[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48720-48721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23240]



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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION


Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission, United States and Mexico.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality Final 
Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508); and the Operational 
Procedures of the United States Section, International Boundary and 
Water Commission, United States and Mexico (USIBWC), for implementing 
section 102 of NEPA, published in the Federal Register September 2, 
1981 (46 FR 44083-44094); the USIBWC hereby gives notice that the Final 
Environmental Assessment and Final Finding of No Significant Impact for 
Quisto Energy Corporation (Quisto) to construct, operate, and maintain 
a gas well located on the Main Floodway of the Lower Rio Grande Flood 
Control Project (LRGFCP) are available. The USIBWC finds that the 
proposed action to issue a license to Quisto for such works is not a 
major federal action that would have a significant adverse effect on 
the quality of the human environment. A Notice of Finding of No 
Significant Impact was signed August 2, 1995, (60 FR 40603) and 
provided a thirty (30) day review and comment period before making the 
finding final.

ADDRESS: Mr. Yusuf E. Farran, Division Engineer, Environmental 
Management Division, United States Section, International Boundary and 
Water Commission, United States and Mexico, 4171 North Mesa Street, C-
310, El Paso, Texas 79902-1441, telephone: 915/534-6704, Fax: 915/534-
668.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Action

    The action proposed is for the USUBWC to issue a license to Quisto 
to construct, operate, and maintain a gas well and install related 
features within Meyerhoff No. 5 Drilling Unit, Lot 271, Kelly-Pharr 
Subdivision, Hidalgo County, Texas. The gas well is proposed to be 
located on privately owned land within the Main Floodway of the USIBWC 
LRGFCP approximately 8 kilometers southeast of the town of Pharr. 
Access to the drilling site is by way of existing county and private 
roads.

Alternatives Considered

    Three alternatives were considered in the Final Environmental 
Assessment (EA):
    The Proposed Action Alternative is for Quisto to construct, 
operate, and maintain a gas well in a cultivated field within the Main 
Floodway of the USIBWC LRGFCP. This proposed action will require USIBWC 
to issue a license to ensure that such works do not cause an 
obstruction to flood flows within the floodway or interfere with the 
operation and maintenance of the LRGFCP.
    The No Action Alternative is for Quisto to not construct, operate, 
and maintain a gas well within the Main Floodway of the LRGFCP. The no 
action alternative will not require the USIBWC to issue a license since 
no work will be done within the LRGFCP. The no action alternative will 
result in the denial of access to the mineral owner to rightfully owned 
minerals, loss of tax revenues to the State of Texas, and result in an 
unrecoverable clean energy source.
    The Directional Well Alternative is for Quisto to drill a well from 
outside the Main Floodway to a depth below the 

[[Page 48721]]
proposed surface location. The directional well alternative will not 
require USIBWC to issue a license since no work will be done within the 
LRGFCP. The directional well alternative is considered not workable 
because of a lack of an available surface drillsite outside the Main 
Floodway and technical problems associated with a bottomhold location 
some 457 meters or more from the surface location.

Environmantal Assessment

    The USIBWC received from Quisto a completed Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for the proposed gas well and related features. The EA 
is currently available for review and comment.

Finding of the Final Environmental Assessment

    The Final EA finds that the proposed action for Quisto to 
construct, operate, and maintain a gas well within the Main Floodway of 
the USIBWC LRGFCP (and USIBWC to issue a license for such work) does 
not constitute a major federal action which would cause a significant 
local, regional, or national adverse impact on the environment based on 
the following facts:
    1. The United States Army Corps of Engineers has determined that no 
waters of the United States including the wetlands will be impacted by 
the proposed gas well and related features.
    2. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that 
federally listed endangered or threatened species are unlikely to be 
adversely affected by the proposed gas well and related features.
    3. The Texas Historical Commission has determined that no survey is 
required and the project may proceed.
    4. The USIBWC has determined that the proposed gas well and related 
features will have no significant effect upon the flood carrying 
capacity of the Main Floodway.

Availability

    Single copies of the Final Environmental Assessment and Final 
Finding of No Significant Impact may be obtained by request at the 
above address.

    Dated: September 11, 1995.
Randall A. McMains,
Attorney.
[FR Doc. 95-23240 Filed 9-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-03-M