[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33824-33825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10467]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2022-N228; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Spill Final Restoration Plan 3 and Environmental Assessment: Habitat 
Projects on Federally Managed Lands, Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals, 
Birds, and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities; 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, the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 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 
Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group (MS TIG) have prepared the 
Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan 3 and 
Environmental Assessment: Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands, 
Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals, Birds, and Provide and Enhance 
Recreational Opportunities (Final RP3/EA); and Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI). The Final RP3/EA describes and, in 
conjunction with the associated FONSI, selects for funding and 
implementation the preferred restoration projects considered by the MS 
TIG to compensate for natural resources and their services in the 
Mississippi Restoration Area as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. The approximate cost to implement the MS TIG's preferred 
projects is $19,000,000. The purpose of this notice is to inform the 
public of the availability of the Final RP3/EA and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP3/EA from 
either of the following websites:

 https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
 https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/mississippi

    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final RP3/EA (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, at 
[email protected] or 678-296-6805. Individuals in the United 
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech 
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater 
Horizon (DWH), 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);

[[Page 33825]]

     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 Mississippi Restoration Area are chosen and managed by 
the MS TIG. The MS TIG is composed of the following Trustees: State of 
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, DOI, NOAA, EPA, and 
USDA.

Background

    On October 30, 2020, the MS TIG posted a public notice at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov requesting new or revised natural 
resource restoration project ideas by November 30, 2020, for the 
Mississippi Restoration Area. The notice stated that the MS TIG was 
seeking project ideas for the following restoration types: (1) Habitat 
Projects on Federally Managed Lands; (2) Sea Turtles; (3) Marine 
Mammals; (4) Birds; and (5) Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities. On June 11, 2021, the MS TIG announced that it had 
initiated drafting of the RP3/EA and that it would include a reasonable 
range of restoration alternatives (projects) for the five restoration 
types.
    The MS TIG released the Draft RP3/EA on December 7, 2021, and its 
notice of availability was published in the Federal Register on 
December 7, 2021 (86 FR 69287). In accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the OPA NRDA regulations, the MS 
TIG analyzed a reasonable range of alternatives that would meet the 
Trustees' goals to restore and conserve habitat, replenish and protect 
living coastal and marine resources, and provide and enhance 
recreational opportunities, and identified the alternatives that the MS 
TIG preferred for implementation. The public review and comment period 
ran from the date of notice of publication in the Federal Register 
through January 26, 2022. To facilitate public review and comment, the 
MS TIG held a public webinar on January 11, 2022. Before finalizing the 
document, the MS TIG considered all public comments received during the 
webinar, through direct submittals to its online public comment portal, 
and by USPS. A summary of comments and the MS TIG's responses to those 
comments are provided in Chapter 6 of the Final RP3/EA.

Overview of the MS TIG Final RP3/EA

    The Final RP3/EA provides the MS TIG's analysis of a reasonable 
range of alternatives, consisting of twelve alternatives, and a no 
action alternative for each restoration type in the plan. The MS TIG's 
seven preferred alternatives were ultimately selected for 
implementation and are presented in the following table under the 
restoration type from which funds would be allocated in accordance with 
the DWH Consent Decree. The approximate cost for the seven selected 
projects is $19,000,000.

Restoration Type: Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands
    Improve Native Habitats by Removing Marine Debris from Mississippi 
Barrier Islands
Restoration Type: Sea Turtles
    Maintaining Enhanced Sea Turtle Stranding Network Capacity and 
Diagnostic Capabilities (3 Years)
Restoration Type: Marine Mammals
    Maintaining Enhanced Marine Mammal Stranding Network Capacity and 
Diagnostic Capabilities
    Reduction of Marine Mammal Fishery Interactions through Trawl 
Technique and Component Material Improvements
Restoration Type: Birds
    Bird Stewardship and Enhanced Monitoring in Mississippi
Restoration Type: Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities
    Clower Thornton Nature Park Trail Improvement
    Environmental Education and Stewardship at Walter Anderson Museum 
of Art

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final 
RP3/EA 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 
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 1500-
1508.

Mary Josie Blanchard,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2022-10467 Filed 6-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P