[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36328-36330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14952]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-FHC-2014-N121; FVHC98130406900-XXX-FF04G01000]
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Final Programmatic and Phase III
Early Restoration Plan and Final Early Restoration Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), notice is hereby given that
the Federal Deepwater Horizon natural resource trustee agencies and the
State Deepwater Horizon natural resource trustee agencies for
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida (Participating Trustees)
have prepared a Final Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration Plan
and Final Early Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(Final Phase III ERP/PEIS, or Plan). This notice announces the
availability of the Final Phase III ERP/PEIS. The Texas natural
resource trustee agencies are not joining in the issuance of the Final
Phase III ERP/PEIS at this time.
The Final Phase III ERP/PEIS considers programmatic alternatives
comprised of early restoration project types that would restore natural
resources, ecological services, and recreational use services injured
or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and related
response actions. The Participating Trustees additionally propose to
select 44 specific early restoration projects for implementation that
are consistent with the proposed preferred early restoration program
alternative. The Participating Trustees have developed restoration
alternatives and projects to utilize funds for early restoration being
provided under the
[[Page 36329]]
Framework for Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Framework Agreement) discussed below. The
Final Phase III ERP/PEIS evaluates these programmatic restoration
alternatives and projects under criteria set forth in the natural
resource damage assessment regulations and the Framework Agreement. The
Final Phase III ERP/PEIS also evaluates the environmental consequences
of the restoration alternatives and projects under NEPA. The purpose of
this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Final
Phase III ERP/PEIS.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final Phase III
ERP/PEIS at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov or http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. You may also view the Final Phase III
ERP/PEIS at any of the public repositories listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, nanciann_regalado@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On or about 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 Deepwater Horizon 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 a 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.
The State and Federal natural resource trustees (Trustees) are
conducting the natural resource damage assessment for the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701
et seq.). Pursuant to OPA, Federal and State agencies act as trustees
on behalf of the public to assess natural resource injuries and losses
of natural resource services, and to determine the actions required to
compensate the public for those injuries and losses. 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 time restoration to baseline (the resource
quality and conditions that would exist if the spill had not occurred)
is complete. Pursuant to the process articulated in the Framework
Agreement, the Trustees have previously selected, and BP has agreed to
fund, a total of 10 early restoration projects, expected to total
approximately $71 million, through the Phase I Early Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment (Phase I ERP) and Phase II Early Restoration
Plan/Environmental Review (Phase II ERP). These plans are available at
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration/early-
restoration/.
The Deepwater Horizon Trustees currently are:
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by
the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 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 (USEPA);
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
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas General Land
Office, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which are not
joining in the issuance of this Final Phase III ERP/PEIS at this time;
The Department of Defense (DOD) is also a trustee of
natural resources associated with DOD-managed land on the Gulf Coast,
which is included in the ongoing NRDA; however DOD is not a signatory
of the Framework Agreement nor a participant in this Phase III Early
Restoration Plan.
Background
On April 20, 2011, BP agreed to provide up to $1 billion toward
early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to address injuries to
natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The
Framework Agreement represents a preliminary step toward the
restoration of injured natural resources. The Framework Agreement is
intended to expedite the start of restoration in the Gulf in advance of
the completion of the injury assessment process. The Framework
Agreement provides a mechanism through which the Trustees and BP can
work together ``to commence implementation of early restoration
projects that will provide meaningful benefits to accelerate
restoration in the Gulf as quickly as practicable'' prior to the
resolution of the Trustees' natural resource damages claim.
The Trustees actively solicited public input on restoration project
ideas through a variety of mechanisms, including convening public
meetings, distributing electronic communications, and use of the
Trustee-wide public Web site and database to share information and
receive public project submissions. The key objective in pursuing early
restoration is to secure tangible recovery of natural resources and
natural resource services for the public's benefit while the longer
term process of fully assessing injury and damages is under way. The
Trustees released, after public review of a draft, a Phase I Early
Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (Phase I ERP/EA) on April 20,
2012 (77 FR 23741). Subsequently, the Trustees released, after public
review of a draft, a Phase II Early Restoration Plan/Environmental
Review (Phase II ERP/ER) in December 2012 (78 FR 8184).
