Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 33 / Friday, February 19, 2016 / Notices 8483 

3. The Committee will receive an 

overview of the Implementation Plan for 

Commercial Logbook Electronic 

Reporting, the status of eTrips, discuss 

and provide direction to staff. 

4. The Committee will also receive an 

overview of the Atlantic For-Hire 

Reporting Amendment, a demonstration 

of the South Carolina Department of 

Natural Resources’ Electronic For-Hire 

Logbook reporting process, review 

public hearing input, discuss and 

modify the document as appropriate 

and approve all actions. 

5. The Committee will receive an 

update on the Council’s Citizen Science 

Workshop, an overview of the draft 

Citizen Science Blueprint, discuss and 

take action as appropriate. 

Executive Finance Committee, 

Thursday, March 10, 2016, 2:30 p.m. 

until 3:30 p.m. 

1. The Committee will receive an 

update on the Calendar Year (CY) 2015 

budget expenditures, the Draft Activity 

Schedule, the Status of the CY 2016 

budget, and the Council Follow-up and 

priorities, and take action as 

appropriate. 

2. The Committee will discuss 

standards and procedures for 

participating in Council webinar 

meetings, receive a report from the 

Council Coordinating Committee 

meeting, address other issues, and take 

action as appropriate. 

Council Session: Thursday, March 10, 

2016, 3:45 p.m. until 5 p.m. and Friday, 

March 11, 2016, 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. 

Council Session: March 10, 2016 

3:45–4 p.m.: Call the meeting to order, 

adopt the agenda, and approve the 

December 2015 meeting minutes. 

4–5 p.m.: The Council will receive a 

report from the Snapper Grouper 

Committee, approve/disapprove 

Snapper Grouper Amendment 36 

(Spawning Special Management Zones) 

for formal Secretarial Review; approve/ 

disapprove the Oculina Review Report, 

and approve/disapprove the System 

Management Plan for Marine Protected 

Areas. The Council will consider other 

Committee recommendations and take 

action as appropriate. 

Council Session: March 11, 2016 

8:30–9 a.m.: The Council will receive 

a report from the Mackerel Committee, 

approve/disapprove Amendment 26 to 

the Coastal Migratory Pelagics FMP for 

formal Secretarial review, consider 

other Committee recommendations, and 

take action as appropriate. 

9–9:10 a.m.: The Council will receive 

a report from the Law Enforcement 

Committee, consider recommendations 

and take actions as appropriate. 

9:10–9:30 a.m.: The Council will 

receive a report from the Joint Dolphin 

Wahoo and Snapper Grouper 

Committees, consider recommendations 

and take action as appropriate. 

9:30–9:40 a.m.: The Council will 

receive a report from the Protected 

Resources Committee, approve/

disapprove the ESA/MSA Integration 

Agreement, consider other 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

9:40–9:50 a.m.: The Council will 

receive a report from the SEDAR 

Committee, consider Committee 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

9:50–10 a.m.: The Council will 

receive a report from the Data Collection 

Committee, consider Committee 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

10–10:10 a.m.: The Council will 

receive a report from the AP Selection 

Committee, consider committee 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

10:10–10:30 a.m.: The Council will 

receive a report from the Executive 

Finance Committee, approve the 

Council activity schedule, approve the 

Council Follow-Up and Priorities, 

consider other Committee 

recommendations and take action as 

appropriate. 

10:30–12 noon: The Council will 

receive a presentation on proposed 

scoping measures for the Monitor 

National Marine Sanctuary, status 

reports from NOAA Fisheries Southeast 

Regional Office and the Southeast 

Fisheries Science Center; review and 

develop recommendations on 

Experimental Fishing Permits as 

necessary; receive agency and liaison 

reports; and discuss other business and 

upcoming meetings. 

