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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4725-4726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00942]

[[Page 4725]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE521]

Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Texas 
Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan/Environmental 
Assessment #3: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) natural resource Trustees for the 
Texas Trustee Implementation Group (Texas TIG) have prepared the Draft 
Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #3: Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats (Draft RP/EA #3). The Draft RP/EA #3 proposes 
alternatives to help restore wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats 
impacted by the DWH oil spill. The Draft RP/EA #3 evaluates eight 
restoration alternatives under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 
including criteria set forth in the OPA Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment (NRDA) regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) and its implementing regulations. A No Action Alternative is 
also evaluated pursuant to the NEPA. The total estimated cost to 
implement the Texas TIG's seven preferred alternatives is approximately 
$40 million. The Texas TIG invites the public to comment on the Draft 
RP/EA #3.

DATES: Submitting Comments: The Texas TIG will consider public comments 
on the Draft RP/EA #3 received on or before February 18, 2025.
    Public meeting: The Texas TIG will host a public meeting to 
facilitate public review and comment on the Draft RP/EA #3. The public 
meeting date and time are as follows:
     Tuesday, January 28, 2025. An open house will be begin at 
5 p.m. central time (CT). The public meeting will be held at 5:30 CT. 
See ADDRESSES below for meeting location.

ADDRESSES: Meeting location: The meeting will be held at Rosenburg 
Library in the Wortham Auditorium, 2310 Sealy Avenue, Galveston, TX 
77750.
    Obtaining Documents: You may view and download the Draft RP/EA #3 
at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/texas. 
You may also request a flash drive containing the Draft RP/EA #3 (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Submitting comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA #3 
by any of the following methods:
     Website: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/TXTIGRP3. Follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments.
     In person: Comments may be provided at the public meeting. 
See DATES.
     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.
    Please note that personal identifying information included in the 
submitted comments (such as name, address, phone number, and email 
address) may be made publicly available at any time. Personal 
information is not required to submit comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration--Jamie Schubert, NOAA Restoration Center, (409) 679-
3237, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater 
Horizon, which was drilling a well for BP Exploration and Production, 
Inc. (BP), experienced a significant explosion, fire and subsequent 
sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the release of millions of 
barrels of oil and other discharges into the Gulf. Under the authority 
of the OPA, designated Federal and state Trustees, acting on behalf of 
the public, assessed the injuries to natural resources and prepared the 
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(Final PDARP/PEIS), and the Record of Decision for the Deepwater 
Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (ROD), which 
set forth the governance structure and process for DWH restoration 
planning under the OPA NRDA regulations. 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.
    The Texas TIG, which is composed of the NOAA, U.S. Department of 
the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, the Texas General Land Office, the Texas 
Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality, selects and implements restoration projects 
under the Texas TIG's management authority in accordance with the 
Consent Decree. The Final PDARP/PEIS, ROD, Consent Decree, and 
information on the DWH natural resource Trustees can be found at 
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan.

Background

    On August 5, 2024, the Texas TIG announced on the Gulf Spill 
Restoration website that they were initiating preparation of the Draft 
RP/EA #3, which tiers from the Final PDARP/PEIS and includes a 
reasonable range of restoration project alternatives to provide 
compensatory restoration toward meeting the Restore and Conserve 
Habitats restoration goal identified in the Final PDARP/PEIS under the 
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats (WCNH) Restoration Type.

Overview of the Texas TIG Draft RP/EA #3

    This Draft RP/EA #3 focuses on the beneficial use of dredged 
material (BUDM) to restore and conserve wetlands, coastal, and 
nearshore habitats. The Texas TIG proposes the allocation of $40 
million toward the use of BUDM to construct wetland habitat along the 
Texas coast through the projects included in the Draft RP/EA #3. The 
$40 million will be divided among the selected projects to provide the 
incremental cost for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or to fund other 
viable sources to beneficially use dredged sediments to construct the 
preferred restoration alternatives. This Draft RP/EA #3 includes a 
description and evaluation of eight restoration projects, also called 
restoration alternatives, which compensate for the WCNH Restoration 
Type injury described in the Final PDARP/PEIS. Seven alternatives are 
preferred and one of the alternatives is not preferred by the Texas TIG 
at this time. Pursuant to NEPA, a No Action alternative is also 
evaluated. Funding to implement any of the alternatives ultimately 
selected by the Texas TIG would come from the WCNH Restoration Type 
allocation. The reasonable range of project alternatives evaluated by 
the Texas TIG are listed below:

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     Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Roberts Mueller Tract 
Wetland Restoration (preferred);
     Goose Island Wetland Restoration (preferred);
     Guadalupe River Old Delta Wetland Restoration (not 
preferred);
     Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area Old River Unit 
Wetland Restoration (preferred);
     McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge Willow Lake Terraces 
Wetland Restoration (preferred);
     San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge Sargent Oil Field 
Wetland Restoration (preferred);
     Schicke Point Wetland Restoration (preferred); and
     Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge Wetland Restoration 
(preferred).
    The total estimated cost to implement the seven preferred 
alternatives is $40 million.

Next Steps

    After the public comment period ends, the Texas TIG will consider 
and address all substantive comments received before making a final 
decision on which, if any, alternatives to fund and implement. A Final 
RP/EA #3 and Finding of No Significant Impact, as appropriate, 
identifying the selected alternatives will be made publicly available 
on https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/texas.

Administrative Record

    The Administrative Record for the Draft RP/EA #3 can be viewed 
electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord 
under the folder 6.5.7.2.3.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the OPA of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 
seq.), its implementing NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR part 990, and 
the NEPA of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), its implementing regulations 
found at 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508.

    Dated: January 10, 2025.
Carrie Diane Robinson,
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-00942 Filed 1-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-P
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