would not have significant 

impacts on vegetation.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries identified two longleaf pine 

savanna habitat communities that would be affected by construction of the Driftwood 

Pipeline Project, and recommended a mitigation plan be developed.101 These plant 

communities occur primarily on wetlands, and Driftwood Pipeline would minimize 

impacts on these communities with the implementation of its project-specific Procedures 

and would mitigate the permanent impact on these communities through the project’s 

compensatory wetland mitigation plan under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of 

Engineers.102

G. Wildlife Resources

Wildlife habitat at the Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline Projects’

aboveground facility sites would be permanently affected.103 The greatest impacts on

wildlife habitat would result from cutting, clearing, and removal of existing vegetation, 

which would reduce the amount of available wildlife habitat.104 Construction of the 

projects could also result in increased rates of stress, injury, and mortality to wildlife 

species.105 To minimize impacts on wildlife species, the applicants propose to follow 

 99 Id. at 4-78.

100 Id. at 4-79.

101 Id. at 4-81.

102 Id.

103 Id. at ES-6.

104 Id.

105 Id. at ES-6 and 4-83.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 30 -

their project-specific Plan and Procedures; an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan; a 

Revegetation and Invasive Species Management Plan; and a Spill Prevention, Control, 

and Countermeasures Plan. The Driftwood LNG Project site is considered to have

relatively low habitat value in its current state, and an abundance of similar habitat for 

wildlife exists nearby.106 

To minimize impacts on migratory birds, the applicants developed a preliminary 

set of mitigation measures. Environmental Condition 19 requires Driftwood LNG and 

Driftwood Pipeline to develop a final set of mitigation measures for migratory birds in 

consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

With implementation of the measures proposed by the applicants, the final EIS 

concludes that impacts on wildlife, including migratory birds, would not be significant.

H. Threatened and Endangered Species

According to FWS and NMFS, sixteen federally listed species may occur within 

the parishes affected by the projects. Commission staff determined that the projects 

would not likely adversely affect listed species or critical habitat under NMFS’s purview, 

and, on February 14, 2018, NMFS concurred.107 Thus, Endangered Species Act 

consultation with NMFS is complete. Commission staff also determined that the projects

would not likely affect listed species or critical habitat under FWS’s purview, and, on 

March 31, 2017, FWS concurred.108 One additional species, the eastern black rail, was 

proposed for listing as threatened by the FWS on October 9, 2018, and could be present 

in the project areas.109 Thus, Environmental Condition 20 requires Driftwood LNG and 

Driftwood Pipeline to consult with FWS to determine whether the projects could affect 

the eastern black rail or its habitat prior to beginning construction.

I. Land Use, Recreation, and Visual Resources

Land use in, adjacent to, and surrounding the Driftwood LNG Project site consists 

of undeveloped lands, rural residential lands, and developed lands including other 

industrial facilities.110 To minimize impacts on nearby residences at the Driftwood 

 106 Id. at 4-84.

107 Id. at 4-91.

108 Id.

109 83 Fed. Reg. 50,610.

110 Final EIS at ES-6.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 31 -

Community, Driftwood LNG proposes to maintain vegetation and trees as natural 

screening. There are eight structures within 25 feet of the Driftwood Pipeline Project 

construction right-of-way, two of which would be purchased by Driftwood Pipeline.111 

Driftwood Pipeline has developed site-specific plans for the remaining six structures. 

Construction of the projects would impact some agricultural and residential lands, but the 

applicants propose to implement procedures to minimize and mitigate impacts on these 

lands.112 Therefore, the final EIS concludes that impacts from the projects on the 

surrounding area, including residential land, would not be significant.

There are no designated natural, recreational, scenic areas, or wildlife refuges 

within or adjacent to the Driftwood LNG Project site. The recreation areas closest to the 

project site include the Intracoastal Park (1.3 miles away) and Calcasieu Point Landing 

(1.4 miles away).113 Construction and operation of the Driftwood LNG Project would 

increase the number of vessels using the Calcasieu Ship Channel. Recreational fishermen 

and boaters in the area are accustomed to ship traffic and the increase in marine traffic 

during construction should not adversely affect recreational fishing and boating 

activities.114 During operation, recreational boaters could be impacted by channel 

closures, but the impact would not be significant.115 The Creole Natural Trail AllAmerican Road is a roadway system that extends through Calcasieu and Cameron 

Parishes. During construction of the Driftwood LNG Project, there would be a 

substantial increase in traffic, which could impact access to the Creole Nature Trail AllAmerican Road.116 The final EIS concludes that the impacts would be minor to moderate 

with implementation of Driftwood LNG’s Traffic Management Plan.

The Driftwood Pipeline Project would cross one state-managed Scenic River, the 

Calcasieu River.117 Driftwood Pipeline proposes to cross the river using horizontal 

 111 Id. at ES-7.

112 Id. at 4-114 to 4-116.

113 Id. at 5-8 to 5-9.

114 Id. at 4-119.

115 Id.

116 Id. at 5-9.

117 Id.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 32 -

directional drilling, and to set entry and exit workspaces back at least 400 feet from the 

edge of the waterbody. 

The Driftwood LNG Project, and associated ship traffic, would be in the viewshed 

of nearby residences and recreational boaters and fishermen. In addition, the facility 

would require outdoor lighting for safety that would be visible to nearby residences at 

night. Once the Driftwood LNG Project is completed, the aesthetics would be consistent 

with other existing industrial developments along the Calcasieu Ship Channel.118 To 

minimize visual impacts, Driftwood LNG would maintain vegetation screening. 

Therefore, the final EIS concludes that the visual impact from the Driftwood LNG 

Project on the nearby community would not be significant. 

About 70 percent of the Driftwood Pipeline Project would parallel existing 

permanent rights-of-way, limiting changes in the viewshed from the project.119 

Following construction of the compressor stations, Driftwood Pipeline would maintain 

existing vegetation on the property, paint all buildings and outdoor equipment, install 

fencing, and, if necessary, plant local vegetation to further shield the stations from 

neighboring structures. Although visual impacts from the compressor stations would be 

permanent, they would not be significant due to the proposed mitigation proposed by 

Driftwood Pipeline, the distance from visual receptors, and the presence of similar 

industrial facilities in the viewshed.120

Therefore, the final EIS concludes that the land use, recreation, and visual impacts 

associated with the projects would not be significant. 

J. Socioeconomics

Construction of the projects would result in minor impacts on the local population, 

local housing markets and property values, and public services.121 Construction of the 

Driftwood LNG Project could also result in impacts on traffic, and Driftwood LNG 

proposes to implement measures in its Traffic Management Plan to mitigate those 

impacts.122 As noted above, operation of the Driftwood LNG Project could also result in 

 118 Id. at ES-8.

119 Id. at 5-10.

120 Id.

121 Id. at 4-130 to 4-135.

122 Id. at 4-136 to 4-137.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 33 -

impacts on marine traffic. Operation of the projects would have a positive economic 

effect on the local community.123 The projects would not result in disproportionately 

high or adverse environmental and human health impacts on low-income and minority 

populations.124 The final EIS concludes that the projects would not have significant 

socioeconomic impacts.

K. Cultural Resources

Construction and operation of the projects could have the potential to affect 

historic and archaeological properties.125 Due to restricted access, the applicants were 

not able to complete all cultural resource surveys. Environmental Condition 22, 

discussed further below, requires that all cultural surveys, and related consultation, are 

completed prior to construction.126 In addition, given the height of structures at the 

Driftwood LNG Project, Environmental Condition 21 requires Driftwood LNG to 

increase the radius of the project’s indirect Area of Potential Effect (APE) from 0.5 to 1.0 

mile. The revised indirect APE and associated addendum report should be sent to the 

State Historic Preservation Officer for comment.

L. Air Quality and Noise

Construction emissions from the Driftwood LNG Project would occur for an 

estimated 86 months. The construction emissions would not be a permanent source of 

emissions, and, therefore would not have a long-term effect on air quality in the area.127 

Most construction impacts would be temporary and localized.

128 During the three years 

of concurrent commissioning, construction, and operation of the Driftwood LNG Project, 

emission levels may result in exceedances to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) in the immediate vicinity of facilities during these construction years, although 

 123 Id. at 4-130 to 4-132.

124 Id. at 4-141.

125 Id. at 4-142.

126 The final EIS at 4-144 incorrectly states that 3,988.8 acres still need to be 

surveyed. Table 4.11-1 of the final EIS, however, correctly lists that 398.8 acres still 

require surveying. 

127 Final EIS at ES-9.

128 Id.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 34 -

these exceedances would not be persistent at any one time due to the dynamic and 

fluctuating nature of construction activities within a day, week, or month.129 

Construction emissions from the Driftwood Pipeline Project would consist 

primarily of fugitive dust. Emissions from the pipeline construction would occur at any 

given location for only a short period, as pipeline construction moves along the route.130 

Operational air quality modeling for the Driftwood LNG Project and Driftwood 

Pipeline Project compressor stations demonstrates that the operational impacts from the 

projects would be below NAAQS.131 Therefore, the final EIS concludes that there would 

be no regionally significant impacts on air quality. 

Noise levels associated with construction would vary depending on the phase of 

construction in progress at any time, with the highest levels of construction noise at the 

Driftwood LNG Project occurring during the earth-moving and pile-driving work.132 

There are six noise-sensitive areas near the Driftwood LNG Project site. To ensure 

that impacts due to maximum pile driving noise levels are minimized, Environmental 

Condition 24 requires Driftwood LNG to file, prior to construction, a Pile Driving Noise 

Management Plan. In addition, because Driftwood LNG proposes to construct the 

facility 24 hours a day, Environmental Condition 23 requires Driftwood to file, prior to 

construction, a Night Time Noise Mitigation and Monitoring Plan.

Noise levels associated with construction of the Driftwood Pipeline Project would 

be intermittent and generally would occur between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., with the 

potential exception of horizontal directional drilling activity. Horizontal directional 

drilling is proposed at 11 locations (2 of the 12 crossings would be installed at a single 

location), seven of which are near noise-sensitive areas. Environmental Condition 25 

requires Driftwood Pipeline to file, prior to construction, a Horizontal Directional 

Drilling Noise Mitigation Plan. 

Noise would occur during operation throughout the life of the Driftwood LNG 

Project. To ensure that noise-sensitive areas are not adversely affected by the phased 

operation of the facility, Environmental Condition 26 requires Driftwood LNG to file 

noise surveys after each liquefaction plant is placed into service. In addition, 

 129 Id.

130 Id. at ES-10.

131 Id.

132 Id.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 35 -

Environmental Condition 27 requires Driftwood LNG to file a full-load noise survey after 

placing the entire Driftwood LNG Project into service. 

Noise would also occur during operation throughout the life of the Driftwood 

Pipeline Project’s meter and compressor stations. To ensure that noise from certain meter 

stations does not exceed the Commission’s day-night sound level limit, Environmental 

Condition 28 requires Driftwood Pipeline to file a noise survey after placing certain 

meter stations into service. To ensure that noise from the compressor stations does not 

exceed the Commission’s day-night sound level limit, Environmental Condition 29 

requires Driftwood Pipeline to file a noise survey after placing each compressor station 

into service. With implementation of the mitigation measures proposed by the applicants 

and required by the Environmental Conditions, the final EIS concludes that the projects 

would not have a significant impact on noise. 

M. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

With respect to impacts from greenhouse gases (GHGs), the final EIS discusses 

the direct GHG impacts from construction and operation of the projects, the climate 

change impacts in the region,133 and the regulatory structure for GHGs under the Clean 

Air Act.134 

The final EIS estimated that operation of the projects, including the LNG terminal 

and pipeline facilities, may result in direct and indirect emissions of up to 10,641,908

tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).135 To provide context to the GHG 

estimate, according to the national net CO2e emissions estimate in the EPA’s Inventory of 

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (EPA 2018), 5.795 billion metric tons of CO2e 

were emitted at the national level in 2016 (inclusive of CO2e sources and sinks). The 

operational emissions of these facilities could potentially increase annual CO2e emissions

 133 Id. at 4-294.

134 Id. at 4-152 and 4-295. 

135 Id. at Tables 4.12-4, 4.12-8, 4.12-9, 4.12-10, and 4.12-14.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 36 -

based on the 2016 levels by 0.17 percent at the national level.136 Currently, there are no 

national targets to use as benchmarks for comparison.137 

The final EIS included a qualitative discussion that addressed various effects of 

climate change.138 The final EIS acknowledges that the quantified GHG emissions from 

the construction and operation of the projects will contribute incrementally to climate 

change.

139 Further, the Commission has previously concluded it could not determine a 

project’s incremental physical impacts on the environment caused by GHG emissions.140 

The Commission has also previously concluded it could not determine whether a 

project’s contribution to climate change would be significant.141

N. Reliability and Safety

As part of the NEPA review, staff assessed potential impacts to the human 

environment in terms of safety and whether the proposed facilities would operate safely, 

reliably, and securely. Commission staff reviewed potential external impacts associated 

with the Driftwood LNG Project based on the project site location; conducted a technical 

review of the engineering design; and recommended a number of mitigation measures 

to be implemented prior to initial site preparation, prior to construction of final design, 

prior to commissioning, prior to introduction of hazardous fluids, prior to commencement 

of service, and throughout life of the facility. Based on this analysis, and with the 

incorporation of the recommended mitigation measures and oversight, staff concluded 

that the Driftwood LNG Project’s design would include acceptable layers of protection or 

safeguards that would reduce the risk of a potentially hazardous scenario from developing 

into an event that could impact the offsite public. 

 136 EPA. 2018. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990-

2016. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-

01/documents/2018_executive_summary.pdf (accessed February 2019).

137 The national emissions reduction targets expressed in the EPA’s Clean Power 

Plan and the Paris climate accord are pending repeal and withdrawal, respectively. 

138 Final EIS at 4-294 to 4-296.

139 Id. at 5-16.

140 Dominion Transmission, Inc., 163 FERC ¶ 61,128, at PP 67-70 (2018) 

(LaFleur, Comm’r, dissenting in part; Glick, Comm’r, dissenting in part).

