Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 64831 

1Although a trustee under OPA by virtue of the 

proximity of its facilities to the Deepwater Horizon 

oil spill, DOD is not a member of the Trustee 

Council and does not participate in Trustee 

decision-making. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

[FWS–R4–FHC–2014–N215; 

FVHC98130406900–XXX–FF04G01000] 

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Record of 

Decision for the Final Programmatic 

and Phase III Early Restoration Plan 

and Early Restoration Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), notice is hereby given that the 

Federal and State natural resource 

trustee agencies (Trustees) have issued a 

Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final 

Programmatic and Phase III Early 

Restoration Plan and Early Restoration 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (Final Phase III ERP/PEIS). 

The ROD documents decisions by the 

Trustees under OPA: (1) Selection of the 

Preferred Alternative for the 

Programmatic Early Restoration Plan; 

and (2) selection of 44 projects for the 

Final Phase III Early Restoration Plan, 

subject to completing remaining 

permitting and consultation 

requirements, as specifically identified 

in Section 9 of the ROD. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may download the ROD at http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov or 

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

You may also view the ROD at any of 

the public repositories listed at http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nanciann Regalado at 678–296–6805 

(phone) or nanciann_regalado@fws.gov 

(email). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On April 20, 2011, BP Exploration & 

Production Inc. and the Trustees agreed 

to the Framework for Early Restoration 

Addressing Injuries Resulting from the 

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 

(Framework Agreement), to provide 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. The 

Framework Agreement 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,’’ prior to the resolution of 

the Trustees’ natural resource damages 

claim. 

The Trustees are: 

• 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; 

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), on behalf of 

the U.S. Department of Commerce; 

• U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA); 

• U.S. Department of Defense 

(DOD); 1

• U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (USEPA); 

• 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. 

The Trustees considered hundreds of 

projects leading to the identification of 

a potential 28 future early restoration 

projects announced in the May 6, 2013 

Federal Register notice (78 FR 26319). 

On June 4, 2013 (78 FR 33431), the 

Trustees announced their intent to 

prepare a Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (PEIS) under OPA and 

NEPA to evaluate the environmental 

consequences of early restoration 

project types, as well as to propose a 

Phase III Early Restoration Plan to 

address injuries from the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill that would include the 

28 early restoration projects announced 

in the May 6, 2013, Federal Register 

notice and potentially additional early 

restoration projects. In accordance with 

NEPA, the Trustees conducted scoping 

to identify the concerns of the affected 

public, Federal agencies, States, and 

Indian tribes; to involve the public in 

the decision making process; to 

facilitate efficient early restoration 

planning and environmental review; to 

define the issues and alternatives that 

would be examined in detail; and to 

save time by ensuring that draft 

documents adequately address relevant 

issues. A scoping process reduces 

paperwork and delay by ensuring that 

important issues are considered early in 

the decision making process. To gather 

public input, the Trustees hosted six 

public meetings and accepted written 

comment electronically and via U.S. 

mail during the scoping period. 

A notice of availability of the Draft 

Programmatic and Phase III Early 

Restoration Plan and Draft Early 

Restoration Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 

Phase III ERP/PEIS) was published in 

the Federal Register on December 6, 

2013 (78 FR 73555). The Draft Phase III 

ERP/PEIS considered programmatic 

alternatives for early restoration and 

proposed alternatives for 44 early 

restoration projects in Phase III of early 

restoration consistent with the project 

types included in the proposed 

programmatic alternative. The Trustees 

provided the public with 75 days to 

review and comment on the Draft Phase 

III ERP/PEIS (including a 15-day 

extension of the original announced 60- 

day comment period). To facilitate 

public participation, the Trustees also 

held public meetings in Mobile, 

Alabama; Long Beach, Mississippi; Belle 

Chasse, Thibodaux, and Lake Charles, 

Louisiana; Port Arthur, Galveston, and 

Corpus Christi, Texas; and Pensacola, 

Florida. The Trustees considered the 

public comments received, which 

informed the Trustees’ analyses of 

programmatic alternatives and specific 

early restoration projects in the Final 

Phase III ERP/PEIS. A summary of the 

public comments received and the 

Trustees’ responses to those comments 

are found in Chapter 13 of the Final 

Phase III ERP/PEIS. 

A notice of availability of the Final 

Phase III ERP/PEIS was published in the 

Federal Register on June 26, 2014 (79 

FR 36328). The Final Phase III ERP/PEIS 

proposed early restoration 

programmatic alternatives and 

evaluated the potential environmental 

effects and cumulative effects of those 

alternatives. The Final Phase III ERP/

PEIS also proposed 44 projects as 

described in the Final Phase III ERP/

PEIS, totaling an estimated cost of 

approximately $627 million. 

