Sabine Pass Stage 5 Expansion Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement Available

Notice

Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC; Sabine Pass Liquefaction Stage V, LLC; Sabine Crossing Pipeline, LLC; Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline, L.P.: Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Sabine Pass Stage 5 Expansion Project

A Notice by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on 04/08/2026

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-06766 (91 FR 17803) Document Headings ###### Department of Energy

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

1. [Docket No. CP24-75-001, CP25-505-000, CP25-506-000] The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) have prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Sabine Pass Stage 5 Expansion Project (Project), proposed by Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC; Sabine Pass Liquefaction Stage V, LLC; Sabine Crossing Pipeline, LLC; and Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline, L.P. (collectively, the Applicants). [1 ] The Applicants propose to expand the existing Sabine Pass Liquefied Natural Gas (SPLNG) Terminal facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana by adding three new liquefaction trains and appurtenant facilities; construct and operate the Sabine Crossing Pipeline (SCPL), a new, 48-inch-diameter, 55.6-mile-long natural gas pipeline as well as one new compressor station, six new meter stations, and other new appurtenant facilities in Liberty, Chambers, and Jefferson Counties, Texas and Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and construct and operate the new greenfield Tarpon Compressor Station in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, expand the existing Gillis Compressor Station in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, and modify an existing delivery meter station in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, all along the existing Creole Trail Pipeline System (CTPL).

Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is important that the Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2026. Instructions for filing comments are provided on page 4.

FERC is the lead federal agency for authorizing interstate natural gas transmission facilities under the Natural Gas Act of 1938 (NGA) and the lead federal agency for preparation of the draft EIS. The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the SPLNG Terminal Expansion, SCPL and SCPL Aboveground Facilities, and CTPL Aboveground Facilities (collectively referred to as “the Project”) in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [2 ] and the Commission's implementing regulations. [3 ] The principal purposes of the draft EIS are to: identify and assess the potential effects on the natural and human environment; describe and evaluate reasonable alternatives; identify and recommend mitigation measures; and facilitate public involvement in the environmental review process. The EIS concludes that for most resources, the construction and operation of the Project would result in limited environmental effects. Most environmental effects would be temporary or short-term during construction, but some long-term and permanent environmental effects would occur in wetlands, forested lands, visual resources, and on air quality. This determination is based on our review of the information provided by the Applicants and further developed from environmental information requests; scoping; literature research; consideration of potential alternatives; contacts with federal, state, and local agencies; and other stakeholders. We conclude that effects would be less than significant with implementation of the Applicants' proposed avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures as well as the environmental and engineering conditions we recommend the Commission include in any Project authorization it may issue. In addition, based on a preliminary engineering and technical review of the SPLNG Terminal Expansion design, we conclude there are acceptable layers of protection or safeguards that would reduce the risk of a potentially hazardous scenario from developing into an event that could impact the offsite public.

Two districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Department of Energy participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the draft EIS. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will adopt and use the EIS to consider the issuance of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Although the cooperating agencies provided input towards the conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations in their respective records of decision (where applicable) for the Projects.

The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of construction and operation in Texas and Louisiana of the following facilities:

• SPLNG Terminal Expansion
  ○ Three new Liquefaction Trains (Trains 7, 8 and 9) and appurtenant facilities.

• SCPL ( printed page 17804)
  ○ Approximately 55.6 miles of 48-inch-diameter pipeline.

○ SCPL Aboveground Facilities

Four 52,500-horsepower (hp) modular compressor packages and appurtenant facilities at the new Hamshire Compressor Station along the pipeline route;

Six new meter stations (i.e., Moss Bluff, two at Winnie, Kinder Morgan Tejas, Hamshire, SCPL Delivery) along the pipeline route; and

Four new pig traps [4 ] and three new mainline valves (MLV) along the pipeline route.

• CTPL Aboveground Facilities ○ Two 23,470-hp compressor packages and appurtenant facilities at the existing Gillis Compressor Station along the existing pipeline system;

○ One 52,500-hp modular compressor package and appurtenant facilities at the new Tarpon Compressor Station along the existing pipeline system; and

○ One new 16-inch-diameter meter and flow control run and one new filter at an existing meter station within the SPLNG Terminal.

