Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on a Proposed Exploratory Well, Broward County, Florida

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[ES-020-04-4110-05]

Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement

(FEIS) on a Proposed Exploratory Well, Broward County, Florida

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact

Statement (FEIS) on a proposed exploratory well in Broward County,

Florida.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, a FEIS has been prepared under the direction of the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Jackson District and the Bureau of

Indian Affairs (BIA), Eastern Area Office analyzing a proposed

exploratory well on the Federal Miccosukee Indian Reservation in

Broward County, Florida. The FEIS was prepared by the consulting firm

of Dames & Moore of Boca Raton, Florida. A copy of the FEIS or summary

is available upon request to the BLM, Jackson District Office. Public

reading copies are available at the following locations:

Bureau of Land Management , Office of Public Affairs, Main Interior

Building, Room 5600, 18th & C Streets, N.W., Washington D.C. 20240.

Bureau of Land Management, 411 Briarwood Drive, Suite 404, Jackson,

Mississippi 39206.

Bureau of Indian Affairs, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 260, Arlington,

Virginia 22203.

Broward County Public Library, Government Documents Division, 100 South

Andrews Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301,

Leon County Library, 200 West Park Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

Palm Beach County Library, 3650 West Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach,

Florida 33406.

State Library of Florida, Document Section, R.A. Gray Building,

Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until August 29, 1994.

ADDRESS: Requests for a copy of the FEIS or summary and/or written

comments on the document should be sent to the District Manager, Bureau

of Land Management, 411 Briarwood Drive, Suite 404, Jackson,

Mississippi 39206; ATTN: Robert V. Abbey.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert V. Abbey (BLM) (601) 977-5400

or Jim Harriman (BIA) (703) 235-3177.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Proposed Action

On January 17, 1991, Shell Western E&P Inc. (SWEPI) submitted an

``Application for Permit to Drill'' for an exploratory well to the BLM.

The proposed well is on the Federal Miccosukee Indian Reservation in

Broward County, Florida.

The well is identified as the SWEPI Miccosukee 3-1 and is designed

to test oil and gas potential. The site is located directly north of

Interstate 75 and west of the L-28 Canal adjacent to Water Conservation

Area 3A.

2. Alternatives

The FEIS analyzes potential impacts associated with drilling and

testing of the exploration well. The analysis considers several

alternate drill sites and road routes. Technological and environmental

constraints limit the reasonable alternatives to the proposed well site

and access route, two alternate access road routes and the No Action

Alternative. The agencies preferred alternative is the proposed well

site and the west access road route (Alternative B), including

recommended mitigation and monitoring measures.

3. Public Participation

The public was invited on March 22, 1991 to identify issues and

concerns specifically related to the proposed drilling. This public

comment period ended on May 3, 1991. A public meeting was held January

23, 1992 at the Fort Lauderdale Airport Hilton, 1870 Griffin Road,

Dania, Florida. The meeting was held to accept oral and written

comments concerning the proposal. This comment period ended on February

14, 1992. A Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement was announced on April 16, 1992 and an additional comment

period was opened until May 18, 1992. The Draft EIS (DEIS) was

published on March 8, 1993. A Notice of Availability of the DEIS was

announced on March 17, 1993 and a public hearing held on April 14, 1993

at the Greater Fort Lauderdale--Broward County Convention Center, 1950

Eisenhower Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The hearing was held to

accept oral and written comments on the DEIS. This comment period ended

on August 18, 1993.

4. FEIS Preparation

During the public comment period on the DEIS, 425 letters and

several petitions were received by the BLM. Oral comments were

presented by 51 people at the public hearing. All letters and oral

comments were reviewed by an interdisciplinary team to identify

substantive comments. Analysis of substantive comments resulted in

similar comments being grouped in 95 issues. The FEIS includes these

issues along with the responses of the BLM and BIA. The DEIS was

appropriately modified to produce the FEIS.

Robert V. Abbey,

Jackson District Manager, BLM.

[FR Doc. 94-17092 Filed 7-28-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P