[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35855-35856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15756]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG958
Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Open
Ocean Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan 2 and
Environmental Assessment: Fish, Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals, and
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities; Reopening of Public Comment
Period
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments; reopening of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: We are reopening the public comment period on our Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group Draft
Restoration Plan 2/Environmental Assessment: Fish, Sea Turtles, Marine
Mammals, and Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (RP/EA). We opened
the original comment period via a May 15, 2019, Federal Register
notice. That comment period was extended on July 1 and formally closed
on July 15, 2019. Due to extenuating weather conditions associated with
the recent Hurricane Barry, this notice reopens the comment period
through August 2, 2019. Comments submitted previously in response to
either of these two Federal Register notices, including any comments
submitted after July 15, and before the issuance of this notice do not
need to be resubmitted.
[[Page 35856]]
DATES: Comments must be submitted electronically or postmarked by
August 2, 2019.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA at: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/open-ocean.
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP/EA (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT below). Also, you may view the document at any of
the public facilities listed in Appendix G.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA by
one of the following methods:
Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/open-ocean; or
Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box
29649, Atlanta, GA 30345. Please note that mailed comments must be
postmarked on or before the comment deadline of August 2, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration--Laurie Rounds, [email protected], (850) 934-9284.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
In accordance with OPA NRDA regulations in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR part 990, NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),
the Consent Decree, and the Final PDARP/PEIS, the Federal and State
natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) have prepared a Draft
Restoration Plan 2/Environmental Assessment: Fish, Sea Turtles, Marine
Mammals, and Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities. The Draft RP/EA
analyzes 23 alternatives and proposes 18 preferred alternatives for the
following restoration types: Fish and Water Column Invertebrates, Sea
Turtles, Marine Mammals, and Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities:
Fish and Water Column Invertebrates
Reduction of Post-Release Mortality from Barotrauma in
Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Recreational Fisheries--Preferred,
$30,011,000.
Better Bycatch Reduction Devices for the Gulf of Mexico
Commercial Shrimp Trawl Fishery--Preferred, $17,171,000.
Communication Networks and Mapping Tools to Reduce
Bycatch--Phase 1--Preferred, $4,416,000.
Restoring for Bluefin Tuna via Fishing Depth
Optimization--Preferred, $6,175,000.
Reduce the Impacts of Ghost Fishing by Removing Derelict
Fishing Gear from Marine and Estuarine Habitats--Not Preferred,
$6,128,000.
Sea Turtles
Gulf of Mexico Sea Turtle Atlas--Preferred, $5,700,000.
Identifying Methods to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch in the
Reef Fish Bottom Longline Fishery--Preferred, $290,000.
Developing a Gulf-wide Comprehensive Plan for In-Water Sea
Turtle Data Collection--Preferred, $655,000.
Developing Methods to Observe Sea Turtle Interactions in
the Gulf of Mexico Menhaden Purse Seine Fishery--Preferred, $3,000,000.
Reducing Juvenile Sea Turtle Bycatch Through Development
of Reduced Bar Spacing in Turtle Excluder Devices--Preferred,
$2,153,000.
Long-term Nesting Beach Habitat Protection for Sea
Turtles--Preferred, $7,000,000.
Reducing Sea Turtle Entanglement from Recreational Fishing
Debris--Not Preferred, $1,113,600.
Reducing Sea Turtle Bycatch at Recreational Fishing
Sites--Not Preferred, $1,329,000.
Marine Mammals
Reducing Impacts to Cetaceans During Disasters by
Improving Response Activities--Preferred, $4,287,000.
Compilation of Environmental, Threats, and Animal data for
Cetacean Population Health Analyses--Preferred, $5,808,500.
Reduce Impacts of Anthropogenic Noise on Cetaceans--
Preferred, $8,992,200.
Reduce and Mitigate Vessel Strike Mortality of Cetaceans--
Preferred, $3,834,000.
Assessment of Northern Gulf of Mexico Shelf Small Cetacean
Health, Habitat. Use, and Movement Patterns--Not Preferred, $4,620,000.
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities
Mapping, Ground-Truthing, and Predictive Habitat
Modeling--Preferred, $35,909,000.
Habitat Assessment and Evaluation--Preferred, $52,639,000.
Coral Propagation Technique Development--Preferred,
$16,951,000.
Active Management and Protection--Preferred, $20,689,000.
Habitat Characterization at Known High Priority Sites--Not
Preferred, $21,500,000.
The Open Ocean TIG also analyzes a No Action alternative. One or
more alternatives may be selected for implementation by the Open Ocean
TIG in the Final RP/EA or in future restoration plans.
Background
For additional background information, see our original Federal
Register notice, with which we opened the comment period (May 15, 2019;
84 FR 21753). That comment period was extended on July 1 and formally
closed on July 15, 2019 (July 1, 2019; 84 FR 31306). Due to extenuating
weather conditions associated with the recent Hurricane Barry, this
notice reopens that comment period through August 2, 2019.
Invitation to Comment
The Open Ocean TIG seeks public review and comment on the Draft RP/
EA (see ADDRESSES above). Before including your address, telephone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, please be aware that your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, will become part of the public
record. Comments submitted previously in response to the two Federal
Register notices, including any comments submitted after July 15, 2019
and before issuance of this notice do not need to be resubmitted.
Authority
The authority of this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and its implementing Oil Pollution Act 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.).
Dated: July 19, 2019.
Carrie Selberg,
Deputy Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-15756 Filed 7-24-19; 8:45 am]
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