Triggered missed date from extending Official Notice of Availability of a Supplemental Final EIS published in the FR (Agency Action) within 30 days of its current target date which was 11/14/2022 and extended to 01/13/2023
Cooperating under NEPA
Description:
On April 15, 2021, DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management issued a Rehearing Order in its docket for the Alaska LNG Project LLC (Docket No. 14-96-LNG). In the Rehearing Order, DOE granted a request for rehearing of a final order issued to Alaska LNG Project LLC (Alaska LNG) for the purpose of conducting two Alaska-specific environmental studies (collectively, the Alaska environmental study proceeding).
On July 2, 2021, DOE issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Alaska environmental study proceeding (DOE/EIS–0512–S1), consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (see 86 Fed. Reg. 35,280). As set forth in the NOI, the SEIS will include analysis of potential environmental impacts associated with natural gas production on the North Slope of Alaska and a life cycle analysis (LCA) calculating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for LNG exported from the proposed Alaska LNG Project. On August 24, 2021, DOE issued a Notice of Schedule for Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
Additionally, DOE’s Alaska LNG order has been challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Sierra Club v. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, Case No. 20-1503). That case is currently being held in abeyance, pending further order of the court. All court filings are available on the D.C. Circuit’s docket through Pacer (Case No. 20-1503). (A Pacer account is required – the login page is at PACER: Login (uscourts.gov))
DOE determined that it was necessary for the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which is conducting the SEIS, to conduct additional modeling on an issue central to both studies in the SEIS—the options associated with managing carbon dioxide (CO2) produced with, and removed from, the natural gas supplying the proposed Alaska LNG Project on the North Slope of Alaska. NETL’s analysis will determine the range of potential environmental and production impacts associated with the different carbon management options. NETL will use this analysis in assessing the technical viability of producing natural gas to support the Project, as well as any secondary effects to North Slope oil production. DOE has determined that this additional technical analysis will extend the original SEIS schedule by approximately 60 days. On February 25, 2022, DOE posted a Notice of Amended Schedule in its docket for Alaska LNG Project LLC, Docket No. 14-96-LNG.
When additional information about the SEIS is available, updates will be posted on both the FAST-41 Dashboard and in DOE’s above-referenced docket for Alaska LNG.
Milestones:
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Monthly Status Report for April 2023:Notified by DOE that this action was completed on 4/13/23.
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Non-conformance Explanation:As stated in DOE's Third Notice of Amended Schedule for Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, dated March 29, 2023, due to the range of issues addressed in the Final SEIS, DOE has determined that it will need no more than 21 days to complete the Final Order and NEPA Record of Decision and amends the schedule for completion with a final date of April 20, 2023.
PROJECT WEBSITE: http://alaska-lng.com/
All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
04/13/2023
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED
SECTOR
Pipelines
CATEGORY
Project Category
FAST-41 Covered Projects
LEAD AGENCY
Department of Energy
View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies
Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Department of Homeland Security, US Coast Guard
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory
Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy
Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Description:
The Alaska LNG Project is comprised of the following integrated and interdependent facilities: a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Southcentral Alaska designed to produce up to 20 million metric tons per annum of LNG; an approximately 807-mile, 42-inch diameter gas pipeline; a gas treatment plant (GTP) within the Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU) on the North Slope; an approximately 1-mile, 60-inch diameter gas transmission line connecting the GTP to the PBU gas production facility; and an approximately 63 mile, 32-inch diameter gas transmission line connecting the GTP to the Point Thomson gas production facility. The mainline of the Alaska LNG Project will traverse over 800 miles from the GTP on the North Slope of Alaska through several boroughs before it crosses Cook Inlet and connects with the liquefaction plant and marine terminal in Nikiski, Alaska.
Fast-41 Initiation Notice
- Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=14666498.
Project Application and Supporting Documents
- Project Application, FERC Docket No. CP17-178-000 (submitted 04/17/2017). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=14568607.
- Supporting Documents to Project Application and Additional Project-related filings and issuances can be found on FERC’s eLibrary website by searching under Docket No. CP17-178.
Federal Agency Actions
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Notice of Application (issued 05/01/2017). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=14578591.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review of the Project (issued 03/12/2018). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=14838969.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Notice of Revised Schedule for Environmental Review of the Project (issued 08/31/2018). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=15013558.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Notice of Anticipated Schedule of Final Order for the Project (issued 08/31/2018). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=15013581.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Notice of Revised Schedule for Environmental Review of the Project (issued 02/28/2019). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=15172046.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (issued 06/28/2019). Document located at: https://www.ferc.gov/draft-environmental-impact-statement-alaska-lng-project.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Final Environmental Impact Statement (issued 03/06/2020). Document located at: https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/final-environmental-impact-statement-0.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Order Granting Authorization under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (issued 05/21/2020). Document located at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=15540301.
FERC Litigation
- None filed.
DOE litigation re Natural Gas Export Authorization
Alaska LNG Project LLC - FE Dkt. No. - 14-96-LNG | Department of Energy
For improved transparency, FERC is providing this supplemental table to reflect the additional federal authorizations that may be required for the Alaska LNG Project.
| Additional Federal Agency Permitting Timetable for the Alaska LNG Project | |||
| Responsible Agency | Federal Permit/Review | Status | Applicable Timelines |
| US Coast Guard | Letter of Recommendation | Complete | Receipt of Letter of Intent: May 15, 2014 Receipt of Waterway Suitability Assessment: March 18, 2016 Letter of Recommendation to FERC: August 17, 2016 |
Update:
Federal environmental review and authorization for the Alaska LNG Project was completed on September 16, 2020. However, on April 15, 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE), a cooperating agency on this project, granted a request for rehearing of a final order issued to Alaska LNG Project LLC for the export of liquefied natural gas produced from Alaskan sources to non-free trade agreement countries, pursuant to the Natural Gas Act (NGA). In the Rehearing Order, DOE stated that it was granting rehearing for the purpose of conducting two Alaska-specific environmental studies (collectively, the Alaska environmental study proceeding). To this end, DOE currently is preparing a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Alaska environmental study proceeding (DOE/EIS-0512-S1), consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act. Based on its findings from the SEIS—including the associated public process—DOE intends to issue an order under section 3(a) of the NGA, in which DOE presents its findings and conclusions, by February 13, 2023. DOE may decide to modify, set aside, or confirm the Alaska LNG Order (Order No. 3643-A), in whole or in part. Because DOE’s supplemental environmental review and subsequent order are currently the only pending Federal actions on this project and all other federal reviews and authorizations—including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) “Authorization for Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal Facilities, Onshore or in State Waters”—are complete, DOE is replacing FERC as the NEPA lead agency for this SEIS.
Update: The Executive Director granted a DOE request to extend the completion dates for DOE actions associated with the supplemental environmental impact statement. The Executive Director determination is available here.
Last updated April 1, 2022