[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41262-41263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18334]


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GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL

[Docket No.: 108292017-1111-16]


Proposed Amendment to Initial (2015) Funded Priorities List

AGENCY: Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.

ACTION: Proposed amendment to Initial Funded Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) seeks 
public and Tribal comment on a proposal to amend its Initial Funded 
Priorities List (FPL) to approve implementation funding for the 
Robinson Preserve Wetlands Restoration project (Robinson Preserve), 
Florida. The Council is proposing to approve $1,319,636 in 
implementation funding for Robinson Preserve. The Council is also 
proposing to reallocate $470,910 from planning to implementation. The 
total amount of funding available for implementation of Robinson 
Preserve would be $1,790,546. These funds would be used to restore 
118.2 acres of coastal habitat, along with related activities in Tampa 
Bay. The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) is the sponsor of the Robinson Preserve project.
    To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
other applicable laws, the Council is proposing to adopt an existing 
2015 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/NOAA_Restoration_Center_Final_PEIS.pdf 
developed by NOAA's Restoration Center and ensure compliance with the 
terms and conditions of a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permit that 
has been issued for the Robinson Preserve project. In so doing, the 
Council would expedite project implementation, reduce planning costs 
and potentially increase the ecological benefits of this project.

DATES: Comments on this proposed amendment are due September 29, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed amendment may be submitted as 
follows:
    By Email: Submit comments by email to 
[email protected]. Email submission of comments ensures 
timely receipt and enables the Council to make them available to the 
public. In general, the Council will make such comments available for 
public inspection and copying on its Web site, www.restorethegulf.gov, 
without change, including any business or personal information 
provided, such as names, addresses, email addresses and telephone 
numbers. All comments received, including attachments and other 
supporting materials, will be part of the public record and subject to 
public disclosure. You should only submit information that you wish to 
make publicly available.
    By Mail: Send comments to Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, 
500 Poydras Street, Suite 1117, New Orleans, LA 70130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please send questions by email to 
[email protected] or contact John Ettinger at (504) 444-
3522.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to passage of the Resources and 
Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies 
of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act) (33 U.S.C. 1321(t) 
and note), which dedicates 80 percent of all Clean Water Act 
administrative and civil penalties related to the oil spill to the Gulf 
Coast Restoration Trust Fund (Trust Fund). The RESTORE Act also created 
the Council, an independent Federal entity comprised of the five Gulf 
Coast states and six Federal agencies. Among other responsibilities, 
the Council administers a portion of the Trust Fund known as the 
Council-Selected Restoration Component in order to ``undertake projects 
and programs, using the best available science, that would restore and 
protect the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and 
wildlife habitats, beaches, coastal wetlands, and economy of the Gulf 
Coast.'' Additional information on the Council can be found here: 
https://www.restorethegulf.gov.
    On December 9, 2015, the Council approved the FPL, which includes 
projects and programs approved for funding under the Council-Selected

[[Page 41263]]

Restoration Component, along with other activities the Council 
identified as priorities for potential future funding. Activities 
approved for funding in the FPL are included in ``Category 1;'' the 
priorities for potential future funding are in ``Category 2.'' In the 
FPL the Council approved approximately $156.6 million in Category 1 
restoration and planning activities, and prioritized twelve Category 2 
activities for possible funding in the future, subject to environmental 
compliance and further Council and public review. The Council included 
planning activities for Robinson Preserve in Category 1 and 
implementation activities for Robinson Preserve in Category 2.
    The Council reserved approximately $26.6 million for implementing 
priority activities in the future. These reserved funds may be used to 
support some, all or none of the activities included in Category 2 of 
the FPL and/or to support other activities not currently under 
consideration by the Council. As appropriate, the Council intends to 
review each activity in Category 2 in order to determine whether to: 
(1) Move the activity to Category 1 and approve it for funding, (2) 
remove it from Category 2 and any further consideration, or (3) 
continue to include it in Category 2. A Council decision to amend the 
FPL to move an activity from Category 2 into Category 1 must be 
approved by a Council vote after consideration of public and Tribal 
comments.

