[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 55 (Friday, March 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16081-16083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05740]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XV178]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Phase II Restoration Plan 
and Environmental Assessment #3.3: Large-Scale Barataria Marsh 
Creation: Upper Barataria Component

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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

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 Phase II 
Restoration Plan 3.3 and Environmental Assessment (Draft RP/EA #3.3). 
The Draft RP/EA #3.3 describes and proposes restoration project 
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 #3.3 and to seek public comments on the document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 2, 2020 at 4:00 Central. The public may register for the webinar 
at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/851376447936188428. After 
registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with 
instructions for joining the webinar. The webinar will include a 
presentation of the Draft RP/EA #3.3 and opportunity for public 
comment. The presentation slides will be posted on the web shortly 
after the webinar 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 #3.3 
at: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana. Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP/EA #3.3 
(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 #3.3.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA 
#3.3 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. 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; or
     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

[[Page 16082]]

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.
    This restoration planning activity is proceeding in accordance with 
the PDARP/PEIS. Information on the Restoration Type being considered in 
the Draft RP/EA #3.3, 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).

Background

    On March 20, 2018, the Louisiana TIG completed its Strategic 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #3: Restoration of 
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats in the Barataria Basin, 
Louisiana (SRP/EA #3). In addition to identifying a restoration 
strategy for the Barataria Basin and confirming its 2018 decision to 
move forward the Spanish Pass Increment of the Barataria Basin Ridge 
and Marsh Creation project, the SRP/EA also advanced the Mid-Barataria 
Sediment Diversion and Large Scale Marsh Creation: Component E in 
northern Barataria Basin for further evaluation and planning in a 
future Phase II restoration plan. After approval of the SRP/EA #3, 
engineering and design (E&D) was initiated for the Large Scale Marsh 
Creation: Component E. A portion of that project, now identified as 
Large Scale Barataria Marsh Creation: Upper Barataria Component, is now 
at a stage of E&D where NEPA analyses can be conducted on the design 
alternatives. Therefore, tiering from the SRP/EA #3, the Louisiana TIG 
is proposing in RP/EA #3.3 implementation of the Large-Scale Barataria 
Marsh Creation: Upper Barataria Component Restoration project.

Overview of the Louisiana TIG Draft RP/EA #3.3

    The Draft RP/EA #3.3 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. The Draft RP/EA #3.3 focuses on an area (``the Project 
Area'') in the upper Barataria Basin, 15 miles (24 km) south of New 
Orleans, in Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes, Louisiana, from 
approximately 5.4 miles (8.7km) west of the Mississippi River to the 
Mississippi River between river miles (RM) 64 and 67. In the Draft RP/
EA #3.3, the Louisiana TIG proposes a preferred design alternative for 
the Large-Scale Marsh Creation Project: Component E in Upper Barataria, 
to be funded under the DWH Louisiana Restoration Area Wetlands, Coastal 
and Nearshore Habitats restoration type allocation. Three alternatives 
and the No Action alternative are analyzed in detail. The preferred 
alternative would include filling of a combination of marsh creation 
areas (MCAs) for the creation of approximately 1,207 acres (12.1 km\2\) 
of intertidal marsh platform with a design life of 20 years. A total of 
approximately 10.6 million cubic yards (MCY) of fill (sediment), 
comprising 8.4 MCY of currently available material to be dredged from 
the borrow areas and an additional 2.2 MCY expected to accumulate at 
the borrow areas during the construction time frame. This alternative 
would require a single construction mobilization and has an estimated 
time frame of 26 months for an estimated total project cost of 
approximately $172 million, inclusive of Phase I design, construction, 
contingency, project management, and monitoring & adaptive management.
    Alternative 2 (Non-preferred). This alternative would include 
filling a combination of MCAs for the creation of approximately 944 
acres (3.8 km\2\) of intertidal marsh platform (fewer MCAs than 
Alternative 1) for a project lifetime of 20 years. Approximately 8.4 
MCY of sediment (currently available) would be immediately available 
for use from the proposed borrow areas. Project construction time is an 
estimated 24 months and would require a single construction 
mobilization for an estimated cost of approximately $126 million.
    Alternative 3 (Non-preferred). This alternative would include 
filling a combination of MCAs for the creation of approximately 1,792 
acres (7.3 km\2\) of intertidal marsh platform (more acres than 
Alternative 1) for a project lifetime of 20 years. Approximately 13.8 
MCY of sediment would be needed, which could require waiting for an 
additional 5.42 MCY of sediment to accumulate at the proposed borrow 
areas. This alternative would require two mobilizations with an 
anticipated project construction time of 2 to 3 years for an estimated 
cost of approximately $201 million.
    No Action Alternative (Non-preferred). Under this alternative, the 
proposed project would not be constructed with the current funding.
    The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the DWH 
Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to address the 
injuries. In Draft RP/EA #3.3, 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 alternative 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.

Next Steps

    The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RP/EA 
#3.3. A public webinar is scheduled to facilitate the public review and 
comment process. After the public comment period ends, the Louisiana

[[Page 16083]]

TIG will consider and address the comments received before issuing a 
Final RP/EA #3.3. 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 #3.3 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 16, 2020.
Carrie Selberg,
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-05740 Filed 3-19-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P