The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the draft EIS to federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the project area. The draft EIS is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/​industries-data/​natural-gas/​environment/​environmental-documents). In addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/​eLibrary/​search) select “General Search” and enter the docket number in the “Docket Number” field, excluding the last three digits (i.e. CP24-75, CP25-505 or CP25-506). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

The draft EIS is not a decision document. It presents Commission staff's independent analysis of the environmental issues for the Commission to consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this proceeding. Under Section 3 of the NGA, the FERC considers as part of its decision to authorize natural gas facilities, all factors bearing on the public interest. Specifically, regarding whether to authorize natural gas facilities used for importation or exportation, the FERC shall authorize the proposal unless it finds that the proposed facilities will not be consistent with the public interest. Under section 7(c) of the NGA, the Commission determines whether interstate natural gas transportation facilities are in the public convenience and necessity and, if so, grants a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to construct and operate them. The Commission bases its decisions on both economic issues, including need, and environmental effects.

Your comments should focus on draft EIS's disclosure and discussion of potential environmental effects, measures to avoid or lessen environmental effects, and the completeness of the submitted alternatives, information and analyses. For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 or FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. Please carefully follow these instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.

(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to FERC Online. This is an easy method for submitting brief, text-only comments on a project;

(2) You can file your comments electronically by using the eFiling feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to FERC Online. With eFiling, you can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on “eRegister.” If you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select “Comment on a Filing” as the filing type; or

(3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to the Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP24-75-001, CP25-505, or CP25-506) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

(4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the Commission invites you to attend the public comment session its staff will conduct in the project area to receive comments on the draft EIS, scheduled as follows:

| Date and Time | Location |
| --- | --- |
| April 21, 2026, 4:00-6:00 p.m. Central Time | Sabine Pass Community Center, 5262 S Gulfway Dr., Sabine Pass, TX 77655. |
The primary goal of this comment session is to have you identify the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount of comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.

The comment session is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (local time zone where meeting is held). You may arrive at any time after 4:00 p.m. There will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the session opens. If you wish to speak, the Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival. Comments will be taken until 6:00 p.m. However, if no additional numbers have been handed out and all individuals who wish to provide comments have had an opportunity to do so, staff may conclude the session at 5:30 p.m. Please see appendix 1 for additional ( printed page 17805) information on the session format and conduct. [5 ]

Your oral comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public record for this proceeding. A transcript will be publicly available on FERC's eLibrary system (see page 3 for instructions on using eLibrary). If a significant number of people are interested in providing oral comments in the one-on-one setting, a time limit of 5 minutes may be implemented for each commentor. Although there will not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the comment session to answer your questions about the environmental review process.

It is important to note that the Commission provides equal consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form or provided orally at a comment session.

Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR part 385.214). Motions to intervene are more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/​how-intervene. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of the Commission's decision. Simply filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.

Questions?

For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office of Public Participation at (202)502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov. Additional information about the project is available from the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of all formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.

In addition, the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription that allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to the documents. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/​ferc-online/​overview to register for eSubscription.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1.)

Dated: April 3, 2026.

Debbie-Anne A. Reese,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.

                     For tracking purposes under the National Environmental Policy Act, the unique identification number for documents relating to this environmental review is FERC/EISX-019-20-000-1751972136.

Back to Citation 2.

                     National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (Pub. L. [Pub. L.] 91-190. [42 U.S.C. 4321-4347](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/4321), as amended by Pub. L. 94-52, July 3, 1975; Pub. L. 94-83, August 9, 1975; Pub. L. 97-258, 4(b), September 13, 1982; [Pub. L. 118-5](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/plaw/118/public/5), June 3, 2023; [Pub. L. 119-21](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/plaw/119/public/21), July 4, 2025).

Back to Citation 3.

                     18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 380.

Back to Citation 4.

                     A “pig” is a tool that the pipeline company inserts into and pushes through the pipeline for cleaning the pipeline, conducting internal inspections, or other purposes. A pig trap is an ancillary item of pipeline equipment, with associated pipework and valves, for introducing a pig into a pipeline or removing a pig from a pipeline.

Back to Citation 5.

                     The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in the **Federal Register**. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at *[www.ferc.gov](http://www.ferc.gov/)* using the link called “eLibrary.” For assistance, contact FERC at *[FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov](mailto:FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov)* or call toll free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY (202) 502-8659.

Back to Citation [FR Doc. 2026-06766 Filed 4-7-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

Published Document: 2026-06766 (91 FR 17803)