[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47124-47126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20168]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2018-0008]


Notice of Availability of the Alabama Trustee Implementation 
Group Final Restoration Plan II and Environmental Assessment: 
Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat 
Projects on Federally Managed Lands; Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint 
Source); Sea Turtles; Marine Mammals; Birds; and Oysters and Finding of 
No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department 
of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Alabama Trustee Implementation 
Group Final Restoration Plan II and Environmental Assessment: 
Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat 
Projects on Federally Managed Lands; Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint 
Source); Sea Turtles; Marine Mammals; Birds; and Oysters and Finding of 
No Significant Impact.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon Federal 
and State natural resource trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee 
Implementation Group (AL TIG) have prepared a Final Restoration Plan II 
and Environmental Assessment (Final RP II/EA) and Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI). The Final RP II/EA describes the 
restoration project alternatives considered by the AL TIG to meet the 
Trustees' goals to restore and conserve habitat, replenish and protect 
living coastal and marine resources, restore water quality, and provide 
for monitoring and adaptive management. The AL TIG evaluated these 
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource 
damage assessment (NRDA) regulations and evaluated the environmental 
consequences of the

[[Page 47125]]

restoration alternatives in accordance with NEPA.
    Monitoring and adaptive management activities to address 
information gaps necessary to inform future restoration are included in 
this Final RP II/EA. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public 
of the availability of the Final RP II/EA and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP II/EA and 
FONSI at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. Alternatively, you 
may request a CD of the Final RP II/EA and FONSI (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). Also, you may view the document at any of the 
public facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.

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 British Petroleum 
(BP) Exploration and Production Inc. 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 (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. Also, an undetermined amount of natural 
gas was released to the environment as a result of the spill.
    The Deepwater Horizon State and Federal natural resource trustees 
(DWH Trustees) conducted an NRDA for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 
under 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.
    The DWH Trustees are:
     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;
     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
     For the State of Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife 
Department, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality.
    Upon completion of 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 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District 
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in 
Alabama are now chosen and managed by AL TIG. AL 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;
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf 
of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
     U.S. Department of Agriculture;
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
     State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural 
Resources; and
     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 and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (PDARP/PEIS). Restoration types evaluated in the Final 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 Final 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) and in the Overview of the PDARP/PEIS 
(http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan).

Background

    In December 2016, as part of its restoration planning efforts, AL 
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/or 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 alternatives evaluated in the Draft RP II/EA.
    Notice of availability of the Draft RP II/EA was published in the 
Federal Register on April 5, 2018 (83 FR 14623). The Draft RP II/EA 
provided the Alabama TIG's analysis of alternatives that would meet the 
Trustees' goals to restore and conserve habitat, replenish and protect 
living coastal and marine resources, restore water quality, and provide 
for monitoring and adaptive management under OPA and NEPA, and 
identified the alternatives that were proposed as preferred for 
implementation. AL TIG provided the public with 30 days to review and 
comment on the Draft RP II/EA. AL TIG also held a public meeting in 
Spanish Fort, Alabama to facilitate public understanding of the 
document and provide opportunity for public comment. AL TIG actively 
solicited public input through a variety of mechanisms, including 
convening a public meeting, distributing electronic communications, and 
using the Trustee-wide public website and database to share information 
and receive public input. AL TIG considered the public comments 
received, which informed the AL TIG's analysis of alternatives in the 
Final RP II/EA. A summary of the public comments received and the 
Alabama TIG's responses to those comments are addressed in Chapter 16 
of the Final RP II/EA, and all correspondence received are provided 
Appendix A.

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Overview of the Final RP II/EA

    The Final RP II/EA is being released in accordance with the OPA, 
the NRDA regulations at 15 CFR part 990, and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.).
    In the Final RP II/EA and FONSI, the AL TIG identified 20 preferred 
alternatives to be fully funded from restoration type funds, one 
preferred alternative to be partially funded from restoration type 
funds and partially funded from the AL TIG's Monitoring and Adaptive 
Management (MAM) allocation, and one activity to be fully funded using 
MAM funds. Specifically, the AL TIG selected the following projects as 
preferred alternatives:

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))
 Southwest Coffee Island Habitat Restoration Project--Phase I 
(also evaluated and selected for funding under the Birds Restoration 
Type) (E&D)

Two Projects Within the Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands 
Restoration Type

 Little Lagoon Living Shorelines
 Restoring the Night Sky--Assessment, Training, and Outreach 
(also evaluated under the Sea Turtles Restoration Type and selected for 
funding under the Monitoring and Adaptive Management Allocation) (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 evaluated and selected 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)
 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 
AL TIG's Monitoring and Adaptive Management Allocation:

 Assessment of Alabama Estuarine Bottlenose Dolphin Populations 
and Health
 Restoring the Night Sky--Assessment, Training, and Outreach 
(also evaluated and selected for funding under the Habitats on 
Federally Managed Lands Restoration Type) (E&D)

    The Final RP II/EA also evaluates No Action Alternatives for each 
of the restoration types. AL 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 Final 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 Final 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. The monitoring and adaptive management activities 
preferred for funding in the Final RP II/EA will also assist AL TIG in 
tracking project success and will inform and enhance future restoration 
planning. In accordance with NEPA, and as part of the Final RP II/EA, 
the Trustees issued a FONSI. The FONSI is available in Appendix J of 
the Final RP II/EA.

Administrative Record

    The DWH 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 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. 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 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), 
the implementing NRDA regulations at 15 CFR part 990, and the NEPA (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Signed in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2018.
Leonard Jordan,
Acting Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-20168 Filed 9-17-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P