24846 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 26, 2009 / Notices 

1 Interventions may also be filed electronically via 

the Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous 

discussion of filing comments electronically. 

1A ‘‘pig’’ is a tool for cleaning and inspecting the 

inside of a pipeline. 

Comment is an easy method for 

interested persons to submit text-only 

comments on a project; 

(2) You may file your comments 

electronically by using the eFiling 

feature, which is located on the 

Commission’s Internet Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov under the link to 

Documents and Filings. eFiling involves 

preparing your submission in the same 

manner as you would if filing on paper, 

and then saving the file on your 

computer’s hard drive. You will attach 

that file as your submission. New 

eFiling users must first create an 

account by clicking on ‘‘Sign up’’ or 

‘‘eRegister.’’ You will be asked to select 

the type of filing you are making. A 

comment on a particular project is 

considered a ‘‘Comment on a Filing;’’ or 

(3) You may file your comments via 

mail to the Commission by sending an 

original and two copies of your letter to: 

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, 

DC 20426. 

Label one copy of the comments for 

the attention of the Gas Branch 1, PJ– 

11.1 

Comments will be considered by the 

Commission but will not serve to make 

the commentor a party to the 

proceeding. Any person seeking to 

become a party to the proceeding must 

file a motion to intervene pursuant to 

Rule 214 of the Commission’s Rules of 

Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 

385.214).1 Only intervenors have the 

right to seek rehearing of the 

Commission’s decisions. 

Affected landowners and parties with 

environmental concerns may be granted 

intervenor status upon showing good 

cause by stating that they have a clear 

and direct interest in this proceeding 

which would not be adequately 

represented by any other parties. You do 

not need intervenor status to have your 

comments considered. 

Additional information about the 

project is available from the 

Commission’s Office of External Affairs 

at 1–866–208–FERC or on the FERC 

Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) 

using the eLibrary link. Click on the 

eLibrary link, then on ‘‘General Search’’ 

and enter the docket number excluding 

the last three digits in the docket 

number field (i.e., CP09–58). Be sure 

you have selected an appropriate date 

range. For assistance, please contact 

FERC Online Support at 

FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free 

at 1–866–208–3676, or for TTY, contact 

(202) 502–8659. The eLibrary link on 

the FERC Internet Web site also 

provides access to the texts of formal 

documents issued by the Commission, 

such as orders, notices, and 

rulemakings. 

In addition, the Commission offers a 

free service called eSubscription which 

allows you to keep track of all formal 

issuances and submittals in specific 

dockets. This can reduce the amount of 

time you spend researching proceedings 

by automatically providing you with 

notifications of these filings, document 

summaries and direct links to the 

documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/ 

esubscribenow.htm. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–12089 Filed 5–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP07–52–000; Docket Nos. 

CP07–53–000, CP07–53–001] 

Downeast LNG, Inc. and Downeast 

Pipeline, LLC.; Notice of Availability of 

the Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Proposed Downeast 

LNG Project 

May 15, 2009. 

The staff of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission or 

FERC) has prepared this draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

to address Downeast LNG, Inc.’s and 

Downeast Pipeline, LLC.’s (hereafter 

collectively referred to as Downeast) 

proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) 

terminal, natural gas pipeline, and 

associated facilities in the abovereferenced docket. The Downeast LNG 

Project (Project) would be located in 

Washington County, Maine. 

The draft EIS was prepared to satisfy 

the requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 

U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers; National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, National 

Marine Fisheries Service; U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency; and 

the Maine Department of Environmental 

Protection are cooperating agencies for 

the development of this EIS. A 

cooperating agency has jurisdiction by 

law or special expertise with respect to 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with the proposal and is 

involved in the NEPA analysis. 

Based on the analysis included in the 

EIS, the FERC staff concludes 

construction and operation of the 

Downeast LNG Project would result in 

some adverse environmental impacts. 

However, most of these impacts would 

be reduced to less-than-significant 

levels with the implementation of 

Downeast’s proposed mitigation 

measures and the additional measures 

we recommend in the EIS. 

