51858 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 8, 2017 / Notices 

reviewing and making 

recommendations for changes, when 

needed, on all Federal programs, and/or 

regulations, to ensure support of 

hunting as: (a) An enhancement to 

foreign wildlife conservation and 

survival, and (b) an effective tool to 

combat illegal trafficking and poaching; 

recommending strategies to benefit the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s permit 

office in receiving timely country data 

and information so as to remove barriers 

that impact consulting with range states; 

recommending removal of barriers to 

the importation into the United States of 

legally hunted wildlife; ongoing review 

of import suspension/bans and 

providing recommendations that seek to 

resume the legal trade of those items, 

where appropriate; reviewing seizure 

and forfeiture actions/practices, and 

providing recommendations for 

regulations that will lead to a reduction 

of unwarranted actions; reviewing the 

Endangered Species Act’s foreign listed 

species and interaction with the 

Convention on International Trade in 

Endangered Species of Wild Flora and 

Fauna, with the goal of eliminating 

regulatory duplications; and 

recommending methods for 

streamlining/expediting the process of 

import permits. 

The Council will meet approximately 

two times per year. The Secretary will 

appoint members and their alternates to 

the Council to serve up to a 3-year term. 

The Council will not exceed 18 

discretionary members and 4 ex officio 

members. 

Ex officio members will include: 

• Secretary of the Interior or 

designated DOI representatives; and 

• Secretary of State or designated 

Department of State representatives. 

The remaining members will be 

selected from among, but not limited to, 

the entities listed below. These 

members must be senior-level 

representatives of their organizations 

and/or have the ability to represent their 

designated constituency. 

• Wildlife and habitat conservation/ 

management organizations; 

• U.S. hunters actively engaged in 

international and/or domestic hunting 

conservation; 

• The firearms or ammunition 

manufacturing industry; 

• Archery and/or hunting sports 

industry; and 

• Tourism, outfitter, and/or guide 

industries related to international 

hunting. 

Nominations should include a resume 

providing an adequate description of the 

nominee’s qualifications, including 

information that would enable DOI to 

make an informed decision regarding 

meeting the membership requirements 

of the Council and to permit DOI to 

contact a potential member. 

Members of the Council serve without 

compensation. However, while away 

from their homes or regular places of 

business, Council and subcommittee 

members engaged in Council or 

subcommittee business that the DFO 

approves may be allowed travel 

expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

subsistence, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 

5703, in the same manner as persons 

employed intermittently in Federal 

Government service. 

Public Disclosure of Comments: 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Certification Statement: I hereby 

certify that the International Wildlife 

Conservation Council is necessary and 

is in the public interest in connection 

with the performance of duties imposed 

on the Department of the Interior 43 

U.S.C. 1457, under the provisions of the 

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 

742a–742j), and other Acts applicable to 

specific bureaus. 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2. 

Dated: November 3, 2017. 

Ryan K. Zinke, 

Secretary, Department of the Interior. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24328 Filed 11–7–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

[FWS–R4–ES–2017–N156; 

FVHC98220410150–XXX–FF04G01000] 

Notice of Availability; Florida Trustee 

Implementation Group Deepwater 

Horizon Oil Spill Draft Phase V.2 

Restoration Plan and Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment; Florida 

Coastal Access Project 

AGENCY: Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990, the National 

Environmental Policy Act, the 

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final 

Programmatic Damage Assessment and 

Restoration Plan and Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS), and the 

resulting Consent Decree, the Federal 

and State natural resource trustee 

agencies for the Florida Trustee 

Implementation Group (Florida TIG) 

have prepared a Draft Phase V.2 

Restoration Plan and Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment (Draft Phase 

V.2 RP/SEA). The Draft Phase V.2 RP/ 

SEA supplements the 2016 Final Phase 

V Early Restoration Plan and 

Environmental Assessment (Final Phase 

V ERP/EA) and describes and proposes 

the second phase of the Florida Coastal 

Access Project intended to 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. 

DATES: The Florida TIG will consider 

public comments received on or before 

December 8, 2017. 

Public Meeting: The Florida TIG has 

scheduled a public meeting to facilitate 

public review and comment on the Draft 

Phase V.2 RP/SEA. Both written and 

verbal comments will be taken at the 

public meeting. The Florida TIG will 

hold an open house followed by a 

public meeting. The public meeting will 

include a presentation of the Draft Phase 

V.2 RP/SEA. The public meeting 

schedule is as follows: 

Date Time Location 

November 16, 2017 ............. 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Open house—6:30 to 8:00 p.m.: 

Public meeting (presentations and discussion).

Robert M. Moore Administration Building, 1000 Cecil G. 

Costin Sr. Blvd., Port St. Joe, FL 32456. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may download the Draft Phase V.2 RP/ 

SEA at any of the following sites: 

• http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. 

• http://www.doi.gov/ 

deepwaterhorizon. 

