[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32937-32938]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15391]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program: Notice of Intent 
to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCIES: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce; United States Department of the Interior (DOI); Louisiana Oil 
Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO); Louisiana Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ); Louisiana Department of Natural Resources 
(LDNR); and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

ACTION: Notice of intent to begin scoping to prepare the Louisiana 
Regional Restoration Planning Program (RRP Program)/Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.23 & 990.56, notice is hereby given 
that a document entitled, ``Public Review Document of the Louisiana 
Regional Restoration Planning Program'' will be available for public 
review and comment on or before July 2, 2001. This document has been 
prepared by the state and federal natural resource trustee agencies 
listed above to address natural resource damages in the State of 
Louisiana caused by discharges of oil, which are actionable under the 
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq. Pursuant to 
OPA, the above natural resource trustee agencies claim damages from 
responsible parties to restore, rehabilitate, replace or acquire the 
equivalent of natural resources and services injured by oil spills. The 
purpose of the RRP Program is to develop an institutional framework and 
procedures that will enable the trustees to select and implement 
projects in Regional Restoration Plans (RRPs) that compensate the 
public and environment for losses of natural resources and services 
from unauthorized discharges of oil in a consistent and predictable 
manner. The purpose of the RRPs will be to identify, on a regional 
basis in the State of Louisiana, existing, planned, or proposed 
projects that may provide appropriate restoration alternatives for 
natural resources injured by oil spills and to enhance resolution of 
claims for natural resource damages caused by oil spills in a more 
expeditious and cost-effective manner. The trustees seek public 
involvement in the development of the RRP Program, RRPs and PEIS. 
Opportunities for public comment are provided through public review and 
comment on documents contained in the Administrative Record as well as 
on the Public Review Document, Draft and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement when prepared.

DATES: Comments on the ``Public Review Document of the Louisiana 
Regional Restoration Planning Program'' must be submitted in writing on 
or before August 20, 2001. Public meetings will be held on July 17-19 
and 24-26.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the ``Public Review Document of the 
Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program'' should be sent to 
Karolien Debusschere, Deputy Coordinator, Louisiana Oil Spill 
Coordinator's Office, Office of the Governor, 625 N. 4th Street, Suite 
800, Baton Rouge, LA 70802; [email protected] or Ann H. 
Berger, DARP Coordinator, NOAA/Office of General Counsel, 1305 East-
West Highway, SSMC #4, Silver Spring, MD, 20910; [email protected]. 
Written comments on the program should be sent either to LOSCO or NOAA 
to the persons at addresses listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Traditionally, Louisiana's economy has been 
based on the state's vast natural resources. Both renewable (hunting, 
fishing, forest products) and nonrenewable (cultural, oil, natural gas) 
resources are important, and the industries associated with each have 
coexisted for years. Although Louisiana's oil and gas industry tries to 
avoid adverse impacts on renewable natural resources, injuries do occur 
as a result of oil spills. The cumulative impact of these incidents on 
fish, wildlife and the environment can be significant and adversely 
affect the industries and communities depending on natural resources 
for commerce and recreation.
    Federal and state agencies have begun a collaborative process with 
the public and industry to develop the RRP Program and RRPs for the 
State of Louisiana. Currently, the restoration planning process is 
conducted on a case-by-case basis. The goal of the proposed RRP Program 
and RRPs is to identify and select feasible restoration projects prior 
to a spill incident, thereby shortening the restoration planning 
process, lowering its cost, and restoring lost resources sooner. The 
state will be divided into planning regions. For each region, an RRP 
will identify suitable restoration projects for restoring natural 
resources and services. Additionally, each RRP will provide an 
opportunity for trustees to pool restoration recoveries from multiple 
incidents towards larger, more cost-effective, and beneficial 
restoration projects. The RRP Program and RRPs will benefit the public, 
industry and natural resource trustees by increasing the efficiency of 
the restoration planning process.
    NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR and LDWF are natural resource trustees 
designated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 2706(c); Executive Order 12777; and 
the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600 and 300.605. Pursuant to 
La. Rev. Stat. 30:2460, the State of Louisiana Oil Spill Contingency 
Plan (September 1995) describes the state trust resources which include 
the following: vegetated wetlands, surface waters, ground waters, air, 
soil, wildlife, aquatic life, and the appropriate habitats on which 
they depend. DOI has been designated as trustee for the natural 
resources that it manages or controls. Examples of those resources as 
described in the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600(b)(2) and 
(3), include the following and their supporting ecosystems: migratory 
birds, anadromous fish, endangered species and marine mammals, 
federally owned minerals, certain federally managed water resources, 
and natural resources located on, over, or under land administered by 
DOI. NOAA's trust resources include, but are not limited to, commercial 
and recreational fish species, anadromous and catadromous fish species, 
marshes and other coastal habitats, marine mammals, and endangered and 
threatened marine species.
    Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.56, the natural resource trustees are 
authorized to develop regional restoration plans as part of OPA's 
mandate for the trustees to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire 
the equivalent of natural resources and services injured by oil spills 
and to compensate for interim losses of such resources and services.
    The natural resource trustees also announce their intent to 
integrate the RRP Program with a Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (DPEIS). The National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, 
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations implementing NEPA, 40 CFR Chapter V, apply to restoration 
actions by federal trustees. Pursuant to NEPA and the CEQ regulations, 
the purpose of a DEIS is to involve the public and facilitate the 
decision making process in the trustees' analysis of alternatives for 
regional restoration planning.
    In compliance with 15 CFR 990.45, the trustees will open an 
Administrative Record (Record). The record will include documents that 
the trustees relied upon during the development of

