[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15734-15736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05114]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-ES-2023-N005; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]


Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Open Ocean 
Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan 3 and Environmental 
Assessment: Birds

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 
(DWH) Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan 
and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/
PEIS), Record of Decision and Consent Decree, the Federal natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation 
Group (Open Ocean TIG) have prepared the Draft Restoration Plan 3 and 
Environmental Assessment: Birds (Draft RP/EA). The Draft RP/EA proposes 
projects to help restore bird species injured in the DWH oil spill. The 
Draft RP/EA evaluates a reasonable range of 11 project alternatives 
under the Oil Pollution Act's Natural Resource Damage Assessment 
regulations and NEPA. The total cost to implement the Open Ocean TIG's 
seven preferred alternatives is approximately $26,000,000. A No Action 
alternative is also analyzed. The Open Ocean TIG invites comments on 
the Draft RP/EA.

DATES: 
    Submitting Comments: The Open Ocean TIG will consider public 
comments on the Draft RP/EA received on or before April 28, 2023.
    Public Webinar: The Open Ocean TIG will host two public webinars 
during the public comment period. The webinars will include an overview 
presentation of the Draft RP/EA and an open house session for general 
questions regarding the plan. The public will also be able to provide 
formal comments during the webinar. The public may register for the 
webinars at https://www.gulfspillrestoration .noaa.gov/restoration-
areas/open-ocean. After registering for a webinar, participants will 
receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. 
Instructions for commenting will be provided during the webinar. 
Presentation material and factsheets about the projects can be found on 
the web at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/
open-ocean.

[[Page 15735]]


ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/open-ocean. 
Alternatively, you may request a USB flash drive containing the Draft 
RP/EA (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA by 
one of the following methods:
     Internet: https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/
restoration-areas/open-ocean.
     U.S. Mail: U.S. 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: Verbal comments may be provided 
by the public during the webinar. Webinar information is provided in 
DATES.
     Telephone: 1-888-467-0009. Comments may be provided by 
leaving voice comment at this number. To be considered, voice comments 
left at this toll-free international phone number must be left on or 
before the comment deadline given in DATES.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, at 
[email protected] or 1-678-296-6805. 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 had the 
spill 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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park 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.) (https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/consent-decree-deepwater-horizon-bp-gulf-mexico-oil-spill). Pursuant to the 
Consent Decree, the Open Ocean TIG chooses and manages restoration 
projects in the Open Ocean Restoration Area. The Open Ocean TIG is 
composed of the following Federal Trustees: DOI, NOAA, EPA, and USDA.

Background

    On March 25, 2021, the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group 
(Open Ocean TIG) issued a notice of solicitation on the Gulf Spill 
Restoration website requesting project ideas for the Sturgeon and Birds 
Restoration Types. On March 11, 2022, the Open Ocean TIG announced that 
it had reviewed project idea submissions and had initiated drafting its 
third restoration plan and environmental assessment (Draft RP/EA), 
which would include a reasonable range of restoration alternatives 
(projects) for the Birds Restoration Type only.

Overview of the Open Ocean TIG's Draft RP/EA

    The Draft RP/EA 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 Draft RP/
EA provides OPA NRDA and NEPA analyses for a reasonable range of 11 
alternatives. The Open Ocean TIG's seven proposed preferred 
alternatives are listed below. If selected, funding to implement these 
projects would come from the Birds Restoration Type allocation.

 Predator Removal and Seabird Nesting Colony Restoration at 
Mona Island
 Seabird Nesting Colony Reestablishment and Protection at 
Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge
 Seabird Nesting Colony Protection and Enhancement at Dry 
Tortugas National Park
 Seabird Bycatch Reduction in Northeast U.S. and Atlantic 
Canada Fisheries
 Northern Gannet Nesting Colony Restoration in Eastern Canada
 Common Tern Nesting Colony Restoration in Manitoba
 Invasive Goat Removal to Restore Seabird Nesting Habitat in 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Next Steps

    As described above in DATES, the Open Ocean TIG will host two (2) 
public webinars to facilitate the public review and comment process. 
They are also providing an international toll-free telephone number for 
the public to leave comments via voice message. After the public 
comment period ends, the Open Ocean TIG will consider and

[[Page 15736]]

address the comments received before issuing a final RP/EA.

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 Draft 
RP/EA can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord under folder 6.5.2.2.3.

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,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2023-05114 Filed 3-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P