141 Id.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 37 -

In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reviewed the waterfront portions of the

proposed Driftwood LNG Project and the associated LNG carrier traffic with regard to 

navigation safety and maritime security. On April 25, 2017, the USCG issued a Letter of 

Recommendation to the Commission, indicating the Calcasieu Ship Channel would be 

considered suitable for accommodating the type and frequency of LNG marine traffic 

associated with the Driftwood LNG Project. If the LNG Facility is authorized and 

constructed, the facility would be subject to the USCG’s inspection and enforcement 

program to ensure compliance with the requirements of 33 C.F.R. §§ 105 and 127.142

Further, as noted above,143 PHMSA determined that the siting of the proposed 

LNG facilities complies with the federal safety standards governing the location, design, 

construction, operation, and maintenance of LNG facilities.144 PHMSA’s LOD 

summarizes PHMSA’s evaluation of the hazard modeling results and endpoints used to 

establish exclusion zones, as well as its review of Driftwood LNG’s evaluation of 

potential incidents and safety measures that could have a bearing on the safety of plant 

personnel and the surrounding public. 

In addition, the Driftwood Pipeline Project would be constructed, operated, and 

maintained in accordance with DOT’s safety standards. Accordingly, the final EIS 

concludes that the project would have a slight increase in risk to the nearby public, but 

that the risk would be minimized through Driftwood Pipeline’s compliance with the 

DOT’s standards.145

O. Cumulative Impacts

The final EIS considered the cumulative impacts of the proposed Driftwood LNG 

and Driftwood Pipeline Projects with other projects in the same geographic and temporal 

scope of the projects.

146 The types of other projects evaluated in the final EIS that could 

potentially contribute to cumulative impacts on a range of environmental resources 

include existing LNG terminals and future liquefaction projects, currently operating and 

future oil and gas projects, other energy projects, industrial facilities, housing 

 142 33 C.F.R. §§ 105 and 127 (2018).

143 See supra at P 26.

144 See 49 C.F.R. pt. 193, Subpart B (2018).

145 Final EIS at ES-12.

146 Id. at ES-12 to ES-13 and 4-260 to 4-298.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 38 -

developments, commercial developments, and transportation/infrastructure projects.147 

The final EIS concludes that, for resources where a level of impact could be ascertained, 

the projects the projects’ contribution to cumulative impacts on resources affected by the 

projects would not be significant, and that the potential cumulative impacts of the 

projects and the other projects considered would be minor or insignificant.

148 

The EIS’s cumulative impacts analysis did not disclose or evaluate combined 

GHG emissions from LNG facilities and industry in the vicinity. The EIS stated, among 

other reasons, that “GHGs have no localized geographic scope, as there are little to no 

direct impacts from elevated CO2 concentrations at a local level.”149 However, in this 

case, in light of a landowner comment on the draft EIS150 requesting that the Commission 

address the CO2 emissions from the other LNG facilities in the local area, we 

acknowledge that there are five proposed or authorized LNG export projects within 

50 km151 of the Driftwood Project and that each project will have varying levels of direct 

and indirect CO2 emissions associated with the operations of the facilities.152

P. Alternatives

The final EIS evaluates several alternatives to the proposed projects, including 

the No-Action Alternative, system alternatives for the proposed LNG and pipeline 

facilities, LNG facility site and configurations alternatives, pipeline route alternatives, 

and compressor station location alternatives.153 The final EIS concludes that, except for 

two minor route variations (required by Environmental Condition 5), the alternatives 

 147 Id. at 4-263.

148 Id. at 5-14 to 5-16.

149 Id. at 4-292. 

150 Id. at Appendix F, F-7.

151 50 kilometers is the distance used in the final EIS and by the EPA for 

cumulative modeling of large sources of air pollutants. Id. at 4-262, Table at 4.14-1.

152 Id. at Table 4.14-5 in Appendix A (Other Projects in the Air Quality 

Geographic Scope of Analysis Considered for Cumulative Impacts), listing Calcasieu 

Pass LNG; Lake Charles Liquefaction; Cameron LNG Liquefaction; Magnolia LNG; and 

Commonwealth LNG. 

153 Id. at 3-3 to 3-47.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 39 -

proposed do not offer a significant environmental advantage and the proposed projects, as 

modified by Commission staff’s recommended measures, are the preferred alternative.154

Q. Comments Received After Issuance of the Final EIS

In its comments on the final EIS, an environmental non-governmental 

organization, Restore Explicit Symmetry To Our Ravaged Earth (RESTORE), expressed 

general concerns similar to concerns expressed in the comments received during

environmental scoping for the projects and during the draft EIS comment period; these 

general concerns are regarding impacts on geology;

155 soil and sediment 

contamination;

156 groundwater and surface water contamination;157 fisheries and aquatic 

resource impacts from lighting, dredging, ballast-water discharge, cooling-water intake 

and discharge, and noise;

158 migratory birds;159 special status species;160 air quality and 

noise;

161 transportation;162 and cumulative impacts.163 Each of these concerns are 

addressed in the final EIS. We agree with the final EIS’s conclusions that impacts on 

these resources would be adequately minimized, and that construction and operation of 

the proposed projects would not result in significant impacts on these resources.

RESTORE also expresses concern that information regarding the presence of

dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) in the vicinity of the Driftwood LNG Project 

site was not previously disclosed in the draft EIS. The detection of DNAPL by a

 154 Id. at 5-1.

155 See id. at 4-21 and 4-222 to 4-223.

156 See id. at 4-19 to 4-21.

157 See id. at 4-36 to 4-37.

158 See id. at 4-56 and 4-63.

159 See id. at 4-86 to 4-90.

160 See id. at 4-94 to 4-98.

161 See id. at 4-159 and 4-173 to 4-179.

162 See id. at 4-136 to 4-138.

163 See id. at 4-280 and 4-285.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 40 -

monitoring well in the 38-foot shell-hash164 water-bearing zone was previously disclosed 

in the draft EIS.

165 The final EIS, however, notes that additional sampling was performed 

in 2018 in the area to be dredged. The 2018 sampling did not detect DNAPL in the 

38-foot shell-hash or other soil layers.

166 The final EIS further discloses the potential 

for groundwater contaminants to migrate into the Calcasieu River, and concludes that, 

should migration of contaminated groundwater occur, the effects would be minor and 

temporary.167 Commission staff coordinated extensively with the federal and state 

agencies that oversee groundwater contamination, including the Army Corps of 

Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Louisiana DEQ, to ensure a 

regulatory pathway would be in place if contamination is encountered during project 

construction. The final EIS notes that the Louisiana DEQ reviews and regulates potential 

sources of pollution to ensure activities are consistent with state laws and regulations.168

As noted above, the Louisiana DEQ has defined the extent of contamination in the 

project area, developed a course for remediation, and has reviewed and approved a 

project-specific risk management plan.169 Therefore, the final EIS concludes, and we 

agree, that overall impacts on soil and water resources would not be significant.

RESTORE alleges a discrepancy in the estimated duration of construction impacts 

for the Driftwood LNG Project. RESTORE states that, in the final EIS, air quality 

impacts were assessed based on an 86-month construction schedule, while noise impacts 

were assumed to occur 24 hours a day for only 36 months. The final EIS correctly 

considered the duration of noise impacts. Construction of the Driftwood LNG Project 

will last a total of 86 months, and Driftwood LNG may construct 24 hours per day during 

portions of this period. Pile driving activities, however, will only last for 36 months, and 

Driftwood LNG has committed to limit pile driving activities to between 7:00 a.m. and 

7:00 p.m.170

 164 Surface substrate shell-hash layers are dominated by loose shell accumulations 

with a median particle size of 2 to 64 millimeters.

165 See draft EIS at 4-26. See also final EIS at 4-26 and 4-28.

166 Final EIS at 4-26.

167 Id. at 4-28.

168 Id.

169 Id. at 4-20.

170 See id. at 2-30.

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 41 -

RESTORE also expresses concern regarding the proposed design and construction 

of the LNG storage tanks and the tertiary containment area. The results of Driftwood 

LNG’s geotechnical investigation at the project site indicate that subsurface conditions 

are suitable for the proposed facilities, as long as the proposed site preparation, 

foundation design, and construction methods are implemented. Furthermore, the final 

EIS recommends, as required by the Environmental Condition 53 in the appendix to this 

order, that Driftwood LNG submit final tank design specifications for approval prior to 

construction. Driftwood LNG proposes to construct an earthen berm around the project

site, with a crest elevation measuring 15-feet-tall on the northern, southern, and western 

faces of the facility and 16-feet-tall on the eastern face of the facility. Driftwood LNG

also proposes to construct a 14-foot-high wave wall on top of the northern, southern, 

and western berm walls, with the lower 2-3 feet designed for wind-driven wave effects. 

The front of the berm would be protected by grass or crushed rock. In the final EIS, 

Commission staff concluded that, based on staff’s storm surge analysis, the proposal 

would provide adequate protection.

171 In addition, the final EIS recommends, as 

required by the Environmental Condition 31, that Driftwood LNG file a monitoring and 

maintenance plan for the perimeter levee prior to commencement of service to ensure 

the crest elevation relative to mean sea level is maintained for the life of the facility.

RESTORE also indicates that Driftwood LNG’s proposed backup power source 

may not be adequate, particularly in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Electricity for 

construction and operation would be supplied by a local utility company, and backup 

power would be provided by diesel generation capacity sufficient to operate critical 

systems and allow a safe and orderly shutdown in the event of a power failure from the 

main grid.172 The diesel generators would provide essential power for systems such as 

egress lighting, controllers of shutdown and safety systems, firewater pumps, and 

stormwater drainage pumps, which may be required during storm events or emergency 

situations.173 Driftwood LNG’s design would include multiple layers of protection or 

safeguards to facilitate a controlled shutdown and the management of BOG from the 

LNG storage tanks. As such, the backup power source would only be utilized to operate 

essential safety equipment and instrumentation, and would not be utilized for 

continuation of normal operations. Driftwood LNG’s Emergency Response Plan, 

required by Environmental Condition 35, will detail procedures for handling natural 

disaster events. 

RESTORE contends that the four fire-fighting tractor tugs may not always be 

available to Driftwood LNG in the event of an emergency. All four fire-fighting tractor 

 171 Id. at 4-218 to 4-219 and 4-225 to 4-226.

172 Id. at 1-12.

173 Id.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 42 -

tugs would be dedicated on a full-time basis to Driftwood LNG’s shipping needs, and

their emergency usage, which would commensurate with the severity level of the event, 

would be dictated by Driftwood LNG’s Emergency Response Plan. In addition, 

emergency responses would be coordinated with appropriate federal, state, and local 

officials.

Lastly, RESTORE expresses concern regarding the safety of the liquefaction 

facility and the associated LNG carriers. Driftwood LNG completed significant and 

extensive studies and analyses of the safety and reliability of the proposed Driftwood 

LNG Project, as required by DOT–PHMSA’s and USCG’s regulations. As discussed 

above, PHMSA issued an LOD on December 18, 2018, indicating Driftwood LNG has 

demonstrated that the siting of its proposed LNG facilities complies with the federal 

safety standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. Part 193, Subpart B.

174 In addition, the USCG 

reviewed Driftwood LNG’s Waterway Suitability Assessment, and determined that the 

Calcasieu Ship Channel would be considered suitable for accommodating the type and 

frequency of LNG marine traffic associated with the project.175

As explained above, Commission staff also conducted a technical review of the

preliminary engineering design, and determined that the Driftwood LNG Project would 

include acceptable layers of protection or safeguards that would reduce the risk of a 

potentially hazardous scenario from developing into an event that could impact the offsite 

public.

176

With regards to security during project operation, the Maritime Transportation 

Security Act177 requires all terminal owners and operators to submit a Facility Security 

Assessment and a Facility Security Plan to the USCG for review and approval before 

commencing operations.

178 Driftwood LNG would also be required to control and 

 174 49 C.F.R. pt. 193, Subpart B (2018).

175 See USCG’s April 25, 2017 Letter of Recommendation (filed June 20, 2017). 

For further discussion, see final EIS at 2-62 to 2-67, 4-137 to 4-138, and 4-202 to 4-211.

176 See final EIS at 4-195 to 4-250.

177 Pub. L. No. 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064 (Nov. 25, 2002).

178 In addition, security requirements are governed by 33 C.F.R. § §105 and 127 

(2018), and 49 C.F.R. pt. 193, Subpart J (2018).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 43 -

restrict access to the facility, patrol and monitor the facility, and respond to security 

threats or breaches, as further described in Section 4.13.1.5 of the final EIS.

179

A member of the public, Mr. Kenneth Teague, expresses concern regarding the

potential dredging and disposal of contaminated materials at the Driftwood LNG Project

site. In particular, Mr. Teague states that contaminated materials should not be used as 

part of Driftwood LNG’s compensatory mitigation. The draft EIS identified an area 

adjacent to the known contamination area that had not been sampled or assessed for 

contamination.180 In comments on the draft EIS, Driftwood clarified that it would not

disturb the aforementioned unassessed area. The final EIS concludes that, with this 

clarification and commitment to avoid dredging unassessed sediment, dredging of 

sediment will not result in significant impacts on groundwater, waterbodies, or 

wetlands.181 Moreover, as noted above, only sediments defined as “uncontaminated 

dredged material” would be used for the applicants’ proposed marsh development.182 

Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline filed comments on the final EIS, 

requesting that the Commission bifurcate the recommended cultural resource condition 

(Environmental Condition 22 in the appendix to this order), and impose two separate 

conditions: one for the Driftwood LNG Project and one for the Driftwood Pipeline 

Project. The applicants contend that the condition will not allow construction of the LNG 

terminal to begin until cultural resource surveys and consultation for the Driftwood 

Pipeline Project is complete. We clarify that the intent of the recommendation in the 

final EIS was to ensure that consultation pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act is complete before any project construction may proceed.183 

Environmental Condition 22 retains the wording from the recommendation in the final 

EIS, and requires that Section 106 consultation is completed for all project elements 

before Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline may commence construction.

R. Environmental Analysis Conclusion

We have reviewed the information and analysis contained in the final EIS 

regarding potential environmental effects of the projects, as well as other information in 

 179 See final EIS at 4-211 to 4-239.

180 See draft EIS at 4-17 to 4-21.

181 Final EIS at 4-17 to 4-21 and 4-25 to 4-28.

182 Id. at 4-20.

183 Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 

54 U.S.C. § 306108, Pub. L. No. 113-287, 128 Stat. 3188 (2014). 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 44 -

the record. We are adopting the environmental recommendations in the final EIS and 

include them as conditions in the appendix to this order. Compliance with the 

environmental conditions appended to our orders is integral to ensuring that the 

environmental impacts of approved projects are consistent with those anticipated by 

our environmental analyses. Thus, Commission staff carefully reviews all information 

submitted. Commission staff will only issue a construction notice to proceed with an 

activity when satisfied that the applicant has complied with all applicable conditions. 

