[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 81 (Friday, April 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19659-19661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08591]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE201


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Notice of Intent To Conduct 
Strategic Restoration Planning That Considers Existing Projects for 
Barataria Bay, Louisiana and To Initiate Restoration Planning With 
Regard to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Strategic Restoration Plan for 
Barataria Basin, Louisiana, and to initiate restoration planning with 
regard to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion.

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SUMMARY: NOAA, on behalf of the Federal and state natural resource 
trustees for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG 
Trustees) for the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, is initiating two 
actions with this notice.
    First, the Louisiana TIG Trustees are announcing their intent to 
prepare a Strategic Restoration Plan for Barataria Basin, Louisiana, 
pursuant to the Deepwater Horizon Programmatic Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(PDARP/PEIS) (Feb 2016). This Barataria Basin Strategic Restoration 
Plan, referred to herein as the Phase I Plan, will consider identifying 
habitat restoration components of the Louisiana Draft 2017 Coastal 
Master Plan (draft 2017 CMP) to serve as an Oil Pollution Act (OPA) 
Strategic Restoration Plan for restoring wetland, coastal, and 
nearshore habitat in Barataria Basin, Louisiana, consistent with OPA 
and with the Trustees' PDARP/PEIS. The Louisiana TIG Trustees will 
consider whether a combination of Barataria Basin habitat restoration 
projects in the draft 2017 CMP constitutes a preferred alternative, 
among other feasible alternatives, for fulfilling OPA's and the PDARP/
PEIS's intent for the trustees to address ecosystem-level injuries and 
to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the 
injured wetland, coastal and nearshore habitat resources and services 
and compensate for interim losses of those resources from the Deepwater 
Horizon oil spill. Any projects or suites of projects that are 
ultimately included in the resulting Strategic Restoration Plan will be 
further analyzed in subsequent phased

[[Page 19660]]

restoration plans and their accompanying environmental impact analyses 
as required by OPA, NEPA, and the Trustees' PDARP/PEIS.
    Second, the Louisiana TIG Trustees are providing notice of the 
initiation of restoration planning, including analysis of the Mid-
Barataria Sediment Diversion and appropriate alternatives to partially 
restore ecosystem and wetland, coastal and nearshore habitat resources 
and services in Barataria Basin, and compensate for interim losses of 
those resources and services, injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. This potential Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Restoration Plan 
is referred to herein as the Phase 2 Plan. The Louisiana TIG Trustees 
are evaluating whether the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is an 
appropriate project for restoring injuries from the Deepwater Horizon 
oil spill, and the Louisiana TIG Trustees anticipate that their 
decision in that regard will be informed by the results of the Phase 1 
Plan. Further, by separate Supplemental Notice of Intent, the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACE) is announcing its intent, as part of its 
review under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (``Section 10/404''), and section 408 of 
the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, as amended (``Section 
408''), to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (``EIS'') 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). USACE 
will use the EIS, in conjunction with other relevant materials, to 
inform decision-making on the Department of the Army, section 10/404 
and section 408 requests for permits and permissions for the Mid-
Barataria Sediment Diversion. In order to capitalize on that ongoing 
environmental review, the Louisiana TIG Trustees are, at this time, 
requesting input on the scope of the USACE EIS via the process outlined 
in the coordinated USACE NOI. The LA TIG is supporting the development 
of the USACE EIS with the potential for the EIS to serve as the EIS for 
the Phase 2 Restoration Plan. The Louisiana TIG Trustees will 
additionally seek formal public involvement in the Phase 2 Draft 
Restoration Plan process in accordance with applicable Federal 
regulations and consistent with the PDARP/PEIS.

DATES: The date, time, and location of the formal public comment 
portion of this scoping period for the USACE EIS are yet to be 
determined. This information will be made available to the public on 
the DWH Trustees' Louisiana TIG Web page, (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana), the 
USACE-MVN's Web page (http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permits/Mid-Barataria-Sediment-Diversion-EIS/), and via a 
future Federal Register notice. The Louisiana TIG Trustees will 
additionally seek formal public involvement in the Phase 2 Draft 
Restoration Planning process in accordance with applicable federal 
regulations and consistent with the PDARP/PEIS. The date, time, and 
location of the formal public involvement period for the Phase 2 
Restoration Plan process are yet to be determined. This information 
will be made available to the public via a future Federal Register 
notice and on the DWH Trustees' Louisiana TIG Web page, (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  NOAA: Mel Landry, 
[email protected].
     LOUISIANA: Liz Williams, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    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), exploded, caught fire and subsequently sank 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 one 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 to the 
environment as a result of the spill.
    The Deepwater Horizon State and Federal natural resource trustees 
(DWH 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 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.
    Upon completion of the NRDA, the DWH Trustees reached and finalized 
a settlement of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a 
Consent Decree \1\ 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 
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Trustees:
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    \1\ https://www.justice.gov/enrd/file/838066/download.
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     U.S. Department of the Interior, as represented by the 
National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of 
Land Management;
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf 
of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
     U.S. Department of Agriculture;
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
     Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority;
     Louisiana Department of Natural Resources;
     Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality;
     Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office; and
     Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
    These restoration planning activities are proceeding in accordance 
with the PDARP/PEIS. Information on the Restoration Type: Restore 
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, as well as the OPA criteria 
against which projects will be evaluated, can be found in the PDARP/
PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan) and in the Overview of the PDARP/PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan).

