Site Selection for the Expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

As required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58), DOE would expand the SPR to its full authorized 1 billion-barrel capacity by selecting additional storage sites. DOE would develop one new site or a combination of two new sites, and would expand capacity at two or three existing sites. Storage capacity would be developed by solution mining of salt domes and disposing of the resulting salt brine by ocean discharge or underground injection. New pipelines, marine terminal facilities, and other infrastructure could also be required. DOE has prepared this draft EIS to address the environmental impacts of the proposed expansion of the capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the range of reasonable alternatives, including the “No Action” alternative, under which SPR storage capacity would not be expanded. DOE will use the draft EIS to ensure that it has the information needed for purposes of informed decision-making. DOE’s decisions will be issued subsequent to the Final EIS, in the form of a Record of Decision, no sooner than 30 days after publication of the final EIS.