7474 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 33 / Wednesday, February 19, 1997 / Notices

company’s Chicago facility, and perform

other injunctive relief.

The Department of Justice will

receive, for a period of thirty (30) days

from the date of this publication,

comments relating to the proposed

consent decree. Comments should be

addressed to the Assistant Attorney

General for the Environment and

Natural Resources Division, Department

of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and

should refer to United States versus The

Sherwin-Williams Company, Civil

Action No. 93–C–4267, and the

Department of Justice Reference No. 90–

5–2–1–1829.

The proposed consent decree may be

examined at the Office of the United

States Attorney, Northern District of

Illinois, Everett McKinley Dirksen

Building, Room 1200, 219 South

Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60604;

the Region 5 Office of the

Environmental Protection Agency, 77

West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,

Illinois 60604–3590; and at the Consent

Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th

Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, 202–

624–0892. A copy of the proposed

consent decree may be obtained in

person or by mail from the Consent

Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th

Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005. In

requesting a copy, please refer to the

referenced case and enclose a check in

the amount of $32.25 (25 cents per page

reproduction costs), payable to the

Consent Decree Library.

Joel M. Gross,

Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section,

Environment and Natural Resources Division.

[FR Doc. 97–3988 Filed 2–18–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–15–M

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND

WATER COMMISSION

Availability of Draft Environmental

Assessment

AGENCY: United States Section,

International Boundary and Water

Commission, United States and Mexico.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Draft

Environmental Assessment.

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 (46FR

44083–44094); the USIBWC hereby

gives notice that a Draft Environmental

Assessment (DEA) prepared by

TransTexas Gas Corporation

(TransTexas), Houston, Texas, to

address the potential adverse

environmental impacts of placement of

a natural gas well pad and associated

works within the Falcon Dam and

Reservoir Project, Zapata County, Texas,

is available for review and comment.

The DEA addresses the proposed action

for the USIBWC to issue a land use

permit to TransTexas to construct a drill

pad for the purpose of drilling natural

gas wells on an island located on

USIBWC real property within the

international Falcon Reservoir.

ADDRESSES: 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

January, 1996, TransTexas Gas

Corporation (TransTexas) requested the

United States Section, International

Boundary and Water Commission,

United States and Mexico (USIBWC), to

grant them permission to construct a

drill pad site above the 307-foot mean

sea level elevation on an island located

within USIBWC real property below the

307-foot elevation traverse (the United

States property line also called the

‘‘307-foot traverse’’) within the

international Falcon Reservoir for the

purpose of drilling eight natural gas

wells. The construction of the well pad

at the location referred to as Porcion 18

within the reservoir is desirable, due

mainly to technical constraints

associated with current directional

drilling, to enable the full development

of private and public gas reserves in the

western portion of TransTexas’ gas lease

area. The gas lease area is situated

entirely under Falcon Reservoir with

very limited land available to reach the

required bottom hole locations.

The USIBWC began coordination with

the United States Bureau of Land

Management (BLM), the federal

authorizing agency which would

approve an application by TransTexas

for a permit to drill for federal reserves

within the reservior. BLM indicated it

would not approve the application for

permit to drill until the USIBWC

determined whether it would waive the

stipulation that prohibits oil and natural

gas development at that site. Both

agencies agreed that due to a lack of

both funding resources and human

resources for an agency produced

document and an immediate need by

TransTexas to gain access to private and

public reserves within the reservoir, a

third party environmental analysis

would be acceptable for determination

of the significance of the impacts of the

federal action of the USIBWC granting

exceptions to its policy of prohibiting

any mineral exploration or development

within its property at Falcon Reservoir.

A programmatic environmental

assessment that addresses the USIBWC’s

granting exceptions to its policy of

prohibiting any mineral exploration or

development within its property at

Falcon Reservoir is being processed

under separate notice in the Federal

Register. Although this site specific

environmental assessment is prepared

and processed simultaneously with the

Draft Programmatic Environmental

Assessment for potential oil and natural

gas development below the 307-foot

traverse property line at Falcon

Reservoir but above the 307-foot mean

sea level elevation, no final action will

be taken on this site specific document

until the PEA is complete and final

action is declared on it.

Proposed Action

The action proposed is for the

USIBWC to issue a land use permit to

TransTexas to construct a drill pad site

on an island above the 307-foot mean

sea level elevation located on USIBWC

real property below the 307-foot traverse

property line within Falcon Reservoir

for the purpose of drilling eight natural

gas wells. This would be the first time

for the USIBWC to grant an exception to

its policy of prohibiting oil and gas

development upon USIBWC real

property under Falcon Reservoir and is

dependent upon the outcome of the

PEA.

Alternatives Considered

Two alternatives were considered in

the Draft Environmental Assessment

(DEA):

The Proposed Action Alternative is

for the USIBWC to issue a land use

permit to TransTexas to construct a drill

pad site on an island above the 307-foot

mean sea level elevation located on

USIBWC real property below the 307-

foot traverse property line within Falcon

Reservoir. The USIBWC would issue the

land use permit if it makes the

determination to allow exceptions to its

policy of prohibiting oil and natural gas

development upon USIBWC real

property under the reservoir and if BLM

approves the application for permit to

drill for public reserves located within

the reservoir. The USIBWC land use

permit takes into consideration that

such works do not interfere with the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 33 / Wednesday, February 19, 1997 / Notices 7475

operation and maintenance of the

Falcon Dam and Reservoir Project. No

final action will be taken on this site

specific document until the

Programmatic Environmental

Assessment is complete and final action

is declared on it.

