[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60174-60176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18774]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service


Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Spill Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: 
Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats; Nutrient 
Reduction (Nonpoint Source); and Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA).

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 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 Draft Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: 
Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Nutrient 
Reduction (Nonpoint Source), and Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities'' (Draft RP4 and EA). In the Draft RP4 and EA, MS TIG 
proposes projects to partially restore wetlands, coastal, and nearshore 
habitats; reduce nutrient pollution (nonpoint source); and provide and 
enhance recreational opportunities to compensate for lost

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recreational use in the Mississippi Restoration Area as a result of the 
DWH oil spill. The Draft RP4 and EA, a No Action alternative is also 
evaluated for each of the restoration types. The approximate cost to 
implement the MS TIG's proposed action (seven preferred alternatives) 
is $26.4 million. We invite public comments on the Draft RP4 and EA.

DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by October 2, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP4 and EA 
from the following website: https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/mississippi.
    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP4 and EA (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/mississippi; or
     Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 
Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regaldo, 
[email protected], 678-296-6805, or via the Federal Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339; Ronald Howard, Senior Advisor, USDA Gulf Coast 
Ecosystem Restoration Team, at [email protected]; and Dr. Tina 
Nations, the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) and the National 
Fish and Wildlife Foundation Program Manager, MDEQ Office of 
Restoration, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater 
Horizon, which was being used to drill 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 DWH Federal and State natural resource trustees (DWH Trustees) 
conducted NRDA for the DWH oil spill under OPA (33 U.S.C. 2701-2720). 
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. 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;
     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 DWH 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 
MS TIG. MS TIG is composed of the following Trustees: State of 
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and 
USDA.
    On February 7, 2022, MS TIG posted a public notice requesting 
natural resource restoration project ideas by March 7, 2022, for the 
Mississippi Restoration Area. The notice stated that MS TIG was seeking 
project ideas for the following restoration types:
    (1) Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitat;
    (2) Nutrient Reduction; and
    (3) Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities.
    On October 11, 2022, MS TIG announced that it had initiated 
drafting of the RP4 and EA (https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2022/10/notice-initiation-restoration-planning-mississippi) and that 
the plan may include proposed projects for some or all of the three 
restoration types.

Overview of the MS TIG Draft RP4 and EA

    The Draft RP4 and EA provides the MS TIG's analysis of a reasonable 
range of restoration alternatives. The MS TIG's seven preferred 
alternatives are presented in the following table under the restoration 
type from which funds would be allocated in accordance with the DWH 
Consent Decree. The MS TIG also evaluated three non-preferred 
alternatives as part of the reasonable range, and a No Action 
alternative for each restoration type in the plan.

Restoration Type: Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitat

Coastwide Habitat Acquisition
Living Shoreline Bulkhead Alternative
Hancock County Marsh Living Shoreline Phase 6 Breakwater

Restoration Type: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source)

Back Bay--Davis Bayou Nutrient Reduction
Big Cedar Creek--Rocky Creek Nutrient Reduction

Restoration Type: Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities

Jourdan River Boardwalk
Shepard State Park Recreational Enhancements--1

Next Steps

    MS TIG will post a pre-recorded public webinar to facilitate the 
public review and comment process no later than September 15, 2023. The 
pre-recorded webinar will be available on the Mississippi Department of 
Environmental Quality Office of Restoration website at https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/restoration/. The pre-recorded public webinar will be 
available for viewing at any time during the public comment period.

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    After the public comment period ends, the MS TIG will consider all 
comments received and address them in the Final RP4 and 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.

Translation Opportunities

    Vietnamese and Spanish translated materials including the Executive 
Summary and project fact sheets are posted in the ``News'' section of 
the MS TIG website: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/mississippi.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Draft 
RP4 and EA can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord under the folder 6.5.6.2.4.

Authority

    The authority for this action is OPA, its implementing NRDA 
regulations in 15 CFR part 990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and its 
implementing regulations in 40 CFR 1500-1508.

Ronald Howard,
Senior Technical Advisor, Natural Resource Specialist, Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Alternate to Principal Representative.
[FR Doc. 2023-18774 Filed 8-30-23; 8:45 am]
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