FERC Issues Draft EIS for Rio Grande LNG

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) said October 12 its staff had prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for NextDecade’s planned 27mn metric tons/year Rio Grande LNG project and the associated Rio Bravo pipeline project.

In its draft EIS, Ferc staff conclude that construction and operation of Rio Grande would result in some adverse environmental impacts, but that these could be reduced to less than significant levels.

“However, the Rio Grande LNG Project, combined with other projects within the geographic scope, would result in certain significant cumulative impacts,” the draft EIS notes.

With the release of the draft EIS, Ferc’s environmental scheduling clock has started ticking: a final EIS must be prepared by April 26, 2019, while all federal authorisation decisions must be filed by July 25, 2019. NextDecade intends to make a final investment decision on the project in 3Q 2019.