[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52411-52413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18287]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2022-N043; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group; Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Spill Draft Phase 2 Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #7.1: 
Terrebonne HNC Island Restoration Project

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon 
Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS), 
Record of Decision and the Consent Decree, the Federal and State 
natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee 
Implementation Group (LA TIG) have prepared the Draft Phase 2 
Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #7.1: Terrebonne HNC Island 
Restoration Project (RP/EA #7.1). RP/EA #7.1 proposes design 
alternatives for construction of one project to help restore bird 
species injured in the Louisiana Restoration Area as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill: the Terrebonne HNC Restoration 
Project (HNC Island project). The project was approved for engineering 
and design (E&D) in a 2020 restoration plan entitled Louisiana Trustee 
Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan #7: Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats and Birds (RP/EA #7). RP/EA #7.1 analyzes a 
reasonable range of design alternatives for the project and proposes a 
preferred design alternative, HNC design alternative 7A, for 
construction. A No Action alternative is also analyzed for the project. 
We invite comments on the Draft RP/EA #7.1.

DATES: 
    Submitting Comments: We will consider public comments on the Draft 
RP/EA #7.1 received on or before September 26, 2022.
    Public Webinar: The LA TIG will host a public webinar on September 
8, 2022, starting at 2 p.m. Central Time, followed immediately by the 
LA TIG's annual meeting. Members of the public may remain online at the 
close of the RP/EA #7.1 webinar to attend the annual meeting. The 
public may register for the webinar at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana. After 
registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with 
instructions for joining the webinar. Instructions for commenting will 
be provided during the webinar. Shortly after the webinar is concluded, 
the presentation material will be posted on the web at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA #7.1 
at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana. Alternatively, you may request a CD-ROM containing the Draft 
RP/EA #7.1 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Hard copies are also 
available for review during the public comment period 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         Chalmette.................           70043
                                           Highway.
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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    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA 
#7.1 by one of the following methods:
     internet: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.
     U.S. Mail: US Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration 
Office, 1875 Century Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30345. To be considered, mailed 
comments must be postmarked on or before the comment deadline given in 
DATES.
     During the public webinar: Written comments may be 
provided by the public during the webinar. Webinar information is 
provided in DATES.

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:

[[Page 52412]]

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 in a draft restoration plan conceptual projects to fund for an 
information-gathering planning phase, such as E&D (phase 1). This 
allows TIGs to develop information needed to fully consider a 
subsequent implementation phase in a later restoration plan (phase 2). 
In the final RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected three conceptual projects 
for E&D, using funds from the ``Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore 
Habitats'' and ``Birds'' restoration types, as provided for in the DWH 
Consent Decree. One of the projects selected for E&D in the final RP/EA 
#7 under the ``Birds'' restoration type, the Terrebonne HNC Island 
project, has design alternatives that are now at a stage where proposed 
construction alternatives (phase 2) may be analyzed under the OPA NRDA 
regulations and NEPA. Therefore, in the Draft RP/EA #7.1, the Louisiana 
TIG is proposing to implement their preferred design alternative to 
construct the Terrebonne HNC Island project.

Overview of the LA TIG Draft RP/EA #7.1

    The Draft RP/EA #7.1 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 RP/EA #7.1 
provides OPA, NRDA, and NEPA analyses for a reasonable range of design 
alternatives for the Terrebonne HNC Island project and identifies the 
LA TIG's preferred design alternative for the project.
    The preferred design alternative, HNC design alternative 7A, would 
increase the acreage of the island from 27.6 acres to approximately 
41.4 acres of shrub nesting, ground nesting, and marsh habitat. An 
existing, degraded perimeter rock dike would be restored, and 
breakwaters could be constructed on the northeast side of the island to 
provide further protection as well as calm water for loafing. The 
approximate cost to implement the preferred alternative is $34 million. 
A second design alternative, HNC design alternative 7, is also 
evaluated in the restoration plan, as well as a No Action alternative.

Next Steps

    As described above in DATES, the Trustees will host a public 
webinar to facilitate the public review and comment process. After the 
public comment period ends, the Trustees will consider and address the 
comments received before issuing a final RP/EA #7.1.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the RP/EA 
#7.1 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

[[Page 52413]]

implementing regulations found at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508.

Mary Josie Blanchard,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2022-18287 Filed 8-24-22; 8:45 am]
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