Nick Snow
Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 14 -- Broadwater Energy's proposed offshore LNG project in Long Island Sound would have minimal environmental impacts under recommended mitigation measures, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded on Jan. 11.
TransCanada Corp. and Shell US Gas & Power are jointly developing the project in New York state waters about 9 miles from Long Island's nearest shoreline and about 10 miles from Connecticut's closest shore. The terminal would be a floating storage and regasification unit (FRSU) that would be attached to a yoke mooring system (YMS), which includes a mooring tower embedded in the sea floor, according to FERC.
It said that the double-hulled FRSU would include a single berthing and unloading facility for LNG tankers with cargo capacities of 125,000-250,000 cu m, capacity to store as much as 350,000 cu m of LNG (equivalent to about 8 bcf of gas), a closed-loop natural gas-fired vaporization system, and utility systems, crew quarters, and service facilities.
The EIS said the terminal would receive LNG deliveries from tankers 2-3 times weekly, regasify it and send out an average 1 bcfd of the fuel to a subsea gas pipeline that would extend 21.7 miles to an existing Iroquois Gas Transmission System pipeline in Long Island Sound.
FERC, which reviews applications to construct onshore US LNG terminals, is the federal agency responsible for final approval of this offshore project because it is in state waters. But the US Coast Guard is responsible for the FRSU's safety and security as a marine facility and for the LNG tankers while berthed and during transit in US territorial waters. The two agencies have shared reviews of the proposed project's engineering, reliability, and safety aspects since late 2004 when FERC initiated the prefiling process.
USCG's role
FERC said USCG already has issued a Waterways Suitability Report, which is an appendix in the final EIS. The US Department of Homeland Security service also will review and adopt pertinent portions of the EIS to satisfy its responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act and issue a final letter of recommendation with its final determination of whether the project's waterway is suitable for tanker traffic.
The final EIS indicated that the proposed Broadwater LNG terminal would have minimal onshore environmental impacts because it would be located in the sound. Primary impacts during construction would be physical disturbance of the sea floor and related turbidity in the water column. During operation, impacts of primary concern would consist of minor impacts on water quality, air quality, fisheries, recreational boating and fishing, and commercial vessel traffics. There also would be minor to moderate visual impacts.
"During our environmental review of the proposed project, we identified procedures that would avoid, minimize and mitigate environmental impacts that would result from construction and operation of the project as proposed by Broadwater. We recommend that these mitigation measures be attached as conditions to any authorization issued by the commission," FERC said in a statement.
They noted that the final EIS also evaluates alternatives to the proposals, including other energy sources, systems, sites, designs, and pipelines.
The final EIS indicated that the proposed project would begin with prelay pipeline installation surveys in September 2009. In-water pipelines would be installed from October 2009 to April 2010. The YMS would be installed in October and November 2010. The pipeline from the YMS to the IGTS pipeline would be built in November and connected in December. The sponsors anticipate that design and fabrication of the FSRU and YMS would require about three years and proposes having the terminal operating in late December 2010, the final EIS said.
FERC said that commissioners will consider the staff's recommendation and final EIS before issuing a final decision on the project.
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