FERC staff has completed a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a project designed to export up to 1 million metric tons/year (mmty) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a proposed facility in Jacksonville, FL.

Eagle LNG Partners Jacksonville LLC has proposed building and operating an LNG terminal and export facility on the north bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, which includes all of Duval County. The project would include three trains, each with a nominal capacity of 0.33 mmty, and one storage tank with a net capacity of 45,000 cubic meters.

“We determined that construction and operation of the project would result in some limited adverse environmental impacts, but impacts would not be significant with the implementation of Eagle LNG’s proposed and our recommended mitigation measures,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in the final EIS issued Friday [CP17-41].

The Commission has until July 11 to decide on final authorization. If approved, Eagle LNG anticipates beginning construction as soon as possible, with a current estimated start for in-service in early summer 2021.

“Achieving this critical milestone is a significant step forward for Eagle’s Jacksonville LNG Export Facility as we continue to advance our efforts to supply clean burning, domestic and affordable LNG for marine bunkering and small-scale LNG export to both domestic and international markets,” said Eagle LNG President Sean Lalani.

The $500 million project “will give us a unique and competitive advantage in helping provide some of the lowest-cost power generation for nearby Caribbean countries.”

The Department of Energy (DOE) granted authorization for Eagle LNG to export to countries that have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States in July 2016. Eagle LNG also has filed an application still pending to export to non-FTA countries.

The project would include marine facilities with a concrete access trestle/loading platform, two liquid loading arms capable of docking/mooring LNG vessels with cargo capacity of up to 45,000 cubic meters, and truck loading facilities with a dual bay capable of loading 260-520 LNG trucks per year.

Natural gas would be delivered to the facility through a 120-foot, non-jurisdictional pipeline that would be constructed, owned and operated by Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of Teco Energy Inc.

FERC’s determination that the project would have minimal environmental impacts includes the fact that the terminal would be built in an area zoned for industrial use, and it is along an existing, maintained ship channel in the St. Johns River. The Commission added that Eagle LNG, a subsidiary of Ferus Natural Gas Fuels LP, could minimize impacts by implementing plans to control fugitive dust and underwater noise and to protect migratory birds, among other things. Ferus is a portfolio company of The Energy & Minerals Group.