[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 24 (Friday, February 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6291-6292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02089]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R4-FHC-2016-N004; FVHC98210408710-XXX-FF04G01000]


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Final Phase V Early Restoration Plan 
and Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Framework Agreement 
for Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the Deepwater 
Horizon Oil Spill, notice is hereby given that the Federal and State 
natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) have approved the Phase V 
Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Phase V ERP/EA). 
The Trustees have selected the first phase of the Florida Coastal 
Access Project which is consistent with the early restoration program 
alternatives selected in the final Phase III Early Restoration Plan/
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Phase III ERP/PEIS). This 
early restoration project will continue the process of restoring 
natural resources and services injured or lost as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred on or about April 20, 2010, 
in the Gulf of Mexico. The Phase V ERP/EA also includes notices of 
change and supporting analysis for two Phase III Early Restoration 
Projects: ``Strategically Provided Boat Access Along Florida's Gulf 
Coast--City of Port St. Joe, Frank Pate Boat Ramp Improvements'' and 
``Florida Artificial Reef Creation and Restoration.''

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Phase V ERP/EA at: 
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov or http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Phase V 
ERP/EAs (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: Nanciann Regalado, at 404-679-4161.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    On or about 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. 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.
    Under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), 
designated Federal and State agencies may act as trustees on behalf of 
the public to assess natural resource injuries and losses resulting 
from an oil spill and to determine the restoration actions needed to 
compensate the public for those injuries and losses. OPA instructs the 
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. 
For the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, designated trustees (Trustees) in 
four Federal agencies and five Gulf States--Alabama, Florida, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas--have been working together to assess 
natural resource injuries and prepare a series of restoration plans 
described below.
    The Trustees are:
    <bullet> U.S. Department of the Interior, as represented by the 
National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of 
Land Management;
    <bullet> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf 
of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
    <bullet> U.S. Department of Agriculture;
    <bullet> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
    <bullet> 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;
    <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> For the State of Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife 
Department, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality.

Background

    In the April 2011 Framework Agreement for Early Restoration 
Addressing Injuries Resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
(Framework Agreement), BP agreed to provide the Trustees up to $1 
billion toward early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to 
address injuries to natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon 
oil spill. The Framework Agreement represents a preliminary step toward 
the restoration of injured natural resources and is intended to 
expedite the start of restoration in the Gulf in advance of the 
completion of the injury assessment process. The Framework Agreement 
provides a mechanism through which the Trustees and BP can work 
together ``to commence implementation of early restoration projects 
that will provide meaningful benefits to accelerate restoration in the 
Gulf as quickly as practicable'' and prior to the resolution of the 
Trustees' natural resource damages claim. Early restoration is not 
intended to and does not fully address all injuries caused by the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Restoration beyond early restoration 
projects will be required to fully compensate the public for natural 
resource losses, including recreational use losses, from the Deepwater 
Horizon oil spill.
    A Notice of Availability of the Draft Phase V Early Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessments (Draft Phase V ERP/EA) was published 
in the Federal Register on December 1, 2015 (80 FR 75126). The Trustees 
provided the public with 30 days to review the Draft Phase V ERP/EA and 
held one public meeting on December 14, 2015 in Panama City, FL. The 
Trustees considered the public comments received, which informed the 
Trustees' analyses and selection of the early restoration project in 
the final Phase V ERP/EA. A summary of the public comments received, 
and the Trustees' responses to those comments are addressed in Chapter 
4 of the final Phase V ERP/EA.
    In four previous phases, the Trustees selected, and BP agreed to 
fund, a total

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of 64 early restoration projects expected to cost a total of 
approximately $832 million. The Trustees selected these projects after 
public notice, public meetings, and consideration of public comments, 
through the Phase I Early Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment 
(Phase I ERP/EA), Phase II Early Restoration Plan/Environmental Review 
(Phase II ERP/ER), the Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration 
Plan and Early Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(Phase III ERP/PEIS), and the Phase IV Early Restoration Plan/
Environment Assessments (Phase IV ERP/EA).
    The Trustees released the Phase I ERP/EA on April 20, 2012 (77 FR 
23741) and the Phase II ERP/ER on February 5, 2013 (78 FR 8184). The 
Trustees released the Phase III ERP/PEIS on June 26, 2014 (79 FR 
36328), and subsequently approved that Plan and programmatic EIS in a 
Record of Decision on October 31, 2014 (79 FR 64831). The Trustees 
released the Phase IV ERP/EA on September 23, 2015 (80 FR 57384). These 
plans are available at: https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.

Overview of the Phase V ERP/EA

    The Trustees approved the first phase of the Florida Coastal Access 
Project in the Phase V ERP/EA. The estimated cost for the first phase 
of the Florida Coastal Access Project is $34,372,184. The estimated 
cost of the total Florida Coastal Access Project is $45,415,573. The 
Trustees anticipate proposing an additional future phase of the Florida 
Coastal Access Project, consisting of similar restoration activities 
that would utilize the remaining $11,043,389, if approved. Details on 
the first phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project are provided in 
the Phase V ERP/EA.
    The first phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project is intended 
to continue the process of using early restoration funding to restore 
natural resources, ecological services, and recreational use services 
injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The 
Trustees considered hundreds of projects leading to the identification 
of the Florida Coastal Access Project and considered both ecological 
and recreational use restoration projects to address injuries caused by 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, (both injuries to the physical and 
biological environment, as well as to the relationship people have with 
the environment).
    In addition, the Phase V ERP/EA includes notices of change and 
supporting analysis for two Phase III Early Restoration Projects: 
``Strategically Provided Boat Access Along Florida's Gulf Coast--City 
of Port St. Joe, Frank Pate Boat Ramp Improvements'' and ``Florida 
Artificial Reef Creation and Restoration.''

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record can be viewed 
electronically at the following location: https://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 the implementing Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR 990.

Cynthia K. Dohner,
DOI Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 2016-02089 Filed 2-4-16; 8:45 am]
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