[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 191 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61966-61968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21750]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N002; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Louisiana Trustee Implementation 
Group; Final Phase 2 Restoration Plan #1.2 and Environmental 
Assessment: Barataria Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation Project, Spanish 
Pass Increment and Lake Borgne Marsh Creation Project Increment One; 
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 Final 
Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan/Final Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS), and the Consent Decree, 
the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies for the 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG) have prepared a 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #1.2: Barataria Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation 
Project Spanish Pass Increment and Lake Borgne Marsh Creation Project 
Increment One (Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2), and Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI). The Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2 approves construction activities 
for the restoration of wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats 
injured in the Louisiana Restoration Area as a result of the Deepwater 
Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2 analyzes restoration 
project design

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alternatives for two projects which are components of larger marsh 
restoration strategies, and were approved for engineering and design 
(E&D) in a previous restoration plan. In the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2, 
the LA TIG selected and approved a design alternative for construction 
of each project, at a total construction cost of approximately 
$203,182,000. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the 
availability of the final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2 and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the final Phase 2 RP/
EA #1.2 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 final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). A hard copy of the final Phase 2 
RP/EA #1.2 is also available to view at 16 repositories located across 
the region. Locations are listed in the following table.

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                 Library                            Address                      City                   Zip
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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.
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 Highway  Chalmette.................           70043
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
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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 conceptual projects to fund for an information-gathering and 
planning phase, such as E&D, in a restoration plan (phase 1).

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Approval of a Phase 1 restoration plan and projects within, allows the 
TIG to develop information needed to fully consider design alternatives 
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 as 
provided for in the DWH Consent Decree. Two of those projects selected 
to undergo E&D were the Barataria Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation 
Project Spanish Pass Increment (Spanish Pass project) and the Lake 
Borgne Marsh Creation Project Increment One (Lake Borgne project). Upon 
development of E&D alternatives for the two projects, a phase 2 
restoration plan was drafted and an OPA and NEPA analysis were 
conducted on the design alternatives. Notice of availability of the 
draft Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2 was published in the Federal Register on 
October 18, 2019 (84 FR 55976). Public comment was encouraged and 
accepted until November 20, 2019. The LA TIG hosted a public webinar on 
October 28, 2019 to facilitate public review and comment. The LA TIG 
considered the public comments received and finalized the Phase 2 RP/EA 
#1.2, selecting construction designs for implementation of both 
projects. A summary of the public comments received and the LA TIG's 
responses to those comments are presented in the final Phase 2 RP/EA 
#1.2.

Overview of the LA TIG Final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2

    The Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2 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 #1.2 provides OPA and NEPA analyses for a reasonable 
range of design alternatives for the Spanish Pass and Lake Borgne 
projects, and identifies the LA TIG's selected design alternatives, 
those which the LA TIG believes best meet the objectives of the Spanish 
Pass and Lake Borgne projects. In accordance with NEPA, as part of the 
final Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2, the Trustees issued a FONSI. The FONSI is 
available in Appendix F of the Phase 2 RP/EA #1.2.
    The Spanish Pass project is a component of an overall large-scale 
restoration strategy for the Barataria Basin that would reestablish, 
through multiple increments, ridge and intertidal marsh habitats 
degraded due to sea level rise, land subsidence, diminished sediment 
supply, and storm events. The total construction cost for the Spanish 
Pass project is approximately $101,359,000 which will be funded from 
the Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats restoration type 
allocation provided for in the Consent Decree.
    The Lake Borgne project is a component of an overall large-scale 
restoration strategy for the southwestern shoreline of Lake Borgne that 
would reestablish, through multiple increments, the bay rim and 
intertidal marsh habitat. The estimated total construction cost for 
this increment is $101,823,000 will be funded also from the Wetlands, 
Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats restoration type allocation. Additional 
restoration planning for the Louisiana Restoration Area will continue.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Phase 2 
RP/EA #1.2 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. 2020-21750 Filed 9-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P