FERC Issues Final EIS for AES Sparrows Point LNG Plant

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the construction and operation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by AES Sparrows Point LNG, LLC and Mid-Atlantic Express, L.L.C. (collectively referred to as AES). The Project facilities would be located in Baltimore, Harford, and Cecil Counties, Maryland, and in Lancaster and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania. AAEA is working with Turner Station, an environmental justice area in Baltimore County, to mitigate disproportionate pollution impacts faced by this community.

FULL FERC EIS RELEASE STATEMENT

The final EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the U.S. Coast Guard, (Coast Guard), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are cooperating agencies for the development of this EIS. A cooperating agency has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to potential environmental impacts associated with the proposal and is involved in the NEPA analysis.

Based on the analysis included in the EIS, the FERC staff concludes that if the Project is constructed and operated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and with implementation of AES’s proposed mitigation measures, and the additional mitigation measures recommended by staff, it would have mostly limited adverse environmental impacts.

AES proposes to construct and operate an LNG import terminal in an industrial port setting on Sparrows Point, in Baltimore County, Maryland. The LNG terminal would consist of facilities capable of unloading LNG ships, storing up to 480,000 cubic meters (m3) of LNG (10.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent), vaporizing the LNG, and sending out natural gas at a baseload rate of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd). The maximum potential gas sendout capacity without expansion is 1.595 Bcfd. Mid-Atlantic Express proposes to interconnect its pipeline with three existing interstate natural gas pipelines by construction of a single, approximate 88-mile-long pipeline north, to the vicinity of Eagle, Pennsylvania.

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