Finally, by streamlining the NRDA process and making it more efficient: 1) the costs to
both the trustees and Responsible Party(s) (RP) will be lowered; 2) restoration of injured
trust resources and services will be increased; and, most importantly, 3) the public will be
compensated more quickly.

The RRP Program, including the RRPs, is intended to benefit the public, industry, and
natural resource trustees by:

+ Providing greater opportunities to restore injuries to trust resources and
services;

+ Expediting restoration of injured trust resources and services from incidents;

+ Reducing the cost of restoration planning and implementation;

+ Pooling of individual case recoveries to maximize opportunities for
implementation of larger, more ecologically significant restoration projects;

« Providing for more consistency and predictability by describing in detail the
NRDA process, thereby increasing the understanding of that process by the
public and industry;

+ Improving coordination between restoration activities under the NRDA
mandates and other restoration efforts in the state;

+ Enhancing the capability for trustees to restore trust resources and services
injured by incidents for which there is no viable RP;

+ Maximizing opportunities for partnering among RPs, trustees, and other
public and private restoration efforts; and

+ Increasing opportunity for public participation in the NRDA process through
pre-incident planning.

The no action alternative relies on the implementation of the NRDA process without the
institution of the RRP Program. Both state and federal NRDA regulations provide for a
step-by-step process for trustees to determine injuries, assess damages, and develop and
implement restoration projects that compensate the public for injuries to trust resources

and services impacted by an incident.

VIII. Conclusion

The PEIS evaluates two programmatic alternatives, a no action alternative and the RRP
Program alternative. After comprehensive evaluation of the proposed impacts and review
of all comments, NOAA has concluded that the environmentally preferred alternative, the
RRP Program alternative, provides for protection of the environment, benefits the public,
industry, and natural resources, and can be implemented at a reasonable cost.

,

Un -— 2
[e—rohn H. Dunnigan
Assistant Administrator
Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Record of Decision for Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program 4


RECORD OF DECISION
FOR
LOUISIANA REGIONAL RESTORATION PLANNING PROGR AM

I. Introduction
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Department of Commerce, has prepared this Record of Decision (ROD) regarding the
January 5, 2007, final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the
Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program (RRP Program). This ROD has been
* written pursuant to §102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4321 ef seq.), regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental
Quality (40 CFR Part 1505.2), and the NOAA Administrative Order on implementing
environmental review procedures (NAO 216-6). This ROD is a concise statement of the
management planning and environmental impact analysis process completed, the
alternatives considered, and the basis for the selection of a preferred alternative.

I. Background

To expedite the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) process and make it more
cost-effective, the RRP Program intends to shorten the Restoration Planning Phase of the
NRDA process through the development of individual Regional Restoration Plans
(RRPs), which will identify appropriate restoration projects - subjected to public review -
prior to the occurrence of oil spill incidents. In addition, the RRP Program helps to
inform the selection of restoration projects by identifying in advance the types of
restoration that may be suitable to restore those trust resources and services likely to be or
anticipated to be injured by incidents in Louisiana. Further, through the development of a
PEIS for the RRP Program and tiering the RRPs and case-specific Damage Assessment
and Restoration Plans (DARPs) from the information and analysis provided in the PEIS,
the NEPA process for the NRDA cases will be streamlined significantly. It is also
anticipated that model documents (including DARPs, consent decrees, and Notices of
Intent) will be developed under the RRP Program to provide more efficiencies and lower
the costs of conducting NRDAs. Although the RRP Program requires upfront costs to
identify restoration projects and develop planning documents in advance, economies of
scale will reduce overall implementation costs.

The PEIS systematically evaluates the short- and long-term environmental and
socioeconomic effects related to the implementation of the RRP Program. The RRP
Program will assist the natural resource trustees in carrying out their responsibilities for
discharges or substantial threats of discharges of oil. The RRP Program will be further
defined in individual RRPs that will be prepared for each of nine regions in the State of
Louisiana. Because the PEIS focuses on describing the RRP Program and future regional
restoration activities, the discussion of potential positive and negative impacts on the
biological, social, and economic environments is not site or case specific; instead, it is
intended to be general in scope. The purpose of the PEIS is to expedite and potentially
reduce the cost of the NRDA process; provide for consistency and predictability by
detailing the NRDA process, thereby minimizing uncertainty to the public and industry;
and increase restoration of lost natural resources and services.