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the RRP Program and PEIS. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.23 and 990.56, the 
trustees seek public involvement in developing the RRP Program and 
RRPs, through public review and comment of the documents contained in 
the Record (which will be maintained in the NOAA Damage Assessment 
Center, SSMC #4, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland, 
20910-3281, and duplicate copies will be maintained in Baton Rouge at 
the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Suite 800, 626 N. Street, 
Baton Rouge, LA), as well as the ``Public Review Document of the 
Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program'' and the Draft and 
Final Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program/Environmental 
Impact Statements when these documents have been prepared. The Record 
and the above documents will also be available at the following 
website: http://www.darp.noaa.gov/. The ``Public Review Document of the 
Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program'' will be released by 
July 2, 2001, and will be available at the listed addresses and website 
for public review and comment. The Public Review Document will provide 
the public with an early opportunity to review proposals for the RRP 
Program in order for the trustees to receive comments on the RRP 
Program's and RRPs development prior to the completion of the Draft RRP 
Program/EIS.
    Public Meetings: The following are the dates and locations of 
public meeting scheduled (6:00 to 9:00 PM) to seek comments on the 
Public Review Document Draft of the Louisiana Regional Restoration 
Planning Program and input for the RRP Program/PEIS:

July 17, 2001, Shreveport, State Office Building, 1525 Fairfield 
Avenue, Room 205, Shreveport, LA
July 18, 2001, Monroe, Monroe City Hall, Council Chamber, 1st Floor, 
400 Lea Joyner Expressway, Monroe, LA
July 19, 2001, Alexandria, Louisiana Convention Center, 2225 N. 
MacArthur Drive, Alexandria, LA 71303
July 24, 2001, New Orleans, Joseph S. Yenni Bldg., 1221 Elmwood Park 
Blvd., Jefferson Parish Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, Jefferson, LA 70123
July 25, 2001, Lake Charles, Burton Business Center, McNeese State 
University, 350 Lawton Drive, Lake Charles, LA 70609
July 26, 2001, Baton Rouge, Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, 2000 
Quail Drive, 1st Floor, Louisiana Room, Baton Rouge, LA 70808

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karolien Debusschere at 225/219-5800; 
[email protected] or Ann H. Berger at 301/713-3038 x192; 
[email protected].

    Dated: June 13, 2001.
Captain Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 01-15391 Filed 6-18-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-U