[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34574-34576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15348]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9980-79-OW]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation 
Group (Louisiana TIG) have prepared the Final Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities (Final RP/EA #2). The Final RP/EA #2 describes and, in 
conjunction with the associated Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI), selects four preferred project alternatives considered by the 
Louisiana TIG to compensate for recreational use services lost as a 
result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Louisiana TIG evaluated 
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource 
damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and evaluated the environmental 
consequences of the restoration alternatives in accordance with NEPA. 
The selected projects are consistent with the restoration alternatives 
selected in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Final Programmatic

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Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS). The Federal Trustees of the Louisiana 
TIG have determined that implementation of the Final RP/EA #2 is not a 
major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment within the context of NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI is 
appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not 
be prepared. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the 
approval and availability of the Final RP/EA #2 and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP/EA #2 and 
FONSI at any of the following sites:

<bullet> http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
<bullet> http://www.la-dwh.com
    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final RP/EA #2 and FONSI 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also view the document 
at any of the public facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
<bullet> Louisiana--Joann Hicks, 225-342-5477
<bullet> EPA--Tim Landers, 202-566-2231

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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 Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the largest off shore oil 
spill in U.S. history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a 
period of 87 days.
    The Trustees conducted the natural resource damage assessment for 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Under 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, 
including the loss of use and services from those resources from the 
time of injury until the time restoration to baseline (the resource 
quality and conditions that would exist if the spill had not occurred) 
is complete.
    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Trustees are:
    <bullet> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
    <bullet> U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA);
    <bullet> State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration 
Authority (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 
(LDWF), and Department of Natural Resources (LDNR);
    <bullet> State of Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
    <bullet> State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural 
Resources and Geological Survey of Alabama;
    <bullet> State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and
    <bullet> State of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, General Land 
Office, and Commission on Environmental Quality.
    On April 4, 2016, the Trustees reached and finalized a settlement 
of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent Decree 
approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in 
the Louisiana Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the 
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Trustees: 
CPRA, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDWF, LDNR, EPA, DOI, NOAA, USDA.

Background

    A Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities (Draft RP/EA #2) was published in the Federal Register on 
December 20, 2017. The Louisiana TIG hosted a public meeting on January 
24, 2018, in New Orleans, and the public comment period for the Draft 
RP/EA #2 closed on February 2, 2018. The Draft RP/EA #2 proposed four 
restoration projects, evaluated in accordance with OPA and NEPA. In 
response to public comments received on the Draft RP/EA #2, the 
Louisiana TIG prepared a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment for the Elmer's Island Access Project 
Modification (Draft Supplemental RP/EA) to evaluate proposed changes to 
the Elmer's Island Access project. A Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Supplemental RP/EA was published in the Federal Register on May 
21, 2018. The Louisiana TIG hosted a public meeting on May 22, 2018, in 
New Orleans, and the public comment period for the Draft Supplemental 
RP/EA closed on June 20, 2018. The Louisiana TIG considered the public 
comments received on both the Draft RP/EA #2, and Draft Supplemental 
RP/EA, which informed the Louisiana TIG's analyses and selection of the 
restoration projects in the Final RP/EA #2. A summary of the public 
comments received and the Trustees' responses to those comments are 
included in Section 7 of the Final RP/EA #2.

Overview of the Final RP/EA #2

    The Final RP/EA #2 is being released in accordance with OPA NRDA 
regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR 
990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). In the Final RP/EA #2, the 
Louisiana TIG selects the following preferred project alternatives:

<bullet> Elmer's Island Access, as modified
<bullet> Island Road Piers
<bullet> Statewide Artificial Reefs
<bullet> Lake Charles Science Center and Educational Complex

    The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the 
Deepwater Horizon Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to 
address the injuries. In the Final RP/EA #2, the Louisiana TIG presents 
to the public its plan for providing partial compensation for lost 
recreational use services in the Louisiana Restoration Area. The 
selected projects are intended to continue the process of restoring 
recreational use services lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. The total estimated cost of the selected projects is $22 
million. Additional restoration planning for the Louisiana Restoration 
Area will continue.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final 
RP/EA #2 and FONSI can be viewed electronically at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/administrativerecord.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), its implementing NRDA

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regulations found at 15 CFR part 990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.).

    Dated: July 3, 2018.
Benita Best-Wong,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2018-15348 Filed 7-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P