• http://dep.state.fl.us/ 

deepwaterhorizon/default.htm. 

Alternatively, you may request a CD 

of the Draft Phase V.2 RP/SEA (see FOR


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 8, 2017 / Notices 51859 

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You 

may also view the document at any of 

the public facilities listed at http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. 

Submitting Comments: You may 

submit comments on the Draft Phase V.2 

RP/SEA by one of following methods: 

• Via the Web: http://

www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. 

• Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 49567, 

Atlanta, GA 30345. 

In order to be considered, mailed 

comments must be postmarked on or 

before the comment deadline given in 

the DATES section of this notice. 

• In Person: Written and oral 

comments may be submitted at the 

public meeting on November 16, 2017 

(see Public Availability of Comments 

below). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nanciann Regalado, at 404–679–4161, 

or email nanciann_regalado@fws.gov. 

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. 

The Trustees conducted the natural 

resource damage assessment (NRDA) for 

the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under 

OPA. Pursuant to OPA (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 

2701 et seq.), 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 Deepwater Horizon 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. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA); 

• 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. 

Upon completion of the NRDA, the 

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 Florida Restoration Area 

are now chosen and managed by the 

Florida TIG. The Florida TIG is 

composed of the following six Trustees: 

State of Florida Department of 

Environmental Protection and Fish and 

Wildlife Conservation Commission; 

DOI; NOAA; EPA; and USDA. 

Background 

In the 2011 Framework Agreement for 

Early Restoration Addressing Injuries 

Resulting from the Deepwater Horizon 

Oil Spill (Framework Agreement), BP 

agreed to provide to 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 represented a 

preliminary step toward the restoration 

of injured natural resources and was 

intended to expedite the start of 

restoration in the Gulf in advance of the 

completion of the injury assessment 

process. Early restoration was not 

intended to and did not fully address all 

injuries caused by the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill. 

In the five phases of the early 

restoration process, the Trustees 

selected, and BP agreed to fund, a total 

of 65 early restoration projects expected 

to cost a total of approximately $877 

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), Phase III 

ERP/PEIS, Phase IV Early Restoration 

Plan/Environment Assessments (Phase 

IV ERP/EA), and Phase V ERP/EA. 

These plans are available at: http://

www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. 

The April 4, 2016, Consent Decree 

terminated and replaced the Framework 

Agreement and provided that the 

Trustees shall use remaining early 

restoration funds as specified in the 

early restoration plans and in 

accordance with the Consent Decree. 

The Trustees have determined that 

decisions concerning any unexpended 

early restoration funds are to be made 

by the appropriate Trustee 

Implementation Group for that project. 

Overview of the Draft Phase V.2 RP/ 

SEA 

In the Final Phase V ERP/EA, the 

Deepwater Horizon State and Federal 

natural resource trustees (Trustees) 

evaluated and selected the first phase of 

the Florida Coastal Access Project. The 

Final Phase V ERP/EA provided that the 

Florida Coastal Access Project would 

proceed in phases, and that these future 

phases would consist of similar 

restoration activities to be identified and 

selected by the Trustees in the same 

manner and using the same criteria as 

described in the Final Phase V ERP/EA, 

in accordance with OPA, NEPA, and 

other applicable laws, and after public 

review of the proposed activities. 

The proposed second phase of the 

Florida Coastal Access Project is 

consistent with the early restoration 

program alternatives selected in the 

Final Phase III Early Restoration Plan/ 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (Final Phase III ERP/PEIS) 

and the Final PDARP/PEIS. The purpose 

of this notice is to inform the public of 

the availability of the Draft Phase V.2 

RP/SEA and to seek public comments 

on the proposed second phase of the 

Florida Coastal Access Project and 

supporting analysis. 

The Draft Phase V.2 RP/SEA is being 

released in accordance with OPA, 

NRDA regulations found in the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR 


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51860 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 8, 2017 / Notices 

part 990, NEPA, the Consent Decree, the 

Final PDARP/PEIS, the Phase III ERP/ 

PEIS and the Phase V ERP/EA. 

The Florida TIG is considering the 

second phase of the Florida Coastal 

Access Project in the Draft Phase V.2 

RP/SEA to address lost recreational 

opportunities in Florida caused by the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In the Draft 

Phase V.2 RP/SEA, the Florida TIG 

proposes one preferred alternative, the 

Salinas Park Addition, which involves 

the acquisition and enhancement of a 

6.6-acre coastal parcel. The Florida 

Coastal Access Project was allocated 

approximately $45.4 million in early 

restoration funds, and the Salinas Park 

Addition would cost approximately $3.1 

million of the $6.4 million remaining 

funds not utilized in the first phase of 

the Florida Coastal Access Project. The 

Florida TIG also considered two 

additional land acquisition and 

improvement alternatives, as well as the 

no action alternative in the Draft Phase 

V.2 RP/SEA. One or more alternatives 

may be selected for implementation by 

the Florida TIG in the Final Phase V.2 

RP/SEA or in future restoration plans. 