We also note that the Commission has the authority to take whatever steps are necessary 

to ensure the protection of environmental resources during construction and operation of 

the projects, including authority to impose any additional measures deemed necessary to 

ensure continued compliance with the intent of the conditions of the order, as well as the 

avoidance or mitigation of unforeseen adverse environmental impacts resulting from 

project construction and operation.

We agree with the conclusions presented in the final EIS and find that the projects, 

if constructed and operated as described in the final EIS, are environmentally acceptable 

actions. Further, for the reasons discussed throughout the order, as stated above, we find 

that the Driftwood LNG Project is not inconsistent with the public interest and that the 

Driftwood Pipeline Project is in the public convenience and necessity.

Any state or local permits issued with respect to the jurisdictional facilities 

authorized herein must be consistent with the conditions of this authorization and

Certificate. The Commission encourages cooperation between interstate pipelines and 

local authorities. However, this does not mean that state and local agencies, through 

application of state or local laws, may prohibit or unreasonably delay the construction or 

operation of facilities approved by this Commission.184

VI. Conclusion

At a hearing held on April 18, 2019, the Commission on its own motion received 

and made a part of the record in this proceeding all evidence, including the application, 

and exhibits thereto, and all comments, and upon consideration of the record,

 184 See 15 U.S.C. § 717r(d) (2012) (state or federal agency’s failure to act on a 

permit considered to be inconsistent with Federal law); see also Schneidewind v. ANR 

Pipeline Co., 485 U.S. 293, 310 (1988) (state regulation that interferes with FERC’s 

regulatory authority over the transportation of natural gas is preempted) and Dominion 

Transmission, Inc. v. Summers, 723 F.3d 238, 245 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (noting that state and 

local regulation is preempted by the NGA to the extent it conflicts with federal 

regulation, or would delay the construction and operation of facilities approved by the 

Commission).
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 45 -

The Commission orders:

(A) In Docket No. CP17-117-000, Driftwood LNG is authorized under 

section 3 of the NGA to site, construct, and operate the proposed project in Calcasieu 

Parish, Louisiana, as described and conditioned herein, and as fully described in 

Driftwood LNG’s application and subsequent filings by the applicant, including any 

commitments made therein.

(B) The authorization in Ordering Paragraph (A) above is conditioned on:

(1) Driftwood LNG’s facilities being fully constructed and made 

available for service within seven years of the date of this order.

(2) Driftwood LNG’s compliance with the environmental conditions 

listed in the appendix to this order. 

(C) In Docket No. CP17-118-000, a certificate of public convenience and 

necessity under section 7(c) of the NGA is issued to Driftwood Pipeline authorizing it to 

construct and operate the proposed project, as described and conditioned herein, and as 

more fully described in Driftwood Pipeline’s application and subsequent filings by the 

applicant, including any commitments made therein.

(D) The certificate authorized in Ordering Paragraph (C) above is conditioned 

on:

(1) Driftwood Pipeline’s facilities being fully constructed and made 

available for service within seven years of the date of this order pursuant to 

section 157.20(b) of the Commission’s regulations;

(2) Driftwood Pipeline’s compliance with all applicable Commission 

regulations, particularly the general terms and conditions set forth inParts 

154, 157, and 284, and paragraphs (a), (c), (e), and (f) of section 157.20 of 

the Commission’s regulations; and

(3) Driftwood Pipeline’s compliance with the environmental conditions 

listed in the appendix to this order.

(E) Driftwood Pipeline’s request for a blanket transportation certificate under 

Subpart G of Part 284 of the Commission’s regulations is granted.

(F) Driftwood Pipeline’s request for a blanket construction certificate under 

Subpart F of Part 157 of the Commission’s regulations is granted.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 46 -

(G) Driftwood Pipeline shall file a written statement affirming that it has 

executed firm contracts for the capacity levels and terms of service represented in its filed 

precedent agreement, prior to commencing construction.

(H) Driftwood Pipeline’s initial recourse rates, retainage percentages, and pro 

forma tariff are approved, as conditioned and modified above. 

(I) Driftwood Pipeline shall file actual tariff records that comply with the 

requirements contained in the body of this order at least 60 days prior to the 

commencement of interstate service consistent with Part 154 of the Commission’s 

regulations. 

(J) No later than three months after its first three years of actual operation of 

the Phase 3 facilities, as discussed herein, Driftwood Pipeline must make a filing to 

justify its existing cost-based firm and interruptible recourse rates. Driftwood Pipeline’s 

cost and revenue study should be filed through the eTariff portal using a Type of Filing

Code 580. In addition, Driftwood Pipeline is advised to include as part of the eFiling 

description, a reference to Docket No. CP17-118-000 and the cost and revenue study.

(K) Driftwood Pipeline shall adhere to the accounting requirements discussed 

in the body of this order.

(L) Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline shall notify the Commission’s 

environmental staff by telephone or e-mail of any environmental noncompliance 

identified by other federal, state, or local agencies on the same day that such agency 

notifies Driftwood LNG or Driftwood Pipeline. Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline

shall file written confirmation of such notification with the Secretary of the Commission 

within 24 hours.

By the Commission. Commissioner LaFleur is concurring with a separate statement

 attached.

Commissioner Glick is dissenting with a separate statement 

attached.

( S E A L )

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 47 -

Appendix

Environmental Conditions

As recommended in the final environmental impact statement (EIS), this 

authorization includes the following conditions:

1. Driftwood LNG LLC and Driftwood Pipeline LLC (collectively, Driftwood) shall 

follow the construction procedures and mitigation measures described in its 

application and supplements (including responses to staff data requests) and as 

identified in the EIS, unless modified by the Order. Driftwood must:

a. request any modification to these procedures, measures, or conditions in a 

filing with the Secretary of the Commission (Secretary);

b. justify each modification relative to site-specific conditions;

c. explain how that modification provides an equal or greater level of 

environmental protection than the original measure; and

d. receive approval in writing from the Director of Office of Energy Projects 

(OEP) before using that modification.

2. For the Pipeline facilities, the Director of OEP, or the Director’s designee, has 

delegated authority to address any requests for approvals or authorizations 

necessary to carry out the conditions of the Order, and take whatever steps are 

necessary to ensure the protection of environmental resources during construction 

and operation of the Project. This authority shall allow:

a. the modification of conditions of the Order;

b. stop-work authority; and

c. the imposition of any additional measures deemed necessary to ensure 

continued compliance with the intent of the conditions of the Order as well 

as the avoidance or mitigation of unforeseen adverse environmental impact 

resulting from project construction and operation.

3. For the liquefied natural gas (LNG) Facility, the Director of OEP, or the Director’s 

designee, has delegated authority to address any requests for approvals or 

authorizations necessary to carry out the conditions of the Order, and take 

whatever steps are necessary to ensure the protection of life, health, property, and 

the environment during construction and operation of the Project. This authority 

shall allow:
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 48 -

a. the modification of conditions of the Order;

b. stop-work authority and authority to cease operation; and

c. the imposition of any additional measures deemed necessary to ensure 

continued compliance with the intent of the conditions of the Order as well 

as the avoidance or mitigation of unforeseen adverse environmental impact 

resulting from project construction and operation.

4. Prior to any construction, Driftwood shall file an affirmative statement with the 

Secretary, certified by a senior company official, that all company personnel, 

environmental inspectors (EIs), and contractor personnel will be informed of the 

EI’s authority and have been or will be trained on the implementation of the 

environmental mitigation measures appropriate to their jobs before becoming 

involved with construction and restoration activities. 

5. The authorized facility locations, including both the MP 12.9 Route and Port 

Arthur Route Variations, shall be as shown in the EIS, as supplemented by filed 

alignment sheets. As soon as they are available, and before the start of 

construction, Driftwood shall file with the Secretary any revised detailed survey 

alignment maps/sheets at a scale not smaller than 1:6,000 with station positions for 

all facilities approved by the Order. All requests for modifications of 

environmental conditions of the Order or site-specific clearances must be written 

and must reference locations designated on these alignment maps/sheets.

Driftwood Pipeline’s exercise of eminent domain authority granted under Natural 

Gas Act (NGA) section 7(h) in any condemnation proceedings related to the Order 

must be consistent with these authorized facilities and locations. Driftwood 

Pipeline’s right of eminent domain granted under NGA section 7(h) does not 

authorize it to increase the size of its natural gas pipeline or aboveground facilities 

to accommodate future needs or to acquire a right-of-way for a pipeline to 

transport a commodity other than natural gas.

6. Driftwood shall file with the Secretary detailed alignment maps/sheets and aerial 

photographs at a scale not smaller than 1:6,000 identifying all route realignments 

or facility relocations, and staging areas, pipe storage yards, new access roads, and 

other areas that would be used or disturbed and have not been previously 

identified in filings with the Secretary. Approval for each of these areas must be 

explicitly requested in writing. For each area, the request must include a 

description of the existing land use/cover type, documentation of landowner 

approval, whether any cultural resources or federally listed threatened or 

endangered species would be affected, and whether any other environmentally 

sensitive areas are within or abutting the area. All areas shall be clearly identified 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 49 -

on the maps/sheets/aerial photographs. Each area must be approved in writing by 

the Director of OEP before construction in or near that area.

This requirement does not apply to extra workspace allowed by the Commission’s 

Upland Erosion Control, Revegetation & Maintenance Plan and/or minor field 

realignments per landowner needs and requirements which do not affect other 

landowners or sensitive environmental areas such as wetlands. Examples of 

alterations requiring approval include all route realignments and facility location 

changes resulting from:

a. implementation of cultural resources mitigation measures;

b. implementation of endangered, threatened, or special concern species 

mitigation measures;

c. recommendations by state regulatory authorities; and

d. agreements with individual landowners that affect other landowners or 

could affect sensitive environmental areas.

7. Within 60 days of the acceptance of the authorization and before construction

begins, Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline shall each file an Implementation 

Plan with the Secretary, for review and written approval by the Director of OEP. 

Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline must file revisions to the plans as 

schedules change. The plans shall identify the following:

a. how Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline will implement the 

construction procedures and mitigation measures described in its 

application and supplements (including responses to staff data requests), 

identified in the EIS, and required by the Order;

b. how Driftwood LNG and Driftwood Pipeline will incorporate these 

requirements into the contract bid documents, construction contracts 

(especially penalty clauses and specifications), and construction drawings 

so that the mitigation required at each site is clear to onsite construction and 

inspection personnel;

c. the number of EIs assigned per spread and aboveground facility sites, and 

how the company will ensure that sufficient personnel are available to 

implement the environmental mitigation;

d. company personnel, including EIs and contractors, who will receive copies 

of the appropriate material;
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 50 -

e. the location and dates of the environmental compliance training and 

instructions Driftwood will give to all personnel involved with construction 

and restoration (initial and refresher training as the project progresses and 

personnel change), with the opportunity for OEP staff to participate in the 

training session(s); 

f. the company personnel (if known) and specific portion of Driftwood 

LNG’s and Driftwood Pipeline’s organization having responsibility for 

compliance;

g. the procedures (including use of contract penalties) Driftwood LNG and 

Driftwood Pipeline will follow if noncompliance occurs; and

h. for each discrete facility, a Gantt or PERT chart (or similar project 

scheduling diagram), and dates for:

(1) the completion of all required surveys and reports;

(2) the environmental compliance training of onsite personnel;

(3) the start of construction; and

(4) the start and completion of restoration.

8. Driftwood LNG shall employ at least one EI for the LNG Facility and Driftwood 

Pipeline shall employ at least one EI per construction spread for the Pipeline. 

Each EI shall be:

a. responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with all mitigation 

measures required by the Order and other grants, permits, certificates, or 

other authorizing documents;

b. responsible for evaluating the construction contractor's implementation of 

the environmental mitigation measures required in the contract (see 

condition 7 above) and any other authorizing document;

c. empowered to order correction of acts that violate the environmental 

conditions of the Order, and any other authorizing document;

d. a full-time position, separate from all other activity inspectors;

e. responsible for documenting compliance with the environmental conditions 

of the Order, as well as any environmental conditions/permit requirements 

imposed by other federal, state, or local agencies; and

f. responsible for maintaining status reports.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 51 -

9. Beginning with the filing of its Implementation Plan, Driftwood LNG shall file 

updated status reports with the Secretary on a monthly basis for the LNG Facility, 

and Driftwood Pipeline shall filed updated status reports on a biweekly basis for 

the Pipeline, until all construction and restoration activities are 

complete. Problems of a significant magnitude shall be reported to the FERC 

within 24 hours. On request, these status reports will also be provided to other 

federal and state agencies with permitting responsibilities. Status reports shall 

include the following:

a. an update on Driftwood’s efforts to obtain the necessary federal 

authorizations;

b. Project schedule including the current construction status, work planned for 

the following reporting period, and any schedule changes for stream 

crossings or work in other environmentally-sensitive areas;

c. a listing of all problems encountered, contractor 

nonconformance/deficiency logs, and each instance of noncompliance 

observed by the EIs during the reporting period (both for the conditions 

imposed by the Commission and any environmental conditions/permit 

requirements imposed by other federal, state, or local agencies);

d. a description of the corrective and remedial actions implemented in 

response to all instances of noncompliance, nonconformance, or deficiency;

e. the effectiveness of all corrective and remedial actions implemented;

f. a description of any landowner/resident complaints which may relate to 

compliance with the requirements of the Order, and the measures taken to 

satisfy their concerns; and

g. copies of any correspondence received by Driftwood from other federal, 

state, or local permitting agencies concerning instances of noncompliance, 

and Driftwood’s response.

10. Driftwood must receive written authorization from the Director of OEP before 

commencing construction of any Project facilities. To obtain such 

authorization, Driftwood must file with the Secretary documentation that it has 

received all applicable authorizations required under federal law (or evidence of 

waiver thereof).

11. Driftwood LNG must receive written authorization from the Director of OEP 

prior to introducing hazardous fluids into the LNG Facility. Instrumentation 

and controls, hazard detection, hazard control, and security components/systems 

necessary for the safe introduction of such fluids shall be installed and functional.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 52 -

12. Driftwood Pipeline must receive written authorization from the Director of OEP 

before placing the Pipeline facilities into service. Such authorization will only 

be granted following a determination that rehabilitation and restoration of the 

right-of-way and other areas affected by the Pipeline are proceeding satisfactorily.

13. Driftwood LNG must receive written authorization from the Director of OEP 

before placing each phase of the LNG Facility into service. Such authorization 

will only be granted following a determination that the facilities have been 

constructed in accordance with the FERC approval, can be expected to operate 

safely as designed, and the rehabilitation and restoration of the areas affected by 

the LNG Facility are proceeding satisfactorily.

