The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is wrapping up statewide scoping meetings regarding the Alaska LNG Project this week. The public comment period on FERC’s draft Environmental Impact Statement will end December 4.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre says the borough is preparing their input on this preliminary step.
Mayor Navarre: “I think a lot of general comments about traffic, what the impacts are going to be on our emergency services, whether or not we’re going to have an impact to schools, all those types of things, we’re going to have to identify now and then we’ll define them as the EIS process continues.”
Following the close of this public comment period in December, FERC is scheduled to release a draft EIS in early 2016; a public comment period on that draft EIS will also be opened in 2016.
Mayor Navarre: “Once they have filed their final report, then it goes to FERC to write the final Environmental Impact Statement and then when that comes out it will come out in draft form and we’ll get a chance to comment again. And then it will go to the final stage and whether or not they’ll be given the permitting to go forward with it. So there’s a long ways to go, lots of opportunity to provide input.”
Mayor Navarre stated that the goal of the borough’s newly implemented community meetings on the AK LNG Project is to hear and document the local concerns.