Issued: June 24, 2022
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the MP66-69 Compression Relocation and Modification Amendment and the MP33 Compressor Station Modification Amendment Project, proposed by Golden Pass Pipeline, LLC (Golden Pass). Golden Pass proposes to relocate, modify, and eliminate certain pipeline facilities previously approved by the Commission, but not yet constructed, as part of the Pipeline Expansion Project (Docket No. CP14-518-000) in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana and Orange County, Texas. The Amendments would include relocating the approved compressor station at Milepost (MP) 66 approximately 3 miles to MP 69 and increasing the authorized compression; eliminating the previously approved 3-mile Calcasieu Loop from MP66 – MP69; relocating the MP33 Compressor Station approximately 50 feet north-northwest and increasing the authorized compression; adding three new interconnects and appurtenant facilities adjacent to the MP33 Compressor Station; and eliminating receipt stations at the existing Texoma delivery interconnect. Golden Pass proposes the Amendments due to new supply arrangements and the resulting engineering design requirements.
The EIS was prepared in compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations implementing procedural provisions of NEPA in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 1500-1508 (40 CFR 1500-1508), and the FERC’s regulations implementing NEPA in 18 CFR 380.
The conclusions and recommendations presented in the EIS are those of the FERC environmental staff. The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project, with the mitigation measures recommended in this EIS, would not result in significant environmental impacts, with the exception of climate change impacts. Most adverse environmental impacts would be temporary or short-term during construction, but some long-term and permanent environmental impacts would occur on some forest and rangelands. This determination is based on our review of the information provided by Golden Pass and further developed from environmental information requests; scoping; literature research; a consideration of potential alternatives; and contacts with federal, state, and local agencies, and other stakeholders. With regard to climate change impacts, the EIS does not characterize the Project’s greenhouse gas emissions as significant or insignificant.
The Commission will take into consideration staff’s recommendations in the EIS when they make a decision on the Project.