Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2022 / Notices 10341 

Authority 

The authority of this action is the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 

seq.) and its implementing Oil Pollution 

Act 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.). 

Dated: February 17, 2022. 

Carrie Diane Robinson, 

Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03887 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB814] 

Marine Mammals; File No. 26375 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Jay 

Rotella Ph.D., Montana State University, 

310 Lewis Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, 

has applied in due form for a permit to 

conduct research on Weddell seals 

(Leptonychotes weddellii). 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

March 28, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the ‘‘Features’’ box on 

the Applications and Permits for 

Protected Species (APPS) home page, 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then 

selecting File No. 26375 from the list of 

available applications. These documents 

are also available upon written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include File No. 26375 in the subject 

line of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. The request should set forth 

the specific reasons why a hearing on 

this application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Young or Carrie Hubard, (301) 427– 

8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

The applicant proposes to evaluate 

how temporal variation in the marine 

environment affects individual lifehistories, immigration, and the 

dynamics of a population of long-lived 

mammal in Antarctica, primarily in 

Erebus Bay. This application requests 

permission to annually capture, tag and 

release up to 1,205 Weddell Seals (820 

pups; 385 adults), to weigh up to 150 

Weddell seal pups 35 days after birth, 

to collect tissue samples from 300 

Weddell seals (150 pups; 150 adults), 

and to approach up to 2,770 Weddell 

seals a maximum of eight times to read 

tags. All samples will be transported via 

the U.S. Antarctic Program through 

Christchurch, New Zealand to 

institutions in the United States where 

they will be archived for various assays 

and studies. A maximum of eight 

crabeater seals (Lobodon 

carcinophagus), and two leopard seals 

(Hydrurga leptonyx) may be 

unintentionally harassed annually. The 

permit would be valid for 5 years. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: February 17, 2022. 

Julia M. Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03892 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB811] 

Notice of Availability of the Deepwater 

Horizon Oil Spill Alabama Trustee 

Implementation Group Weeks Bay 

Land Acquisition (Lloyd Tract) Project: 

Supplemental Restoration Plan and 

Environmental Assessment and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

Finding of No Significant Impact. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), and a Consent Decree with BP 

Exploration & Production Inc. (BP), the 

Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Federal and 

State natural resource trustee agencies 

for the Alabama Trustee Implementation 

Group (Alabama TIG) have prepared a 

‘‘Final Weeks Bay Land Acquisition 

(Lloyd Tract) Project: Supplemental 

Restoration Plan and Environmental 

Assessment (Supplemental RP/EA) and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI)’’. The Supplemental RP/EA 

describes the restoration project 

alternatives considered by the Alabama 

TIG to provide for additional restoration 

benefits for Wetlands, Coastal, and 

Nearshore Habitats (WCNH) in the 

Alabama Restoration Area by replacing 

the Harrod Tract acquisition and 

management project approved in the 

‘‘Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Alabama 

Trustee Implementation Group Final 

Restoration Plan II and Environmental 

Assessment: Restoration of Wetlands, 

Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Habitat 

Projects on Federally Managed Lands; 

Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source); 

Sea Turtles; Marine Mammals; Birds; 

and Oysters (Alabama TIG RP II/EA)’’ 

with the acquisition and management of 

another property (Lloyd Tract) in the 

Weeks Bay watershed. The Alabama TIG 

evaluated its 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 purpose of this notice is to inform 

the public of the availability of the Final 

Supplemental RP/EA and FONSI. 


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10342 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2022 / Notices 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may access the Supplemental RP/EA 

from the ‘‘News’’ section of the Alabama 

TIG website at: http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/ 

restoration-areas/alabama. 

Alternatively, you may request a CD of 

the Final Supplemental RP/EA (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

NOAA—Stella Wilson, (850) 332– 

4169, estelle.wilson@noaa.gov. 

State of Alabama—Amy Hunter, (251) 

621–1216, Amy.Hunter@

dcnr.alabama.gov. 