14. Within 30 days of placing the authorized facilities in service, Driftwood shall 

file an affirmative statement with the Secretary, certified by a senior company 

official:

a. that the facilities have been constructed in compliance with all applicable 

conditions, and that continuing activities will be consistent with all 

applicable conditions; or

b. identifying which of the conditions in the Order Driftwood has complied 

with or will comply with. This statement shall also identify any areas 

affected by the Project where compliance measures were not properly 

implemented, if not previously identified in filed status reports, and the 

reason for noncompliance.

15. Prior to construction, Driftwood Pipeline shall adopt the MP 12.9 Route 

Variation into the Pipeline route. Driftwood Pipeline shall file with the Secretary, 

for review and written approval by the Director of OEP, revised alignment sheets

that show its modified route and workspaces in the area, a Horizontal Directional 

Drilling (HDD) site-specific plan, and the results of geotechnical investigations (or 

indicate timing of when this will be provided). (Final EIS section 3.6.2.2)

16. Prior to construction, Driftwood Pipeline shall adopt the Port Arthur Route 

Variation into the Pipeline route and file with the Secretary, for review and written 

approval by the Director of OEP, revised alignment sheets that show its modified 

route and workspaces in the area. (Final EIS section 3.6.2.4)

17. Prior to the start of in-water pile driving activities, Driftwood LNG shall file 

with the Secretary, for review and written approval by the Director of OEP, an InWater Pile Driving Plan, developed in consultation with the National Marine 

Fisheries Service. This plan shall identify mitigation measures that when 

implemented will reduce in-water peak noise levels associated with vibratory and 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 53 -

hammer pile driving to levels below 206 decibels (dB) (re: 1 μPa ). (Final EIS 

section 4.4.3.1)

18. Prior to construction, Driftwood Pipeline shall file with the Secretary, for review 

and written approval by the Director of OEP, a revised crossing plan for the 

Calcasieu River HDD that relocates the exit location and associated workspace to 

the adjacent upland area, outside of the palustrine forested wetland complex 

(WJEB009F). (Final EIS section 4.5.2.2)

19. Prior to construction, Driftwood shall consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (FWS) and file with the Secretary a final set of mitigation measures for 

migratory bird habitat and evidence of consultation with FWS. (Final EIS section 

4.7.3.1)

20. Driftwood shall not begin construction activities until:

a. Driftwood consults with the FWS to determine whether proposed Project 

activities could affect the eastern black rail or its habitat, and files copies of 

all correspondence with the Secretary; 

b. FERC staff completes its conference with the FWS, if required; and 

c. Driftwood has received written notification from the Director of OEP that 

construction may begin. (Final EIS section 4.8.2.4)

21. Prior to construction, Driftwood LNG shall increase the indirect area of potential 

effects (APE) to a radius of 1.0 mile for the LNG Facility. The revised indirect 

APE and associated addendum report shall be sent to the State Historic 

Preservation Officer (SHPO) for comments. (Final EIS section 4.11.3)

22. Driftwood shall not begin construction of facilities and/or use of all staging, 

storage, or temporary work areas and new or to-be-improved access roads until:

a. Driftwood files with the Secretary:

(1) remaining cultural resources survey report(s);

(2) site evaluation report(s) and avoidance/treatment plan(s), as 

required; and

(3) comments on the cultural resources reports and plans from the 

Louisiana SHPO (and interested Indian Tribes).

b. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is afforded an opportunity 

to comment if historic properties would be adversely affected.
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 54 -

c. The FERC staff reviews and the Director of OEP approves the cultural 

resources reports and plans, and notifies Driftwood in writing that treatment 

plans/mitigation measures (including archaeological data recovery) may be 

implemented and/or construction may proceed.

All materials filed with the Commission containing location, character, and 

ownership information about cultural resources must have the cover and any 

relevant pages therein clearly labeled in bold lettering: “CUI//PRIV- DO NOT 

RELEASE.” (Final EIS section 4.11.6)

23. Prior to construction, Driftwood LNG shall file with the Secretary, for review 

and approval by the Director of OEP, a Night Time Noise Mitigation and 

Monitoring Plan that details the noise mitigation that it would install (such as the 

berm, equipment limitations, low-noise back-up alarms, etc.) and shows the noise 

impacts at the noise sensitive areas (NSAs). The plan shall include predictions of 

the noise impacts at the NSAs and demonstrate how the proposed mitigation 

would reduce noise to no more 55 decibels on the A weighted scale (dBA) daynight sound level (Ldn) at occupied residences. The plan shall also provide for 

notification of night time construction to nearby NSAs/residents and noise 

monitoring. (Final EIS section 4.12.2.3)

24. Prior to construction, Driftwood LNG shall file with the Secretary, for review 

and written approval by the Director of OEP, a Pile Driving Noise Management 

Plan. The plan shall outline a monitoring plan for sound levels (24-hour 

equivalent sound level (Leq) and estimated maximum sound levels (Lmax)) during 

pile driving, and evaluation and use of noise mitigation to reduce noise attributable 

to pile driving Lmax levels to no greater than 60 dBA at any NSAs. (Final EIS 

section 4.12.2.2)

25. Prior to construction of the Pipeline at HDD locations A1, A2, A4, and A6, 

Driftwood Pipeline shall file with the Secretary, for review and written approval 

by the Director of OEP, an HDD Noise Mitigation Plan to reduce noise levels 

attributable to the drilling operations at NSAs near their respective entry and exit 

points to below 55 dBA Ldn or 10 dBA over existing sound levels. During drilling 

operations, Driftwood Pipeline shall implement the approved plan, monitor noise 

levels, and make all reasonable efforts to meet these noise levels attributable to the 

drilling operations at the NSAs. (Final EIS section 4.12.2.2)

26. Driftwood LNG shall file a full power load noise survey with the Secretary for the 

LNG Facility no later than 60 days after each liquefaction plant is placed into 

service. If the noise attributable to operation of the equipment at the LNG Facility 

exceeds an Ldn of 55 dBA at the nearest NSA, within 60 days Driftwood LNG

shall modify operation of the liquefaction facilities or install additional noise 

controls until a noise level below an Ldn of 55 dBA at the NSA is 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 55 -

achieved. Driftwood LNG shall confirm compliance with the above requirement 

by filing a second noise survey with the Secretary no later than 60 days after it 

installs the additional noise controls. (Final EIS section 4.12.2.4)

27. Driftwood LNG shall file a noise survey with the Secretary no later than 60 days

after placing the entire LNG Facility into service. If a full-load noise survey is not 

possible, Driftwood LNG shall provide an interim survey at the maximum possible 

horsepower load within 60 days of placing the LNG Facility into service and 

provide the full-load noise survey within 6 months. If the noise attributable to 

operation of the equipment at the LNG Facility exceeds an Ldn of 55 dBA at the 

nearest NSA under interim or full horsepower load conditions, Driftwood LNG

shall file a report on what changes are needed and shall install the additional noise 

controls to meet the level within 1 year of the in-service date. Driftwood LNG

shall confirm compliance with the above requirement by filing an additional fullload noise survey with the Secretary no later than 60 days after it installs the 

additional noise controls. (Final EIS section 4.12.2.4)

28. Driftwood Pipeline shall file noise surveys with the Secretary no later than 60

days after placing MS-2, MS-4, MS-7, MS-9, MS-12, and MS-13 facilities in 

service. If the noise attributable to the operation of the metering facilities at 

maximum flow exceeds an Ldn of 55 dBA at any nearby NSA, Driftwood Pipeline

shall install additional noise controls to meet that level within 1 year of the inservice date. Driftwood Pipeline shall confirm compliance with the Ldn of 55 dBA 

requirement by filing a second noise survey with the Secretary no later than 60 

days after it installs the additional noise controls. (Final EIS section 4.12.2.4)

29. Driftwood Pipeline shall file a noise survey with the Secretary no later than 60 

days after placing CS-01, CS-02, and CS-03 in service. If a full load condition 

noise survey is not possible, Driftwood Pipeline shall provide an interim survey at 

the maximum possible horsepower load and provide the full load survey within 6 

months. If the noise attributable to the operation of all of the equipment at the 

compressor stations under interim or full horsepower load conditions exceeds an 

Ldn of 55 dBA at any nearby NSAs, Driftwood Pipeline shall file a report on what 

changes are needed and shall install the additional noise controls to meet the level 

within 1 year of the in-service date. Driftwood Pipeline shall confirm compliance 

with the above requirement by filing a second noise survey with the Secretary no 

later than 60 days after it installs the additional noise controls. (Final EIS section 

4.12.2.4)

30. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file with the 

Secretary the following information, stamped and sealed by the professional 

engineer-of-record, registered in Louisiana:

a. site preparation drawings and specifications;
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 56 -

b. LNG terminal structures and foundation design drawings and calculations; 

c. seismic specifications for procured equipment prior to the issuing of 

requests for quotations; and

d. quality control procedures to be used for civil/structural design and 

construction.

In addition, Driftwood LNG shall file, in its Implementation Plan, the schedule for 

producing this information. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

31. Prior to commencement of service, Driftwood LNG shall file with the Secretary 

a monitoring and maintenance plan, stamped and sealed by the professional 

engineer-of-record registered in Louisiana for the perimeter levee which ensures 

the crest elevation relative to mean sea level will be maintained for the life of the 

facility considering berm settlement, subsidence, and sea level rise. (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)

Conditions 32 through 107 shall apply to the Driftwood LNG Facility. 

Information pertaining to these specific conditions below shall be filed with the Secretary 

for review and written approval by the Director of OEP, or the Director’s designee, 

within the timeframe indicated by each condition. Specific engineering, vulnerability, or 

detailed design information meeting the criteria specified in Order No. 833 (Docket No. 

RM16-15-000), including security information, shall be submitted as critical energy 

infrastructure information pursuant to 18 CFR 388.113. See Critical Electric 

Infrastructure Security and Amending Critical Energy Infrastructure Information, Order 

No. 833, 81 Fed. Reg. 93,732 (December 21, 2016), FERC Stats. & Regs. 31,389 (2016). 

Information pertaining to items such as offsite emergency response, procedures for public 

notification and evacuation, and construction and operating reporting requirements will 

be subject to public disclosure. All information shall be filed a minimum of 30 days 

before approval to proceed is requested.

32. Prior to initial site preparation, Driftwood LNG shall file an overall LNG 

Facility schedule, which includes the proposed stages of the commissioning plan. 

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)

33. Prior to initial site preparation, Driftwood LNG shall file quality assurance and 

quality control procedures for construction activities. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

34. Prior to initial site preparation, Driftwood LNG shall file procedures for 

controlling access during construction. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

35. Prior to initial site preparation, Driftwood LNG shall develop an Emergency 

Response Plan (ERP) (including evacuation) and coordinate procedures with the 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 57 -

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG); state, county, and local emergency planning groups; 

fire departments; state and local law enforcement; and appropriate federal 

agencies. This plan shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

a. designated contacts with state and local emergency response agencies;

b. scalable procedures for the prompt notification of appropriate local officials 

and emergency response agencies based on the level and severity of 

potential incidents;

c. procedures for notifying residents and recreational users within areas of 

potential hazard;

d. evacuation routes/methods for residents and public use areas that are within 

any transient hazard areas along the route of the LNG marine transit;

e. locations of permanent sirens and other warning devices; and

f. an “emergency coordinator” on each LNG carrier to activate sirens and 

other warning devices.

Driftwood LNG shall notify the FERC staff of all planning meetings in advance 

and shall report progress on the development of its ERP at 3‐month intervals.

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)

36. Prior to initial site preparation, Driftwood LNG shall file a Cost-Sharing Plan 

identifying the mechanisms for funding all LNG Facility-specific 

security/emergency management costs that would be imposed on state and local 

agencies. This comprehensive plan shall include funding mechanisms for the 

capital costs associated with any necessary security/emergency management 

equipment and personnel base. Driftwood LNG shall notify FERC staff of all 

planning meetings in advance and shall report progress on the development of its 

Cost Sharing Plan at 3-month intervals. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

37. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file 

information/revisions pertaining to Driftwood LNG’s response numbers 13, 14, 

16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 31, 33, 34, 36, 39, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 53, 54, and 57 of 

its September 29, 2017 filing, which indicated features to be included or 

considered in the final design. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

38. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file change logs that 

list and explain any changes made from the front end engineering design provided 

in Driftwood LNG’s application and filings. A list of all changes with an 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 58 -

explanation for the design alteration shall be filed and all changes shall be clearly 

indicated on all diagrams and drawings. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

39. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file up-to-date 

process flow diagrams (PFDs) and piping and instrument diagrams (P&IDs), 

including vendor P&IDs. The PFDs shall include heat and material balances. The 

P&IDs shall include the following information:

a. equipment tag number, name, size, duty, capacity, and design conditions; 

b. equipment insulation type and thickness; 

c. storage tank pipe penetration size and nozzle schedule;

d. valve high pressure side and internal and external vent locations;

e. piping with line number, piping class specification, size, and insulation type 

and thickness; 

f. piping specification breaks and insulation limits; 

g. all control and manual valves numbered; 

h. relief valves with size and set points; and

i. drawing revision number and date. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

40. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file P&IDs, 

specifications, and procedures that clearly show and specify the tie-in details 

required to safely connect subsequently constructed facilities with the operational 

facilities. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

41. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a car seal 

philosophy and a list of all car-sealed and locked valves consistent with the 

P&IDs. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

42. Prior to construction of final design, the engineering, procurement, and 

construction contractor shall verify that the recommendations from the Front End 

Engineering Design Hazard Identification are complete and consistent with the 

requirements of the final design as determined by the engineering, procurement, 

and construction contractor. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

43. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a hazard and 

operability review prior to issuing the P&IDs for construction. A copy of the 

review, a list of the recommendations, and actions taken on the recommendations 

shall be filed. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 59 -

44. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file the safe

operating limits (upper and lower), alarm and shutdown set points for all 

instrumentation (i.e., temperature, pressures, flows, and compositions). (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)

45. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall include LNG tank fill 

flow measurement with high flow alarm. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

46. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall include boil-off gas 

(BOG) flow, and tank density profile and temperature profile measurements for 

each tank. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

47. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall specify that all

Emergency Shutdown (ESD) valves will be equipped with open and closed 

position switches connected to the Distributed Control System/Safety 

Instrumented System. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

48. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file cause-and-effect 

matrices for the process instrumentation, fire and gas detection system, and 

emergency shutdown system. The cause-and-effect matrices shall include alarms 

and shutdown functions, details of the voting and shutdown logic, and set points. 

