SWG-2022-00684 - TXGC Properties, L.L.C. and TXGC Pipelines, L.L.C. - Sabine Pass and multiple wetlands and water bodies - Chambers, Liberty, Jefferson Counties, Texas, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana

Public Notice          Project Plans

The applicant proposes to permanently discharge fill into 194.51 acres of estuarine emergent (EEM) wetlands, 12.35 acres of estuarine scrub shrub (ESS) wetlands, and 1.03 acres of ponds to construct a new natural gas liquids (NGL) export terminal on an approximately 220-acre tract of land located adjacent to the Sabine Pass Channel in Jefferson County, Texas.  Approximately 1,409,085 cubic yards (CY) of material will be mechanically and/or hydraulically dredged from 41.98 acres of the Sabine Pass Channel to a maximum depth of approximately -46 feet below mean lower low water (MLLW) to create the terminal’s ship basin and allow vessel access.  Dredged material would be placed into Placement Areas (PAs) 5, 8, and 9, and in Keith Lake for beneficial use (BU).  Approximately 77.97 acres of the marine basin will be located in Texas and 4.08 acres will be located in Louisiana.  Slope protection measures will be installed along the entire shoreline of the Marine Berth including a 9-inch-thick revetment mattress and rip rap.  Approximately 4,300 linear feet of revetment mattress and 5,000 CY of rip rap will be used to stabilize the shoreline of the new marine berth.

The export terminal will also include the construction of four dock structures with appurtenant infrastructure for product loading onto very large gas carriers (VLGCs), very large ethane carriers (VLECs), and other smaller vessels.  Each dock structure will consist of a 122-foot-wide by 73-foot-long loading platform, four 96-inch-diameter breasting dolphins, five 84-inch-diameter steel monopile mooring dolphins, steel walkways, a 39-foot-wide by 92-foot-long dock house platform, a 20-foot-wide by 206-foot-long concrete approach-way, a 30-foot-wide by 108-foot-long concrete pipe rack, and a 55-foot-wide by 34-foot-long valve containment structure.  Docks 1 and 2 will share a 24-foot-wide by 18-foot-long concrete mooring dolphin, and Docks 3 and 4 will share a concrete mooring dolphin with the same dimensions.  Docks 1 and 2 will each include a 92-foot-wide by 27-foot-long water intake platform.  The export terminal facility also includes a new proposed tug dock that will consist of a steel pile supported concrete dock and concrete approach-way.  The new tug dock will be at the southern end of the new ship basin, centered on the basin’s centerline, between Docks 1 and 3.  The concrete dock will be approximately 440-foot-wide by 20-foot-long, while the concrete approach-way will be approximately 20-foot-wide by 153-foot-long and both will be supported by steel piles.  Lastly, the terminal dock infrastructure includes a proposed new Material Offloading Facility with a 100-foot-wide by 132-foot-long concrete dock supported by concrete and steel battered piles, two 65-foot-wide by 20-foot-long concrete piers, a 220-foot-long steel sheet pile bulkhead, and four 48-inch-diameter steel monopile breasting dolphins.  The Material Offloading Facility will be adjacent to the new Dock 4 and dredged to a maximum depth of -27 feet MLLW.

Additionally, the applicant proposes to temporarily discharge fill into 346.86 acres of wetlands, 4.17 acres of streams (20,289 feet), and 94.69 acres of open waters (43,274 linear feet) to construct approximately 68 miles of two 20-inch-diameter pipelines to transport natural gas liquids from ONEOK’s existing NGL fractionation and storage facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas to the new proposed marine export terminal at Sabine Pass (as described above).  Construction of the pipelines will generally require an approximately 125-foot-wide construction corridor consisting of a 50-foot-wide permanent operation easement and 75-foot-wide temporary workspace corridor.  Installation of the pipeline will also result in a permanent discharge of fill into 0.31 acre of palustrine forested (PFO) wetlands and 0.22 acre of EEM wetlands for the construction of metering/valve stations.  All temporarily impacted areas will be restored to pre-construction contours once the project is complete.

The applicant stated that the purpose of the project is to transport NGL products from ONEOK’s existing fractionation and storage facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas to an accessible marine terminal that can accommodate very large gas carriers (VLGCs) and very large ethane carriers (VLECs) for loading and export into the commercial market.  The purpose is driven by growing global demand for NGL products and expectations of importing countries, including China, India, and European countries, that the United States will meet their growing demand.