[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 38 (Friday, February 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10787-10789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03885]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9337-01-OW]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Texas 
Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan/Environmental 
Assessment #2: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore 
Habitats; Nutrient Reduction; Oysters; Sea Turtles; and Birds

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the federal and state natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Texas Trustee Implementation Group 
(Texas TIG) prepared the Draft Restoration Plan/Environmental 
Assessment #2: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore 
Habitats; Nutrient Reduction; Oysters; Sea Turtles; and Birds (Draft 
RP/EA #2). The Draft RP/EA #2 describes and proposes restoration 
project alternatives considered by the Texas TIG to restore natural 
resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Texas TIG evaluated these alternatives 
under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment 
(NRDA) regulations and evaluated the environmental consequences of the 
restoration alternatives in accordance with the NEPA. The proposed 
projects are consistent with the restoration alternatives selected in 
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment 
and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (PDARP/PEIS). This notice informs the public of the 
availability of the Draft RP/EA #2 and provides an opportunity for the 
public to submit comments on the document.

DATES: The Texas TIG will consider public comments received on or 
before March 28, 2022.
    Public Webinar: The Texas TIG will conduct a public webinar on 
March 9, 2022, at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time to facilitate public 
review and comment on the Draft RP/EA #2. The public webinar will 
include a presentation on the Draft RP/EA #2. Public comments will be 
taken during the public webinar. The public may register for the 
webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2667653123715836432. After registering, participants will receive a 
confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. The 
presentation will be posted on the web after the webinar is conducted.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA #2 at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/texas. 
Alternatively, you may request a compact disc (CD) of the Draft RP/EA 
#2 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also view the 
document at any of the public facilities listed at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/texas.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA #2 
by one of the following methods:
     Via the Web: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/TXRP2.
     Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 
29649, Atlanta, GA 30345.
     During the Public Webinar: Comments may be provided by the 
public during the webinar on March 9, 2022.
    Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The Texas 
TIG may publish any comment received regarding the document. Do not 
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must 
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to make. The Texas TIG will generally not consider comments or 
comment contents located outside of the written submission (i.e., on 
the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). Please be aware that 
your entire

[[Page 10788]]

comment, including your personal identifying information, will become 
part of the public record. Please note that mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline of March 28, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
     Texas--Angela Schrift; [email protected]; 512-
389-8755.
     EPA--Douglas Jacobson; [email protected]; 214-665-
6692.

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 the release of 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 offshore oil spill in U.S. history, discharging millions of 
barrels of oil over a period of 87 days. The Trustees conducted the 
natural resource damage assessment for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 
under the OPA. Under the 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, 
including the loss of use and services from those resources from the 
time of injury until the time restoration to baseline (the resource 
quality and conditions that would exist if the spill had not occurred) 
is complete.
    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Trustees are:
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
     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);
     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 Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), 
General Land Office (TGLO), and Commission on Environmental Quality 
(TCEQ).
    On April 4, 2016, the Trustees reached and finalized a settlement 
of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent Decree 
approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in 
the Texas Restoration Area are chosen and managed by the Texas TIG. The 
Texas TIG is composed of the following Trustees: TPWD, TGLO, TCEQ, EPA, 
DOI, NOAA, USDA.

Background

    In an October 2020 notice posted at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2020/10/submit-your-ideas-texas-restoration-area-planning, the Texas TIG requested public input on 
restoration project ideas in the Texas Restoration Area within the 
following restoration types: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, 
Nutrient Reduction, Oysters, Sea Turtles, and Birds. The Texas TIG 
reviewed and considered these restoration project ideas in developing 
the Draft RP/EA #2.

Overview of the Draft RP/EA

    The Draft RP/EA #2 is being released in accordance with the OPA, 
NRDA implementing regulations, and the NEPA. In the Draft RP/EA #2, the 
Texas TIG presents to the public the Texas TIG's most recent plan to 
restore natural resources and ecological services injured or lost as a 
result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Draft RP/EA #2 evaluates 
a total of eighteen restoration project alternatives within the Texas 
Restoration Area. Of those, thirteen are identified as preferred 
alternatives. The Draft RP/EA #2 also evaluates a no-action 
alternative. The Draft RP/EA #2 proposes the following preferred 
project alternatives for each restoration type:

Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats

     Bird Island Cove Habitat Restoration--Construction;
     Bahia Grande Channel F Hydrologic Restoration;
     Follets Island Habitat Acquisition Phase 2; and
     Galveston Island Habitat Acquisition.

Nutrient Reduction

     Petronila Creek Constructed Wetlands Planning; and
     Petronila Creek Watershed Nutrient Reduction Initiative.

Oysters

     Landscape Scale Oyster Restoration in Galveston Bay.

Sea Turtles

     Upper Texas Coast Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Facility; and
     Lancha Sea Turtle Mitigation Plan.

Birds

     Laguna Vista Rookery Island Habitat Protection;
     Jones Bay Oystercatcher Habitat Restoration;
     San Antonio Bay Bird Island; and
     Texas Breeding Shorebird and Seabird Stewardship.
    The total estimated cost of the preferred alternatives is 
approximately $39 million. One or more alternatives may be selected for 
implementation by the Texas TIG. Additional restoration planning for 
the Texas Restoration Area will continue.

Next Steps

    The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RP/EA 
#2. A public webinar is scheduled to help facilitate the public review 
and comment process. After the public comment period ends, the Texas 
TIG will consider the comments received before finalizing the Final RP/
EA #2. A summary of comments received and the Texas 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 #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 NRDA

[[Page 10789]]

regulations found at 15 CFR part 990, and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.).

Benita Best-Wong,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2022-03885 Filed 2-24-22; 8:45 am]
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