[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61636-61638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24644]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2019-N149; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Draft Restoration Plan #1.3 and 
Environmental Assessment: Rabbit Island Restoration and Shoreline 
Protection at Jean Lafitte Historical National Park and Preserve; 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Final 
Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS), and the Consent 
Decree, the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies for the 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG) have prepared the 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #1.3:Rabbit Island Restoration and Shoreline 
Protection at Jean Lafitte Historical National Park and Preserve (Phase 
2 RP/EA #1.3). The Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 proposes construction activities 
to help restore injured resources under two restoration types 
identified in the Final PDARP/PEIS:

 Birds
 Habitat projects on federally managed lands

    The above resources were injured in the Louisiana Restoration Area 
as a result of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The two projects 
were approved for engineering and design (E&D) in a 2017 restoration 
plan entitled Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration 
Plan #1: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; 
Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands; and Birds (Phase 1 RP #1). 
The Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 analyzes design alternatives for the two 
projects and proposes a preferred design alternative for construction 
of each. We invite comments on the draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3.

DATES: Submitting Comments: We will consider public comments on the 
draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 received on or before December 20, 2019.
    Public Webinar: The LA TIG will host a public webinar on December 
2, 2019, at 4:00 p.m. Central. The public may register for the webinar 
at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/576465552592329228. After 
registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with 
instructions for joining the webinar. Instructions for commenting will 
be provided during the webinar. Shortly after the webinar is concluded, 
the presentation material will be posted on the web at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the draft Phase 2 RP/
EA #1.3 from either of the following websites:

 https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
 https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana

    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). A hard copy of the Phase 2 RP/EA 
#1.3 is also available for review during the public comment period at 
the locations listed in the following table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Library                            Address                      City                   Zip
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Tammany Parish Library..............  310 W. 21st Avenue........  Covington.................           70433
Terrebonne Parish Library...............  151 Library Drive.........  Houma.....................           70360
New Orleans Public Library, Louisiana     219 Loyola Avenue.........  New Orleans...............           70112
 Division.

[[Page 61637]]

 
East Baton Rouge Parish Library.........  7711 Goodwood Boulevard...  Baton Rouge...............           70806
Jefferson Parish Library, East Bank       4747 W. Napoleon Avenue...  Metairie..................           70001
 Regional Library.
Jefferson Parish Library, West Bank       2751 Manhattan Boulevard..  Harvey....................           70058
 Regional Library.
Plaquemines Parish Library..............  8442 Highway 23...........  Belle Chasse..............           70037
St. Bernard Parish Library..............  1125 E. St. Bernard         Chalmette.................           70043
                                           Highway.
St. Martin Parish Library...............  201 Porter Street.........  St. Martinville...........           70582
Alex P. Allain Library..................  206 Iberia Street.........  Franklin..................           70538
Vermilion Parish Library................  405 E. St. Victor Street..  Abbeville.................           70510
Martha Sowell Utley Memorial Library....  314 St. Mary Street.......  Thibodaux.................           70301
South Lafourche Public Library..........  16241 E. Main Street......  Cut Off...................           70345
Calcasieu Parish Public Library Central   301 W. Claude Street......  Lake Charles..............           70605
 Branch.
Iberia Parish Library...................  445 E. Main Street........  New Iberia................           70560
Mark Shirley, LSU AgCenter..............  1105 West Port Street.....  Abbeville.................           70510
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the draft Phase 2 
RP/EA #1.3 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. To be considered, mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline given in DATES.
     During the public webinar: Written comments may be 
provided by the public during the webinar. Webinar information is 
provided in DATES.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, via email at 
[email protected], via telephone at 678-296-6805, or via the 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

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 DWH 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 DWH oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (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. 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 to 
baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would exist if the 
spill had not occurred). This includes the loss of use and services 
provided by those resources from the time of injury until the 
completion of restoration.
    The DWH 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.
    On April 4, 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Louisiana entered a Consent Decree resolving civil claims 
by the Trustees against BP arising from the DWH oil spill: United 
States v. BPXP et al., Civ. No. 10-4536, centralized in MDL 2179, In 
re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig ``Deepwater Horizon'' in the Gulf of 
Mexico, on April 20, 2010 (E.D. La.) (http://www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwater-horizon). Pursuant to the Consent Decree, restoration 
projects in the Louisiana Restoration Area are chosen and managed by 
the LA TIG. The LA TIG is composed of the following Trustees: State of 
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Oil Spill 
Coordinator's Office, Departments of Environmental Quality, Wildlife 
and Fisheries, and Natural Resources; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and USDA.

Background

    The Final PDARP/PEIS provides for TIGs to propose phasing 
restoration projects across multiple restoration plans. A TIG may 
propose in a draft restoration plan conceptual projects to fund for an 
information-gathering planning phase, such as E&D (phase 1). This 
allows TIGs to develop information needed to fully consider a 
subsequent implementation phase in a later restoration plan (phase 2). 
In the final Phase 1 RP #1, the LA TIG selected six conceptual projects 
for E&D, using funds from the wetlands, coastal and nearshore habitats; 
birds; and habitat projects on federally managed lands restoration 
types, as provided for in the DWH Consent Decree. Two of those projects 
that were selected for E&D in the final Phase I RP #1 are the Rabbit 
Island Restoration project (Rabbit Island project), under the birds 
restoration type, and the Shoreline Protection at Jean Lafitte 
Historical National Park and Preserve (Jean Lafitte project) under the 
projects on federally managed lands restoration type. The design 
alternatives developed during E&D are currently at a stage where 
proposed construction activities may be analyzed under OPA and NEPA. 
Therefore, in the draft Phase

[[Page 61638]]

2 RP/EA #1.3, the Louisiana TIG is proposing to finalize and implement 
their preferred design alternatives to construct the Rabbit Island and 
Jean Lafitte projects.

Overview of the LA TIG Draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3

    The draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 is being released in accordance with 
OPA NRDA regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 
15 CFR part 990, NEPA and its implementing regulations found at 40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508, the Final PDARP/PEIS, and the Consent Decree. The 
Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3 provides OPA and NEPA analyses for a reasonable 
range of design alternatives for the Rabbit Island and Jean Lafitte 
projects, and identifies the LA TIG's preferred design alternatives.
    The proposed Rabbit Island project would meet the goal of restoring 
and conserving birds by restoring 87.8 acres of the island's original 
200-acre footprint for bird habitat. This would be done by raising the 
elevation of Rabbit Island using dredged fill material from the 
Calcasieu Ship Channel as the borrow source area.
    The proposed Jean Lafitte project would implement a nearly 
continuous rock breakwater, with rock elbows protecting fish gaps along 
the eastern shorelines of Lake Cataouche, Lake Salvador, and Bayou 
Bardeaux in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. 
Implementation is proposed in two increments, the northern and the 
southern portions of the project area. In the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3, the 
LA TIG is proposing at this time to implement only the southern 
portion.

Next Steps

    As described above in DATES, the Trustees will host a public 
webinar to facilitate the public review and comment process. After the 
public comment period ends, the Trustees will consider and address the 
comments received before issuing a final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.3.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone 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 made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Phase 2 
RP/EA #1.3 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 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.) and its 
implementing regulations found at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508.

Mary Josie Blanchard,
Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration, Department of Interior.
[FR Doc. 2019-24644 Filed 11-12-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P