The Project would establish a LNG 

marine terminal in New England 

capable of unloading cargo from LNG 

vessels, storing up to 320,000 cubic 

meters of LNG in specially designed 

tanks, vaporizing the LNG back into 

natural gas, and providing an average 

sendout of 500 million cubic feet of 

natural gas per day to the New England 

region’s interstate pipeline grid. 

Downeast’s proposed 29.8-mile-long 

pipeline would transport natural gas 

from the LNG terminal to an 

interconnect point with Maritimes and 

Northeast Pipeline’s L.L.C. (M&NE) 

existing pipeline system near the town 

of Baileyville, Maine. Downeast states 

that the Project would provide an 

additional supply source of natural gas 

to meet increasing demand and increase 

the reliability of the interstate gas 

delivery system in New England. 

The draft EIS addresses the potential 

environmental effects of construction 

and operation of the following facilities 

proposed by Downeast: 

• A new marine terminal that would 

include a 3,862-foot-long pier with a 

single berth and vessel mooring system, 

intended to handle LNG vessels ranging 

from 70,000 to 165,000 cubic meters in 

capacity, with future expansion 

capabilities to handle vessels with 

220,000 cubic meters of cargo capacity; 

• two full-containment LNG storage 

tanks, each with a nominal usable 

storage capacity of 160,000 cubic 

meters; 

• LNG vaporization and processing 

equipment; 

• piping, ancillary buildings, safety 

systems, and other support facilities; 

• a 29.8-mile-long, 30-inch-diameter 

underground natural gas pipeline; 

• natural gas metering facilities 

located at the LNG terminal site; and 

• various ancillary facilities including 

pigging 1 facilities and three mainline 

block valves. 

The Project would also include the 

transit of LNG vessels through both 

United States and Canadian waters to 

and from the LNG terminal in 

Robbinston, Maine. The intended vessel 

transit routes include the waters of the 

Gulf of Maine, Bay of Fundy, Grand 

Manan Channel, Head Harbor Passage, 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 26, 2009 / Notices 24847 

Friar Roads, Western Passage, and 

Passamaquoddy Bay. The draft EIS also 

includes information regarding potential 

modifications and expansions of the 

M&NE pipeline system to transport the 

natural gas volumes that would be 

supplied by the Downeast sendout 

pipeline. 

The draft EIS has been placed in the 

public files of the FERC and is available 

for distribution and public inspection 

at: Federal Regulatory Energy 

Commission, Public Reference Room, 

888 First St., NE., Room 2A, 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8371. 

Only volume 1 of the draft EIS, 

containing text of the analysis, was 

printed in hard copy. Volume 2, 

containing additional appendices, was 

produced as .pdf files on a compact disk 

(CD) that can be read by a computer 

with a CD-ROM drive. A limited 

number of hard copies and CDs of the 

draft EIS are available from the FERC’s 

Public Reference Room, identified 

above. This draft EIS is also available for 

public viewing on the FERC’s Internet 

Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, via the 

eLibrary link, and at project area 

libraries listed in Appendix A of the 

draft EIS. 

Copies of the document have been 

mailed to Federal, State, and local 

government agencies; elected officials; 

Native American tribes and regional 

organizations; local libraries and 

newspapers; intervenors in the FERC’s 

proceeding; and other interested parties 

(i.e., individuals and groups who 

provided scoping comments or asked to 

remain on the mailing list). All parties 

on the mailing list were sent a CD of the 

draft EIS. A hard copy was also mailed 

to those who specifically requested one. 

Comment Procedures and Public 

Meetings 

Any person wishing to comment on 

the draft EIS is encouraged to do so. 

Your comments should focus on the 

potential environmental effects, 

reasonable alternatives, and measures to 

avoid or lessen environmental impacts. 

The more specific your comments, the 

more useful they will be. To ensure 

consideration prior to a Commission 

decision on the proposal, it is important 

that your comments be received before 

July 6, 2009. Please carefully follow the 

instructions below so that your 

comments are properly recorded. 

