[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14623-14625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06929]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2018-0003]


Notice of Availability of the Alabama Trustee Implementation 
Group Draft Restoration Plan II/Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, 
Coastal and Nearshore Habitats, Habitat Projects on Federally Managed 
Lands, Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source), Sea Turtles, Marine 
Mammals, Birds, and Oysters

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon Federal 
and State natural resource trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee 
Implementation Group (Alabama TIG) have prepared a draft Restoration 
Plan II/Environmental Assessment (RP II/EA). The draft RP II/EA 
describes the restoration project alternatives considered by the 
Alabama TIG to meet the Trustee's goals to restore and conserve 
habitat, to replenish and protect living coastal and marine resources, 
to restore water quality, and to provide for monitoring and adaptive 
management. The Alabama TIG evaluated these alternatives under criteria 
set forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) 
regulations, as well as the environmental consequences in accordance 
with NEPA. Monitoring and adaptive management activities to address 
information gaps necessary to inform future restoration are also 
included in the draft plan. The purpose of this notice is to inform the 
public of the availability of the draft RP II/EA and to seek public 
comments on the document.

DATES: The Alabama TIG will consider public comments received on or 
before May 4, 2018.
    Public Meeting: On April 18, 2018, the Alabama TIG will host a 
public meeting to facilitate public review of the draft RP II/EA. The 
meeting will begin with an open house and be followed by a formal 
meeting where the Alabama TIG will present the draft RP II/EA and 
receive verbal comments from members of the public. Alabama TIG 
representatives will be present during the open house and will be 
available to answer questions. The Alabama TIG also will accept written 
comments during the public meeting. The public meeting schedule and 
details are listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the draft RP II/EA at 
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. Alternatively, you may 
request a CD of the draft RP II/EA (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). Also, you may view the document at any of the public 
facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the draft RP II/EA 
by one of following methods:

 The web: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/XXXX
 U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 49567, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30345. Please note that mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline of May 4, 2018, to be 
considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
 USDA--Ronald Howard, [email protected].
 State of Alabama--Amy Hunter, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    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 United States 
history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a period of 87 
days.

[[Page 14624]]

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. Also, an undetermined amount of natural gas was released into 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 OPA 1990 (OPA, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 
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.
    The DWH Trustees are--

 U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by the 
National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)
 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
 For the State of Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 
Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on Environmental 
Quality

    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 
Alabama are now chosen and managed by the Alabama TIG. The Alabama TIG 
is composed of the following Trustees:

    \1\ https://www.justice.gov/enrd/file/838066/download.

 DOI, as represented by NPS, FWS, and BLM
 NOAA, on behalf of DOC
 USDA
 EPA
 State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural 
Resources
 Geological Survey of Alabama

    This restoration planning activity is proceeding in accordance with 
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment 
and Restoration Plan (PDARP) and Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS). Restoration types evaluated in the draft RP 
II/EA include: Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat 
Projects on Federally Managed Lands; Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint 
Source), Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals, Birds, and Oysters. Information 
on the Restoration Types evaluated in the draft RP II/EA, as well as 
the OPA criteria against which project ideas are being evaluated, can 
be viewed in the PDARP/PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan).

Background

    In December 2016, as part of its restoration planning efforts, the 
Alabama TIG asked the public for project ideas that could benefit 
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat Projects on 
Federally Managed Lands, Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source), Sea 
Turtles, Marine Mammals, Birds, and Oysters in the Alabama Restoration 
Area. The project submissions received through this process, along with 
projects previously submitted during prior restoration planning 
processes, resulted in the project alternatives evaluated in the draft 
RP II/EA.