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)

49. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall specify and evaluate 

emergency shutdown valve closure times. Include an analysis that describes the 

time to detect an upset condition, notify plant personnel, and close the emergency 

shutdown valve. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

50. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file an evaluation of 

dynamic pressure surge effects from valve opening and closure times and pump 

operations. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

51. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a plot plan of 

final design showing all major equipment, structures, buildings, and impoundment 

systems. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

52. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file threedimensional plant drawings to confirm plant layout for maintenance, access, 

egress, and congestion. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

53. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file complete 

specifications for the proposed LNG tank design and installation. (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 60 -

54. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file the structural 

analysis of the LNG storage tank and outer containment demonstrating they are 

designed to withstand all loads and combinations. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

55. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file an analysis of the 

structural integrity of the outer containment of the full containment storage tanks 

that demonstrates it can withstand all thermal and overpressure loads incurred 

from coincident and adjacent roof tank top fires and release and ignition of design 

spills. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

56. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a detailed aircraft 

impact analysis that uses frequencies for the various surrounding aircraft 

operations per the Department of Energy Standard, DOE-STD-2014-2006, or 

other approved methodology that demonstrates the design of the full containment 

LNG tanks would be able to withstand aircraft impacts using CEB 187 or other 

approved methodology from aircraft operations with impact frequencies equal or 

more frequent than 3e-5 per year or other approved frequency that would not 

result in a significant increase in risk to the surrounding public. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

57. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file drawings of the 

storage tank piping support structure and support of horizontal piping at grade 

including pump columns, relief valves, pipe penetrations, instrumentation, and 

appurtenances. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

58. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a projectile 

analysis for review and approval to demonstrate that the outer concrete 

impoundment wall of a full-containment LNG tank could withstand wind borne 

projectiles. The analysis shall detail the projectile speeds and characteristics and 

method used to determine penetration or perforation depths. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

59. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file an up-to-date 

equipment list, process and mechanical data sheets, and specifications. The 

specifications shall include:

a. building specifications (control buildings, electrical buildings, compressor 

buildings, storage buildings, pressurized buildings, ventilated buildings, 

blast resistant buildings);

b. mechanical specifications (piping, valve, insulation, rotating equipment, 

heat exchanger, storage tank and vessel, other specialized equipment);
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 61 -

c. electrical and instrumentation specifications (power system specifications, 

control system specifications, safety instrument system specifications, cable 

specifications, other electrical and instrumentation specifications); and

d. security and fire safety specifications (security, passive protection, hazard 

detection, hazard control, firewater). (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

60. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall demonstrate that, for 

hazardous fluids, piping and piping nipples 2 inches or less in diameter are 

designed to withstand external loads, including vibrational loads in the vicinity of 

rotating equipment and operator live loads in areas accessible by operators. (Final 

EIS section 4.13.1)

61. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall specify that piping 

and equipment that may be cooled with liquid nitrogen is to be designed for liquid 

nitrogen temperatures, with regard to allowable movement and stresses. (Final 

EIS section 4.13.1)

62. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file the sizing basis 

and capacity for the final design of the flares and/or vent stacks as well as the 

pressure and vacuum relief valves for major process equipment, vessels, and 

storage tanks. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

63. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file drawings and 

specifications for vehicle barriers at each facility entrance. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

64. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall provide security 

camera, intrusion detection, and lighting drawings. The security camera drawings 

shall show the location, areas covered, and features of the camera (fixed, 

tilt/pan/zoom, motion detection alerts, low light, mounting height, etc.) to verify 

camera coverage of the entire perimeter with redundancies and cameras interior to 

the facility that would enable rapid monitoring of the LNG plant. The intrusion 

detection drawings shall show or note the location of the intrusion detection to 

verify it covers the entire perimeter of the LNG plant. The lighting drawings shall 

show the location, elevation, type of light fixture, and lux levels of the lighting 

system. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

65. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file an updated fire 

protection evaluation of the proposed facilities. A copy of the evaluation, a list of 

recommendations and supporting justifications, and actions taken on the 

recommendations shall be filed. Specific consideration shall be given to the use of 

low expansion foam and other automatic fire protection measures in the 

condensate and hazardous fluid storage areas. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 62 -

66. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file spill containment 

system drawings with dimensions and slopes of curbing, trenches, impoundments, 

and capacity calculations considering any foundations and equipment within 

impoundments, as well as the sizing and design of the down-comer that would 

transfer spills from the tank top to the ground-level impoundment system, and 

sizing and design of the marine spill containment system that will transfer spills 

from the jetty back to the site’s impoundment system. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

67. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file correspondence 

from the Department of Transportation (DOT) demonstrating the gravity drained 

water removal systems for impoundment areas meets DOT regulations regarding 

the use of sump pumps and automatic shutdown controls and water removal 

systems prescribed in 49 CFR 193.2173. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

68. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file electrical area 

classification drawings. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

69. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file drawings and 

details of how process seals or isolations installed at the interface between a 

flammable fluid system and an electrical conduit or wiring system meet the 

requirements of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 59A (2001 

edition). (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

70. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file details of an air 

gap or vent installed downstream of process seals or isolations installed at the 

interface between a flammable fluid system and an electrical conduit or wiring 

system. Each air gap shall vent to a safe location and be equipped with a leak 

detection device that shall continuously monitor for the presence of a flammable 

fluid, alarm the hazardous condition, and shut down the appropriate systems. 

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)

71. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a drawing 

showing the location of the emergency shutdown buttons. Emergency shutdown 

buttons shall be easily accessible, conspicuously labeled, and located in an area 

which would be accessible during an emergency. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

72. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file the details of a 

site-wide ESD button with proper sequencing and reliability or shall include other 

provisions that are demonstrated through a human reliability analysis to provide a 

means to quickly and reliably shutdown the entire site. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

73. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file complete 

drawings and a list of the hazard detection equipment. The drawings shall clearly 

show the location and elevation of all detection equipment. The list shall include 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 63 -

the instrument tag number, type and location, alarm indication locations, and 

shutdown functions of the hazard detection equipment. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

74. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall include a technical 

review of facility design that:

a. identifies all combustion/ventilation air intake equipment and the distances 

to any possible flammable gas or toxic release; and

b. demonstrates that these areas are adequately covered by hazard detection 

devices and indicates how these devices would isolate or shut down any 

combustion or heating ventilation and air conditioning equipment whose 

continued operation could add to or sustain an emergency. (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)

75. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a design that 

includes hazard detection suitable to detect high temperatures and smoldering 

combustion in electrical buildings and control room buildings. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

76. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a design that 

includes smoke detection in occupied buildings. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

77. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file an analysis of the 

localized hazards to operators from a potential liquid nitrogen release and shall 

also provide consideration of any mitigation that may be prudent. (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)

78. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a list of alarm 

and shutdown set points for all hazard detectors that account for the calibration gas 

of the hazard detectors when determining the lower flammability limit set points 

for methane, ethylene, propane, n-butane, i-pentane, and condensate. (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)

79. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a list of alarm 

and shutdown set points for all hazard detectors that account for the calibration gas 

of hazard detectors when determining the toxic concentration set points for 

condensates, ammonia, natural gas liquids and hydrogen sulfide. (Final EIS 

section 4.13.1)

80. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file an evaluation of

the voting logic and voting degradation for hazard detectors. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 64 -

81. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file facility plan 

drawings and a list of the fixed and wheeled dry-chemical, hand-held fire 

extinguishers, and other hazard control equipment. Plan drawings shall clearly 

show the location by tag number of all fixed, wheeled, and hand-held 

extinguishers. The list shall include the equipment tag number, type, capacity, 

equipment covered, discharge rate, and automatic and manual remote signals 

initiating discharge of the units. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

82. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a design that 

includes clean agent systems in the electrical switchgear and instrumentation 

buildings. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

83. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file drawings and 

specifications for the structural passive protection systems to protect equipment 

and supports from cryogenic releases. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

84. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a detailed 

quantitative analysis to demonstrate that adequate thermal mitigation would be 

provided for each significant component within the 4,000 BTU/ft2

-hr zone from an 

impoundment, or provide an analysis that assess the consequence of pressure 

vessel bursts and boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions. Trucks at the truck 

transfer station shall be included in the analysis. Passive mitigation shall be 

supported by calculations for the thickness limiting temperature rise and active 

mitigation shall be justified with calculations demonstrating flow rates and 

durations of any cooling water will mitigate the heat absorbed by the vessel. 

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)

85. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file facility plan 

drawings showing the proposed location of the firewater and any foam systems. 

Plan drawings shall clearly show the location of firewater and foam piping, post 

indicator valves, and the location and area covered by, each monitor, hydrant, 

hose, water curtain, deluge system, foam system, water-mist system, and sprinkler. 

The drawings shall also include piping and instrumentation diagrams of the 

firewater and foam systems. (Final EIS section 4.13.1) 

86. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file detailed 

calculations to confirm that the final fire water volumes will be accounted for 

when evaluating the capacity of the impoundment system during a spill and fire 

scenario. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

87. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall specify that the 

firewater flow test meter is equipped with a transmitter and that a pressure 

transmitter is installed upstream of the flow transmitter. The flow transmitter and 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 65 -

pressure transmitter shall be connected to the Distributed Control System and 

recorded. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

88. Prior to construction of final design, Driftwood LNG shall file a design that 

accounts for the fire water required for foam generation in calculating the total fire 

water required for 2 hours of supply. (Final EIS section 4.13.1) 

89. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file a detailed schedule for 

commissioning through equipment startup. The schedule shall include milestones 

for all procedures and tests to be completed prior to introduction of hazardous 

fluids and during commissioning and startup. Driftwood LNG shall file 

documentation certifying that each of these milestones is complete before 

authorization to commence the next phase of commissioning and startup will be 

issued. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

90. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file detailed plans and procedures 

for: testing the integrity of onsite mechanical installation; functional tests; 

introduction of hazardous fluids; operational tests; and placing the equipment into 

service. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

91. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file a plan for clean-out, dry-out, 

purging, and tightness testing. This plan shall address the requirements of the 

American Gas Association’s Purging Principles and Practice, and shall provide 

justification if not using an inert or non-flammable gas for clean-out, dry-out, 

purging, and tightness testing. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

92. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file the procedures for 

pressure/leak tests which address the requirements of American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers (ASME) VIII and ASME B31.3. The procedures shall

include a line list of pneumatic and hydrostatic test pressures. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

93. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file the operation and maintenance 

procedures and manuals, as well as safety procedures, hot work procedures and 

permits, abnormal operating conditions reporting procedures, and management of 

change procedures and forms. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

94. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall tag all equipment, 

instrumentation, and valves in the field, including drain valves, vent valves, main 

valves, and car-sealed or locked valves. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

95. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file results of the LNG storage 

tank hydrostatic test and foundation settlement results. At a minimum, foundation 

settlement results shall be provided thereafter annually. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 66 -

96. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall equip the LNG storage tank and 

adjacent piping and supports with permanent settlement monitors to allow 

personnel to observe and record the relative settlement between the LNG storage 

tank and adjacent piping. The settlement record shall be reported in the semiannual operational reports. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

97. Prior to commissioning, Driftwood LNG shall file a plan to maintain a detailed 

training log to demonstrate that operating staff has completed the required 

training. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

98. Prior to introduction of hazardous fluids, Driftwood LNG shall complete all 

pertinent tests (Factory Acceptance Tests, Site Acceptance Tests, Site Integration 

Tests) associated with the Distributed Control System and the Safety Instrumented 

System that demonstrates full functionality and operability of the system. (Final 

EIS section 4.13.1)

99. Prior to introduction of hazardous fluids, Driftwood LNG shall develop and 

implement an alarm management program to reduce alarm complacency and 

maximize the effectiveness of operator response to alarms. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

100. Prior to introduction of hazardous fluids, Driftwood LNG shall complete and 

document a firewater pump acceptance test and firewater monitor and hydrant 

coverage test. The actual coverage area from each monitor and hydrant shall be 

shown on facility plot plan(s). (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

101. Prior to introduction of hazardous fluids, Driftwood LNG shall complete and 

document a pre-startup safety review to ensure that installed equipment meets the 

design and operating intent of the facility. The pre-startup safety review shall 

include any changes since the last hazard review, operating procedures, and 

operator training. A copy of the review with a list of recommendations, and 

actions taken on each recommendation, shall be filed. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

102. Driftwood LNG shall file a request for written authorization from the Director of 

OEP prior to unloading or loading the first LNG commissioning cargo. After 

production of first LNG, Driftwood LNG shall file weekly reports on the 

commissioning of the proposed systems that detail the progress toward 

demonstrating the facilities can safely and reliably operate at or near the design 

production rate. The reports shall include a summary of activities, problems 

encountered, and remedial actions taken. The weekly reports shall also include the 

latest commissioning schedule, including projected and actual LNG production by 

each liquefaction plant, LNG storage inventories in each storage tank, and the 

number of anticipated and actual LNG commissioning cargoes, along with the 

associated volumes loaded or unloaded. Further, the weekly reports shall include 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 67 -

a status and list of all planned and completed safety and reliability tests, work 

authorizations, and punch list items. Problems of significant magnitude shall be 

reported to the FERC within 24 hours. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

103. Prior to commencement of service, Driftwood LNG shall provide plans for 

any preventative and predictive maintenance program that performs periodic or 

continuous equipment condition monitoring. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

104. Prior to commencement of service, Driftwood LNG shall label piping with fluid 

service and direction of flow in the field, in addition to the pipe labeling 

requirements of NFPA 59A (2001 edition). (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

105. Prior to commencement of service, Driftwood LNG shall develop procedures for 

offsite contractors’ responsibilities, restrictions, and limitations and for 

supervision of these contractors by Driftwood LNG staff. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

106. Prior to commencement of service, Driftwood LNG shall notify the FERC staff 

of any proposed revisions to the security plan and physical security of the plant.

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)

107. Prior to commencement of service, Driftwood LNG shall file a request for 

written authorization from the Director of OEP. Such authorization will only be 

granted following a determination by the USCG, under its authorities under the 

Ports and Waterways Safety Act, the Magnuson Act, the Maritime Transportation 

Security Act of 2002, and the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port 

Act, that appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of the facility and 

the waterway have been put into place by Driftwood LNG or other appropriate 

parties. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

In addition, conditions 108 through 111 shall apply throughout the life of the 

Driftwood LNG facilities.

108. The facility shall be subject to regular FERC staff technical reviews and site 

inspections on at least an annual basis or more frequently as circumstances 

indicate. Prior to each FERC staff technical review and site inspection, Driftwood 

LNG shall respond to a specific data request including information relating to 

possible design and operating conditions that may have been imposed by other 

agencies or organizations. Up-to-date detailed P&IDs reflecting facility 

modifications and provision of other pertinent information not included in the 

semi-annual reports described below, including facility events that have taken 

place since the previously submitted semi-annual report, shall be submitted. 