For your convenience, there are three 

methods you can use to submit your 

comments to the Commission. In all 

instances, please reference the Project 

Docket Numbers CP07–52–000, CP07– 

53–000, and CP07–53–001 with your 

submission. The Commission 

encourages electronic filing of 

comments and has dedicated eFiling 

expert staff available to assist you at 

(202) 502–8258 or efiling@ferc.gov. 

(1) You may file your comments 

electronically by using the Quick 

Comment feature, which is located on 

the Commission’s internet Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov under the link to 

Documents and Filings. A Quick 

Comment is an easy method for 

interested persons to submit text-only 

comments on a project; 

(2) You may file your comments 

electronically by using the eFiling 

feature, which is located on the 

Commission’s Internet Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov under the link to 

Documents and Filings. eFiling involves 

preparing your submission in the same 

manner as you would if filing on paper, 

and then saving the file on your 

computer’s hard drive. You will attach 

that file as your submission. New 

eFiling users must first create an 

account by clicking on ‘‘Sign up’’ or 

‘‘eRegister.’’ You will be asked to select 

the type of filing you are making. A 

comment on a particular project is 

considered a ‘‘Comment on a Filing;’’ or 

(3) You may file your comments via 

mail to the Commission by sending an 

original and two copies of your letter to: 

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 

20426. 

Label one copy of the comments for 

the attention of Gas Branch 3, PJ–11.3. 

Mail your comments promptly, so that 

they will be received in Washington, DC 

on or before July 6, 2009. 

In addition to or in lieu of sending 

written comments, we invite you to 

attend the public comment meeting we 

will conduct in the Project area. The 

meeting will begin at 7 p.m. (EST), and 

is scheduled as follows: 

Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009. 

Location: Robbinston Grade School 

Cafeteria 904 U.S. Route 1 Robbinston, 

Maine (207) 454–3694. 

This public meeting will be posted on 

the FERC’s calendar located at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/ 

EventsList.aspx. Interested groups and 

individuals are encouraged to attend 

and present written or oral comments 

on the draft EIS. Transcripts of the 

meetings will be prepared. 

After the comments are reviewed, any 

significant new issues are investigated, 

and necessary modifications are made to 

the draft EIS, a final EIS will be 

published and distributed. The final EIS 

will contain our responses to timely 

comments filed on the draft EIS that are 

related to environmental issues. 

Comments will be considered by the 

Commission and the cooperating 

agencies but will not serve to make the 

commentor a party to the proceeding. 

Any person seeking to become a party 

to the proceeding must file a motion to 

intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure (Title 18 CFR 385.214). Only 

intervenors have the right to seek 

rehearing of the Commission’s decision. 

Further instructions for becoming an 

intervenor are included in the User’s 

Guide under the ‘‘e-filing’’ link on the 

Commission’s Web site (http:// 

www.ferc.gov). You do not need 

intervenor status to have your 

comments considered. 

Additional information about the 

Project is available from the 

Commission’s Office of External Affairs 

at 1–866–208–FERC (3372). The 

administrative public record for this 

proceeding to date is on the FERC 

Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). 

Click on the eLibrary link, click on 

‘‘General Search,’’ and enter the docket 

number excluding the last three digits in 

the Docket Number field (i.e., CP07–52). 

Be sure you have selected an 

appropriate date range. For assistance, 

please contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll 

free at 1–866–208–3676, or for TTY, 

contact (202) 502–8659. The eLibrary 

link on the FERC Internet Web site also 

provides access to the texts of formal 

documents issued by the Commission, 

such as orders, notices, and 

rulemakings. 

In addition, the Commission now 

offers a free service called eSubscription 

that allows you to keep track of all 

formal issuances and submittals in 

specific dockets. This can reduce the 

amount of time you spend researching 

proceedings by automatically providing 

you with notification of these filings, 

document summaries, and direct links 

to the documents. To register for this 

service, go to the eSubscription link on 

the FERC Internet Web site (http:// 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

esubscription.asp). 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–12076 Filed 5–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P