[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 163 (Friday, August 22, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44717-44720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22311]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.'s Proposed Destin Dome 56 Unit Development and
Production Plan Offshore Florida
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a draft environmental impact
statement (DEIS).
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SUMMARY: Chevron U.S.A. Inc. proposes to conduct natural gas
development and production activities in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico
offshore Florida. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. filed their development and
production plan (DPP) with the Minerals Management Service (MMS), Gulf
of Mexico OCS Regional Office on November 19, 1996. The DPP was deemed
complete on August 12, 1997. The MMS will prepare a DEIS for the plan.
It is anticipated that the overall EIS process will take about 2 years.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions concerning the DEIS should be directed to Mr. Dennis Chew,
Environmental Assessment Section, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Minerals
Management Service, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana
70123-2394, (504) 736-2793.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Authority. Pursuant to the regulations implementing the
procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the MMS
is announcing its intent to prepare a DEIS on Chevron U.S.A. Inc.'s
proposed natural gas development and production project offshore
Florida. The NOI also serves to announce the scoping process that will
be followed for this DEIS. Throughout the scoping process, Federal and
State agencies, local governments, and other interested parties will
have the opportunity to aid the MMS in determining the scope of the
DEIS, significant issues that should be addressed, and alternatives to
be considered.
2. Proposed Action. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. proposes to conduct
development and production activities in an 11-block unit in the Destin
Dome Area of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, about 25 miles
offshore Florida, due south of Pensacola (see attached map). The
proposed action will be a natural gas development project producing
from a geological formation known as the Norphlet Formation.
Preliminary tests have indicated that production will consist of
significant quantities of natural gas. Chevron proposes to drill 11-20
new wells and install 2 central processing facilities in the 11-block
unit. One existing exploratory well will be completed and put on
production. The ``expected scenario'' is a total of 12 wells producing
up to 300 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMcfd). The ``maximum
scenario'' is a total of 21 wells producing up to 450 MMcfd. A 30-inch
export pipeline would transport the gas from the Destin Dome Unit to
the Mobile Area, Block 916, offshore Alabama. The gas would be treated
at existing facilities offshore Alabama or at existing onshore gas
processing plants in Mobile County, Alabama. The shorebase for the
project will be Theodore, Alabama, or Pascagoula, Mississippi.
3. Alternatives. Alternatives will include the action as proposed
by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. in their DPP and no action. Other possible
alternatives that may be considered include variations of the proposed
action and alternatives identified during the scoping process.
4. Scoping. Scoping is an open and early process for determining
the scope of the DEIS and for identifying significant issues related to
a proposed action. Scoping also provides an opportunity to identify
alternatives to the proposed action. For the subject DEIS, public
scoping meetings are planned for Pascagoula, Mississippi; Theodore,
Alabama; and Pensacola, Panama City, and Tallahassee, Florida.
Additional information regarding the scoping meetings will be
distributed to interested parties and details of the actual dates,
times, and facilities for the meetings will be advertised in local
media. Public information versions of the Destin Dome Unit DPP
submitted by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. are available for review at the
following locations:
Minerals Management Service, Eastern Gulf Information Office,
Pensacola, Florida
Jackson-George Regional Library, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Eudora Welty Library, Jackson, Mississippi
Thomas B. Norton Public Library, Gulf Shores, Alabama
University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama
Alabama Public Library Service, Montgomery, Alabama
Fort Walton Beach Public Library, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Bay County Public Library, Panama City, Florida
West Florida Regional Library, Pensacola, Florida
[[Page 44718]]
University of West Florida, Government Documents Department, Pensacola,
Florida
Florida State University, Documents Department, Tallahassee, Florida
5. Comments on the NOI. In addition to input received at the
scoping meetings, Federal and State agencies, local governments, and
other interested parties are requested to send their written comments
on the scope of the DEIS, significant issues to be addressed, and
alternatives that should be considered to the contact person and
address listed above. Comments should be enclosed in an envelope
labeled ``Comments on the NOI to Prepare a DEIS for the Destin Dome
DPP'' and should be submitted no later than 45 days after publication
of the NOI in the Federal Register.
Dated: August 13, 1997.
J. Hammond Eve,
Acting Regional Director, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region.
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[FR Doc. 97-22311 Filed 8-21-97; 8:45 am]
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