Public meetings scheduled for salt dome plan
The South Mississippi Sun Herald
- Original The South Mississippi Sun Herald article: Public meetings scheduled for salt dome plan
The Department of Energy announced today its intent to hold public meetings next week in George, Greene and Jackson County about the Richton salt dome project, according to information provided by the Department of Energy to local conservation groups.
The George and Greene Counties meeting are scheduled for March 8 and March 9. A meeting will be held in Jackson County on March 10th. The meetings will be from 2:00 until 8:00 in an open format. The Sun Herald is awaiting confirmation of these dates and times from the Department of Energy.
These meetings are for public comment on the use of the Pascagoula River to hollow out a giant salt cavern near Richton, in Perry County, to store petroleum in the event of an emergency that threatens the nation's oil supply.
The salt dome would become the fifth storage site for the federal government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. President Bush has called for the storage of 1 billion barrels of oil immediately and the Richton site alone would hold 160 million barrels. The project will take nearly 10 years to complete at a cost of $3 billion to $4 billion.
The project has stirred protest for its potential impact on the environment. Hollowing out the salt dome would require a project 50 million gallons of water a day from the Pascagoula River. The headwaters of the river, a few miles from Lucedale in George County, support several endangered creatures and creatures whose numbers are dwindling. Hundreds of miles of pipeline carrying fresh and briny water will crisscross wetlands throughout Southeast Mississippi. The brine created in dissolving the salt dome will be dumped south of Horn Island, in what is considered a major thoroughfare for seafood species and their young.
The project will create several hundred temporary jobs, and once complete, some temporary jobs.
The Sun Herald will continue to update this story online throughout the day and in print.
Notice of Intent-Richton salt dome project
The Department of Energy posted a notice of intent today for public meetings regarding the Richton salt dome project. The text of the NOI is below, and can be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/search.html. Enter 'Richton' in the search bar for 2008 notices. Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Site Selection for the Expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Public Scoping Meetings, and Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement.
SUMMARY: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT, P.L. 109-58) required the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) from its current 727 million-barrel capacity to 1 billion barrels. In order to fulfill the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the expansion project, DOE prepared the environmental impact statement (EIS) Site Selection for the Expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (DOE/EIS-0385). In the Record of Decision (ROD), published in the Federal Register on February 22, 2007, DOE announced its selection of Richton, Mississippi, as the location of a new SPR facility as part of the expansion project. The site was selected for its large and undeveloped salt dome, enhanced oil distribution capabilities, and inland location that is less vulnerable to the damaging effects of hurricanes.
Since selecting the Richton site, DOE has engaged in further consultations with Federal and Mississippi state agencies and is now considering different locations from those addressed in DOE/EIS-0385 for certain facilities associated with the Richton SPR expansion site. This Notice announces DOE's intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) in accordance with NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021).
Some of the potential new locations may be in floodplains or wetlands. DOE hereby gives notice that it will include in the SEIS a floodplain assessment and a wetland assessment prepared in accordance with the DOE Regulations for Compliance with Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR part 1022).
DOE invites interested agencies, organizations, Native American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying alternatives, significant environmental issues, and the appropriate scope of the SEIS.
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