NOAA will adopt the lead agency EIS for purposes of the MMPA authorization. As noted in the text box for each of the final three milestones for this authorization (i.e., the milestones where the date was changed), these milestones are tied to, and dependent upon, the EIS schedule. The final three MMPA authorization dates were updated to reflect FERC's EIS schedule. NOAA did coordinate with all other agencies and the project sponsor regarding this date charge via FERC's quarterly update email. The updated dates will result in an overall more streamlined environmental review process as it allows NOAA to adopt the lead agency's EIS, as opposed to conducting independent analysis to satisfy our agency's NEPA obligations for the MMPA authorization. Though this is not a One Federal Decision project, the approach for satisfying our NEPA obligations for this project is consistent with the goals and process established under the One Federal Decision MOU.
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
COMPLETE
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
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies
Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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
Department of Energy
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.
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 |
Last updated September 16, 2020
Milestone: Issue Letter of Authorization
Requested extensions greater than 30 days for this Action are shown below:
Publish Final Incidental Take Authorization in the FR by 144 days
From: 08/30/2019
To: 02/20/2020
Issue Letter of Authorization by 173 days
From: 09/29/2019
To: 03/20/2020