[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43049-43050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15045]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-ES-2022-N029; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment,
Alabama Trustee Implementation Group: Draft Bon Secour National
Wildlife Refuge Recreation Enhancements: Supplemental Restoration Plan
AGENCY: Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Final
Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS), and the Deepwater
Horizon (DWH) Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural resource
trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (Alabama
TIG) have prepared the Draft Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
Recreation Enhancements: Supplemental Restoration Plan (SRP). The
Alabama TIG proposes to add approximately $1.5 million to the Mobile
Street Boardwalk project budget. This would continue the process of
restoring lost recreational use in the Alabama Restoration Area that
resulted from the DWH oil spill of 2010. We invite comments on the
Draft SRP.
DATES: Submitting Comments: We will consider public comments on the
Draft SRP that we receive on or before August 18, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft SRP from the
following websites:
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/alabama
http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
Alternatively, you may request a CD (compact disc) of the Draft SRP
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft SRP by
one of the following methods:
Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/alabama.
Via U.S. Mail: U.S.F.W.S. Gulf Restoration Office, 1875
Century Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30345. In order to be considered, mailed
comments must be postmarked on or before the comment deadline given in
DATES.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, via email at
nanciann_regalado@fws.gov or via telephone at 678-296-6805. Individuals
in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit, Deepwater
Horizon, which was being used to drill a well for BP Exploration and
Production, Inc. (BP), in the Macondo prospect (Mississippi Canyon
252--MC252), experienced a significant explosion, fire, and subsequent
sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an unprecedented volume of
oil and other discharges from the rig and from the wellhead on the
seabed. The DWH oil spill is the largest oil spill in U.S. history,
discharging millions of barrels of oil over a period of 87 days. In
addition, well over 1 million gallons of dispersants were applied to
the waters of the spill area in an attempt to disperse the spilled oil.
An undetermined amount of natural gas was also released into the
environment as a result of the spill.
State and Federal trustees conducted the natural resource damage
assessment (NRDA) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil
Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Pursuant to the OPA,
Federal and State agencies act as trustees on behalf of the public to
assess natural resource injuries and losses and to determine the
actions required to compensate the public for those injuries and
losses. The OPA further instructs the designated trustees to develop
and implement a plan for the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement,
or acquisition of the equivalent of the injured natural resources under
their trusteeship, including the loss of use and services from those
resources from the time of injury until the completion of restoration
to baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would exist if
the spill had not occurred).
The Deepwater Horizon Trustees are:
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by
the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and
Bureau of Land Management;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA);
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority, Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Department of Environmental
Quality, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Department of
Natural Resources;
State of Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources and Geological Survey of Alabama;
State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection
and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and
State of Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas
General Land Office, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The Trustees reached and finalized a settlement of their natural
resource damage claims with BP in an April 4, 2016, Consent Decree
approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in the
Alabama Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the Alabama TIG.
The Alabama TIG is composed of the following six Trustees: Alabama
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Geological Survey of
Alabama, DOI, NOAA, EPA, and USDA.
Background
The Alabama TIG Restoration Plan III/Environmental Assessment (RP
III/EA) selected seven projects for implementation, allocating funds
from two restoration types identified in the DWH Consent Decree:
``Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities'' and ``Birds.'' The
Alabama TIG RP III addendum subsequently approved funding for the two
projects conditionally approved in the RP III/EA, one of which was the
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Recreation Enhancement--Mobile
Street Boardwalk
[[Page 43050]]
(Mobile Street Boardwalk) Project. Since then, the project cost
estimate has been revised because of increased costs in materials and
construction.
Overview of the Alabama TIG Draft SRP
The Draft SRP is being released in accordance with OPA, including
criteria set forth in the associated Natural Resource Damage Assessment
regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR
part 990, NEPA and its implementing regulations found at 40 CFR parts
1500-1508, and the Final PDARP/PEIS and Consent Decree. The Draft SRP
provides supplemental OPA NRDA analysis for two Bon Secour National
Wildlife Refuge (BSNWR) recreation enhancement projects considered in
the RP III/EA: the Mobile Street Boardwalk and Centennial Trail
Boardwalk projects. Of these two action alternatives, the Alabama TIG
proposes adding funding to the previously selected Mobile Street
Boardwalk project. Fully funding this project would continue the
process of restoring natural resources and services injured or lost as
a result of the DWH oil spill. The additional cost to carry out the
proposed action would be approximately $1.5 million.
Next Steps
As described above, the Alabama TIG is requesting public review and
comment on the SRP. After the public comment period ends, the Alabama
TIG will consider and address the comments received before issuing a
Final SRP.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the administrative record for the SRP can
be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
Authority
The authority of this action is the OPA (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.),
its implementing NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR part 990, and NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations found at 40
CFR parts 1500-1508.
Mary Josie Blanchard,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2022-15045 Filed 7-18-22; 8:45 am]
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