The Trustees considered hundreds of projects leading to the
identification of a potential 28 future early restoration projects
announced in the May 6, 2013, Federal Register notice (78 FR 26319). On
June 4, 2013 (78 FR 33431), the Trustees announced their intent to
prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) under OPA
and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate the
environmental consequences of early restoration project types, as well
as to propose a Phase III Early Restoration Plan to address injuries
from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that would include the 28 early
restoration projects announced in the May 6, 2013, Federal Register
notice and an additional 16 projects. In accordance with NEPA, the
Trustees conducted scoping to identify the concerns of the affected
public, Federal agencies, States, and Indian tribes; involved the
public in the decision making process; facilitated efficient
[[Page 36330]]
early restoration planning and environmental review; defined the issues
and alternatives that would be examined in detail; and saved time by
ensuring that draft documents adequately addressed relevant issues. A
scoping process reduces paperwork and delay by ensuring that important
issues are considered early in the decision making process. To gather
public input, the Trustees hosted six public meetings and accepted
written comment electronically and via U.S. mail during the scoping
period.
Notice of availability of the Draft Programmatic and Phase III
Early Restoration Plan and Draft Early Restoration Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Phase III ERP/PEIS) was published
in the Federal Register on December 6, 2013 (78 FR 73555). The Draft
Phase III ERP/PEIS considered programmatic alternatives for early
restoration and proposed 44 early restoration projects in Phase III of
early restoration consistent with the project types included in the
proposed programmatic alternative. The Trustees provided the public
with 75 days to review and comment on the Draft Phase III ERP/PEIS
(including a 15-day extension of the original announced 60-day comment
period). The Trustees also held public meetings in Mobile, Alabama;
Long Beach, Mississippi; Belle Chasse, Thibodaux, and Lake Charles,
Louisiana; Port Arthur, Galveston, and Corpus Christi, Texas; and
Pensacola, Florida to facilitate public participation. The
Participating Trustees considered the public comments received, which
informed the Participating Trustees' analyses of programmatic
alternatives and specific early restoration projects in the Final Phase
III ERP/PEIS. A summary of the public comments received and the
Participating Trustees' responses to those comments are addressed in
Chapter 13 of the Final Phase III ERP/PEIS.
Overview of the Phase III ERP/PEIS
The Final Phase III ERP/PEIS is being released in accordance with
the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), the Natural Resource Damage Assessment
(NRDA) regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15
CFR part 990, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
The Final Phase III ERP/PEIS proposes early restoration
programmatic alternatives and evaluates the potential environmental
effects and cumulative effects of those alternatives. The Final Phase
III ERP/PEIS groups 12 project types into two categories: (1)
Contribute to Restoring Habitats and Living Coastal and Marine
Resources, and (2) Contribute to Providing and Enhancing Recreational
Opportunities. These categories provide the basis for defining the list
of four alternatives considered in the document:
Alternative 1: No Action (No Additional Early
Restoration);
Alternative 2: Contribute to Restoring Habitats and Living
Coastal and Marine Resources;
Alternative 3: Contribute to Providing and Enhancing
Recreational Opportunities; and
Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative): Contribute to
Restoring Habitats, Living Coastal and Marine Resources, and
Recreational Opportunities.
The Participating Trustees propose to select 44 projects as
described in the Final Phase III ERP/PEIS, totaling an estimated cost
of approximately $627 million.
The proposed restoration projects are intended to continue the
process of using early restoration funding to restore natural
resources, ecological services, and recreational use services injured
or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The
Participating Trustees considered both ecological and recreational use
restoration projects to restore injuries caused by the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, addressing both the physical and biological
environment, as well as the relationship people have with the
environment.
The projects proposed in Phase III are not intended to, and do not,
fully address all injuries caused by the spill or provide the extent of
restoration needed to make the public and the environment whole. The
Participating Trustees anticipate that additional early restoration
projects will be proposed in the future as the early restoration
process continues.
Next Steps
In accordance with NEPA, a Federal agency must prepare a concise
public Record of Decision (ROD) at the time the agency makes a decision
in cases involving an EIS (40 CFR 1505.2). The ROD for the Final Phase
III ERP/PEIS would provide and explain the Trustees' decisions
regarding the selection of a programmatic early restoration alternative
and specific early restoration projects. The Trustees will issue the
ROD no earlier than 30 days after the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability
of the Final Phase III ERP/PEIS (40 CFR Sec. 1506.10).
Administrative Record
An Administrative Record has been established and can be viewed
electronically at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord/index.cfm.
Authorities
The authorities of this action are the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
(33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), the implementing Natural Resource Damage
Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR 990, NEPA, and the Framework
Agreement.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
DOI Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 2014-14952 Filed 6-25-14; 8:45 am]
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