[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 55 (Friday, March 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16078-16081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05725]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XV179]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #5: Living Coastal and Marine Resources--
Marine Mammals and Oysters

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and a Consent Decree with BP 
Exploration & Production Inc. (BP),\1\ the Deepwater Horizon Federal 
natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee 
Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) have prepared a Draft Restoration 
Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA #5): Living Coastal and Marine 
Resources--Marine Mammals and Oysters. The Draft RP/EA #5 proposes 
restoration project

[[Page 16079]]

alternatives considered by the Louisiana TIG to restore natural 
resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Louisiana TIG evaluated these 
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource 
damage assessment regulations, and also evaluated the environmental 
consequences of the restoration alternatives in accordance with NEPA. 
The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability 
of the Draft RP/EA #5 and to seek public comments on the document.
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    \1\ Consent Decree among Defendant BP Exploration & Production 
Inc. (``BPXP''), the United States of America, and the States of 
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas entered in In 
re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig ``Deepwater Horizon'' in the Gulf of 
Mexico, on April 20, 2010, MDL No. 2179 in the United States 
District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider public comments received on or 
before April 20, 2020.
    Public Webinar: The Louisiana TIG will conduct a public webinar on 
April 8, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. Central. The public may register for the 
webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4511405465865527821. After registering, participants will receive a 
confirmation email with instructions for joining the public webinar. 
The webinar will include a presentation of the Draft RP/EA #5 and 
opportunity for public comment. The presentation slides will be posted 
on the web shortly after the public meeting is completed. Comments will 
also be taken through submission online or through U.S. mail (see 
Submitting Comments below).

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA at: 
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana. 
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP/EA #5 (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below). Also, you may view the document at 
any of the public facilities listed in Appendix A of the Draft RP/EA 
#5.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA #5 
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. Please note that mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline given in DATES;
     During the public webinar: Comments may be provided in 
writing online during the webinar. Webinar information is provided 
above in DATES.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration--Mel Landry, NOAA Restoration Center, 225-425-0583, 
[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 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. 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. An undetermined amount of natural gas was 
also released into the environment as a result of the spill.
    The Deepwater Horizon Federal and State natural resource trustees 
(DWH Trustees) conducted the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) 
for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under OPA (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 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.
    The Trustees reached and finalized a settlement of their natural 
resource damage claims with BP in an April 4, 2016, 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 selected and implemented by the 
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Federal 
Trustees: NOAA; DOI; EPA; and USDA.

Background

    The Draft RP/EA #5 is being released 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, which provided for an overall goal of ``Replenish and 
Protect Living Coastal Marine Resources.'' This restoration planning 
activity is proceeding in accordance with the PDARP/PEIS, which 
provided for various types of restoration, including restoration of 
marine mammals and oysters. Information on the Restoration Types being 
considered in the Draft RP/EA #5, 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).
    For the Draft RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG assembled a list of 193 
project alternatives for the restoration of marine mammals and 36 
project alternatives for the restoration of oysters. These alternatives 
were based on proposals

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from the public as well as agencies, including projects submitted to 
the DWH Trustee or Louisiana TIG portals and projects submitted by 
individual state and Federal Trustees, including projects submitted on 
behalf of non-Trustee agencies. All alternatives underwent a step-wise 
screening process based on criteria established by OPA and the 
Louisiana TIG, whereby projects that did not meet the criteria were 
eliminated, and duplicative alternatives were combined. This resulted 
in two action alternatives for marine mammals and four action 
alternatives for oysters, each of which are evaluated in the Draft RP/
EA #5. Alternatives that meet the criteria but are not carried forward 
as preferred alternatives may be considered in future restoration 
plans.

