[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 33 (Friday, February 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8483-8485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03299]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE201


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final 
Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS)

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Final Programmatic Damage 
Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon Federal 
and State natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) have prepared a 
Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS). As 
required by OPA, in this Final PDARP/PEIS, the Trustees present the 
assessment of impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on natural 
resources in the Gulf of Mexico and on the services those resources 
provide, and determine the restoration needed to compensate the public 
for these impacts. The Final PDARP/PEIS describes the Trustees' 
programmatic alternatives considered to restore natural resources, 
ecological services, and recreational use services injured or lost as a 
result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Trustees evaluate these 
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource 
damage assessment regulations, and also evaluate the environmental 
consequences of the restoration alternatives in accordance with NEPA. 
The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability 
of the Final PDARP/PEIS.

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ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final PDARP/PEIS 
at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. Alternatively, you may 
request a CD of the Final PDARP/PEIS (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). You may also view the document at any of the public 
facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. The 
Final PDARP/PEIS also will be available for download at http://www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwater-horizon.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Courtney Groeneveld at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling unit 
exploded, caught fire, and eventually sank in the Gulf of Mexico, 
resulting in a massive release of oil and other substances from BP's 
Macondo well. Tragically, 11 workers were killed and 17 injured by the 
explosion and fire. Initial efforts to cap the well following the 
explosion were unsuccessful, and for 87 days after the explosion, the 
well continuously and uncontrollably discharged oil and natural gas 
into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 3.19 million barrels 
(134 million gallons) of oil were released into the ocean, by far the 
largest offshore oil spill in the history of the United States.
    Oil spread from the deep ocean to the surface and nearshore 
environment, from Texas to Florida. The oil came into contact with and 
injured natural resources as diverse as deep-sea coral, fish and 
shellfish, productive wetland habitats, sandy beaches, birds, 
endangered sea turtles, and protected marine life. The oil spill 
prevented people from fishing, going to the beach, and enjoying their 
typical recreational activities along the Gulf. Extensive response 
actions, including use of dispersants, cleanup activities, and actions 
to try to prevent the oil from reaching sensitive resources, were 
undertaken to try to reduce harm to people and the environment. 
However, many of these response actions had collateral impacts on the 
environment. The oil and other substances released from the well in 
combination with the extensive response actions together make up the 
Deepwater Horizon incident.
    The Trustees conducted the natural resource damage assessment for 
the Deepwater Horizon incident 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 of those resources and the loss of services 
they provide 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.
    The Trustees \1\ are as follows:
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    \1\ Although a trustee under OPA by virtue of the proximity of 
its facilities to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. 
Department of Defense (DOD) is not a member of the Trustee Council 
and did not participate in development of this Final PDARP/PEIS.
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     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf 
of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
     U.S. Department of the Interior, as represented by the 
National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of 
Land Management;
     U.S. Department of Agriculture;
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
     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
     For the State of Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife 
Department, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality.

Background

    Notice of availability of the Draft PDARP/PEIS was published in the 
Federal Register on October 5, 2015 (80 FR 60126). The Draft PDARP/PEIS 
presented the assessment of impacts of the Deepwater Horizon incident 
on natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico and on the services those 
resources provide, and determined the restoration needed to compensate 
the public for these impacts. The Trustees provided the public with 60 
days to review and comment on the Draft PDARP/PEIS. The Trustees also 
held public meetings in Houma, LA; Long Beach, MS; New Orleans, LA; 
Mobile, AL; Pensacola, FL; St. Petersburg, FL; Galveston, TX; and 
Washington, DC, to facilitate public understanding of the document and 
provide opportunity for public comment. The Trustees considered the 
public comments received, which informed the Trustees' analysis of 
programmatic alternatives in the Final PDARP/PEIS. The Trustees 
actively solicited public input through a variety of mechanisms, 
including convening public meetings, distributing electronic 
communications, and using the Trustee-wide public Web site and database 
to share information and receive public input. A summary of the public 
comments received and the Trustees' responses to those comments are 
addressed in Chapter 8 of the Final PDARP/PEIS.