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 DWH 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. 

In addition, well over one 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 the NRDA for the DWH oil 

spill under OPA (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. 

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 of restoration to 

baseline (the resource quality and 

conditions that would exist if the spill 

had not occurred) is complete. 

The DWH Trustees are: 

• U.S. Department of the Interior, as 

represented by the National Park 

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

and Bureau of Land Management; 

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, on behalf of the U.S. 

Department of Commerce; 

• U.S. Department of Agriculture; 

• U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency; 

• 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. 

The DWH Trustees reached and 

finalized a settlement of their natural 

resource damage claims with BP in an 

April 4, 2016, Consent Decree approved 

by the United States District Court for 

the Eastern District of Louisiana. 

Pursuant to that Consent Decree, 

restoration projects in the Alabama 

Restoration Area are now selected and 

implemented by the Alabama TIG. The 

Alabama TIG is composed of the 

following Trustees: 

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; 

• U.S. Department of the Interior; 

• U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency; 

• U.S. Department of Agriculture; 

• State of Alabama Department of 

Conservation and Natural Resources; 

and 

• Geological Survey of Alabama. 

Background 

In the Alabama TIG RP II/EA, the 

Alabama TIG selected 20 projects for 

implementation, allocating funds from 

several restoration types including the 

WCNH restoration type. One of the 

projects selected for implementation in 

the funds, was the Weeks Bay Land 

Acquisition (Harrod Tract) project. For 

the reasons identified in the 

Supplemental RP/EA the Alabama TIG 

has terminated the Harrod Tract project 

via TIG Resolution. This Supplemental 

RP/EA supplements the Alabama TIG 

RP II/EA, evaluating the Alabama TIG’s 

proposal to use those funds previously 

allocated to the Harrod Tract project to 

support a new acquisition project in the 

same watershed. 

Notice of availability of the Draft 

Supplemental RP/EA was posted to the 

Alabama TIG website, http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/ 

restoration-areas/alabama on December 

6, 2021. The TIG provided the public 

with 30 days to review and comment on 

the Draft Supplemental RP/EA. During 

the public comment period, one 

comment was received voicing general 

support of the project and noting the 

importance of protecting this parcel 

from future development. This 

correspondence is included as 

Appendix A. 

Overview of the Alabama TIG Final 

Supplemental RP/EA 

The termination of the Harrod Tract 

project has resulted in $3,606,900 of 

previously allocated WCNH restoration 

funds to become available to the 

Alabama TIG. Accordingly, the Alabama 

TIG is proposing to use those funds to 

support a new acquisition project in the 

Weeks Bay watershed, where the Harrod 

Tract acquisition would have occurred. 

Specifically, in this Supplemental RP/ 

EA, the Alabama TIG evaluates the use 

of WCNH funds to acquire a tract known 

as the Lloyd Tract, which is located 

along two tributaries of the Fish River, 

slightly upstream from the Harrod Tract. 

The property is bordered by two tidal 

creeks, Waterhole Branch and Green 

Branch, and their confluence occurs at 

the southeastern boundary of the 

property. The Lloyd Tract has a willing 

seller, is at risk of development, 

contains farmland that can be restored 

to longleaf pine habitat, would become 

part of the Weeks Bay National 

Estuarine Research Reserve, and would 

provide restoration benefits to wetlands, 

coastal, and nearshore habitats. A no 

action alternative is also evaluated in 

the Supplemental RP/EA. 

Administrative Record 

The documents comprising the 

Administrative Record for the Final 

Supplemental RP/EA can be viewed 

electronically at http://www.doi.gov/ 

deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord. 

Authority 

The authority of this action is the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 

seq.) and its implementing OPA NRDA 

regulations found at 15 CFR part 990 

and the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

Dated: February 17, 2022. 

Carrie Diane Robinson, 

Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03890 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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