The No Action Alternative is for the

USIBWC to not issue a land use permit

to TransTexas to construct a drill pad

and associated works on an island on

USIBWC real property at Porcion 18 at

Falcon Reservoir. BLM would only be

able to approve an application for

permit to drill from a site above the 307-

foot traverse property line; hence

outside the reservoir. TransTexas would

need to consider use of alternative

means to recover private and public

natural gas reserves within the reservoir.

The no action alternative would result

in no development below the 307-foot

traverse for private and public reserves

in the western portion of TransTexas’

lease area; avoidance of any potential

impacts associated with the proposed

action; the loss of tax and royalty

revenues to the local, state and federal

governments; the loss of royalty

revenues to mineral owners; and the

loss of an otherwise recoverable clean

energy source.

Environmental Assessment

The USIBWC has coordinated with

BLM, the agency responsible for

permitting Federal reserves within the

reservoir, and TransTexas in the

development of the Draft Environmental

Assessment (DEA). The DEA is tiered

from the PEA and describes the

historical and existing development of

oil and natural gas in the general

vicinity (but above the 307-foot traverse

property line) of the reservoir and the

planned oil and natural gas activities

within or adjacent to the Porcion 18 site.

It analyzes the specific impacts

expected from natural gas development

in the foreseeable future and the

cumulative environmental impacts of

natural gas development upon USIBWC

real property at Falcon Reservoir. The

Draft EA discusses mitigation measures

to avoid impacts to and minimize

degradation of environmental resources

within and adjacent to the reservoir.

The USIBWC approved the completed

DEA from TransTexas for proposed

natural gas development at Porcion 18,

and it is currently available for review

and comment.

Finding of the Environmental

Assessment

Final action on this site specific DEA

will not be taken until the Programmatic

Environmental Assessment is complete

and final action is declared on it. The

DEA indicates that the proposed action

for the USIBWC to issue a land use

permit for natural gas development

within the USIBWC real property at

Porcion 18 at Falcon Reservoir 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. Construction, drilling and

production activities at the Porcion 18

swell pad site will have no significant

adverse impacts on air quality. Standard

construction practices to control fugitive

dust shall be used, and emissions will

be minimized through properly

maintained equipment.

2. The slight impacts from

construction, drilling and production

activities associated with noise at the

Porcion 18 well pad site are fully

mitigable through vegetative buffer

zones, equipment noise suppressors,

and avoidance of critical wildlife use

periods.

3. Negligible impacts to geologic and

water resources are mitigable through

the use of erosion and sediment control

measures and devices, secondary

containment measures, best

management practices during all phases

of development at the Porcion 18 well

pad site, and use of site specific spill

prevention control and countermeasure

plans.

4. Biological resources shall be

protected from impacts by total

avoidance of clearing within the heavy

brush corridor adjacent to Porcion 18,

reptile exclusion fences around the drill

pad location, and an interior least tern

monitoring plan coordinated by the

appropriate federal and state

conservation agencies. Based on site

surveys, federally listed species are not

likely to be adversely affected by the

proposed action provided these

mitigation measures are followed.

5. Impacts to cultural resources shall

be mitigated through avoidance of sites

determined to be eligible for the

National Register of Historic Places and

implementation of a Memorandum of

Agreement for mitigating impacts if

avoidance is not viable. These measures

shall be completed prior to BLM

approval of the application for permit to

drill, USIBWC issuance of a land use

permit, and any development at the

Porcion 18 drill site. Additionally,

construction activity shall be monitored

by a qualified archaeologist with full

authority to terminate construction if

cultural resources are likely to be

impacted at the site.

6. Negligible impacts associated with

land use and transportation will not

require additional mitigation.

7. Negligible impacts associated with

visual resources are mitigable through

properly placed night lighting, painting

of the facility to blend with the

surrounding terrain and vegetation, and

alignment of the access road and utility

corridor to limit the view of the facility

from the shoreline.

Availability

The DEA is available for public

review at the USIBWC Falcon Dam

Field Office, Falcon Road, Falcon

Heights, Texas 78545; and it has also

been distributed to Federal, State, and

local agencies and organizations that

have been consulted and coordinated

with in the preparation of the DEA. A

limited number of copies are available

to fill single copy requests at the above

address. The USIBWC will not take final

action on this DEA until the Draft

Programmatic Environmental

Assessment is complete and final action

is declared on it.

Dated: February 10, 1997.

Randall A. McMains,

Attorney.

[FR Doc. 97–4009 Filed 2–18–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–03–M

Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: United States Section,

International Boundary and Water

Commission, United States and Mexico.

ACTION: Notice of Finding of No

Significant Impact.

SUMMARY: Based on a Draft

Programmatic Environmental

Assessment (PEA) prepared by

TransTexas Gas Corporation

(TransTexas), Houston, Texas, to

address the potential adverse

environmental impacts of oil and

natural gas development within the

Falcon Dam and Reservoir Project, Starr

and Zapata counties, Texas; the United

States Section, international Boundary

and Water Commission, United States

and Mexico (USIBWC), finds that the

proposed action to grant exceptions to

the USIBWC policy of prohibiting

development within the reservoir is not

a major federal action that would have

a significant adverse effect on the

quality of the human environment.

Therefore, 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 USIBWC’s Operational

Procedures for Implementing Section

102 of NEPA, published in the Federal

Register September 2, 1981 (46FR

44083–44094); the USIBWC hereby