[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11558-11559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05137]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2018-N015; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04G01000]


Notice of Availability; Florida Trustee Implementation Group 
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Phase V.2 Restoration Plan and 
Supplemental Environmental Assessment; Florida Coastal Access Project

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 of 1969 (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon 
Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS), 
and the resulting Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Florida Trustee Implementation Group 
(Florida TIG) have approved the Final Phase V.2 Restoration Plan and 
Supplemental Environmental Assessment (Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA) and 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA 
supplements the 2016 Final Phase V Early Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment (Final Phase V ERP/EA) and selects to fund the 
second phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project intended to continue 
the process of restoring natural resources and services injured or lost 
as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final Phase V.2 
RP/SEA at any of the following sites:
 http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
 http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
 http://dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/default.htm

    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA 
(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 offshore 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 conducted the natural resource damage assessment 
(NRDA) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act 
(33 U.S.C. 2791 et seq.; OPA). 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.
    The Deepwater Horizon 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, 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
     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

[[Page 11559]]

settlement of their natural resource damage claims with BP in an April 
4, 2016, Consent Decree approved by the United States District Court 
for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, 
restoration projects in the Florida Restoration Area are now chosen and 
managed by the Florida TIG. The Florida TIG is composed of the 
following six Trustees: State of Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; DOI; NOAA; 
EPA; and USDA.
    A notice of availability of the Draft Phase V.2 Restoration Plan 
and Supplemental Environmental Assessment was published in the Federal 
Register on November 8, 2017 (82 FR 51858). The public was provided 
with a period to review and comment on the Draft Restoration Plan, from 
November 8, 2017, through December 8, 2017, and a public meeting was 
held on November 16, 2017, in Port St. Joe, Florida. The Florida TIG 
considered the public comments received, which informed the TIG's 
analyses and selection of the preferred restoration alternative, the 
Salinas Park Addition project, in the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA. A summary 
of the public comments received, and the Florida TIG's responses to 
those comments, are addressed in Chapter 6 of the Final Phase V.2 RP/
SEA. The FONSI is included as Appendix C of the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA.

Background

    In the 2011 Framework Agreement for Early Restoration Addressing 
Injuries Resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Framework 
Agreement), BP agreed to provide to the Trustees up to $1 billion 
toward early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to address 
injuries to natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. The Framework Agreement represented a preliminary step toward 
the restoration of injured natural resources and was intended to 
expedite the start of restoration in the Gulf in advance of the 
completion of the injury assessment process. In the five phases of the 
early restoration process, the Trustees selected, and BP agreed to 
fund, a total of 65 early restoration projects expected to cost a total 
of approximately $877 million. The Trustees selected these projects 
after public notice, public meetings, and consideration of public 
comments.
    The April 4, 2016, Consent Decree terminated and replaced the 
Framework Agreement and provided that the Trustees shall use remaining 
early restoration funds as specified in the early restoration plans and 
in accordance with the Consent Decree. The Trustees have determined 
that decisions concerning any unexpended early restoration funds are to 
be made by the appropriate TIG, in this case the Florida TIG.

Overview of the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA

    The Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA/FONSI is being released in accordance 
with OPA, NRDA regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) at 15 CFR part 990, NEPA, the Consent Decree, the Final PDARP/
PEIS, the Phase III ERP/PEIS and the Phase V ERP/EA. The purpose of 
this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Final 
Phase V.2 RP/SEA and FONSI.
    The Florida TIG has selected to fund the second phase of the 
Florida Coastal Access Project in the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA to address 
lost recreational opportunities in Florida caused by the Deepwater 
Horizon oil spill. In the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA, the Florida TIG 
selected to fund one alternative, the Salinas Park Addition, which 
involves the acquisition and enhancement of a 6.6-acre coastal parcel. 
The Florida Coastal Access Project was allocated approximately $45.4 
million in early restoration funds, and the Salinas Park Addition will 
cost approximately $3.2 million of the $6.4 million remaining funds not 
utilized in the first phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project. 
Details on the second phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project are 
provided in the Final Phase V.2 RP/SEA. Additional restoration planning 
for the Florida Restoration Area will continue.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final 
Phase V.2 RP/SEA can be viewed at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/administrativerecord.

Authority

    The authority of this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and its implementing Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR part 990 and the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Kevin D. Reynolds,
Designated Department of the Interior Natural Resource Trustee Official 
for the Florida Implementation Group.
[FR Doc. 2018-05137 Filed 3-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P