[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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