Documents regarding these issues are 

available from the Council office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during these meetings. Action 

will be restricted to those issues 

specifically identified in this notice and 

any issues arising after publication of 

this notice that require emergency 

action under section 305(c) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the Council’s intent to take final action 

to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for auxiliary aids should be 

directed to the council office (see 

ADDRESSES) 3 days prior to the meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: February 16, 2016. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03470 Filed 2–18–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XE201 

Notice of Availability of the Deepwater 

Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic 

Damage Assessment and Restoration 

Plan and Final Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement (Final 

PDARP/PEIS) 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Final 

Programmatic Damage Assessment and 

Restoration Plan and Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon Federal 

and State natural resource trustee 

agencies (Trustees) have prepared a 

Final Programmatic Damage Assessment 

and Restoration Plan and Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS). As 

required by OPA, in this Final PDARP/ 

PEIS, the Trustees present the 

assessment of impacts of the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill on natural resources in 

the Gulf of Mexico and on the services 

those resources provide, and determine 

the restoration needed to compensate 

the public for these impacts. The Final 

PDARP/PEIS describes the Trustees’ 

programmatic alternatives considered to 

restore natural resources, ecological 

services, and recreational use services 

injured or lost as a result of the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The 

Trustees evaluate these alternatives 

under criteria set forth in the OPA 

natural resource damage assessment 

regulations, and also evaluate 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 PDARP/PEIS. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
8484 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 33 / Friday, February 19, 2016 / Notices 

1Although a trustee under OPA by virtue of the 

proximity of its facilities to the Deepwater Horizon 

oil spill, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is 

not a member of the Trustee Council and did not 

participate in development of this Final PDARP/

PEIS. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may download the Final PDARP/PEIS at 

http://www.gulfspillrestoration 

.noaa.gov. Alternatively, you may 

request a CD of the Final PDARP/PEIS 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

You may also view the document at any 

of the public facilities listed at http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. The 

Final PDARP/PEIS also will be available 

for download at http://www.justice.gov/ 

enrd/deepwater-horizon. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Courtney Groeneveld at 

gulfspill.restoration@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater 

Horizon mobile drilling unit exploded, 

caught fire, and eventually sank in the 

Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a massive 

release of oil and other substances from 

BP’s Macondo well. Tragically, 11 

workers were killed and 17 injured by 

the explosion and fire. Initial efforts to 

cap the well following the explosion 

were unsuccessful, and for 87 days after 

the explosion, the well continuously 

and uncontrollably discharged oil and 

natural gas into the northern Gulf of 

Mexico. Approximately 3.19 million 

barrels (134 million gallons) of oil were 

released into the ocean, by far the 

largest offshore oil spill in the history of 

the United States. 

Oil spread from the deep ocean to the 

surface and nearshore environment, 

from Texas to Florida. The oil came into 

contact with and injured natural 

resources as diverse as deep-sea coral, 

fish and shellfish, productive wetland 

habitats, sandy beaches, birds, 

endangered sea turtles, and protected 

marine life. The oil spill prevented 

people from fishing, going to the beach, 

and enjoying their typical recreational 

activities along the Gulf. Extensive 

response actions, including use of 

dispersants, cleanup activities, and 

actions to try to prevent the oil from 

reaching sensitive resources, were 

undertaken to try to reduce harm to 

people and the environment. However, 

many of these response actions had 

collateral impacts on the environment. 

The oil and other substances released 

from the well in combination with the 

extensive response actions together 

make up the Deepwater Horizon 

incident. 

The Trustees conducted the natural 

resource damage assessment for the 

Deepwater Horizon incident under the 

Oil Pollution Act 1990 (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 of 

those resources and the loss of services 

they provide 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 Trustees 1 are as follows: 

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, on behalf of the U.S. 

Department of Commerce; 

• U.S. Department of the Interior, as 

represented by the National Park 

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

and Bureau of Land Management; 

• 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 

• For the State of Texas: Texas Parks 

and Wildlife Department, Texas General 

Land Office, and Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality. 

