[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75373-75374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26029]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N145; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Spill Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #7: Wetlands, 
Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; 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 Final 
Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS) and Record of 
Decision; and the Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation 
Group (LA TIG) prepared the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group 
Final Restoration Plan #7 and Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, 
Coastal and Nearshore Habitats; and Birds (RP/EA #7), and Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI). In the final RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected 
projects to help restore bird habitat and marshes injured as a result 
of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Louisiana Restoration 
Area under the ``Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats'' and 
``Birds'' restoration types described in the Final PDARP/PEIS. The 
total cost to implement the LA TIG's five selected projects is 
approximately $234,100,000.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the final RP/EA #7 
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 RP/EA #7 (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Copies are also available for review at 
the locations 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 of 1990 (OPA; 
33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Pursuant to OPA, Federal and State agencies 
act as trustees on

[[Page 75374]]

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; Louisiana Oil 
Spill Coordinator's Office; Louisiana Departments of Environmental 
Quality, Wildlife and Fisheries, and Natural Resources; DOI; NOAA; EPA; 
and USDA.

Background

    As provided for in the Final PDARP/PEIS, TIGs may propose 
conceptual projects for funding of a planning phase (e.g., initial 
engineering and design [E&D]) in a restoration plan. This allows the 
TIG to develop information needed to fully consider a subsequent 
implementation phase of the project in a subsequent restoration plan. 
In the final RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected conceptual projects to fund 
for E&D and projects that have been fully developed to fund for 
construction.

Overview of the LA TIG Draft RP/EA #7

    RP/EA #7 provides the LA TIG's analysis of alternatives under the 
``Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats'' restoration type and the 
``Birds'' restoration type. Under the ``Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats'' restoration type, the selected alternatives 
include one project for E&D and two for construction. These 
alternatives are: (1) Bird's Foot Delta Hydrologic Restoration project 
(E&D), (2) Terrebonne Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation Project: Bayou 
Terrebonne Increment (construction), and (3) Grande Cheniere Ridge 
Marsh Creation (construction). Under the ``Birds'' restoration type, 
the LA TIG selected two conceptual projects to undergo E&D: (1) Isle au 
Pitre Restoration and (2) Terrebonne Houma Navigation Canal Island 
Restoration.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for RP/EA #7 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 NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR 
990, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.) and its implementing regulations found at 40 CFR 1500-1508.

Mary Josie Blanchard,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2020-26029 Filed 11-24-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P