[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71454-71455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27891]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2019-N161; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Alabama Trustee Implementation Group 
Final Restoration Plan III and Environmental Assessment: Provide and 
Enhance Recreational Opportunities; and Birds and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon 
Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Record of Decision, 
and Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural resource trustee 
agencies for the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (AL TIG) have 
prepared a final restoration plan and environmental assessment entitled 
Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan III/
Environmental Assessment: Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities; and Birds (AL RP III/EA), and Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI). In the AL RP III/EA, the AL TIG is selecting to 
implement five projects to address lost recreational use and two 
projects for the restoration of birds. Implementation of these projects 
will help restore natural resources and the services they provide that 
were injured in the Alabama Restoration Area as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The purpose of this notice is to inform 
the public of the availability of the final AL RP III/EA and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the AL RP III/EA and 
FONSI from either of the following websites:
     https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
     https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/alabama.
    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the AL RP III/EA and FONSI 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

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 Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the largest 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

[[Page 71455]]

the Deepwater Horizon 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, 
including the loss of use and services from those resources from the 
time of injury until the completion of restoration to baseline (the 
resource quality and conditions that would exist if the spill had not 
occurred).
    The Deepwater Horizon 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 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 Alabama Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the AL TIG. 
The AL TIG comprises the following Trustees: State of Alabama 
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Geological Survey 
of Alabama; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and USDA.

Background

    In preparation for the draft AL RP III/EA planning process, on 
December 19, 2018, the AL TIG posted a notice on two websites: The NOAA 
Gulf Spill web portal at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov, and 
the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Project 
Portal at http://www.alabamacoastalrestoration.org/. The notice 
requested public input on restoration project ideas in the Alabama 
Restoration Area, asking the public to focus their input on ``Provide 
and Enhance Recreational Opportunities'' and ``Birds'' restoration 
types. The AL TIG reviewed and considered these restoration project 
ideas and prepared a draft AL RP III/EA. Notice of availability of the 
draft AL RP III/EA was published in the Federal Register on September 
3, 2019 (84 FR 46033). The AL TIG provided the public 30 days to review 
and comment on the draft AL RP III/EA. Comments submitted during that 
time were reviewed and addressed by the AL TIG before finalizing the AL 
RP III/EA. Details, including the AL TIG's responses to the comments, 
are provided in the final AL RP III/EA. Additional restoration planning 
for the Alabama Restoration Area will continue.

Overview of the Final AL RP III/EA

    The final AL RP III/EA 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. In the 
final AL RP III/EA and FONSI, the AL TIG selected projects to implement 
addressing two restoration types. Five were selected for funding under 
the ``Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities'' restoration type 
allocation proposing to use approximately $13,500,000 in DWH settlement 
funds. Two were selected for funding under the ``Birds'' restoration 
type allocation, using approximately $8,700,000 in DWH settlement 
funds. The following projects were selected for implementation 
(immediate or future):

Restoration Type--Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities
    Perdido River Land Acquisition (Molpus Tract)
    Bayfront Park Restoration and Improvement Phases IIa and IIb
    Gulf State Park Pier Renovation
    Perdido Beach Public Access Coastal Protection *
    Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Recreation Enhancement--Mobile 
Street Boardwalk *
Restoration Type--Birds
    Stewardship of Coastal Alabama Beach Nesting Bird Habitat
    Dauphin Island West End Acquisition

    Based on the NEPA analysis provided in the AL RP III/EA, the AL TIG 
Federal Trustees issued a FONSI in accordance with 40 CFR part 1508.13 
and 15 CFR part 990.23. The FONSI is available in Appendix J of the AL 
RP III/EA.
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    * The Trustees are not proposing to exceed the allocation for 
``Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities'' in this RP III/
EA. Implementation of the selected alternatives, noted with an 
asterisk, is therefore pending fund availability. Additional funds 
could become available to the ``Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities'' restoration type for various reasons (e.g., project 
cancellation or modification, projects under budget), at which time 
the AL TIG could allocate those recreational use funds to those 
noted alternatives, consistent with this RP III/EA, through TIG 
resolution.
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Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the AL RP 
III/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 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 the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2019-27891 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P