Background 

Notice of availability of the Draft 

PDARP/PEIS was published in the 

Federal Register on October 5, 2015 (80 

FR 60126). The Draft PDARP/PEIS 

presented the assessment of impacts of 

the Deepwater Horizon incident on 

natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico 

and on the services those resources 

provide, and determined the restoration 

needed to compensate the public for 

these impacts. The Trustees provided 

the public with 60 days to review and 

comment on the Draft PDARP/PEIS. The 

Trustees also held public meetings in 

Houma, LA; Long Beach, MS; New 

Orleans, LA; Mobile, AL; Pensacola, FL; 

St. Petersburg, FL; Galveston, TX; and 

Washington, DC, to facilitate public 

understanding of the document and 

provide opportunity for public 

comment. The Trustees considered the 

public comments received, which 

informed the Trustees’ analysis of 

programmatic alternatives in the Final 

PDARP/PEIS. The Trustees actively 

solicited public input through a variety 

of mechanisms, including convening 

public meetings, distributing electronic 

communications, and using the Trusteewide public Web site and database to 

share information and receive public 

input. A summary of the public 

comments received and the Trustees’ 

responses to those comments are 

addressed in Chapter 8 of the Final 

PDARP/PEIS. 

Overview of the Final PDARP/PEIS 

The Final PDARP/PEIS is being 

released in accordance with the OPA, 

the Natural Resources Damage 

Assessment (NRDA) regulations found 

in the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) at 15 CFR part 990, and the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

In the Final PDARP/PEIS, the 

Deepwater Horizon Trustees present to 

the public their findings on the 

extensive injuries to multiple habitats, 

biological species, ecological functions, 

and geographic regions across the 

northern Gulf of Mexico that occurred 

as a result of the Deepwater Horizon 

incident, as well as their programmatic 

plan for restoring those resources and 

the services they provide. The injuries 

caused by the Deepwater Horizon 

incident cannot be fully described at the 

level of a single species, a single habitat 

type, or a single region. Rather, the 

injuries affected such a wide array of 

linked resources over such an enormous 

area that the effects of the Deepwater 

Horizon incident constitute an 

ecosystem-level injury. The Final 

PDARP/PEIS presents four 

programmatic alternatives evaluated in 

accordance with OPA and NEPA. 

The four alternatives under the Final 

PDARP/PEIS are as follows: 

• Alternative A (Preferred 

Alternative): Comprehensive Integrated 

Ecosystem Restoration Plan based on 

programmatic Trustee goals; 

• Alternative B: Resource-Specific 

Restoration Plan based on programmatic 

Trustee goals; 

• Alternative C: Continued Injury 

Assessment and Defer Comprehensive 

Restoration Plan; and 

• Alternative D: No Action/Natural 

Recovery. 

These programmatic alternatives are 

comprised of restoration types and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 33 / Friday, February 19, 2016 / Notices 8485 

approaches to restore, replace, 

rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent of 

the injured natural resources and 

services. The Trustees’ preferred 

alternative for a restoration plan utilizes 

a comprehensive integrated ecosystem 

approach to best address these 

ecosystem-level injuries. The Trustees’ 

evaluation determined this alternative is 

best, among several other alternatives, at 

compensating the public for the losses 

to natural resources and services caused 

by the Deepwater Horizon incident. 

The Trustees’ proposed decision is to 

select a comprehensive restoration plan 

to guide and direct subsequent 

restoration planning and 

implementation during the coming 

decades. The Final PDARP/PEIS is 

programmatic; it describes the 

framework by which subsequent project 

specific restoration plans will be 

identified and developed, and sets forth 

the types of projects the Trustees will 

consider in each of the described 

restoration areas. The subsequent 

restoration plans will identify, evaluate, 

and select specific restoration projects 

for implementation that are consistent 

with the restoration framework laid out 

by the Final PDARP/PEIS. 

