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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Sept. 17 its intention to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) that will discuss the environmental impacts of the Rio Grande LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville and associated Rio Bravo Pipeline project.
The announcement comes after an Aug. 6 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court “vacating and remanding” FERC’s November 2019 order granting authorizations for both those projects as well as another proposed LNG project at the port, Texas LNG.
The ruling came in the wake of a lawsuit filed against FERC by the Sierra Club, the city of Port Isabel and other petitioners claiming that FERC failed to adequately consider environmental justice impacts and greenhouse gas emissions of the three projects as mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Natural Gas Act.
The D.C. court upheld the petitioners’ arguments in issuing its ruling, which triggers the requirement for a new supplemental EIS and public comment period before FERC can again make a determination whether to issue new authorizations for Rio Grande LNG and the Rio Bravo Pipeline, the two project specifically mentioned in FERC’s Sept. 17 announcement.
The announcement also marked the start of the scoping process FERC will use to gather input from the public and “interested agencies” regarding the issues to be analyzed in the supplemental EIS. Comments should be submitted by 4 p.m. CDT on Oct. 15 for them to be properly recorded, according to FERC.
FERC encourages the public to file comments electronically, and has assistance available at (866) 208-3676 or [email protected]. The two ways to submit comments electronically are via eComment, located on the agency’s website, www.ferc.gov; or through eFiling, also available on the website, under the link to FERC Online.
Comments can also be mailed. In paper letters, it is necessary to reference the project docket numbers (CP16-454-000; CP16-455-000; and/or CP20-481-000) on your letter.
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service should be addressed to Debbie-Anne A. Reese, acting secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, D.C. 20426.
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, acting secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FERC also offers a free service, eSubscription, which provides automatic notification of filings made to subscribed dockets, document summaries and direct links to the documents. To register, go to www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview.
“(FERC’s) Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings,” according to the announcement. “OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, environmental justice communities, tribal members and others access publicly available information and navigate (FERC) Docket Nos. CP16-454-000; CP16-455-000; and CP20-481 processes.
“For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].”
