[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16484-16485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07441]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9992-03-OW]
Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Supplemental Restoration
Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lake Charles Science Center
and Educational Complex Project Modification
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: On July 20, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
published a Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) Final
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance
Recreational Opportunities (Final RP/EA #2). The Louisiana TIG is
considering modifications to the original Lake Charles Science Center
and Educational Complex (Lake Charles SCEC) project described in the
Final RP/EA #2. The modifications being considered include collocating
the Lake Charles SCEC with the Lake Charles Children's Museum (LCCM) as
part of the shared Port Wonder facility on the north shore of Lake
Charles. In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the federal and state natural
resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana TIG prepared a Draft
Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lake
Charles SCEC Project Modification (Draft Supplemental RP/EA). The Draft
Supplemental RP/EA evaluates modifications to the Lake Charles SCEC
project and alternatives considered by the Louisiana TIG under criteria
set forth in the OPA Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)
regulations and evaluates their environmental effects in accordance
with the NEPA. The modifications under consideration to the Lake
Charles SCEC project are consistent with the restoration alternatives
selected in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage
Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PDARP/PEIS). The purpose of this notice is to inform the
public of the availability of the Draft Supplemental RP/EA and to seek
public comment on the document.
DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider public comments received on or
before May 20, 2019.
Public Meeting: The Louisiana TIG will also take verbal comments at
a public meeting that will be held at the Lake Charles Civic Center,
Contraband Room, on May 8, 2019; Open House 5:30 p.m., Meeting 6:00
p.m.; 900 Lakeshore Drive, Lake Charles, LA 70601.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft Supplemental
RP/EA at any of the following sites:
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
http://www.la-dwh.com
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft Supplemental RP/EA
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also 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
Supplemental RP/EA by one of the following methods:
Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana
Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 29649,
Atlanta, GA 30345
In Person: Verbal comments may be provided at the public
meeting on May 8, 2019
Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The
Louisiana TIG may publish any comment received on the document. Do not
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information for which disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you
wish to make. The Louisiana TIG will generally not consider comments or
comment contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the
web, cloud, or other file sharing system). Please be aware that your
entire comment, including your personally identifiable information,
will become part of the public record. Please note that mailed comments
must be postmarked on or before the comment deadline of 30 days
following publication of this notice to be considered.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Louisiana--Joann Hicks, 225-342-5477
EPA--Tim Landers, 202-566-2231
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), 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 off shore oil
spill in U.S. history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a
period of 87 days.
The Trustees conducted the natural resource damage assessment for
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
United States Code 2701 et seq.). Under the 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. The 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 oil spill Trustees are:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
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);
[[Page 16485]]
State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Department of
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
(LDWF), and Department of Natural Resources (LDNR);
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 Parks and Wildlife Department, General Land
Office, and Commission on Environmental Quality.
On April 4, 2016, the Trustees reached and finalized a settlement
of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent Decree
approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in
the Louisiana Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Trustees:
CPRA, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDWF, LDNR, EPA, DOI, NOAA, USDA.
Background
The original scope and design of the Lake Charles SCEC project were
evaluated in the Final RP/EA #2, which was published on July 20, 2018.
As proposed in the Final RP/EA #2, the Lake Charles SCEC project would
enhance recreational opportunities by providing indoor and outdoor
public visitation and outreach components, including fisheries
extension, access, outreach, and education to the public. Following
release of the Final RP/EA #2, the City of Lake Charles requested that
the Louisiana TIG consider collocating the Lake Charles SCEC with the
City's planned LCCM. The Louisiana TIG prepared the Draft Supplemental
RP/EA to evaluate modifications to the Lake Charles SCEC project and
consider alternatives, consistent with the purpose and need of the
original project. Alternatives considered in the Draft Supplemental RP/
EA include the collocation of the Lake Charles SCEC and LCCM with
variations of indoor and outdoor components to support recreational and
educational opportunities. The Louisiana TIG prepared the Draft
Supplemental RP/EA to inform the public about potential modifications
to the Lake Charles SCEC project and to seek public comment.
Next Steps
The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft
Supplemental RP/EA. A public meeting is scheduled to also help
facilitate the public review and comment process. A summary of comments
received on the Draft Supplemental RP/EA and the Louisiana TIG's
responses, where applicable, will be included in the Final Supplemental
RP/EA. Public comments on the Draft Supplemental RP/EA will inform the
Louisiana TIG's decision on whether to select the Lake Charles SCEC
project, as modified, in the Final Supplemental RP/EA.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Draft
Supplemental RP/EA can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), its implementing NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR
part 990, and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Dated: April 2, 2019.
Benita Best-Wong,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2019-07441 Filed 4-18-19; 8:45 am]
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