FPL’s Bobwhite - Project Status March 2008

Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line Project and Alternate Corridors Update

This update is being provided to let you know of two significant developments related to Florida Power & Light Company’s (FPL) Bobwhite-Manatee transmission line project.

Sarasota County approves modifications to conservation easement to allow for transmission line

The County’s modifications to the HRCE will permit the proposed transmission line to traverse the western side of the HRCE as it extends south from the intersection of University Parkway and Bourneside Boulevard (Dam Road Extension). The transmission line would then continue west to join Lorraine Road about one-half mile from SMR’s southern property boundary. In exchange for this opportunity, SMR has agreed to expand the HRCE to include an additional 109.6 acres at the southeast corner of University Parkway and Bourneside Boulevard that includes the main watercourse of Gum Slough, and an additional 31 acres along the eastern boundary of the HRCE. They will conserve an additional 467 acres to the east of the HRCE as open space without buildings, golf courses or paved roads/trails.

The 16 parties to the proceedings who have signed the Settlement Agreement in support of the Consensus Corridor have recognized the many benefits of this land exchange, if the transmission line is located within the Consensus Corridor, including the following:

• The proposed transmission line would have minimal environmental impact as it would pass through predominantly open pastureland currently used for grazing while avoiding the centrally located Gum Slough wetlands.
• Valuable wetlands and a portion of the main watercourse of Gum Slough immediately north of the HRCE, which were previously unprotected, would now be protected as part of the HRCE. These lands previously had been identified within the County’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Gum Slough Protection Priority site.
• The additional 467 acres to be protected from future development would provide a buffer along the eastern side of the HRCE.

FPL agrees with the other parties supporting the Consensus Corridor that the Consensus Corridor strikes an appropriate balance of environmental, land use, engineering and cost considerations, and plans to support its certification.

Two additional alternate corridors filed

As we have shared with you in earlier communications, the TLSA process allows other parties to propose alternate corridors for all or part of the transmission line route. Following the schedule change in the proceedings, two other parties also submitted alternate corridors that have been accepted into the process ? The Concession Land Development, LLC and The Concession Golf Club, LLC (The Concession), and Bridle Creek Homeowners Association (BCHOA).²   The Concession has adopted a corridor that was previously submitted by SMR known as SMR-1. The Concession Corridor departs from the FPL Original Corridor by turning south from SR 64 along CR 675 to SR 70, turning southeast on SR 70 to Verna Road, going south on Verna Road to Fruitville Road and turning west along Fruitville Road to Dog Kennel Road and the substation. The BCHOA Corridor widens the Consensus Corridor along the south side of the Taylor Fulton property from 500 feet northward to 1,000 feet. Both of these alternate corridors, in addition to the Consensus Corridor, FPL Original Corridor and SMR-10 (still under consideration) can be seen on the enclosed map.

The next steps in the process will include agency reviews of the corridor information submitted by SMR, The Concession and BCHOA on the three new corridors. This will be followed by the continuation of the formal hearing presided over by Judge Canter, beginning on May 5, 2008, at the Sarasota Hotel and Marina, 7150 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida. The hearing will begin each morning at 8:30 a.m. on May 5 through 9, and May 12 through 16. Members of the public may offer testimony to the Judge at a public hearing commencing at 7:00 p.m. on May 7, 2008, at the same location. The judge will continue to hear testimony and evidence offered by all parties on which corridor should be certified. Considering a balance of land use, environmental, engineering, cost and other factors, the judge will issue a recommended order that identifies the corridor recommended for certification. That recommendation will be submitted to the Governor and Cabinet, who will make the final decision about granting certification for the Bobwhite-Manatee line.

Current information will be available on the following web sites of DEP, the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH), and FPL. The addresses for those web sites are as follows:

• Department of Environmental Protection
  (Click on ?Applications in Process? and ?FPL Bobwhite-Manatee?)
• Division of Administrative Hearings
  Enter Docket No. 07-0105TL (See DEP’s Jan. 16, 2008 Proposed Schedule)

You may also contact FPL regarding this project at Bobwhite-Manateeproject@FPL.com or call us toll free at 1-800-951-8849. Copies of the FPL application and the alternate corridor submittals are accessible for review at FPL offices as noted below:

Footnotes:
¹The parties who support the Consensus Corridor are: FPL, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch LLC, Lake Club Investors LLC, Gum Slough Preservation Foundation Inc., Manasota-88 Inc., Taylor & Fulton Inc., Myakka Ranch Holdings LLC, FC LLC, Kittie L. Chapman, John Cannon Homes-Eastmoor LLC, Schwartz Farms Inc., Michael D. and Joanne Schwartz, Sarasota One LLC, East County Homeowners Organization Inc., Hi-Hat Ranch LLLP, and Pacific Land Ltd.

²A third additional alternate corridor was submitted by John Falkner, but was not accepted for consideration by FPL because it failed to meet one of the primary bases for the Florida Public Service Commission’s determination of need for the project.

Project History, November 2007