Paperwork, permits, review process lie ahead

According to Tamara Young-Allen, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s spokeswoman for LNG, none of the three developers who have publicly announced intentions to build LNG terminals in Washington County has filed any paperwork with the federal agency.

A development company seeking to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in the United States has 180 days, or about six months, to file a formal application with FERC after it submits a required letter to FERC seeking pre-filing status, Young-Allen said recently. If the company decides not to pursue a project, however, it does not have to file a formal application after submitting the required letter.

FERC is the primary agency that reviews and permits all proposals to build onshore LNG terminals, while the Coast Guard reviews and permits ship transit, security and safety measures in coastal waters. FERC issues a public notice whenever it receives a formal application, according to Young-Allen.

Martha Freeman, director of Maine’s State Planning Office, said Wednesday that Gov. John Baldacci appointed her last month to coordinate the state’s efforts to oversee LNG development in Maine. Freeman said Wednesday that precisely what kind of role the state will play in permitting an LNG terminal in Maine cannot be determined without having a formal application to look over to see which, if any, state permits would be needed.

There may be some state environmental permits that developers will have to obtain, according to Freeman, but most of the state’s responsibilities during the permitting process likely will be to provide comments about each proposal to FERC.

According to Young-Allen, it takes about a year to 18 months after a formal application has been submitted to FERC for the five-seat commission to vote on the project.

Affected parties generally have between two and three weeks after an application is submitted to contact FERC to request formal intervenor status. Anyone who applies to become an intervenor automatically will be afforded such status unless that designation is challenged by an applicant, she said, in which case the commission decides whether such status is appropriate.

For each project, FERC drafts an environmental impact statement that is considered by the commission when it decides whether to approve an application, according to Young-Allen. FERC will hold public meetings and scoping sessions in the project area during the review process and will accept public comments on any aspect of a proposal during several stages of its overall review.

If FERC approves an application, the developers must obtain federal permits showing the project is in compliance with the Clean Water, Clean Air and Coastal Zone Management acts. FERC decisions can be appealed.

Young-Allen said the role of the agency in the LNG industry simply is to review proposed projects. FERC keeps track of changes in the LNG market but does not try to determine what should be done in the industry to meet those market changes, she said.

“We do not solicit applications,” Young-Allen said. “We don’t make an overall determination that 10 [terminals] are needed in Maine, for instance. It’s up to the industry to make that determination.”

According to Jim Lewis, an LNG consultant with PTL Associates in Houston, it can take as long as five years after a project application has been submitted for a terminal to be permitted and constructed.