[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7854-7855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00999]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-FHC-2017-N003; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04G01000]


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Louisiana Trustee Implementation 
Group Final Restoration Plan #1: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats; Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; and 
Birds

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 (NEPA), the Consent Decree, and the 
Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the Federal and State 
natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee 
Implementation Group (Trustees) have approved the ``Louisiana Trustee 
Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan #1: Restoration of 
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat Projects on 
Federally Managed Lands; and Birds'' (Restoration Plan #1). The 
Trustees have selected to fund engineering and design activities for 
six projects intended to 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.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the ``Louisiana 
Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan #1: Restoration of 
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, Habitat Projects on 
Federally Managed Lands; and Birds'' at any of the following sites:

 http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
 http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon.
 http://la-dwh.com.

Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final Restoration Plan # 1 
(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: Liz Williams, 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 Deepwater Horizon State and Federal natural resource trustees 
(Trustees) conducted the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) 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 determine 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.
    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. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
     State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration 
Authority (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 
(LDWF), and Department of Natural Resources (LDNR);
     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.
    Upon completion of the NRDA, the Trustees reached and finalized a 
settlement of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent 
Decree approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration 
projects in Louisiana are now chosen and managed by the

[[Page 7855]]

Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (TIG). The TIG 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);
     Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority 
(CPRA);
     Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR);
     Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ);
     Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO); and
     Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).
    A notice of availability of the Draft Restoration Plan #1: 
Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat 
Projects on Federally Managed Lands; and Birds was published in the 
Federal Register on November 1, 2016 (81 FR 75840). The public was 
provided with a period to review and comment on the Draft Restoration 
Plan, from October 20 through December 9, 2016, and a public meeting 
was held on November 30, 2016, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Louisiana 
TIG considered the public comments received, which informed the TIG's 
analyses and selection of the restoration alternatives in the 
Restoration Plan #1. A summary of the public comments received, and the 
Louisiana TIG's responses to those comments, are addressed in chapter 5 
of the Restoration Plan #1.

Overview of the ``Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final 
Restoration Plan #1: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore 
Habitats; Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; and Birds'' 
(Restoration Plan #1)

    For selected restoration alternatives in this Restoration Plan #1, 
the Louisiana TIG may, after completion of the engineering and design 
process discussed in this plan, propose some or all of those projects 
for construction using Deepwater Horizon NRDA funds. Projects selected 
for construction funding would then be evaluated further under NEPA and 
OPA in a future Draft Restoration Plan, which would be provided to the 
public for review and comment in accordance with the appropriate 
Louisiana and Federal laws.
    The total estimated cost for the engineering and design activities 
for the six restoration projects is $22,300,000. Details on the 
engineering and design activities for these projects are provided in 
the Restoration Plan #1.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for this 
Restoration Plan can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon.

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 990.

Kevin D. Reynolds,
Deepwater Horizon NRDAR Case Manager, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2017-00999 Filed 1-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P