Overview of the Louisiana TIG Draft RP/EA #5

    The Draft RP/EA considers two action alternatives for restoration 
of marine mammals. The preferred alternative is entitled, ``Increasing 
Capacity and Expanding Partnerships along the Louisiana Coastline for 
Marine Mammal Stranding Response.'' This project would enable rapid 
response to injured and dead cetaceans in the state and better 
understand the causes of mortality and morbidity by hiring a Louisiana-
based Stranding Coordinator that will build partnerships and conduct 
outreach; and by providing infrastructure, equipment, and supplies 
needed to facilitate stranding response and improve rehabilitation 
capabilities. The project should increase the number of stranding 
reports and improve their quality as a result of timelier responses. 
The project would have a 5-year project life and a cost of $3,955,620.
    The non-preferred alternative for marine mammal restoration is 
entitled, ``Region-wide Marine Mammal Conservation Medicine and Health 
Program.'' This project would improve understanding of Louisiana-
specific risks for illness and death among cetaceans, and assess and 
implement future health intervention techniques by establishing a 
working group; providing regular training sessions and workshops for 
the stranding network and researchers; and developing and implementing 
a study plan for live capture and release health assessments of free-
ranging cetaceans. The project would have a 5-year project life and a 
cost of $6,334,000.
    The Draft RP/EA #5 considers four action alternatives for 
restoration of oysters, including three preferred alternatives. The 
first is entitled, ``Enhancing Oyster Recovery Using Brood Reefs.'' A 
network of spawning stock oyster reefs would be constructed in two 
phases: (1) Two reefs would be constructed in the Lake Machais/
Mozambique Point area along with two reefs in the Petit Pass/Bay 
Boudreaux area. Each reef would be 10 acres in size and 1.2 m from 
bottom; and (2) up to 20 reefs would be constructed in Chandeleur 
Sound, with each reef 0.5 acres in size and 0.5-1.2 m from bottom. All 
constructed reefs would be closed to harvest but located near 
harvesting areas to promote connectivity. The project would have a 2-
year construction period, followed by 4 years of monitoring, with a 
project cost of $9,701,447.
    The second preferred alternative for oyster restoration is 
entitled, ``Cultch Plant Oyster Restoration Projects.'' This project 
would create oyster reefs at various sites through placement of 
limestone at a planting density of up to 200 tons per acre with harvest 
closed until certain performance criteria are met. There would be a 
200-acre site at Public Oyster Seed Ground (POSG) in the Grand Banks 
area of Mississippi Sound; a 200-acre site at Caillou Lake Public 
Oyster Seed Reservation (POSR) in Terrebonne Parish; and up to 400 
acres of clean limestone cultch material would be constructed at each 
of four historic reefs within POSGs in the Biloxi Marsh Complex in St. 
Bernard Parish: Drum Bay, Three Mile Bay, Karako Bay, and Morgan 
Harbor. Oyster reefs could be constructed at other POSGs or POSRs in 
the future. The project would have a 2-year construction period, 
followed by 4 years of monitoring, with a project cost of $10,070,000.
    The third preferred alternative for oyster restoration is entitled, 
``Hatchery-based Oyster Restoration Projects.'' This project would 
provide $5,850,000 in funding over ten years to support continued 
operations at the Michael C. Voisin Oyster Hatchery in Grand Isle, 
Louisiana with spat-on-shell deployment of hatchery-produced oysters 
deployment onto existing shell substrate in POSGs or POSRs that are 
low-producing or in need of rehabilitation. The hatchery estimates 
production of at least 500 million diploid oyster larvae per year, of 
which a minimum of 25 percent would be dedicated for use in oyster 
restoration activities within areas protected from harvest.
    An additional action alternative for oyster restoration, entitled 
``Caillou Lake Artificial Reef,'' was also evaluated. This project 
would provide for construction of approximately 21 miles of eight to 
ten-foot artificial oyster reef (using gabions with limestone or shell) 
along the shorelines of Caillou Lake most susceptible to erosion in 
order to replenish oysters and armor the shoreline. The project would 
involve three phases: (1) Construct approximately seven miles of reef 
along the northern end of the central island in the land bridge; (2) 
construct another seven miles consisting of two, two-mile sections to 
the east and west of the Phase I reef and three miles along the 
southern shoreline of the central island in the land bridge; (3) 
construct approximately five miles of reef to the west of the southern, 
three-mile section of Phase II, and another two miles of reef to the 
east. Intermittent breaks between reef segments would be constructed to 
allow for movement of aquatic species between the marine habitat, 
shoreline, and freshwater spawning and rearing habitats, and to prevent 
entrapment. The project would involve a 2.5-year construction period, 
followed by 4 years of monitoring, with a project cost of $23,595,000.
    The funding proposed for implementation of oyster restoration under 
the trustees' proposed preferred alternative represents a commitment of 
all remaining available funding for oyster restoration in the Louisiana 
Restoration Area. The programmatic structure of the proposed oyster 
cultch and brood reef projects would allow the trustees to continue to 
construct specific reef sites in the future. In alignment with the 
PDARP, the trustees may propose projects in the future that benefit 
oysters through the wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats 
restoration allocation.
    For both marine mammal restoration and oysters, the Draft RP/EA #5 
evaluates a No Action Alternative, under which no project would be 
constructed and no additional costs would be incurred at this time.
    The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the DWH 
Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to address the 
injuries. In Draft RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG presents to the public 
its draft plan for providing partial compensation to the public for 
injured natural resources and ecological services in the Louisiana 
Restoration Area. The proposed action is intended to continue the 
process of using DWH restoration funding to restore natural resources 
injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 
Additional restoration planning for the Louisiana Restoration Area will 
continue.

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Next Steps

    The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RP/EA 
#5. A public webinar to facilitate the public review and comment 
process, is scheduled for April 8, 2020. After the public comment 
period ends, the Louisiana TIG will consider and address comments 
received before issuing a Final RP/EA #5. A summary of comments 
received and the Louisiana TIG's responses and any revisions to the 
document, as appropriate, will be included in the final document.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Draft 
RP/EA #5 can be viewed electronically at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.

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: March 13, 2020.
Carrie Selberg,
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-05725 Filed 3-19-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P