(Final EIS section 4.13.1)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 68 -

109. Semi-annual operational reports shall be filed with the Secretary to identify 

changes in facility design and operating conditions; abnormal operating 

experiences; activities (e.g., ship arrivals, quantity and composition of imported 

and exported LNG, liquefied and vaporized quantities, boil off/flash gas); and 

plant modifications, including future plans and progress thereof. Abnormalities 

shall include, but not be limited to, unloading/loading/shipping problems, potential 

hazardous conditions from offsite vessels, storage tank stratification or rollover, 

geysering, storage tank pressure excursions, cold spots on the storage tanks, 

storage tank vibrations and/or vibrations in associated cryogenic piping, storage 

tank settlement, significant equipment or instrumentation malfunctions or failures, 

non-scheduled maintenance or repair (and reasons therefore), relative movement 

of storage tank inner vessels, hazardous fluids releases, fires involving hazardous 

fluids and/or from other sources, negative pressure (vacuum) within a storage 

tank, and higher than predicted boil off rates. Adverse weather conditions and the 

effect on the facility also shall be reported. Reports shall be submitted within 45 

days after each period ending June 30 and December 31. In addition to the 

above items, a section entitled “Significant Plant Modifications Proposed for the 

Next 12 Months (dates)” shall be included in the semi-annual operational reports. 

Such information will provide the FERC staff with early notice of anticipated 

future construction/maintenance at the LNG facilities. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)

110. In the event the temperature of any region of any secondary containment, 

including imbedded pipe supports, becomes less than the minimum specified 

operating temperature for the material, the Commission shall be notified within 24 

hours and procedures for corrective action shall be specified. (Final EIS section 

4.13.1)

111. Significant non-scheduled events, including safety-related incidents (e.g., LNG, 

condensate, refrigerant, or natural gas releases; fires; explosions; mechanical 

failures; unusual over pressurization; and major injuries) and security-related 

incidents (e.g., attempts to enter site, suspicious activities) shall be reported to the 

FERC staff. In the event that an abnormality is of significant magnitude to 

threaten public or employee safety, cause significant property damage, or interrupt 

service, notification shall be made immediately, without unduly interfering with 

any necessary or appropriate emergency repair, alarm, or other emergency 

procedure. In all instances, notification shall be made to the FERC staff within 24 

hours. This notification practice shall be incorporated into the LNG plant’s 

emergency plan. Examples of reportable hazardous fluids-related incidents 

include the following:

a. fire; 

b. explosion;
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 69 -

c. estimated property damage of $50,000 or more;

d. death or personal injury necessitating in-patient hospitalization;

e. release of hazardous fluids for five minutes or more;

f. unintended movement or abnormal loading by environmental causes, such 

as an earthquake, landslide, or flood, that impairs the serviceability, 

structural integrity, or reliability of an LNG facility that contains, controls, 

or processes hazardous fluids;

g. any crack or other material defect that impairs the structural integrity or 

reliability of an LNG facility that contains, controls, or processes hazardous 

fluids; 

h. any malfunction or operating error that causes the pressure of a pipeline or 

LNG facility that contains or processes hazardous fluids to rise above its 

maximum allowable operating pressure (or working pressure for LNG 

facilities) plus the build-up allowed for operation of pressure-limiting or 

control devices; 

i. a leak in an LNG facility that contains or processes hazardous fluids that 

constitutes an emergency; 

j. inner tank leakage, ineffective insulation, or frost heave that impairs the 

structural integrity of an LNG storage tank;

k. any safety-related condition that could lead to an imminent hazard and 

cause (either directly or indirectly by remedial action of the operator), for 

purposes other than abandonment, a 20 percent reduction in operating 

pressure or shutdown of operation of a pipeline or an LNG facility that 

contains or processes hazardous fluids; 

l. safety-related incidents to hazardous fluids transportation occurring at or en 

route to and from the LNG facility; or

m. an event that is significant in the judgment of the operator and/or

management even though it did not meet the above criteria or the guidelines 

set forth in an LNG facility’s incident management plan.

In the event of an incident, the Director of OEP has delegated authority to take 

whatever steps are necessary to ensure operational reliability and to protect human 

life, health, property, or the environment, including authority to direct the LNG 

Facility to cease operations. Following the initial company notification, the FERC 

staff will determine the need for a separate follow-up report or follow up in the 
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 70 -

upcoming semi-annual operational report. All company follow-up reports shall 

include investigation results and recommendations to minimize a reoccurrence of 

the incident. (Final EIS section 4.13.1)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Driftwood LNG LLC

Driftwood Pipeline LLC

Docket Nos. CP17-117-000

CP17-118-000

(Issued April 18, 2019)

GLICK, Commissioner, dissenting:

I dissent from today’s order because it violates both the Natural Gas Act1 (NGA) 

and the National Environmental Policy Act2 (NEPA). In particular, the Commission is 

again refusing to consider the consequences its actions have for climate change. Neither 

the NGA nor NEPA permit the Commission to assume away the climate change 

implications of constructing and operating this liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. Yet 

that is precisely what the Commission is doing today.

In the order authorizing Driftwood LNG LLC’s LNG export terminal (LNG 

Terminal) pursuant to section 3 of the NGA and the associated natural gas pipeline 

(Pipeline Project) pursuant to section 7 of the NGA (collectively, Project), the 

Commission treats GHG emissions differently than all other environmental impacts. By 

refusing to assess the significance of the impact of the Project’s GHG emissions, even 

after quantifying them, the Commission not only neglects its obligation to assess the 

environmental impacts, but also its concomitant duty to explore possible mitigation 

measures to reduce any significant adverse effects. This systematic failure to consider 

the Project’s impacts on climate change is what allows the Commission to misleadingly 

state that “[a]ll [environmental] impacts . . . will be reduced to less-than-significant

levels” 3 and, as a result, conclude that the Project satisfies the NGA’s public interest 

standards.

4

 1 15 U.S.C. §§ 717b, 717f (2012).

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.

3 Driftwood LNG LLC, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054, at P 25 (2019) (Certificate Order);

Final Environmental Impact Statement at ES-14–ES-15 (Final EIS).

4 Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at PP 28, 35.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 2 -

I. The Commission’s Public Interest Determinations Are Not the Product of 

Reasoned Decisionmaking

The NGA’s regulation of LNG import and export facilities “implicate[s] a tangled 

web of regulatory processes” split between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and 

the Commission.5 The NGA establishes a general presumption favoring the import and 

export of LNG unless there is an affirmative finding that the import or export “will not be 

consistent with the public interest.”6 Section 3 of the NGA, which governs LNG imports

and exports, provides for two independent public interest determinations: one regarding 

the import or export of LNG itself and one regarding the facilities used for that import or 

export. DOE determines whether the import or export of LNG is consistent with the 

public interest, with transactions among free trade countries legislatively deemed to be 

“consistent with the public interest.”7 The Commission evaluates whether “an 

application for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of an LNG terminal” is 

itself consistent with the public interest.8 Pursuant to that authority, the Commission 

 5 Sierra Club v. FERC, 827 F.3d 36, 40 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (Freeport).

6 15 U.S.C. §717b(a); see EarthReports, Inc. v. FERC, 828 F.3d 949, 953 (D.C. 

Cir. 2016) (citing W. Va. Pub. Servs. Comm’n v. Dep’t of Energy, 681 F.2d 847, 856 

(D.C. Cir. 1982) (“NGA [section] 3, unlike [section] 7, ‘sets out a general presumption 

favoring such authorization.’”)). Under section 7 of the NGA, the Commission approves 

a proposed pipeline if it is shown to be consistent with the public interest, while under 

section 3, the Commission approves a proposed LNG import or export facility unless it is 

shown to be inconsistent with the public interest. Compare 15 U.S.C. §717b(a) with 15 

U.S.C. §717f(a), (e).

7 15 U.S.C. § 717b(c). The courts have explained that, because the authority to 

authorize the LNG exports rests with DOE, NEPA does not require the Commission to 

consider the upstream or downstream GHG emissions that may be indirect effects of the 

export itself when determining whether the related LNG export facility satisfies section 3 

of the NGA. See Freeport, 827 F.3d at 46-47; see also Sierra Club v. FERC, 867 F.3d 

1357, 1373 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (Sabal Trail) (discussing Freeport). NEPA still requires, 

however, that the Commission consider the direct GHG emissions associated with a 

proposed LNG export facility. See Freeport, 827 F.3d at 41, 46.

8 15 U.S.C. § 717b(e). In 1977, Congress transferred the regulatory functions of 

NGA section 3 to DOE. DOE, however, subsequently delegated to the Commission 

authority to approve or deny an application for the siting, construction, expansion, or 

operation of an LNG terminal, while retaining the authority to determine whether the 

import or export of LNG to non-free trade countries is in the public interest. See 

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 3 -

must approve a proposed LNG facility unless the record shows that the facility would be 

inconsistent with the public interest.9 

As part of that determination, the Commission must examine a proposed LNG 

facility’s impact on the environment and public safety. A facility’s impact on climate 

change must be part of a public interest determination under the NGA.10 Nevertheless, 

the Commission maintains that it need not consider whether the Project’s contribution to 

climate change is significant because it lacks a means to do so—or at least so it claims.11 

However, the shocking part of the Commission’s rationale is what comes next. Based on 

this alleged inability to assess significance, the Commission concludes that the Project 

will have no significant environmental impact.12 That is the equivalent of saying that an 

action that is known to be dangerous is actually safe because we do not know exactly 

how dangerous it is. That is ludicrous and it certainly does not give climate change the 

serious consideration it deserves and that the law demands. 

The Commission’s failure to consider the impact of the Project’s GHG emissions

is all-the-more glaring given the volume of emissions at issue in this proceeding. The 

Final EIS points out that the Project will directly emit over 10 million tons of GHGs 

annually.13 That is equivalent to the annual GHG emissions from 2.3 million 

automobiles—which is more than all of the cars in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

Especially given the Commission’s acknowledgment that GHG emissions contribute to 

 

EarthReports, Inc., 828 F.3d at 952-53.

9 See Freeport, 827 F.3d at 40-41.

10 See Sabal Trail, 867 F.3d at 1373 (explaining that the Commission may “deny a 

pipeline certificate on the ground that the pipeline would be too harmful to the 

environment”); see also Atl. Ref. Co. v. Pub. Serv. Comm’n of N.Y., 360 U.S. 378, 391 

(1959) (holding that the NGA requires the Commission to consider “all factors bearing 

on the public interest”).

11 Final EIS at ES-13 (explaining that “[t]here is no generally accepted 

significance criteria for [GHG] emissions” and “[t]herefore, we cannot determine 

whether the Project’s contribution to climate change would be significant”).

12 Final EIS at ES-14–ES-15; see also Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 

120 (stating that the Commission agrees with the conclusions presented in the [F]inal EIS 

and finding that the Project is an “environmentally acceptable action”).

13 Final EIS at Tables 4.12-4, 4.12-8, 4.12-9, 4.12-10, 4.12-14; see also Certificate 

Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 99.

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 4 -

climate change,14 the decision to exclude emissions from playing any role in the 

Commission’s public interest analysis is indefensible. 

The implications of the Commission’s approach to evaluating the impacts of GHG 

emissions extend beyond any single proceeding under NGA section 3 or section 7.

Taking the Commission’s approach to its logical conclusion, the Commission would 

approve any project regardless of the amount of GHGs emitted without ever determining 

the significance of their environmental impact. If the Commission’s assessment of that

impact will not change no matter the volume of GHG emissions at issue, those emissions 

and their consequences cannot meaningfully factor into the public interest determination. 

Approving a project that may significantly contribute to the harms caused by climate 

change without meaningfully evaluating the significance of that impact or considering it 

as part of the public interest determination is contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious, 

and not the product of reasoned decisionmaking.15

II. The Commission Fails to Satisfy Its Obligations under NEPA

In order to evaluate the environmental consequences of the Project under NEPA, 

the Commission must consider the harm caused by the Project’s GHG emissions and 

“evaluate the ‘incremental impact’ that these emissions will have on climate change or 

the environment more generally.”16 As noted, the Final EIS states that the Project will 

directly emit over 10 million tons of GHGs annually.17 Although that quantification of 

the Project’s GHG emissions is a necessary step toward meeting the Commission’s 

NEPA obligations, listing the volume of emissions alone is insufficient.18

 14 Final EIS at 4-294–4-295.

15 As noted, the NGA “requires the Commission to evaluate all factors bearing on 

the public interest,” Atl. Ref. Co., 360 U.S. at 391, which Sabal Trail held includes a 

facility’s contribution to the harms caused by climate change, 867 F.3d at 1373.

16 Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Nat’l Highway Traffic Safety Admin., 538 F.3d 

1172, 1216 (9th Cir. 2008); WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke, No. CV 16-1724 (RC), 2019 

WL 1273181, at *1 (D.D.C. Mar. 19, 2019) (explaining that the agency was required to 

“provide the information necessary for the public and agency decisionmakers to 

understand the degree to which [its] decisions at issue would contribute” to the “impacts 

of climate change in the state, the region, and across the country”).

17 Supra note 13.

18 See Ctr. for Biological Diversity, 538 F.3d at 1216 (“While the [environmental 

document] quantifies the expected amount of CO2 emitted . . . , it does not evaluate the 

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 5 -

As an initial matter, identifying the consequences that those emissions will have 

for climate change is essential if NEPA is to play the disclosure and good government 

roles for which it was designed. The Supreme Court has explained that NEPA’s purpose 

is to “ensure[] that the agency, in reaching its decision, will have available, and will 

carefully consider, detailed information concerning significant environmental impacts” 

and to “guarantee[] that the relevant information will be made available to the larger 

audience that may also play a role in both the decisionmaking process and the 

implementation of that decision.”19 It is hard to see how hiding the ball on a project’s 

climate impacts is consistent with either of those purposes. 

