Notice of Proposed New 6 NYCRR Part 570, Liquefied Natural Gas – Public Comment Period, Availability of Documents, Public Meetings and Public Hearing

ENB – Statewide Notices 9/11/2013 – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation.

Notice of Proposed New 6 NYCRR Part 570, Liquefied Natural Gas – Public Comment Period, Availability of Documents, Public Meetings and Public Hearing

Notice is hereby given that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) is proposing to adopt 6 NYCRR Part 570 to implement a permitting program for the siting, construction, and operation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities in New York State (NYS). LNG facilities are those that either store LNG in a tank system or convert LNG into natural gas through vaporization. The two types of facilities that NYS DEC expects to permit most frequently include facilities to fuel trucks and facilities that store LNG as a backup heating fuel.

Chapter 892 of the Laws of 1976 added Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 23 Title 17, “Liquefied Natural and Petroleum Gas” (the LNG statute). This statute requires NYS DEC to implement regulations with criteria for the safe siting, operation, and transportation of LNG throughout the State. An environmental safety permit must be obtained from NYS DEC prior to construction, operation, or modification of an LNG facility in the State. The LNG statute also directs that operation of LNG facilities must be carried out in conformance with permits and regulations issued by NYS DEC. This rulemaking will establish a program to address the siting, construction, and operation of LNG facilities. Part 570 will also address the transportation of LNG and the statutory requirement that intrastate transportation only occur along approved routes.

The Notice of Proposed Rule Making is available in the September 11, 2013 issue of the State Register. Written public comments will be accepted by NYS DEC until November 4, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Additional details are provided below.

Availability of documents for review: The proposed Part 570 and supporting rule making documents are available on NYS DEC’s web site at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/93069.html.

These documents may also be inspected at the following NYS DEC offices (call the noted contact for an appointment):

• NYS DEC Central Office, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233, Attention: Russ Brauksieck, Phone: (518) 402-9553.
• NYS DEC – Region 1 Office, SUNY, Building #40, Stony Brook, NY 11790, Attention: Karen Gomez, Phone: (631) 444-0320.
• NYS DEC – Region 2 Office, Hunters Point Plaza, 47-40 21st Street, Long Island City, NY 11101, Attention: Leszek Zielinski, Phone: (718) 482-6455.
• NYS DEC – Region 3 Office, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561, Attention: Ed Moore, Phone: (845) 256-3137.
• NYS DEC – Region 4 Office, 1150 North Westcott Road, Schenectady, NY 12306, Attention: Keith Goertz, Phone: (518) 357-2399.
• NYS DEC – Region 5 Office, 1115 NYS Route 86, Ray Brook, NY 13601, Attention: Russ Huyck, Phone: (518) 897-1242.
• NYS DEC – Region 6 Office, State Office Building, 317 Washington Street, Watertown, NY 13601, Attention: Gary McCullouch, Phone: (315) 785-2513.
• NYS DEC – Region 7 Office, 615 Erie Boulevard West, Syracuse, NY 13204, Attention: Dick Brazell, Phone: (315) 426-7523.
• NYS DEC – Region 8 Office, 6274 East Avon-Lima Road, Avon, NY 14414, Attention: Pete Miller, Phone: (585) 226-5427.
• NYS DEC – Region 9 Office, 270 Michigan Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, Attention: Greg Sutton, Phone: (716) 851-7220.

Public Meetings: NYS DEC will conduct public information meetings to present the proposed regulations and respond to questions prior to the public hearing. These meetings will be held as follows:

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: New York State Fairgrounds
581 State Fair Blvd, Martha Eddy Room
Syracuse, NY

Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: NYS DEC – Central Office
625 Broadway, Room 129
Albany, NY

Public Hearing: A legislative public hearing to receive public comment about the proposed rule making will be held as follows:

Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: NYS DEC – Central Office
625 Broadway, Room 129
Albany, NY

This hearing location is accessible to persons with impaired mobility. Interpreter services will be made available to deaf persons, at no charge, upon written request at least five business days prior to the date of the hearing. Please address requests to: Russ Brauksieck, NYS DEC – Division of Environmental Remediation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7020.