Overview of the Draft RP II/EA

    The draft RP II/EA is being released in accordance with the OPA 
NRDA regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR 
part 990, and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.). In the draft RP 
II/EA, the Alabama TIG proposes implementation of the following 
projects:

Five projects within the Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats 
Restoration Type
     Magnolia River Land Acquisition (Holmes Tract)
     Weeks Bay Land Acquisition East Gateway Tract
     Weeks Bay Land Acquisition Harrod Tract
     Lower Perdido Islands Restoration Phase I (Engineering & 
Design [E&D])
     Southwestern Coffee Island Habitat Restoration Project-
Phase I (also proposed for funding under the Birds Restoration Type) 
(E&D)

Two projects within the Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands 
Restoration Type
     Little Lagoon Living Shoreline
     Restoring the Night Sky-Assessment, Training, and Outreach 
(also proposed for funding under the Sea Turtles Restoration Type and 
for monitoring and adaptive management [MAM] funding) (E&D)

Three projects within the Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) 
Restoration Type
     Toulmins Springs Branch E&D (E&D)
     Fowl River Nutrient Reduction
     Weeks Bay Nutrient Reduction

Four projects within the Sea Turtles Restoration Type
     Coastal Alabama Sea Turtle (CAST) Conservation Program--
``Share the Beach''
     CAST Triage
     CAST Habitat Usage and Population Dynamics
     CAST Protection: Enhancement and Education

Two projects within the Marine Mammals Restoration Type
     Enhancing Capacity for the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding 
Network
     Alabama Estuarine Bottlenose Dolphin Protection: 
Enhancement and Education

Two projects within the Birds Restoration Type
     Southwestern Coffee Island Habitat Restoration Project-
Phase I (also proposed for funding under the Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats Restoration Type) (E&D)
     Colonial Nesting Wading Bird Tracking and Habitat Use 
Assessment--Two Species

Four projects within the Oysters Restoration Type
     Oyster Cultch Relief and Reef Configuration
     Side-scan Mapping of Mobile Bay Relic Oyster Reefs (E&D)

[[Page 14625]]

     Oyster Hatchery at Claude Peteet Mariculture Center--High 
Spat Production with Study
     Oyster Grow-Out and Restoration Reef Placement

Two activities are proposed for funding, in whole or in part, with the 
Alabama TIGs Monitoring and Adaptive Management Allocation
     Assessment of Alabama Estuarine Bottlenose Dolphin 
Populations and Health
     Restoring the Night Sky--Assessment, Training, and 
Outreach (also proposed for funding under the Habitats on Federally 
Managed Lands Restoration Type) (E&D)

    The draft RP II/EA also evaluates No Action Alternatives for each 
of the Restoration Types.
    The Alabama TIG has determined that the restoration projects and 
monitoring and adaptive management activities proposed for funding are 
appropriate to partially compensate for the injuries for these 
Restoration Types described in PDARP/PEIS. In the draft RP II/EA, the 
Alabama TIG presents to the public its plan for providing partial 
compensation to the public for natural resources and ecological 
services injured or lost in Alabama as a result of the Deepwater 
Horizon Oil Spill. The projects described in the draft RP II/EA are 
most appropriate for addressing injuries to: Wetlands, Coastal and 
Nearshore Habitats; Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands, 
Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source), Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals, 
Birds, and Oysters, and as monitoring and adaptive management 
activities.

Next Steps

    The public is encouraged to review and comment on the draft RP II/
EA. As described above, a public meeting is scheduled to facilitate the 
public review and comment process. After the close of the public 
comment period, the Alabama TIG will consider and address the comments 
received before issuing a final RP II/EA. A summary of comments 
received, the Alabama TIG's responses, and any revisions to the 
document, as appropriate, will be included in the final document.

                         Public Meeting Schedule
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                                   Time  (local
             Date                     times)              Location
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Wednesday, April 18, 2018.....  6 p.m. Open        Five River Tensaw
                                 House; 6:30 p.m.   Theater, 31115 Five
                                 Public Meeting.    River Boulevard,
                                                    Spanish Fort,
                                                    Alabama 36527.
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Invitation to Comment

    The Alabama TIG seeks public review and comment on the draft RP II/
EA. Before including your address, telephone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be publicly available at any time.

Administrative Record

    The documents included in the Administrative Record can be viewed 
electronically at the following location: http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.

    Authority: The authority of this action is the OPA of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq.), the implementing NRDA regulations at 15 
CFR part 990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.).

    Signed this 20th day of March, 2018, in Washington, DC.
Leonard Jordan,
Acting Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-06929 Filed 4-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-16-P