Document ID: EPA_FRDOC_0001-24194
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Lake Charles Science Center and Educational Complex Project; Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Supplemental Restoration Plan
Posted Date: 2019-07-19T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34888-34889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14992]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9996-65-OW]

Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Supplemental Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lake Charles Science Center 
and Educational Complex Project Modification and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation 
Group (Louisiana TIG) have prepared the Final Supplemental Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lake Charles Science Center 
and Educational Complex Project Modification (Final Supplemental RP/
EA). The Final Supplemental RP/EA describes and, in conjunction with 
the associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), selects the 
modified Lake Charles Science Center and Educational Complex (SCEC) 
project considered by the Louisiana TIG to compensate for recreational 
use services lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The 
Louisiana TIG evaluated project alternatives under criteria set forth 
in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and 
evaluated the environmental consequences of the alternatives in 
accordance with the NEPA. The selected project is consistent with the 
restoration alternatives selected in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 
Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS). The Federal Trustees of 
the Louisiana TIG have determined that implementation of the Final 
Supplemental RP/EA is not a major federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of the human environment within the context of 
the NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI is appropriate, and, therefore, 
an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared. The purpose of 
this notice is to inform the public of the approval and availability of 
the Final Supplemental RP/EA and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final Supplemental 
RP/EA at any of the following sites:

 http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
 http://www.la-dwh.com

    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final Supplemental RP/EA 
(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: 
 Louisiana--Joann Hicks, 225-342-5477
 EPA--Tim Landers, 202-566-2231

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    On 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.
    The Trustees conducted the natural resource damage assessment for 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
United States Code 2701 et seq.). Under the 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. The 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 oil spill Trustees are:
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
     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);
     State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration 
Authority (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 
(LDWF), and Department of Natural Resources (LDNR);
     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 Parks and Wildlife Department, General Land 
Office, and Commission on Environmental Quality.
    On April 4, 2016, the Trustees reached and finalized a settlement 
of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent Decree 
approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in 
the Louisiana Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the 
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Trustees: 
CPRA, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDWF, LDNR, EPA, DOI, NOAA, USDA.

[[Page 34889]]

Background

    The original scope and design of the Lake Charles SCEC project were 
evaluated in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana TIG Final 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance 
Recreational Opportunities (Final RP/EA #2), which was published on 
July 20, 2018. As described in the Final RP/EA #2, the Lake Charles 
SCEC project would enhance recreational opportunities by providing 
indoor and outdoor public visitation and outreach components, including 
fisheries extension, access, outreach, and education to the public. 
Following release of the Final RP/EA #2, the City of Lake Charles 
requested that the Louisiana TIG consider collocating the Lake Charles 
SCEC with the City's planned Lake Charles Children's Museum (LCCM). The 
Louisiana TIG prepared a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment for the Lake Charles SCEC Project Modification 
(Draft Supplemental RP/EA) to evaluate potential revisions to the Lake 
Charles SCEC project, to inform the public about potential 
modifications to the project, and to seek public comment. A Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Supplemental RP/EA was published in the 
Federal Register on April 19, 2019. The Louisiana TIG hosted a public 
meeting on May 8, 2019, in Lake Charles, and the public comment period 
for the Draft Supplemental RP/EA closed on May 20, 2019. The Louisiana 
TIG considered the public comments received on the Draft Supplemental 
RP/EA, which informed the Louisiana TIG's analyses and selection of the 
modified Lake Charles SCEC project in the Final Supplemental RP/EA. A 
summary of the public comments received and the Trustees' responses to 
those comments are included in Section 7 of the Final Supplemental RP/
EA.

Overview of the Final Supplemental RP/EA

    The Final Supplemental RP/EA evaluates modifications to the Lake 
Charles SCEC project and considers alternatives, consistent with the 
purpose and need of the original project. Alternatives considered 
include the collocation of the Lake Charles SCEC and LCCM with 
variations of indoor and outdoor components to support recreational and 
educational opportunities, as well as a No Action alternative. In the 
Final Supplemental RP/EA, the Louisiana TIG selects project Alternative 
C: Revised Location with Fishing Pier. The selected alternative would 
collocate the Lake Charles SCEC with the planned LCCM on the north 
shore of Lake Charles. The modified project would include immersive 
exhibits, aquaria, touch tanks, outdoor walking trails, and a 
recreational fishing pier over Lake Charles. In the Final Supplemental 
RP/EA, the Louisiana TIG presents to the public its plan to continue 
the process of restoring recreational use services lost in the 
Louisiana Restoration Area as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. The total estimated cost of the selected project, as modified, 
is $7 million. Additional restoration planning for the Louisiana 
Restoration Area will continue.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final 
Supplemental RP/EA can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), its implementing NRDA regulations at 15 CFR part 
990, and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Dated: July 9, 2019.
Benita Best-Wong,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2019-14992 Filed 7-18-19; 8:45 am]
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