NYS DEC invites all persons, organizations, corporations and governmental agencies to attend the hearing and submit either written or oral statements. At the hearing, persons who wish to make a statement will be invited to speak. It is requested that oral statements also be submitted in writing. NYS DEC will give equal weight to written and oral statements. Since a cumulative record will be compiled, it is not required for interested parties to attend the hearing.

Written comments: The public is invited to submit written comments about these proposed regulations until Monday, November 4, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Mail written comments to:

Russ Brauksieck
NYS DEC – Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7020

Email written comments to: derweb@gw.dec.state.ny.us and please write “Comments on Proposed Part 570” in the subject line.

Contact: Russ Brauksieck, NYS DEC – Division of Environmental Remediation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7020, Phone: (518) 402-9553, E-mail: derweb@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

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Data Solicitation for 2014 CWA Section 303(d) List

Section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires States to compile periodically (every two years) a list of impaired waters that do not meet water quality standards and where designated uses are not fully supported and where a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan is necessary to address the impairment. States are scheduled to submit their next Section 303(d) Lists to USEPA by April 1, 2014. To support the development of the Section 303(d) Lists, States are also required to assemble and evaluate existing and readily available water quality related data and information. New York State is currently soliciting and accepting water quality data and information that may be useful in compiling the 2014 Section 303(d) List.

Background: The water quality assessment of New York State’s waters is a continuous process. Every year waters in two or three of the 17 drainage basins in the state are scheduled to be reassessed. This rotating basin approach allows for a reassessment of water quality of the entire state every five years. The assessment of these waters is a public process and participation and input from a wide range of state, federal and local agencies and non governmental water quality partners (watershed groups, lake associations, academic researchers, etc.) is encouraged. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) is able to effectively manage the statewide assessment process by focusing the effort on a limited number of specific drainage basins each year. Concentrating on a few basins each year allows NYS DEC to provide ample opportunity for the extensive list of interested groups to provide input and allows for a thorough evaluation of all available data.

However every two years, corresponding to the development of the State’s Section 303(d) List, the public is solicited to provide water quality data and information for any waterbody (any basin). This allows for a more comprehensive updating of the List. Some of the solicited data and information may result in changes to the List; other data, it may be determined, will have no impact on the List, but will be used during the subsequent water quality assessment for the corresponding basin during the reassessment cycle. Some of the data and information received during the solicitation may not be sufficiently conclusive to make a definitive impairment determination and use of this data and information may also be deferred until the more complete assessment of the corresponding basin is conducted.

In order to maintain an effective and comprehensive review of solicited data and information and insure the timely submittal of the List, it is necessary to establish a cut off date for the receipt of water quality data and information. Therefore in order to be included for full consideration in the compiling of the 2014 CWA Section 303(d) List, data and information must be received by September 30, 2013. It is not the intent of this cut off date to exclude additional information. Rather the date is necessary in order to provide adequate time to review data and information, complete water quality assessments, receive and respond to public comment on the assessments, compile a draft Section 303(d) List, public notice the List, and submit a List to USEPA by April 1, 2014.

In order to facilitate the review and inclusion of water quality data and information to be considered in the compiling of the 2014 Section 303(d) List, such submissions should be accompanied by a completed Waterbody Inventory/Priority Waterbodies List (WI/PWL) Assessment Worksheet. This worksheet allows for the capture of water quality information based on available data, or based on general observation of conditions and/or local knowledge of designated use support/non support of a waterbody absent specific (numeric) monitoring data. Information regarding the Waterbody Inventory/Priority Waterbodies List, including the WI/PWL worksheet and instructions for completing the worksheet, can found on the NYS DEC website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/23846.html. Worksheet information can also be obtained by contacting Jeff Myers at the NYS DEC – Division of Water, Bureau of Watershed Assessment and Management by mail at 625 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-3502, or by phone at: (518) 402-8179. Completed WI/PWL worksheets and supporting water quality monitoring data should sent to the address above, or forwarded via e-mail to: 4pwlinfo@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Water quality data and information should also include a copy of the corresponding Quality Assurance/Quality Control Plan, QA/QC results summary and description of measures used in the collection of the data.