Details on the proposed second phase of 

the Florida Coastal Access Project are 

provided in the Draft Phase V.2 RP/SEA. 

The proposed second phase of the 

Florida Coastal Access Project is 

intended to continue the process of 

using restoration funding to restore 

natural resources, ecological services, 

and recreational use services injured or 

lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon 

oil spill. Additional restoration 

planning for the Florida Restoration 

Area will continue. 

Next Steps 

As described above, a public meeting 

is scheduled to facilitate the public 

review and comment process on the 

Draft Phase V.2 RP/SEA. After the 

public comment period ends, the 

Florida TIG will consider and address 

the comments received before issuing a 

final Phase V.2 RP/SEA. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Administrative Record 

The documents comprising the 

Administrative Record for the Draft 

Phase V.2 RP/SEA can be viewed 

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

deepwaterhorizon/administrativerecord. 

Authority 

The authority of this action is the Oil 

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

seq.) and its implementing 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.). 

Kevin D. Reynolds, 

Designated Department of the Interior Natural 

Resource Trustee Official. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24197 Filed 11–7–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

[18XD0120AF/DT20000000/DST000000/ 

241A/T0110100] 

Tribal Consultation on Indian Trust 

Asset Reform Act (ITARA) Sec. 304, 

Transition Plan for the Office of the 

Special Trustee for American Indians 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces that 

the Department of the Interior 

(Department) will be hosting two Tribal 

consultation sessions on a proposal to 

transfer the Office of the Special Trustee 

for American Indians (OST) to report to 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary— 

Indian Affairs (AS–IA) in FY 2018 via 

a Secretary’s Order. Under the proposal, 

the office would be headed temporarily 

by the Principal Deputy Special Trustee, 

who would be delegated the authorities 

of the Special Trustee for American 

Indians. Subsequently, the Department 

plans to appoint a career executive to 

act as the Director of OST. 

DATES: Tribal consultation sessions will 

be held by phone on Wednesday, 

December 13, 1:00 p.m.– 4:00 p.m. EST, 

and Thursday, December 14, 9:00 a.m.– 

12:00 p.m. EST. Comments on this 

proposal must be received by January 

15, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments via 

email to consultation@bia.gov or mail to 

Attn: ITARA Transition, c/o Elizabeth 

Appel, Office of Regulatory Affairs & 

Collaborative Action—Indian Affairs, 

1849 C Street NW., Mail Stop 4660, 

Washington, DC 20240. The toll free 

call-in number for the consultation 

sessions is: (888) 324–2907, and the 

passcode is 9793554. Additional 

information is available at www.doi.gov/ 

OST/ITARA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Elizabeth Appel, Director, Office of 

Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative 

Action, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs, at 

elizabeth.appel@bia.gov or (202) 273– 

4680. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OST was 

established in the Department by the 

American Indian Trust Fund 

Management Reform Act of 1994 (1994 

Act), Public Law 103–412, when 

Congress decided a Special Trustee was 

needed to oversee reforms relating to 

trust responsibilities throughout the 

Department. In 1996, the Secretary of 

the Interior (Secretary) transferred 

management of Indian trust funds from 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to the 

OST. See Secretarial Order No. 3197. 

OST has implemented reforms and 

managed Indian trust funds for over 20 

years. 

In June 2016, Congress passed the 

Indian Trust Asset Reform Act (ITARA), 

Public Law 114–178. ITARA Section 

304(a) requires the Secretary to prepare 

and submit a plan for the transition of 

functions of the OST to other bureaus or 

agencies within the Department within 

two years of submission of the plan to 

Congress. Beginning in August 2016, the 

Department held one listening session 

and 10 Tribal consultation sessions 

throughout Indian Country and held an 

open period to solicit comments via a 

notice in the Federal Register. Based on 

consultation feedback, the Department 

determined that the most appropriate 

place for OST’s core functions is to 

remain with OST as a permanent 

organization. To ensure fully integrated 

Indian policy and programs, we propose 

to realign OST to report to AS–IA. To 

meet the two-year deadline required by 

ITARA Section 304(a), the Department 

proposes transferring the OST to AS–IA 

in FY 2018 via a Secretary’s Order. 

Today, the OST holds approximately 

$5 billion under trust management and 

administers approximately 3,400 tribal 

trust accounts for more than 250 Indian 

Tribes and over 400,000 Individual 

Indian Money (IIM) accounts. Each year, 

OST disburses roughly $1.2 billion to 

individual Indians and tribes. 

Receipting, investing, and disbursing 

activity is accomplished through the 

processing of 10.3 million financial 

transactions. 

The OST organization features five 

Regional Trust Administrators with 

extensive backgrounds in trust 

management, with over 50 Fiduciary 

Trust Officers to serve as the primary 


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