The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s staff has prepared a supplemental draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Downeast LNG project in Maine. Comments will be accepted until May 20, FERC said.
Downeast LNG Inc. and Downeast Pipeline LLC are seeking authorization to construct and operate an LNG import terminal, natural gas pipeline, and associated facilities at Robbinston, Me.
The project would have throughput capacity of 500 MMcfd and peak capacity of 625 MMcfd of gas. It would serve a market that is expected to have a growing supply-demand gap of 1 bcfd by 2015, with sustained moderate-to-high prices, according to the project’s web site.
FERC said it originally issued a draft EIS for the project in May 2009. Subsequent regulatory revisions and reports by the US Transportation and Energy departments and the US Coast Guard made project modifications and a supplemental EIS necessary.
Based on information from DOT, DOE, USCG, and Downeast, FERC’s staff prepared a technical review of the project’s preliminary design, siting analysis, and conclusions about the waterway’s suitability. DOT participated as a cooperating agency in the draft SEIS’s development, FERC said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