Guidance regarding the use of water quality data and information to conduct assessment and make listing decisions is outlined in the New York State Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology. These methodologies are available for review and NYS DEC will accept public comment on these documents throughout the 2014 Section 303(d) List development process. Additional information regarding Section 303(d) List development, including the Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology can be found on the NYS DEC website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/31290.html.

Additional information regarding the NYS DEC Water Quality Assessment Program, including the Waterbody Inventory/Priority Waterbodies List assessments and Section 305(b) water quality reporting can be found on the NYS DEC website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/23852.html.

Contact: Jeff Myers, NYS DEC – Division of Water, Bureau of Watershed Assessment and Management, 625 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-3502, Phone: (518) 402-8179, E-mail: jamyers@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

 

Background Information LNG, Port Ambrose and LWV positions (mas)

 

http://ferc.gov/industries/gas/indus-act/lng.asp

 

http://ferc.gov/industries/gas/indus-act/lng/exist-term.asp

 

http://ferc.gov/industries/gas/indus-act/lng/lng-approved.pdf

 

http://ferc.gov/industries/gas/indus-act/lng/lng-proposed-potential.pdf

 

http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-authorizes-dominion-s-proposed-cove-point-facility-export-liquefied

 

CoalitionScopingComments_COASubmission_PortAmbrose_8.22.13.pdf 1433K   View   Download

 

LWVNY August 2013 Comments on Liberty Natural Gas Port Ambrose Deepwater Port License Application-2.doc 50K   View   Download

 

http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/93179.html

 

 

Companies have been lining up to get the green light to sell U.S. natural gas abroad, as abundant shale gas supplies place the country in a position to become a net gas exporter.

So far, Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana is the only project that has received necessary permits from both the Energy Department and FERC to allow natural gas exports. Reuters 11/13/12

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Price of natural gas determined by supply per country not by a cartel such as in OPEC with oil;  price is going up; as it goes up, decline in its use for electric power generation.  Local supply and demand determines local prices. MAS

1. USEIA 5/7/2013 short term projections

 

“The very warm winter of 2011-12 contributed to the very high inventory at the start of last year’s summer injection season (between the end of March and the end of October). Consequently, the forecast 2,113-Bcf build in working gas inventories during this summer’s injection season is significantly higher than the 1,453 Bcf added last year and in line with longer historical experience. Higher natural gas prices this year contribute to lower natural gas consumption for electricity generation and the higher storage build.”

 

Prices continued to rise in April as lingering cold in the Midwest kept market tight

The projected year-over-year increases in natural gas prices contribute to declines in natural gas used for electric power generation from 25.0 Bcf/d in 2012 to 22.8 Bcf/d in 2013 and 22.2 Bcf/d in 2014.

 

 

U.S. Natural Gas Production and Imports

Natural gas marketed production is projected to increase from 69.2 Bcf/d in 2012 to 69.9 Bcf/d in 2013, and 70.1 Bcf/d in 2014. Onshore production increases over the forecast period, while federal Gulf of Mexico production declines. Natural gas pipeline gross imports, which have declined over the past five years, are projected to remain near their 2012 level over the forecast period. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are expected to remain at minimal levels of less than 0.5 Bcf/d in both 2013 and 2014.   (which is ½ of what it was in 2011 ma.)

The tides turned for U.S. LNG import terminal projects after drilling technologies allowed domestic gas producers to unlock vast amounts of the fuel over the last five years, all but canceling the need for gas imports….Total annual LNG imports peaked at 770.8 billion cubic feet (bcf) in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Between January and November 2012, gas imports dwindled to 157.8 bcf, DOE data showed.