In addition, under NEPA, a finding of significance informs the Commission’s

inquiry into potential ways of mitigating environmental impacts.20 The Supreme Court 

has held that an EIS must “contain a detailed discussion of possible mitigation measures” 

to address adverse environmental impacts.21 The Court explained that, “[w]ithout such a 

discussion, neither the agency nor other interested groups and individuals can properly 

evaluate the severity of the adverse effects” of a project, making an examination of 

possible mitigation measures necessary to ensure that the agency has taken a “hard look” 

at the environmental consequences of the action at issue.22 Consistent with this 

obligation, the Final EIS discusses mitigation measures to ensure that all of the Project’s 

adverse environmental impacts, other than GHG emissions, are reduced to less than 

 

‘incremental impact’ that these emissions will have on climate change or on the 

environment more generally . . . .”); Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Ctr. v. Bureau of Land 

Mgmt., 387 F.3d 989, 995 (9th Cir. 2004) (“A calculation of the total number of acres to 

be harvested in the watershed is a necessary component . . . , but it is not a sufficient 

description of the actual environmental effects that can be expected from logging those 

acres.”).

19 Dep’t of Transp. v. Pub. Citizen, 541 U.S. 752, 768 (2004) (citing Robertson v. 

Methow Valley Citizens Coun., 490 U.S. 332, 349 (1989)).

20 40 C.F.R. § 1502.16 (2018) (NEPA requires an implementing agency to form a 

“scientific and analytic basis for the comparisons” of the environmental consequences of 

its action in its environmental review, which “shall include discussions of . . . [d]irect 

effects and their significance.”).

21 Robertson, 490 U.S. at 351.

22 Id. at 352; see also 40 C.F.R. §§ 1508.20 (defining mitigation), 1508.25 

(including in the scope of an environmental impact statement mitigation measures).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 6 -

significant levels.23 For example, in order to find that the Project’s impacts on wetlands 

are less than significant,24 the Commission relies on compensatory mitigation including 

the purchase of mitigation credits.25 The Commission not only has the obligation to 

discuss mitigation of adverse environmental impacts under NEPA, but also the authority 

to condition certificates under section 3 and 7 of the NGA.26 Once again, however, the 

Project’s climate impacts are treated differently. By refusing to assess significance, the 

Commission escapes its obligation to consider mitigation measures for the Project’s GHG 

emissions. 

In refusing to even assess the significance of the Project’s GHG emissions during 

the environmental review process, the Commission relegates climate change to a 

negligible role, at best, in its NEPA analysis. Nothing in today’s order justifies this 

result. The Commission argues that it need not determine whether the Project’s 

contribution to climate change is significant because “[t]here is no standard 

methodology” to determine whether the GHG emissions “would result in physical effects 

on the environment for the purposes of evaluating the Project’s impact on climate change, 

either locally or nationally.”27 As a logical matter, the argument that there is no single 

 23 Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at PP 70, 72, 76, 78, 83, 88 (The 

Commission states that adverse environmental impacts to soils, water resources, 

wetlands, vegetation, and land use, recreation and visual resources will be reduced to less 

than significant levels if the Applicant implements proposed mitigation measures.).

24 Final EIS at ES-5.

25 Id.; see also Final EIS at 4-70–4-71 (The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) 

has a goal of “no net loss” for wetlands and the COE New Orleans District Wetland 

Mitigation Plan provides prescribed guidelines for preferred mitigation measures. The 

Applicant proposes to achieve COE’s goal through a combination of contributed 

dredging materials to restore degraded coastal wetlands and wetland mitigation credits. 

The Commission determines that wetland impacts would not be significant with the 

proposed mitigation measures and additional Environmental Condition regarding wetland 

drilling.).

26 15 U.S.C. § 717b(e)(3)(A); 15 U.S.C. § 717f(e); Certificate Order, 167 FERC 

¶ 61,054 at P 119 (“[T]he Commission has the authority to take whatever steps are 

necessary to ensure the protection of environmental resources . . . , including authority to 

impose any additional measures deemed necessary . . . .”).

27 Final EIS at ES-13; see also Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 100

(acknowledging that the Project will contribute to climate change but claiming that it 

cannot determine whether that contribution—or the resulting harm—will be significant).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 7 -

standard methodology for evaluating the significance of GHG emissions does not excuse 

the Commission from assessing the Project’s environmental impacts under NEPA. The 

claimed absence of a standard methodology is no justification for effectively ignoring 

those emissions.28

Moreover, the argument that there is no single standard methodology for 

evaluating the significance of GHG emissions is a red herring. The lack of any single 

methodology does not prevent the Commission from adopting a methodology, even if 

others are available. The Commission has several tools to assess the harm from the 

Project’s contribution to climate change. By measuring the long-term damage done by a 

ton of carbon dioxide, the Social Cost of Carbon links GHG emissions to actual

environmental effects from climate change, thereby facilitating the necessary “hard look” 

at the Project’s environmental impacts that NEPA requires. Especially when it comes to 

a global problem like climate change, a measure for translating a single project’s climate 

change impacts into concrete and comprehensible terms plays a useful role in the NEPA 

process by putting the harm in terms that are readily accessible for both agency 

decisionmakers and the public at large. Yet, the Commission continues to ignore the 

Social Cost of Carbon, relying instead on deeply flawed reasoning that I have previously 

critiqued at length.29

Regardless of tools or methodologies available, the Commission can use its 

judgment and discretion to consider all factors and determine, quantitatively or 

qualitatively, whether the Project’s GHG emissions have a significant impact on climate 

change. After all, that is precisely what the Commission does in other aspects of its 

environmental review. For example, consider the Commission’s evaluation of the 

Project’s impact on the surrounding land. The Final EIS determines that a total of 1,195

 28 My colleague, Commissioner LaFleur, wrestled with these questions and 

reached a judgment on both the significance of the impact of the GHG emissions and the 

merits of the Project notwithstanding the lack of analysis in the Commission’s order. 

Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 (LaFleur, Comm’r, concurring at P 8). Providing 

additional context regarding the Project’s GHG emissions and their cumulative impact is 

a useful first step that promotes public disclosure and informed decisionmaking. But 

neither that context nor a concurrence assessing—and ultimately recognizing—the 

significance of the impact of the Project’s GHG emissions can remedy the order’s 

erroneous conclusion that the Commission cannot evaluate the significance of the 

Project’s contribution to climate change or its assumption that such a contribution is 

insignificant. Nor can a concurrence remedy the absence of any discussion in the record 

of the significance of the Project’s contribution to climate change. 

29 See, e.g., Fla. Se. Connection, LLC, 164 FERC ¶ 61,099 (2018) (Glick, 

Comm’r, dissenting).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 8 -

acres of vegetation would be permanently lost, but then concludes that these impacts on 

vegetation would not be significant.

30 The Final EIS provides no “standard 

methodology” or “accepted significance criteria” available to the Commission to evaluate 

this impact.

31 Instead, the Commission uses its judgment to conduct a qualitative review 

to assess the Project’s impact on vegetation. For the LNG Terminal, the Commission 

states that the impact would not be significant based on a finding that there is “abundant 

similar vegetation resources in the region.”32 The Commission’s refusal to exercise 

similar qualitative discretion and judgment when it comes to evaluating the impacts of 

GHG emissions is arbitrary and capricious and willfully ignorant.

The Commission’s refusal to seriously consider the significance of the impact of 

the Project’s GHG emissions is even more mystifying because NEPA “does not dictate 

particular decisional outcomes.”33 NEPA “‘merely prohibits uninformed—rather than 

unwise—agency action.’”34 Taking the matter seriously—and rigorously examining a 

project’s impacts on climate change—does not necessarily prevent any of my colleagues 

from ultimately concluding that a project meets the public interest standard. Indeed, a 

thorough investigation of a project’s contribution to climate change would also help 

infrastructure developers by reducing their legal risk in the appeals that will inevitably 

follow. At the end of the day, no one benefits from the Commission’s refusal to consider 

a project’s impact on climate change.

For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.

______________________________

Richard Glick

Commissioner

 30 Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at PP 77-78; Final EIS at ES-5, Table 

4.6-2.

31 As compared to the Commission’s requirement for a “standard methodology” to 

determine the significance of the Project’s GHG emissions, as discussed in Certificate 

Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 100 (citing to Dominion Transmission, Inc., 163 FERC ¶ 

61,128, at PP 67-70 (2018) (LaFleur, Comm’r, dissenting in part; Glick, Comm’r, 

dissenting in part)).

32 Final EIS at 4-79.

33 Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 803 F.3d 31, 37 (D.C. Cir. 2015).

34 Id. (quoting Robertson, 490 U.S. at 351).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Driftwood LNG LLC

Driftwood Pipeline LLC

Docket Nos. CP17-117-000

CP17-118-000

(Issued April 18, 2019)

LaFLEUR, Commissioner, concurring: 

Today’s order grants authorization to Driftwood LNG LLC, pursuant to section 3 

of the Natural Gas Act (NGA),

1 to site, construct and operate a new liquefied natural gas 

(LNG) export terminal (Driftwood LNG Project) in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.2

 The 

Commission also authorizes Driftwood Pipeline LLC, pursuant to section 7 of the NGA,3

to construct and operate the Driftwood Pipeline Project to provide up to 3,954,000 

dekatherms per day (Dth/day) of natural gas transportation service to the proposed export 

terminal. For the reasons discussed below, I concur.

Under section 3 of the NGA, oversight for LNG export is divided between the 

Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Specifically, it is the DOE, not 

the Commission, which retains the exclusive authority over the export of the natural gas 

as a commodity, including the responsibility to consider whether the exportation of that

gas is in the public interest.4

 If the export will be sent to a free trade country, the NGA 

automatically “deems” the export “to be consistent with the public interest.”5

 

This framework leaves the Commission with the limited authority to approve or 

deny an application for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of the LNG 

terminal facilities. In exercising its section 3 authority, the Commission’s responsibility 

includes conducting a public interest analysis to consider the technical and environmental 

aspects of the LNG facilities themselves. Our environmental review is governed by the 

 1

 15 U.S.C. § 717b (2012).

2 Driftwood LNG LLC, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 (2019) (Certificate Order).

3 15 U.S.C. § 717f(c) (2012).

4 15 U.S.C. § 717b(a)-(c) (2012).

5 15 U.S.C. § 717b(c) (2012).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 2 -

National Environmental Policy Act6 (NEPA) which, as relevant here, requires the 

Commission to take a “hard look” at the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative 

environmental impacts that could result from the Driftwood LNG Project, including the 

climate change impacts of the proposed project. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) has made clear that 

the DOE, rather than the Commission, has the responsibility to assess the indirect impacts 

of the upstream and downstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of LNG exports as 

part of the DOE’s determination of the public interest in exporting the natural gas.7

 

However, the Commission still has the clear responsibility to disclose and consider the 

direct and cumulative impacts of the proposed LNG export facility, and make 

significance determinations regarding such impacts, in order to satisfy our obligations 

under NEPA and section 3 of the NGA. 

Direct GHG Emissions and their Significance

I appreciate that the Commission has disclosed in the Certificate Order the direct 

GHG emissions from the operations of the combined Driftwood LNG Project and 

Driftwood Pipeline Project, and has provided important context by comparing those 

emissions to the national GHG emissions inventory.8

 We have included this comparison 

in the past to provide context to the indirect emissions of pipeline projects, and the D.C. 

 6 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.

7 Sierra Club v. FERC, 827 F.3d 36, 47 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (Freeport) (“[T]he 

Commission’s NEPA analysis did not have to address the indirect effects of the 

anticipated export of natural gas. That is because the Department of Energy, not the 

Commission, has the sole authority to license the export of any natural gas going through 

the Freeport facilities.”). See also Sierra Club v. FERC, 827 F.3d 59 (D.C. Cir. 2016) 

(Sabine Pass); EarthReports, Inc. v. FERC, 823 F.3d 949 (D.C. Cir. 2016). 

8 Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 99. Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) at Table 4.12-4, 4.12-8, 4.12-9, 4.12-10, and 4.12-14. The Final EIS also 

discloses the direct GHG emissions from the construction of the LNG terminal and the 

pipeline: 1,554,999 tons during the multiple years of construction. Table 4.12-2 and 4.12-

3. See Sierra Club v. FERC, 867 F.3d 1357 at 1374 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (Sabal Trail) 

(“Quantification would permit the agency to compare the emissions from this project to 

emissions from other projects, to total emissions from the state or the region, or to 

regional or national emissions-control goals.”).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 3 -

Circuit has taken note of the Commission’s efforts to use available national, regional, and 

state emissions inventories as part of our climate change analysis.9

 

I recognize that the disclosure of the data, and the context provided, is only the 

first step to assist the Commission in determining the significance of a given rate or 

volume of GHG emissions as part of our climate change analysis.10 As a second step, 

NEPA requires that we analyze that information to determine whether a specific impact 

is, in fact, significant. Unfortunately, to date, the Commission has not established a 

framework for making a significance determination for GHG emissions. While it might 

be easier to assess significance if we had national emissions reduction targets, like EPA’s 

Clean Power Plan or the Paris Climate Accord,11 to use as part of our framework, the lack 

of such targets does not prevent the Commission from making a significance

determination in this or in any other case. In fact, the Commission makes challenging 

determinations on quantitative and qualitative issues in many other areas of our work.

12

 9 E.g., Town of Weymouth, Mass. v. FERC, No. 17-1135, 2018 WL 6921213 (D.C. 

Cir. Dec. 27, 2018) (per curiam) (speaking approvingly of the Commission’s 

quantification of the project’s expected GHG emissions, which included a comparison of 

the Atlantic Bridge Project against state and regional climate change goals.); Appalachian 

Voices v. FERC, No. 17-1721 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 19, 2019) (per curiam) (dismissing claims 

that FERC failed to adequately consider downstream climate impacts of the Mountain 

Valley Pipeline project by noting, among other things, that “FERC provided an estimate 

of the upper bound of emissions resulting from end-use combustion...”). By comparison, 

in Sabal Trail, the D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded the Commission’s authorization of 

the Southeast Market Pipeline Project and directed the Commission to both quantify and 

consider the project’s downstream GHG emissions or explain in more detail why it 

cannot do so. In response to the Court order, the Commission quantified the net, gross, 

and full-burn of downstream GHG emissions and compared them to the state and national 

GHG emissions inventories. 

10 Under NEPA, when evaluating the significance of a particular impact, the 

Commission must consider both context and intensity. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.27(a) (2017) 

(Context means “that the significance of an action must be analyzed in several contexts 

such as society as a whole (human, national), the affected region, the affected interests 

and the locality.”). 40 C.F.R. § 1508.27(b) (2017) (Intensity refers to “the severity of the 

impact”).

11 As noted in the Certificate Order, the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and the Paris 

climate account are pending repeal and withdrawal, respectively. Certificate Order, 167 

FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 99, nt. 138. 