Overview of the Final PDARP/PEIS

    The Final PDARP/PEIS is being released in accordance with the OPA, 
the Natural Resources 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.).
    In the Final PDARP/PEIS, the Deepwater Horizon Trustees present to 
the public their findings on the extensive injuries to multiple 
habitats, biological species, ecological functions, and geographic 
regions across the northern Gulf of Mexico that occurred as a result of 
the Deepwater Horizon incident, as well as their programmatic plan for 
restoring those resources and the services they provide. The injuries 
caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident cannot be fully described at 
the level of a single species, a single habitat type, or a single 
region. Rather, the injuries affected such a wide array of linked 
resources over such an enormous area that the effects of the Deepwater 
Horizon incident constitute an ecosystem-level injury. The Final PDARP/
PEIS presents four programmatic alternatives evaluated in accordance 
with OPA and NEPA.
    The four alternatives under the Final PDARP/PEIS are as follows:
     Alternative A (Preferred Alternative): Comprehensive 
Integrated Ecosystem Restoration Plan based on programmatic Trustee 
goals;
     Alternative B: Resource-Specific Restoration Plan based on 
programmatic Trustee goals;
     Alternative C: Continued Injury Assessment and Defer 
Comprehensive Restoration Plan; and
     Alternative D: No Action/Natural Recovery.
    These programmatic alternatives are comprised of restoration types 
and

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approaches to restore, replace, rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent 
of the injured natural resources and services. The Trustees' preferred 
alternative for a restoration plan utilizes a comprehensive integrated 
ecosystem approach to best address these ecosystem-level injuries. The 
Trustees' evaluation determined this alternative is best, among several 
other alternatives, at compensating the public for the losses to 
natural resources and services caused by the Deepwater Horizon 
incident.
    The Trustees' proposed decision is to select a comprehensive 
restoration plan to guide and direct subsequent restoration planning 
and implementation during the coming decades. The Final PDARP/PEIS is 
programmatic; it describes the framework by which subsequent project 
specific restoration plans will be identified and developed, and sets 
forth the types of projects the Trustees will consider in each of the 
described restoration areas. The subsequent restoration plans will 
identify, evaluate, and select specific restoration projects for 
implementation that are consistent with the restoration framework laid 
out by the Final PDARP/PEIS.
    The Trustees considered this programmatic restoration planning 
decision in light of the proposed settlement among BP, the United 
States, and the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and 
Texas to resolve BP's liability for natural resource damages associated 
with the Deepwater Horizon incident. Under this proposed settlement, BP 
would pay a total of $8.1 billion for restoration to address natural 
resource injuries (this includes $1 billion already committed for early 
restoration), plus up to an additional $700 million to respond to 
natural resource damages unknown at the time of the settlement and/or 
to provide for adaptive management. The proposed Consent Decree for the 
proposed settlement was the subject of a separate public notice and 
comment process; the Notice of Lodging of the proposed Consent Decree 
under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act was published in the 
Federal Register on October 5, 2015 (80 FR 60180).

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 Trustees will issue a 
ROD pursuant to NEPA regulations at 40 CFR 1505.2 and OPA regulations 
at 15 CFR 990.23. Accordingly, the ROD for the Final PDARP/PEIS will 
provide and explain the Trustees' decisions regarding the selection of 
a preferred alternative. 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 
PDARP/PEIS (40 CFR 1506.10).

Administrative Record

    The documents included in the Administrative Record can be viewed 
electronically at the following location: http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
    The Trustees opened a publicly available Administrative Record for 
the NRDA for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including restoration 
planning activities, concurrently with publication of the 2011 Notice 
of Intent (NOI) to Begin Restoration Scoping and Prepare a Gulf Spill 
Restoration Planning PEIS (pursuant to 15 CFR 990.45). The 
Administrative Record includes the February 17, 2011, NOI for a 90-day 
formal scoping (76 FR 9327) and public comment period for this Final 
PDARP/PEIS. The Trustees conducted the scoping in accordance with OPA 
(15 CFR 990.14(d)), NEPA (40 CFR 1501.7), and State authorities. As 
part of the scoping process, the Trustees hosted public meetings across 
all the Gulf States during spring 2011.

Authority

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

    Dated: February 11, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-03299 Filed 2-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P