II. Environmental Compliance

    Prior to approving an activity for funding in FPL Category 1, the 
Council must comply with NEPA and other applicable Federal 
environmental laws. At the time of approval of the FPL, the Council had 
not addressed NEPA and other laws applicable to implementation of 
Robinson Preserve. The Council did, however, recognize the potential 
ecological value of Robinson Preserve, based on the review conducted 
during the FPL process. For this reason, the Council approved $470,910 
in planning funds for Robinson Preserve, a portion of which would be 
used to complete any needed environmental compliance activities. As 
noted above, the Council placed the implementation portion of Robinson 
Preserve into FPL Category 2, pending the outcome of this environmental 
compliance work and further Council review. The estimated cost of 
implementation of Robinson Preserve was $1,319,636.
    To comply with NEPA for Robinson Preserve, the Council is proposing 
to adopt the 2015 PEIS developed by NOAA's Restoration Center. This 
PEIS addresses a range of restoration types including those in the 
Robinson Preserve implementation funding proposal. NOAA has determined 
that the specific implementation activities for which funding is being 
sought are fully covered by this PEIS, and therefore no further NEPA 
review would be needed.
    On May 22, 2017, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a Clean 
Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permit for the Robinson Preserve project. 
NOAA has confirmed that this permit addresses its Magnuson-Stevens Act 
recommendations pertaining to Essential Fish Habitat. The permit also 
contains conditions pertaining to compliance with the Endangered 
Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. In addition, 
the Florida State Historic Preservation Officer and U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service have reviewed the overall Robinson Preserve project. 
These reviews were conducted as part of their respective reviews of a 
smaller Robinson Preserve restoration project which is sponsored by the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is being funded separately 
under the Council-Selected Restoration Component.
    The Council has reviewed the aforementioned environmental 
compliance documentation. Based on this review, the Council is 
proposing to adopt the PEIS to support the approval of implementation 
funds for Robinson Preserve, provided that the project is implemented 
in accordance with the terms and conditions of the CWA Section 404 
permit. This permit and the associated documentation can be found here: 
https://www.restorethegulf.gov/funded-priorities-list. (See: Robinson 
Preserve Wetlands Restoration--Implementation.)

Robinson Preserve Project

    If approved by the Council, the funds to implement Robinson 
Preserve would be used to create habitat and natural flow regimes 
through hydrologic connections, as well as complete exotic and invasive 
vegetation removal, native planting, monitoring, community outreach, 
restoration practitioner education, and an inventory of potential Tampa 
Bay watershed hydrologic restoration projects.
    The Initial FPL describes Robinson Preserve as a project to restore 
140-acres of upland and wetland habitat (85 acres of upland habitat and 
55 acres of created wetland and sub-tidal habitats). The actual acreage 
to be restored under this proposed FPL amendment would be 118.2 acres 
(57.6 acres of coastal upland habitat and 60.6 acres of wetland, open 
water sub-tidal, and open freshwater habitats). This acreage adjustment 
is the result of refinements in project design (in response to public 
input) and subtraction of acreage being restored through the 
complementary EPA restoration effort referenced above. The project 
design was reduced by 7 acres to balance public access interests, input 
from nearby residents and habitat suitability. The remainder of the 
acreage adjustment for this Robinson Preserve funding request is 14.8 
acres, which is the amount of adjoining acreage that will be restored 
by the EPA.
    While the acreage footprint of NOAA's Robinson Preserve project has 
decreased, the complexity and per unit cost of the project have 
increased. To maintain the long-term viability of the restoration 
design and protect existing habitats, the scope of the hydrologic 
restoration expanded to include more complex connections. The expanded 
scope also provides added benefits outside of the restoration footprint 
by integrating and hydrologically interconnecting the entire 632-acre 
preserve. NOAA has indicated that these changes, make up more than one 
third of the restoration implementation budget, increasing the wetland 
and sub-tidal creation cost per acre for the project. The total of 
$1,790,546 will be needed to implement this project.
    Additional information on Robinson Preserve, including metrics of 
success, response to science reviews and more is available in an 
activity-specific appendix to the FPL, which can be found at https://www.restorethegulf.gov. Please see the table on page 25 of the FPL and 
click on: Robinson Preserve Wetlands Restoration (Implementation).

Will D. Spoon,
Program Analyst, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council.
[FR Doc. 2017-18334 Filed 8-29-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-58-P