Specifications

Section 9 Summary of Coordination and Environmental Compliance
EAA Storage Reservoirs Revised Draft PIR and EIS February 2006
9-2
historic flows and flow-ways. Many of the public comments expressed concern
over potential impact on jobs in the EAA.
The Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS appeared in the Federal
Register Volume 70, No. 198 on October 14, 2005. In addition, the NOA was
mailed to interested and affected parties by letter dated September 26, 2005.
Comments and responses to those comments have been incorporated into the
Revised Draft EIS in Annex H.
9.2 COORDINATION WITH EXISTING UTILITIES AND PUBLIC
INFRASTRUCTURE [373.1501(5)(E)]
Section 373.1501(5)(e), F.S. requires the SFWMD to “Ensure that
implementation of project components is coordinated with existing utilities and
public infrastructure and that impacts to and relocation of existing utility and
public infrastructure are minimized.” The following is a description of this
coordination.
9.2.1 Summary of Utilities and Public Infrastructure within the Project Area
Due to its primarily agricultural and rural nature, local public infrastructure in
the EAA is very limited. The only public utilities that provide services in the
EAA are operated by and generally limited to the city limits of the small cities of
Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee on the south side of Lake Okeechobee.
The road network in the EAA is also limited and is a mix of municipal, county,
state and federal roads, located primarily in the northern portion of the EAA.
State Road (SR) 80 is a major east - west road that runs through this area
between West Palm Beach and Ft. Myers. Located immediately east of the
proposed EAA Reservoir project is US 27 (also known as SR 25). It is the only
major north – south road in this area and runs parallel to the west side of the
North New River Canal (also known as the L-18 / L-19 / L-20 canal) from the
Dade – Broward county area north to South Bay and then west around the
southern and western portions of Lake Okeechobee where it then heads north in
the state. US 27 is a major north-south route in and out of south Florida for
evacuation and commerce purposes. Most of the road network outside the
urbanized area and south of Lake Okeechobee is off the major state and federal
roads and consists of local, unpaved farm roads.
FPL has several major transmission lines that are located in the northern,
eastern and southern portions of the EAA, but none that are located
immediately adjacent to or traverse the proposed EAA Reservoir. These
transmission lines include the Corbett – Orange River 230 kV transmission line
that runs through the northern portion of the EAA, approximately 3 miles north
of the Cross and Bolles canals, between the West Palm Beach area and Ft.