Companies that invested in LNG import terminals have been applying to convert them to export facilities as sharply higher domestic production has depressed local prices. Global demand is strong and LNG can at times fetch six times the amount paid in the United States.

 

http://portambrose.com/project-description/

http://www.nysenergyplan.com/2002stateenergyplan-documents/sepsection3-5.pdf (natural gas section outdated; 2001 figures)

 

Port Ambrose Project Description:

 

League positions from LWV website—

 

Natural Resources:  Energy. Support environmentally sound policies that reduce energy growth rates, emphasize energy conservation and encourage the use of renewable resources.

 

Energy:

The League fights to protect the environment and the public’s health. Wise management of natural resources and energy production is critical for our nation’s future.

 

Climate change:

Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge of our, or perhaps any, generation. People are dying because of climate change. The League is calling for prompt action to cut this country’s GHG emissions, freeze construction of new coal-fired power plants and invest in a new clean energy economy.

 

 

Höegh LNG (Norway) who is partnering with Liberty Natural Gas on Port Ambrose FRLNG (Floating Regasification LNG) vessels reveals:  “A base-load liquefaction plant has, to date, never been deployed offshore. However, in the last ten years a number of oil companies and independent services providers such as Höegh LNG have committed substantial investment into conceptual and engineering studies to take the concept towards reality….

Parties looking to progress FLNG developments include both the vertically integrated majors (e.g. Shell) and smaller technology/vessel providers….

Environmental Policy for Höegh LNG

​ Our culture shall be recognised by a deeply held belief in the necessity of taking responsibility for the environment in which we operate. We will not only comply with environmental regulations, but take a more active approach to utilize the best available proven technology to further reduce our environmental footprint. Our main environmental challenges are air emission and ballast water (all vessels) and sustainable recycling of vessels. In order to meet these challenges, we will focus our efforts on these three areas:   Reducing emission of CO2, NOX and SO2. Install Ballast water treatment systems in all vessels where feasible. Life extension and sustainable recycling of vessels…. We will take a proactive role in contributing to shaping the regulatory landscape together with key regulators in order to secure legislation which is realistic, goal based and with an actual effect on the environment.

 

http://www.hoeghlng.com/flng/Pages/Why-Floating-LNG-Production.aspx

———————- Potential terrorist attacks on LNG tankers in U.S. waters have been a key concern of policy makers in ports with LNG facilities because such attacks could cause catastrophic fires in port and nearby populated areas. The Coast Guard’s FY2006 budget specifically requested funding for “additional boat crews and screening personnel at key LNG hubs.” 97 To date, no LNG tanker or land-based LNG facility in the world has been attacked by terrorists. However, similar natural gas and oil assets have been favored terror targets internationally. The attack on the Limburg, although an oil tanker, is often cited as an indication of LNG tanker vulnerability. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) specifically included LNG tankers among a list of potential terrorist targets in a security alert late in 2003.98 The DHS also reported that “in early 2001 there was some suspicion of possible associations between stowaways on Algerian flagged LNG tankers arriving in Boston and persons connected with the so-called ‘Millennium Plot’” to bomb targets in the United States. While these suspicions could not be proved, DHS stated that “the risks associated with LNG shipments are real, and they can never be entirely eliminated.” 99 A 2004 report by Sandia National Laboratories concluded that potential terrorist attacks on LNG tankers, could be considered “credible and possible.” 100 The Sandia report identified LNG tankers as vulnerable to ramming, pre-placed explosives, insider takeover, hijacking, or external terrorist actions (such as a Limburg-type, missile or airplane attack). 101 Former Bush Administration counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke has asserted that terrorists have both the desire and capability to attack LNG shipping with the intention of harming the general population. 102   http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL33787.pdf   Safety of LNG http://www.energy.ca.gov/lng/documents/2008-09-11_SANDIA_2008_Report.PDF

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