12 Many of the core areas of the Commission’s work have required the 

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 4 -

I do not believe it is beyond the capability of this Commission to determine 

whether a given rate or volume of GHG emissions should be considered significant. The 

Commission has grappled with every other identifiable and measurable environmental 

impact; for example, we quantify, consider, and mitigate impacts to land, water, and 

species, and we make determinations on whether the impacts to wetlands or mussels are 

significant.13 For reasons that I do not find persuasive, the Commission treats climate 

 

development of analytical frameworks, often a combination of quantitative measurements 

and qualitative assessments, to fulfill the Commission’s responsibilities under its broad 

authorizing statutes. This work regularly requires that the Commission exercise 

judgment, based on its expertise, precedent, and the record before it. For example, to 

help determine just and reasonable returns on equity (ROEs) under the Federal Power 

Act, Natural Gas Act, and Interstate Commerce Act, the Commission identifies a proxy 

group of comparably risky companies, applies a method or methods to determine a range 

of potentially reasonable ROEs (i.e., the zone of reasonableness), and then considers 

various factors to determine the just and reasonable ROE within that range. See also, 

e.g., Promoting Transmission Investment through Pricing Reform, Order No. 679, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,222, order on reh’g, Order No. 679-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,236 

(2006), order on reh’g, 119 FERC ¶ 61,062 (2007) (establishing Commission regulations 

and policy for reviewing requests for transmission incentives); Transmission Planning 

and Cost Allocation by Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities, Order No. 

1000, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,323 (2011), order on reh’g, Order No. 1000-A, 139 

FERC ¶ 61,132, order on reh’g and clarification, Order No. 1000-B, 141 FERC ¶ 61,044 

(2012), aff’d sub nom. S.C. Pub. Serv. Auth. v. FERC, 762 F.3d 41 (D.C. Cir. 2014) 

(requiring, among other things, the development of regional cost allocation methods 

subject to certain general cost allocation principles); BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., Opinion 

No. 544, 153 FERC ¶ 61,233 (2015) (conducting a prudence review of a significant 

expansion of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System). I also note that the Commission is 

currently actively considering a broad topic – resilience – whose scope and complexity 

might similarly require the development of new analytical frameworks for conducting the 

Commission’s work.

13 In the Final EIS, the Commission made a significance determination on:

geology, soils, water resources, fish and aquatic resources, wetlands, vegetation, wildlife 

resources, land use, recreation, and visual impacts, socioeconomics, air quality, and 

noise. The Commission also determined that adverse environmental impacts to soils, 

water resources, wetlands, vegetation, land use, recreation and visual resources would be 

reduced to less than significant with proposed mitigation measures. Moreover, in making 

such determinations, the Commission has frequently relied solely on a qualitative 

assessment and Commission staff discretion. For example, in this case, with regard to the 

permanent loss of 551 acres of vegetation when clearing lands for the LNG terminal, the 

Commission determined that because there is “an abundance of similar vegetation 

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 5 -

impacts differently than all other environmental impacts in our environmental review, 

and refuses to make such determinations regarding climate change impacts. Instead, the 

Commission summarily finds that because it cannot decide how to conduct a meaningful 

analysis of climate change impacts, it is not required to conduct any analysis of 

significance. I disagree. 

At this juncture, instead of simply imploring the Commission to make a 

significance determination, I will, for the sake of argument, assume that the direct 

emissions are significant. While an established framework or national standard could be 

very helpful, simple common sense will suffice in this case. I believe that, by any 

meaningful standard, the magnitude of the direct GHG emissions from the Driftwood 

LNG Project, 10,641,908 tons a year or an increase of 0.17 percent of the national 

emissions inventory, appear to be significant as contemplated by NEPA. 

Finding the GHG emissions to be significant does not mean the Commission 

cannot approve a proposed project. NEPA requires the Commission to disclose and 

consider all environmental impacts of a proposed action, but NEPA does not mandate 

particular results, it simply prescribes the necessary process for considering each 

impact.

14 Thus, even if we were to find significant impacts here, neither NEPA nor 

Commission policy and precedent would require that we deny authorization of the 

proposed action. As we have previously stated:

It is well settled that NEPA does not mandate that agencies reach particular 

substantive results. Instead, NEPA simply sets forth procedures that agencies 

must follow to determine what the environmental impacts of a proposed action are 

likely to be. If an agency adequately identifies and evaluates the adverse 

environmental effects of a proposed action, the agency is not constrained by 

NEPA from deciding that other values outweigh the environmental costs.15

 

resources in the region,” the Driftwood LNG Project’s impact on vegetation would not be 

significant. Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 77 and Final EIS at 4-79. That 

determination is not made using a national or industry standard, or known vegetation 

threshold, but the final EIS manages a meaningful analysis of the impacts to vegetation, 

concluding that the overall effect on the habitat would not be significant. Final EIS 4-71-

4-81. I reject the view that the difficulty of quantifying GHG emissions impacts is an 

excuse for failing to evaluate the significance of those impacts.

14 KN Wattenberg Transmission LLC, 90 FERC ¶ 61,322, at 62,083 (2000) (citing 

and quoting Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council, 490 U.S. 332, 350 (1989)

(Robertson)).

15 See, e.g. Millennium Pipeline Company, 141 FERC ¶ 61,198, at P 31 (2012); 

Dominion Transmission, Inc., 143 FERC 61,148, at P 39 (2013).

(continued ...)
Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 6 -

The CEQ regulations do require us to state whether all practicable means to avoid 

or minimize environmental harm have been adopted and if not, explain why they were 

not. 16 Once a significant impact has been identified then the next logical step is to think 

about ways to mitigate that impact.17 Having assumed that the direct GHG impacts of 

liquefaction in this case are significant, it would be appropriate to consider ways the 

companies could mitigate them either through changes in manufacturing process, 

technology, or through compensatory offsets.18 

Cumulative Impacts Analysis 

With regard to the cumulative impacts analysis, I appreciate that the analysis in the 

final EIS addresses a range of resources impacted within the identified geographic scope 

of the Driftwood LNG Project.19 However, as I highlighted in my concurrence in 

Calcasieu Pass LNG,20 I disagree with the decision to exclude GHG emissions from the 

 

16 40 C.F.R. § 1505.2(c) (2017) Record of Decision in Cases Requiring 

Environmental Impact Statements. 

17 “One important ingredient of an EIS is the discussion of steps that can be taken 

to mitigate adverse environmental consequences. The requirement that an EIS contain a 

detailed discussion of possible mitigation measures flows both from the language of the 

Act and, more expressly, from CEQ’s implementing regulations.” Robertson, 490 U.S. at 

51. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.20 (2017) Mitigation: “Mitigation includes (a) Avoiding the impact 

altogether by not taking certain action or part of action; (b) Minimizing impacts by 

limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation; (c) Rectifying the 

impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment; (d) Reducing or 

eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the 

life of the action; (e) Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute 

resources or environments.” 

18 By analogy, Commissioner Glick highlights the Commission’s use of 

compensatory mitigation to conclude the projects impacts on wetlands are not significant. 

Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 (Glick, Comm’r, dissenting at P 9). 

19 A NEPA cumulative impacts analysis considers the effect of the current project 

along with any other past, present or likely future action in the same geographic region. 

40 C.F.R. § 1508.7 (2017).

20 Venture Global Calcasieu Pass, LLC, 166 FERC ¶ 61,144 (2019) (LaFleur, 

Comm’r, concurring).

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 7 -

cumulative impacts analysis.21 I was also concerned with final EIS’s inadequate response 

to the specific comments raised by landowner Charlie Atherton, filed on the draft EIS. 

Mr. Atherton was simply asking for the Commission to disclose and address the GHG 

emissions from the other LNG terminals in the area.22 

I appreciate that, responding to my concerns, the Commission in today’s order, 

acknowledged that there are five other proposed or authorized LNG export projects 

within the geographic scope of the Driftwood LNG Project and that each will have 

varying levels of direct and indirect CO2 emissions associated with the operations of the 

facilities.

23 Because the Commission fails to disclose the actual emissions numbers, I 

have included an estimate of them in Table 1 attached to this concurrence. 

As I have stated before, it takes minimal effort to disclose the GHG emissions for 

the other FERC projects identified in the final EIS’s cumulative impacts air region, and 

include an estimate of the total annual potential GHG emissions associated with a 

proposed project and other nearby projects as part of our environmental review. I am 

disappointed that the final EIS does not do so. I recognize that using the 50 km air region 

is a rudimentary proxy for assessing the cumulative impacts of GHG emissions because 

those emissions are not typically measured on a local or regional basis.24 But disclosing 

that minimal information would at least be a start, and I believe, failure to do so creates 

added legal risk. 25 Furthermore, I can see no justifiable reason for failing to disclose 

 21 Final EIS at 4-262, Table at 4.14-1.

22 Final EIS at Appendix F, F-7.

23 Certificate Order, 167 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 99.

24 50 kilometers is the distance used in the final EIS and by the EPA for 

cumulative modeling of large sources of air pollutants (nitrogen oxides [NOx], sulfur 

oxides [SOx], particulate matter [PM], etc.), volatile organic compounds, and hazardous 

air pollutants. Final EIS at 4-262, Table 4.14-1.

25 Recently, the U.S. District Court for D.C. criticized the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) for failing to disclose the cumulative impacts of GHG emissions in 

sufficient detail. The court found that NEPA requires that “BLM quantify the emissions 

from each leasing decision—past, present or reasonably foreseeable—and compare those 

emissions to regional and national emissions, setting forth with reasonable specificity the 

cumulative effect of the leasing decision at issue.” WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke, No. 

CV 16-1724 (RC), 2019 WL 1273181, at *46 (D.D.C. Mar. 19, 2019). By comparison, 

the U.S. District Court for Colorado, upheld BLM, finding they took an appropriately 

hard look at cumulative climate change impacts where, the agency: (1) looked at 

statewide emissions levels from emitting coal-fired power plants in Colorado and 

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 8 -

that information in response to a specific request for it, even if the final EIS disputes its 

usefulness. I believe that, consistent with our NEPA obligations, at a minimum, GHG 

emissions must be disclosed and considered, both cumulatively and with respect to 

individual facilities. 

Conclusion

Having disclosed and considered the GHG impacts of the proposed Driftwood 

LNG Project, as well as its other environmental impacts, the next step is to decide 

whether the proposed project is “not inconsistent with the public interest.” I recognize 

that it is difficult to balance the GHG impacts with the potential public benefits of export, 

because the latter are part of DOE’s responsibility, and the Commission is working under 

a presumption of public interest. I have considered the information provided by the 2014 

National Energy Technology Lab (NETL), Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Perspective on 

Exporting Liquefied Natural Gas from the United States, to provide some context to 

benefits. This analysis calculates the life cycle GHG emissions for regional coal and 

imported natural gas power in Europe and Asia. The approach includes GHG impacts of 

liquefaction and finds, on balance that export of US LNG has less climate impacts than 

some alternatives. As I have stated before, I believe that analysis should be updated 

based on more recent information and proposed projects to allow those in DOE and the 

Commission who share the LNG authority to make the best decisions. 

I will continue to consider and evaluate these issues as they arise in individual 

proceedings. However, I believe the Commission should proactively address these 

issues. If we do not, further guidance from the courts on our NEPA responsibility to 

consider climate change will likely require us to do so. Such guidance could create 

additional legal risk and add additional complexities to our reviews under both section 3 

and section 7 of the NGA. Thus, I believe that proactive solutions to this challenging 

problem must be explored. 

Given my review of the record including the climate impacts identified, I find the 

Driftwood LNG Project is not inconsistent with the public interest.26 As for the

Driftwood Pipeline Project, which is solely serving the Driftwood LNG Project, I find the 

 

provided a comparative assessment; (2) provided a qualitative analysis of climate change 

and the role played by GHG emissions; (3) performed a regional cumulative impacts 

analysis for the future mineral development in the region for ten years; and (4) quantified 

the GHG emissions from both projects. Citizens for a Healthy Cmty. v. Bureau of Land 

Mgmt., No. 1:17-CV-02519-LTB-GPG, 2019 WL 1382785, at *20-21 (D. Colo. Mar. 27, 

2019).

26 15 U.S.C. § 717b (2012).

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Docket Nos. CP17-117-000 and CP17-118-000 - 9 -

pipeline is in the public convenience and necessity. The D.C. Circuit has recognized that, 

as with the appended LNG export facility, the downstream indirect GHG emissions for 

the pipeline are not part of the Commission’s environmental review and consideration.27 

My public interest determination in this case acknowledges this limited authority. After 

carefully balancing the need for the project and its environmental impacts, I find the 

project is in the public interest.

For these reasons, I respectfully concur.

______________________________

Cheryl A. LaFleur

Commissioner

 27 See Sabine Pass, 827 F.3d at 68. 
Table 1: Annual Direct CO2e Emissions from FERC Projects within about 50km Driftwood LNG

Calcasieu 

Pass LNG

Lake Charles 

Liquefaction

Cameron LNG 

Liquefaction

Magnolia 

LNG

Port Arthur 

Louisiana 

Connector

Driftwood 

LNG

Commonwealth 

LNG

Kinder Morgan 

Louisiana 

Pipeline (Lake 

Charles LNG)

Columbia Gulf's 

Cameron Access 

Pipeline

Total National 

Inventory for 

2016

GHG in

CO2e 

(million

english

tons)

3,910,000 4,510,000 7,650,000 2,790,000 N/A 10,610,000 N/A 520,000 70,000 30,060,000 6,395,700,000

Percent of 

National

Inventory

0.06% 0.07% 0.12% 0.04% N/A 0.17% N/A 0.01% 0.00% 0.47% --

Notes: Includes

LNG

Terminal

Includes 

LNG 

Terminal 

emissions

Includes LNG 

terminal, two 

terminal 

expansions 

(CP13- 25, 

CP13-27, and 

CP15-560), 

and

Holbrook 

Compress

or Station

Includes 

LNG 

terminal 

and 

Compresso

r Station 

760

Includes 

approximately 135 

miles of new 42-

inch diameter 

natural gas 

pipeline and one 

new compressor 

station. Port 

Arthur LNG facility 

and compressor 

stations not in 

50km.

Includes 

LNG 

terminal and 

operation of 

3 

compressor 

stations

Project is

currently in the 

Commission's 

Pre-Filing Review 

process. An 

analysis of the 

planned project

GHG emission's is 

underway.

Includes 

Longville and 

203- A 

Compressor 

Stations in 

Calcasieu 

Parish, La

Includes Lake 

Arthur 

Compressor 

Station

N/A Table ES-2: Net 

GHG Emissions, 

inclusive of 

sources and sinks 

converted to 

english tons. 

https://www.epa.

gov/sites/produ

ction/files/2018-

01/documents/20

18_complete_re 

port.pdf