[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 184 (Wednesday, September 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57384-57385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24155]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-FHC-2015-N160; FVHC98210408710-XXX-FF04G01000]


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Final Phase IV Early Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessments

AGENCY: 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 (NEPA), and the Framework Agreement 
for Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the Deepwater 
Horizon Oil Spill, notice is hereby given that the Federal and State 
natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) have approved the Phase IV 
Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessments (Phase IV ERP/
EAs). The Trustees have selected 10 early restoration projects in the 
Phase IV ERP/EAs that are consistent with the early restoration program 
alternatives selected in the final Phase III Early Restoration Plan/
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Phase III ERP/PEIS). The 
projects selected in the Phase IV ERP/EAs will continue the process of 
restoring natural resources and services injured or lost as a result of 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred on or about April 20, 
2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. The Phase IV ERP/EAs also retains a notice 
of change and supporting analysis for one Phase III Early Restoration 
Project, ``Enhancement of Franklin County Parks and Boat Ramps--
Eastpoint Fishing Pier Improvements'' that was included in the Draft 
Phase IV plan.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Phase IV ERP/EAs 
at: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov or http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Phase IV 
ERP/EAs (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also view the 
document at any of the public facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, at 
[email protected].

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 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 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, 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 of 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 for 
Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the Deepwater 
Horizon Oil Spill (Framework Agreement), the Trustees previously 
selected, and BP agreed to fund, a total of 54 early restoration 
projects, expected to cost approximately $700 million, through the 
Phase I Early Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (Phase I ERP/
EA), Phase II Early Restoration Plan/Environmental Review (Phase II 
ERP/ER), and the Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration Plan and 
Early Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Phase 
III ERP/PEIS). These plans are available at: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration/early-restoration/
    The 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. Department of Defense (DOD); \1\
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    \1\ Although a trustee under OPA by virtue of the proximity of 
its facilities to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, DOD is not a 
member of the Trustee Council and does not currently participate in 
Trustee decision making.
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     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;

[[Page 57385]]

     State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and
     For the State of Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife 
Department, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality.

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 and their services caused by the Deepwater Horizon 
oil spill. The Framework Agreement represents a preliminary step toward 
the restoration of injured natural resources and their services and 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. Early 
restoration is not intended to and does not fully address all injuries 
caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Restoration beyond early 
restoration projects will be required to fully compensate the public 
for natural resource losses, including recreational use losses, from 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
    The Trustees actively solicited public input on restoration project 
ideas through a variety of mechanisms, including public meetings, 
electronic communication, and creation of a Trustee-wide public Web 
site and database to share information and receive public project 
submissions. Their 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 
the Phase I ERP/EA in April 2012, the Phase II ERP/ER in December 2012, 
and the Phase III ERP/PEIS on June 26, 2014, after public review of the 
draft documents. Subsequently, the Trustees approved the Phase III ERP/
PEIS in a Record of Decision on October 2, 2014.
    A Notice of Availability of the Draft Phase IV Early Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessments (Draft Phase IV ERP/EAs) was 
published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2015 (80 FR 29019). The 
Draft Phase IV ERP/EAs proposed an additional 10 early restoration 
projects consistent with the project types included within the approved 
early restoration programmatic alternative in the Phase III ERP/PEIS. 
The Trustees provided the public with 30 days to review the Draft Phase 
IV ERP/EAs but later extended the comment period to July 6, 2015. (80 
FR 35393, June 19, 2015). During the public review period, the Trustees 
held public meetings in Pensacola, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Long 
Beach, Mississippi; Belle Chasse, Louisiana; and in Galveston, and 
Corpus Christi, Texas, to facilitate public participation. The Trustees 
considered the public comments received, which informed the Trustees' 
analyses and selection of the early restoration projects in the final 
Phase IV ERP/EAs. A summary of the public comments received and the 
Trustees' responses to those comments are addressed in Chapter 15 of 
the final Phase IV ERP/EAs.

Overview of the Phase IV ERP/EAs

    The Trustees approved 10 projects in the Phase IV ERP/EAs. The 
total estimated cost for these projects is $134 million. Details on the 
projects are provided in the Phase IV ERP/EAs. The Phase IV ERP/EAs 
also retains a notice of change and supporting analysis for one Phase 
III Early Restoration Project, ``Enhancement of Franklin County Parks 
and Boat Ramps--Eastpoint Fishing Pier Improvements,'' that was 
included in the Draft Phase IV plan.
    These 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 Trustees considered 
hundreds of projects leading to the identification of these 10 projects 
and 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.
    Early restoration actions are not intended to provide the full 
extent of restoration needed to make the public and the environment 
whole. The Trustees anticipate that additional early restoration 
projects will be proposed in the future as the early restoration 
process continues.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record can be viewed 
electronically at the following location: https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.

Authority

    The authority of this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and the implementing Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR part 990.

Cynthia K. Dohner,
DOI Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 2015-24155 Filed 9-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P