Overview of Action

    The first action taken in this Notice is to inform the public that 
the Louisiana TIG Trustees intend to prepare a Strategic Restoration 
Plan for Barataria Basin pursuant to the PDARP/PEIS and OPA. The 
Trustees intend to consider the use of wetlands, coastal and nearshore 
habitat projects or suites of projects from the Draft 2017 CMP as the 
basis for that Strategic Restoration Plan. Those Draft 2017 CMP 
projects will be

[[Page 19661]]

evaluated under applicable authorities in comparison to other feasible 
alternatives for restoring wetland, coastal and nearshore habitat and 
services injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
    The PDARP/PEIS provides TIGs the option to prepare strategic 
restoration plans ``to focus and sequence priorities within a 
Restoration Area'' and to ``consider resources at the ecosystem level, 
while implementing restoration at the local level.'' (PDARP Section 
7.3.1). In addition, the NRDA implementing regulations specifically 
allow trustees to consider the use of existing projects (15 CFR 
990.56), such as those identified in the draft 2017 CMP. The Louisiana 
TIG is proposing that this Strategic Restoration Plan will focus on 
wetland, coastal, and nearshore habitat restoration type projects in 
the Barataria Basin restoration area because the PDARP/PEIS found that 
Barataria Basin experienced some of the heaviest and persistent oiling 
from the DWH spill and because the Basin supports very high primary and 
secondary production that contributes to the overall health of the 
northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
    The Louisiana TIG anticipates that the Strategic Restoration Plan 
for Barataria Basin will select for further funding and development 
most, if not all, of the remaining projects applicable under the 
``Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats'' Restoration Type to be 
implemented in the Barataria Basin by the Louisiana TIG under the 
PDARP/PEIS. Developing such a strategic plan for much of Barataria 
Basin restoration for this Restoration Type will allow the Louisiana 
TIG to identify a suite of projects that, taken together, best achieve 
the ``integrated ecosystem restoration'' called for in Chapter 5 of the 
PDARP/PEIS. A decision in the strategic plan to fund further 
development of projects will not be a final decision by the Louisiana 
TIG to proceed with implementation of those projects. Information about 
the ``Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats'' Restoration Type as 
well as the OPA criteria against which projects will be evaluated can 
be found in the PDARP/PEIS.
    The second action taken in this Notice is to inform the public of 
the Louisiana TIG Trustees' initiation of restoration planning, which 
will include the preparation of a restoration plan (the Phase 2 Plan) 
that evaluates the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project as a means 
of restoring injured wetland, coastal and nearshore resources and 
services in Barataria Basin to restore for injuries resulting from the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Louisiana TIG began this restoration 
planning effort on March 28, 2017, by requesting project ideas from the 
public. At that time, the Louisiana TIG requested project ideas that 
could benefit wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats in the 
Barataria Basin, the estuary most heavily impacted by the DWH oil 
spill. That notice was published on the Louisiana TIG Web site: (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana).
    The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, a large-scale sediment 
diversion, is one of the projects proposed in the Draft 2017 CMP. While 
the Louisiana TIG Trustees have not yet decided to move forward with a 
restoration plan for a Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the project 
currently is undergoing engineering and design and supplemental scoping 
for preparation of an EIS, led by the USACE based on permit 
applications submitted by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and 
Restoration Authority pursuant to the provisions of section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act, section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act 
of 1899, and section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 
1899, as amended. To facilitate the potential consideration of this 
project under OPA, it is the intent of the state and Federal Louisiana 
TIG Trustees to assist the USACE in the preparation of the EIS for the 
Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. In addition, the Federal Louisiana 
TIG Trustees are cooperating agencies with the USACE for the 
preparation of that EIS. In a coordinated Federal Register notice, the 
USACE is issuing a supplemental Notice of Intent regarding the scope of 
the EIS for the project, including the potential for the EIS to inform 
a NRDA decision on restoration planning in which case the Louisiana TIG 
Trustees would adopt the EIS for such purposes. The Louisiana TIG is 
seeking to facilitate public involvement regarding the EIS, and 
encourages interested person and entities to submit comments in 
response to the USACE EIS process regarding the Mid-Barataria Sediment 
Diversion.

Next Steps

    With regard to the Phase 1 Plan, the Louisiana TIG Trustees will 
proceed with consideration of whether a combination of projects in the 
Draft 2017 CMP provides a basis for a Strategic Restoration Plan for 
Barataria Basin.
    With regard to the potential Phase 2 Plan, the Louisiana TIG 
Trustees will review all public input received as part of the USACE's 
scoping process for the preparation of an EIS for the proposed Mid-
Barataria Sediment Diversion project as the Trustees work with the 
USACE to prepare an EIS that supports both the USACE regulatory 
decisions and OPA restoration planning decisions. The Louisiana TIG 
Trustees will additionally seek formal public involvement in the Phase 
2 Draft Restoration Plan process in accordance with applicable federal 
regulations and consistent with the PDARP/PEIS.

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 relevant administrative records 
since its date of inception. This Administrative Record is actively 
maintained and available for public review.

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 and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Dated: April 21, 2017.
Carrie Selberg,
Deputy Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-08591 Filed 4-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P