Record of Decision for Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program 1


IIL. Public Involvement

The management planning and environmental impact analysis process provided for
significant public involvement. Between October 2000 and June 2001, more than 15
informal scoping meetings and presentations were made to regulatory agencies,
environmental and conservation groups, parishes, landowners, industry, and the public.
Formal scoping for the RRP Program and formal solicitation for appropriate restoration
projects for potential inclusion in the RRPs began on June 19, 2001. This date marked
the publication of the Notice of Intent to develop a PEIS. The close of the public
comment period was July 2, 2001. As part of the formal scoping process, over 1,000
copies of the public review draft were distributed to the public and affected parties on or
before July 2, 2001. Six public meetings were held throughout the state during July 17-
26, 2001. All comments provided at the public meetings, or submitted separately, are
summarized in the Administrative Record.

The notice of availability for the draft PEIS was published in the Federal Register on
May 9, 2003, with close of the public comment period on July 9, 2003. In addition, two
public meetings were held on June 23, 2003, to receive comments on the draft PEIS.
Copies of the draft PEIS were sent to those individuals who provided a written comment
during the scoping period or expressed a significant interest in the RRP Program. All
public comments provided at the public meeting and responses given are summarized and
can be found in Appendix G, Public Comments and Responses, in the Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Louisiana Regional Restoration
Planning Program.

Copies of the final PEIS were sent to those individuals who provided a written comment
during the development of the RRP Program or expressed a significant interest in the
RRP Program. The notice of availability for the final PEIS was published in the Federal
Register on January 5, 2007, with the close of the mandatory waiting period on February
20, 2007. No comments were received on the final PEIS.

IV. Alternatives Considered

The PEIS evaluates two programmatic alternatives. A third programmatic alternative, to
create RRP-specific restoration project databases, was considered prior to formal scoping
but was not carried forward because it was determined that it did not meet the objectives
of providing greater consistency and predictability of the NRDA process and it did not
meet the Louisiana legislative mandate to establish a program. The programmatic
alternatives considered in the FPEIS are:

1. No Action: The no action alternative is defined as continuing to implement the
NRDA process without the institution of the RRP Program. The no action
alternative was used as a basis for comparison with the RRP Program.

2. RRP Program Alternative: The RRP Program alternative defines, expands,

and/or refines several important components beyond the existing NRDA
process. These components are: potentially injured trust resources and

Record of Decision for Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program 2


services; restoration types; settlement alternatives; screening criteria; and
regional boundaries of the RRPs.

V. Environmental Consequences

The net environmental effects of the RRP Program alternative are expected to be more
beneficial than under the no action alternative because restoration would be accomplished
more quickly, especially in regions where oil is discharged often. The number of
incidents and speed of their resolution through implementation of restoration will
determine the actual beneficial effect of the RRP Program alternative. Under
implementation of either alternative, mitigation measures are available to avoid or reduce
any potentially significant adverse impacts to a less than significant level as individual
restoration projects are reviewed and implemented. The restoration projects will be
scaled in such a way that the net benefits of the projects compensate for injuries resulting
from the incidents and collateral injuries (if any) from the implementation of the
compensation projects. Under either alternative, the selection of restoration projects to be
implemented as part of a specific incident is subject to NEPA and all other relevant laws
and regulations. Incident-by-incident determinations of regional and local environmental
consequences will be made to ensure continued protection of environmental concerns.

VI. Decision

It is the decision of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with the
Department of the Interior and the State of Louisiana to implement the Louisiana
Regional Restoration Planning Program using the methods evaluated in the PEIS. The
RRP Program alternative is considered the environmentally preferred alternative.
Because the analysis is programmatic in nature, site and injury-specific features will
dictate which restoration alternatives are most appropriate for individual injuries. All
practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm from the RRP Program
alternative selected have been adopted.

VIL. Rationale for the Selection of Preferred Alternative

Consistent application of the RRP Program will enhance the predictability, consistency,
and accountability of the NRDA process. The flexibility of the NRDA process will be
increased through the introduction of additional settlement alternatives.

It is anticipated that describing the NRDA process in greater detail will enable the public
and affected entities to participate more fully in restoration planning for incidents. First,
the RRP Program identifies trust resources and services that are likely to be or are
anticipated to be injured from an incident and what restoration type is appropriate to
restore the trust resources and services that were injured or lost. It also provides the
rationale for how those decisions were made. Prior to an incident occurring, the public
and affected parties will have an opportunity to review the restoration alternatives that
have been identified to date for implementation, by restoration type, in a specific region
to restore trust resources and services injured in that region. By describing in detail each
step and the criteria used in the NRDA process, the public and affected parties will
understand the trustees’ roles and rationale for their decisions, thereby improving the
ability of interested parties to participate in the process.

w

Record of Decision for Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program