The Trustees considered this 

programmatic restoration planning 

decision in light of the proposed 

settlement among BP, the United States, 

and the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, 

Alabama, Florida, and Texas to resolve 

BP’s liability for natural resource 

damages associated with the Deepwater 

Horizon incident. Under this proposed 

settlement, BP would pay a total of $8.1 

billion for restoration to address natural 

resource injuries (this includes $1 

billion already committed for early 

restoration), plus up to an additional 

$700 million to respond to natural 

resource damages unknown at the time 

of the settlement and/or to provide for 

adaptive management. The proposed 

Consent Decree for the proposed 

settlement was the subject of a separate 

public notice and comment process; the 

Notice of Lodging of the proposed 

Consent Decree under the Clean Water 

Act and Oil Pollution Act was 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 5, 2015 (80 FR 60180). 

Next Steps 

In accordance with NEPA, a Federal 

agency must prepare a concise public 

Record of Decision (ROD) at the time the 

agency makes a decision in cases 

involving an EIS (40 CFR 1505.2). The 

Trustees will issue a ROD pursuant to 

NEPA regulations at 40 CFR 1505.2 and 

OPA regulations at 15 CFR 990.23. 

Accordingly, the ROD for the Final 

PDARP/PEIS will provide and explain 

the Trustees’ decisions regarding the 

selection of a preferred alternative. The 

Trustees will issue the ROD no earlier 

than 30 days after the Environmental 

Protection Agency publishes a notice in 

the Federal Register announcing the 

availability of the Final PDARP/PEIS (40 

CFR 1506.10). 

Administrative Record 

The documents included in the 

Administrative Record can be viewed 

electronically at the following location: 

http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/

adminrecord. 

The Trustees opened a publicly 

available Administrative Record for the 

NRDA for the Deepwater Horizon oil 

spill, including restoration planning 

activities, concurrently with publication 

of the 2011 Notice of Intent (NOI) to 

Begin Restoration Scoping and Prepare 

a Gulf Spill Restoration Planning PEIS 

(pursuant to 15 CFR 990.45). The 

Administrative Record includes the 

February 17, 2011, NOI for a 90-day 

formal scoping (76 FR 9327) and public 

comment period for this Final PDARP/ 

PEIS. The Trustees conducted the 

scoping in accordance with OPA (15 

CFR 990.14(d)), NEPA (40 CFR 1501.7), 

and State authorities. As part of the 

scoping process, the Trustees hosted 

public meetings across all the Gulf 

States during spring 2011. 

Authority 

The authority of this action is the Oil 

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

seq.) and the implementing NRDA 

regulations found at 15 CFR part 990. 

Dated: February 11, 2016. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03299 Filed 2–18–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request: Socioeconomics of 

Recreational Fishing in Florida’s Gulf 

Coast 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before April 19, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at JJessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Dr. Danielle Schwarzmann, 

301–713–7254 danielle.schwarzmann@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is for a new information 

collection. 

Through a partnership with The 

Rosenstiel School of Marine and 

Atmospheric Science at the University 

of Miami, we will collect information 

from recreational fishers to complete 

quantitative economic valuations of 

ecosystem goods and services produced 

for recreational fisheries in Florida’s 

Gulf Coast. The survey will utilize the 

stated choice method to estimate the 

marginal value of a change in catch rates 

and other biological or economic 

attributes of the recreational fishery. 

These may include; size, type of fish 

and/or method of fishing. 

This information will be utilized by 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 

Commission (FFWCC) and the National 

Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast 

Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) 

fisheries scientists and managers to 

enhance the scope of information used 

for stock assessment. Additionally, this 

economic data will be integrated into 

the recreational fisheries management 

decision-making processes. The 

information will directly benefit Office 

of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), 

as it will help us to identify 

socioeconomic indicators for 

recreational fishing that we can 

incorporate into management process/

decisions and future condition reports 

to evaluate the status and trends of the 

recreational fishing ecosystem service. 

II. Method of Collection 

Internet and mail. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–XXXX. 

Form Number: None. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES