south of Grand Isle, Louisiana. As proposed, it will have an 



initial crude oil throughput capacity of 1.4 million barrels 



per day (1.4 MMBD) with two additional construction phases 



increasing the capacity to 3.4 MMBD. Its final phase form 



would consist of six single point mooring (SPM) buoy systems 



arrayed around two fixed platforms in water 'depths of 105 to 



115 ft. Each SPM buoy will be connected to pumps on one of 



the platforms by 56 inch outside diameter (O.D.) pipelines. 



Oil will then be pumped to shore through up to three 48 -inch 



O.D. pipelines through the Fourchon booster station to the 



Clovelly Dome storage facility. The Clovelly Dome facility 



will consist of 14 individual storage cavities leached out of 



a salt dome with a total capacity of 56 million barrels. Two 



43-inch (O.D.) pipelines will connect the salt dome facility 



to the St. James terminal (St. James Parish) of CAPLINE (a 



pipeline to Midwest refineries). In addition, there will be 



a pipeline from the Clovelly Dome storage terminal to a point 



two miles into the Gulf to dispose of brine resulting from 



leaching the salt dome (U.S. Department of Transportation, 



1976: 2). 



The major environmental impacts of the LOOP project are 



as follows (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1976: 3): 



The disruptive effects of extensive pipeline 

 construction through approximately 100 miles of 

 marine, marsh, swamp , and dry land environments 

 in three separate construction phases carried out 

 over 14 years. (See Chapter 3.) 



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