Upon the completion of the Final 

Phase III ERP/PEIS, a Record of Decision 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
64832 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 

(ROD) has been prepared. The ROD 

documents decisions by the Trustees 

under OPA: (1) Selection of the 

Preferred Alternative for the 

Programmatic Early Restoration Plan; 

and (2) selection of 44 projects for the 

Final Phase III Early Restoration Plan, 

subject to completing remaining 

permitting and consultation 

requirements, as specifically identified 

in Section 9 of the ROD. The Trustees’ 

selection of the 44 early restoration 

projects for the Final Phase III ERP/PEIS 

continues the process of using early 

restoration funding to restore natural 

resources, and ecological services, and 

to compensate for recreational use 

services injured or lost as a result of the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

These projects are not intended to, 

and do not fully address all injuries 

caused by the spill or provide the extent 

of restoration needed to make the public 

and the environment whole. The 

Trustees anticipate that additional early 

restoration projects will be proposed as 

the early restoration process continues. 

Administrative Record 

An Administrative Record has been 

established and can be viewed 

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

deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord/

index.cfm. 

Authorities 

The authorities for this action are the 

Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

2701 et seq.), the implementing Natural 

Resource Damage Assessment 

regulations found at 15 CFR part 990, 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the 

Framework Agreement. 

Debora L. McClain, 

Deputy DOI Deepwater Horizon NRDAR Case 

Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25794 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLES002000 L16100000 DP0000 

LXSS051M0000] 

Notice of Availability of the 

Southeastern States Draft Resource 

Management Plan and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft 

Resource Management Plan (RMP) and 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the Southeastern States 

Planning Area and by this notice is 

announcing the opening of the comment 

period. 

DATES: To ensure that comments will be 

considered, the BLM must receive 

written comments on the Draft RMP/EIS 

within 90 days following the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its Notice of Availability of 

the Draft RMP/EIS in the Federal 

Register. The BLM will announce future 

meetings or hearings and any other 

public participation activities at least 15 

days in advance through public notices, 

media releases, and/or mailings. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the Southeastern States Draft 

RMP and Draft EIS by any of the 

following methods: 

• Email: SSFO_RMP@blm.gov. 

• Fax: 601–977–5440. 

• Mail: BLM Southeastern States 

Field Office, 411 Briarwood Drive, Suite 

404, Jackson, MS 39206. 

Copies of the Southeastern States 

Draft RMP/EIS are available in the 

Southeastern States Field Office, at the 

above address, or may be viewed at 

http://www.blm.gov/es/st/en/fo/

Jackson_Home_Page/planning/

southeastern_rmp.html. A limited 

number of hard copies and DVD copies 

are available upon request while 

supplies last. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary 

Taylor, Planning and Environmental 

Coordinator, telephone 601–977–5413; 

address 411 Briarwood Drive, Suite 404, 

Jackson, MS 39206; email, gtaylor@

blm.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact Mr. Taylor during normal 

business hours. The service is available 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave 

a message or question for Mr. Taylor. 

You will receive a reply during normal 

business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

planning area for the Southeastern 

States Draft RMP/EIS includes the States 

of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 

Louisiana, North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The 

RMP will replace previous BLM plans 

including the Florida RMP (1995), the 

Arkansas Planning Analysis (2002), the 

Louisiana Planning Analysis (2002), and 

the Meadowood Farm (Virginia) 

Planning Analysis (2003). 

Within the planning area, the 

decision-making scope of the RMP is 

limited to the decision area. The 

decision area includes 2,991 acres of 

BLM-administered surface land. In 

addition to BLM-administered surface 

land, the BLM is generally responsible 

for administration of Federal mineral 

estate, including mineral estate 

underlying other Federal agencies’ 

lands. 

Within the planning area there are 

approximately 19 million acres of 

Federal land ownership, including 

approximately 10.3 million acres 

administered by the U.S. Forest Service 

(USFS), 3.7 million acres by the 

National Park Service (NPS), 2.4 million 

acres by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS), and 2.5 million acres 

by the Department of Defense (DOD). 

The RMP will not make mineral leasing 

decisions for USFS lands, except to say 

that leasing of mineral estate underlying 

National Forests would be conducted by 

the BLM consistent with USFS land use 

plans and leasing analyses. Within the 

planning area there are 28 National 

Forests, all of which are covered by 

existing Forest Plans. These plans 

include mineral leasing decisions where 

potential for mineral development was 

identified, and typically deferred 

mineral leasing decisions if there was 

no potential for mineral development. 

Forest Plans are revised, as needed; 

BLM is currently a Cooperating Agency 

on three Forest Plan revisions. 

The BLM will not make mineral 

leasing decisions in this RMP for BLM 

mineral estate in areas identified as 

having no reasonably foreseeable 

development potential, based on 

Reasonably Foreseeable Development 

Scenario (RFDS) analyses completed by 

the BLM prior to the planning effort. 

Therefore, the decision area includes 

742,505 subsurface acres where the 

surface is administered by other Federal 

agencies (mostly DOD, including the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and 

mineral development is reasonably 

foreseeable. The decision area also 

includes 280,680 acres of Federal 

mineral estate where the surface is nonFederal (i.e. State or local government, 

or private ownership). 

The total decision area includes 

1,026,176 acres of subsurface with BLMadministered surface on 2,991 of those 

acres. There is no decision area acreage 

in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, 

or South Carolina, as these states have 

no BLM-administered surface acreage 

and the RFDS showed no reasonably 

foreseeable development of Federal 

minerals in these states. 

On October 8, 2008, the BLM issued 

a Notice of Intent in the Federal 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES