[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10458-10460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03554]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N014; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Restoration Plan #1.3 and
Environmental Assessment: Rabbit Island Restoration and Shoreline
Protection at Jean Lafitte Historical National Park and Preserve and
Finding of No Significant Impact; Louisiana Trustee Implementation
Group
AGENCY: Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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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 Consent
Decree, the Federal and
[[Page 10459]]
State natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group (LA TIG) have prepared the Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group Final Phase 2 Restoration Plan/Environmental
Assessment #1.3:Rabbit Island Restoration and Shoreline Protection at
Jean Lafitte Historical National Park and Preserve (Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3)
and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), approving construction
activities for the restoration of habitats on federally managed lands
and birds injured in the Louisiana Restoration Area as a result of the
Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 analyzes
restoration project design alternatives for two projects, which were
approved for engineering and design (E&D) in a previous restoration
plan. In the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3, the LA TIG selected and approved
a design alternative for construction of each, at a total approximate
cost of $36,048,500. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public
of the availability of the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 and FONSI.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may download the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 from
either of the following websites:
https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon.
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). A hard copy of the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3
is also available for public review at the locations listed in the
following table.
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Library Address City Zip
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St. Tammany Parish Library.............. 310 W 21st Avenue......... Covington................. 70433
Terrebonne Parish Library............... 151 Library Drive......... Houma..................... 70360
New Orleans Public Library, Louisiana 219 Loyola Avenue......... New Orleans............... 70112
Division.
East Baton Rouge Parish Library......... 7711 Goodwood Boulevard... Baton Rouge............... 70806
Jefferson Parish Library, East Bank 4747 W Napoleon Avenue.... Metairie.................. 70001
Regional Library.
Jefferson Parish Library, West Bank 2751 Manhattan Boulevard.. Harvey.................... 70058
Regional Library.
Plaquemines Parish Library.............. 8442 Highway 23........... Belle Chasse.............. 70037
St. Bernard Parish Library.............. 1125 E St. Bernard Highway Chalmette................. 70043
St. Martin Parish Library............... 201 Porter Street......... St. Martinville........... 70582
Alex P. Allain Library.................. 206 Iberia Street......... Franklin.................. 70538
Vermilion Parish Library................ 405 E St. Victor Street... Abbeville................. 70510
Martha Sowell Utley Memorial Library.... 314 St. Mary Street....... Thibodaux................. 70301
South Lafourche Public Library.......... 16241 E Main Street....... Cut Off................... 70345
Calcasieu Parish Public Library Central 301 W Claude Street....... Lake Charles.............. 70605
Branch.
Iberia Parish Library................... 445 E Main Street......... New Iberia................ 70560
Mark Shirley, LSU AgCenter.............. 1105 West Port Street..... Abbeville................. 70510
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, via email at
nanciann_regalado@fws.gov, via telephone at 678-296-6805, or via the
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
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 offshore 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.
The Trustees conducted the natural resource damage assessment
(NRDA) for the DWH 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 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 to
baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would exist if the
spill had not occurred). This includes the loss of use and services
provided by those resources from the time of injury until the
completion of restoration.
The DWH Trustees 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 (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.
On April 4, 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana entered a Consent Decree resolving civil claims
by the Trustees against BP arising from the DWH oil spill: United
States v. BPXP et al., Civ. No. 10-4536, centralized in MDL 2179, In
re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig ``Deepwater Horizon'' in the Gulf of
Mexico, on April 20, 2010 (E.D. La.) (http://www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwater-horizon). Pursuant to the Consent Decree, restoration
projects in the Louisiana Restoration Area are chosen and managed by
the LA TIG. The LA TIG is composed of the following Trustees: State of
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority,
[[Page 10460]]
Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Departments of Environmental Quality,
Wildlife and Fisheries, and Natural Resources; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and
USDA.
Background
The Final PDARP/PEIS provides for TIGs to propose phasing
restoration projects across multiple restoration plans. A TIG may
propose in a draft restoration plan conceptual projects to fund for an
information-gathering planning phase, such as E&D (phase 1). This
allows TIGs to develop information needed to fully consider a
subsequent implementation phase in a later restoration plan (phase 2).
In the final Phase 1 RP #1, the LA TIG selected six conceptual projects
for E&D, using funds from the wetlands, coastal and nearshore habitats;
birds; and habitat projects on federally managed lands restoration
types, as provided for in the DWH Consent Decree. Two of those projects
that were selected for E&D in the final Phase I RP #1 are the Rabbit
Island Restoration project (Rabbit Island project), under the birds
restoration type, and the Shoreline Protection at Jean Lafitte
Historical National Park and Preserve (Jean Lafitte project) under the
habitat projects on federally managed lands restoration type. When E&D
for those projects reached a stage where enough information was
available to conduct OPA and NEPA analyses on the alternatives, a Phase
2 plan was drafted. Notice of availability of the draft Phase 2 RP/EA
#1.3 was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2019 (84 FR
61636). Public comment was encouraged and accepted until December 20,
2019. The LA TIG hosted a public webinar on December 2, 2019, to
facilitate public review and comment. The LA TIG considered the public
comments received and finalized the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3. A summary of
the public comments received and the LA TIG's responses to those
comments are presented in Section 7 of the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3.
Overview of the LA TIG Draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3
The final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 is being released in accordance with
OPA NRDA 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, the Final PDARP/PEIS, and the Consent Decree. The
Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 provides OPA and NEPA analyses for a reasonable
range of design alternatives for the Rabbit Island Restoration and Jean
Lafitte Shoreline Restoration projects, and identifies the LA TIG's
preferred design alternatives, those which the LA TIG believes best
meet the objectives of the two projects. In accordance with NEPA, as
part of the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3, the Trustees issued a FONSI. The
FONSI is available in Appendix E of the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3.
The Rabbit Island Restoration project meets the goal of restoring
and conserving birds by restoring 87.8 acres of the island's original
200-acre footprint for bird habitat. This would be done by raising the
elevation of Rabbit Island using dredged fill material from the
Calcasieu Ship Channel as the borrow source area. Total cost for this
project is approximately $15,600,000.
The Jean Lafitte Shoreline Protection project implements a nearly
continuous rock breakwater, with rock elbows protecting fish gaps along
the eastern shorelines of Lake Cataouche, Lake Salvador, and Bayou
Bardeaux in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
Implementation is proposed in two increments, the northern and the
southern portions of the project area. In the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3,
the LA TIG approves to fund only the southern portion of the project at
this time. The northern portion may be funded at a later date. Total
cost for this project is approximately $20,448,500.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Phase 2
RP/EA #1.3 can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), its implementing Natural Resource Damage
Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR part 990, and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (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. 2020-03554 Filed 2-21-20; 8:45 am]
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