[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22393-22395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08419]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2020-0005]


Notice of Availability of the Mississippi Trustee Implementation 
Group Draft Restoration Plan II Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, 
Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA).

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), the Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP PEIS), 
Record of Decision, and Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Mississippi Trustee Implementation 
Group (Mississippi TIG) have prepared a Draft Restoration Plan II 
Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and

[[Page 22394]]

Nearshore Habitats and Oysters (Draft RP II EA). MS TIG identified two 
Restoration Types--Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats (WCNH) and 
Oysters--that it considered appropriate for the Draft RP II EA. The 
purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of 
the Draft RP II EA and to request public comments on the document.

DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by May 22, 2020.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. In your 
comments, include the volume, date, and page number of this issue of 
the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     The web: https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/mississippi; or
     Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 29649, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30345. Please note that mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline of May 22, 2020 to be 
considered.
    MS TIG will host a public webinar on May 13, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. 
CDT. The public may register for the webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/548768858601614861. Comments will be 
accepted during the public webinar.
    After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email 
with instructions for joining the webinar.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Howard, Senior Technical Advisor, 
Natural Resource Specialist, at [email protected]; and Valerie 
Alley, NRDA Coordinator, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    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), exploded, caught fire, and subsequently sank 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 maritime 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 to disperse the spilled oil. An 
undetermined amount of natural gas was also released to the environment 
as a result of the spill.
    The Deepwater Horizon State and Federal natural resource trustees 
(DWH Trustees) conducted the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) 
for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 
(OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701-2720) and the implementing NRDA regulations (15 
CFR part 990). In accordance with 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 to 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 DWH Trustees are:
     U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by 
the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), 
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC);
     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
     For the State of Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife 
Department, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality.
    Upon completion of NRDA, the DWH Trustees reached and finalized a 
settlement of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent 
Decree \1\ approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Louisiana. In accordance with that Consent Decree, 
restoration projects in the Mississippi Restoration Area are now chosen 
and managed by the MS TIG.
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    \1\ https://www.justice.gov/enrd/file/838066/download.
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    The MS TIG is composed of the following Trustees:
     Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
     U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by 
the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), 
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC);
     U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); and
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    The restoration planning activity is proceeding in accordance with 
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment 
and Restoration Plan (PDARP) and Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS). Information on the restoration types being 
considered in the Draft RP II EA, as well as a general overview of the 
OPA criteria against which project ideas are being evaluated, can be 
found in the Final PDARP/PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan) and 
in the Overview section of the PDARP PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan).
    MS TIG posted a Notice of Solicitation calling for project ideas on 
June 11, 2018 \2\ (June 11, 2018, Notice). Project ideas requested 
included the following restoration types: Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats (WCNH); Nutrient Reduction; Oysters; Sea Turtles; 
and Marine Mammals. MS TIG notified the public that it would consider 
new, revised, and previously submitted project ideas received by August 
10, 2018. On October 10, 2018, MS TIG published a notice of Initiation 
of Restoration Planning in Mississippi.\3\ During the planning process 
MS TIG decided to focus only on WCNH and Oyster Restoration Types in RP 
II.
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    \2\ https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/06/mississippi-trustee-implementation-group-welcomes-publics-project-ideas.
    \3\ https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/10/notice-initiation-restoration-planning-mississippi.
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    In developing the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG considered projects 
previously submitted to the MDEQ Restoration Project Idea portal \4\ 
and the Trustee

[[Page 22395]]

Council Project Submission Portal,\5\ as well as those proposed in 
response to the June 11, 2018, Notice.
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    \4\ https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/restoration/project-portal/.
    \5\ http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration/give-us-your-ideas/suggest-a-restoration-project/.
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    In total, MS TIG evaluated seven alternatives and a No Action 
Alternative for WCNH and for Oysters. The proposed action of the Draft 
RP II EA is the selection of four alternatives (projects) for 
implementation:
    (1) Wolf River Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--Dupont and 
Bell's Ferry Tracts--WCNH;
    (2) Hancock County Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--Wachovia 
Tract--WCNH;
    (3) Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi--Oysters; and
    (4) Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program--Oysters.
    The proposed action is consistent with the restoration alternatives 
selected in the Final PDARP PEIS and would be funded by $4,887,500 from 
the WCNH Restoration Type and $10,500,000 from the Oysters Restoration 
Type.

Overview of the Draft RP II EA

    The Draft RP II EA is being released in accordance with the OPA 
NRDA regulations in 15 CFR part 990, NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), and 40 
CFR 1500.
    For the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG proposes moving forward with the 
four preferred alternatives:
     Wolf River Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--Dupont and 
Bell's Ferry Tracts (WCNH);
     Hancock County Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--
Wachovia Tract (WCNH);
     Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi (Oysters), and
     Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program (Oysters).
    The total cost of the four preferred alternatives is approximately 
$15 million.
    The MS TIG has examined and assessed the extent of injury and the 
restoration alternatives. In the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG presents to the 
public its draft plan for providing partial compensation to the public 
for injured natural resources and ecological services in the 
Mississippi Restoration Area. The proposed alternatives are intended to 
continue the process of restoring natural resources and ecological 
services injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. Additional restoration planning for the Mississippi Restoration 
Area will continue.

Matthew Lohr,
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-08419 Filed 4-21-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-16-P