Document ID: EPA_FRDOC_0001-25317
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan; Cypremort Point State Park Improvements Project Modification
Posted Date: 2020-04-20T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 76 (Monday, April 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21852-21853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07263]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10006-91-OW]

Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Supplemental Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Cypremort Point State Park 
Improvements Project Modification

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: On July 20, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
published a Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) Final 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction 
(Nonpoint Source) and Recreational Use (RP/EA #4). The Louisiana TIG is 
considering modifications to the Cypremort Point State Park 
Improvements (Cypremort Improvements) project originally described in 
the RP/EA #4. The modifications being considered include replacing the 
original proposed breakwater system project feature with construction 
of a recreational vehicle (RV) campground, associated infrastructure, 
and amenities at the park. 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 
TIG prepared a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental 
Assessment for the Cypremort Point State Park Improvements Project 
Modification (Supplemental RP/EA). The Supplemental RP/EA evaluates 
modifications to the Cypremort Improvements project and alternatives 
considered by the Louisiana TIG under criteria set forth in the OPA 
natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations and evaluates the 
environmental effects in accordance with the NEPA. The modifications 
under consideration to the Cypremort Improvements project are 
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). This 
notice informs the public of the availability of the Supplemental RP/EA 
and provides an opportunity for the public to submit comments on the 
document.

DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider public comments received on or 
before May 20, 2020.
    Public Webinar: The Louisiana TIG will conduct a public webinar on 
April 28, 2020, at 12 p.m. Central Daylight Time to facilitate public 
review and comment on the Supplemental RP/EA. The public webinar will 
include a presentation on the Supplemental RP/EA. Public comments will 
be taken during the public webinar. The public may register for the 
webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2110487686130281741. After registering, participants will receive a 
confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. The 
presentation will be posted on the web shortly after the webinar is 
conducted.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the 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 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.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Supplemental 
RP/EA by one of the following methods:

 Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana
 Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 29649, 
Atlanta, GA 30345
 During the Public Webinar: Comments may be provided by the 
public during the webinar on April 28, 2020
    Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
Louisiana TIG may publish any comment received on the document. Do not 
submit electronically any information you

[[Page 21853]]

consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The Louisiana 
TIG will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). Please be aware that your entire comment, 
including your personal identifying information, will become part of 
the public record. Please note that mailed comments must be postmarked 
on or before the comment deadline of 30 days following publication of 
this notice to be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
 Louisiana--Joann Hicks, 225-342-5477
 EPA--Douglas Jacobson, 214-665-6692

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 the release of 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 offshore 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 U.S.C. 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 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.

Background

    The original scope of the Cypremort Improvements project was 
evaluated in the RP/EA #4, which was published in the Federal Register 
at 83 FR 34571 on July 20, 2018. As proposed in the RP/EA #4, the 
project would entail a variety of park enhancements including beach 
restoration, marsh boardwalk and trail construction, road and jetty 
repairs, and replacement of the breakwater system that helps protect 
the park's recreational beach. Following completion of the RP/EA #4, 
the Louisiana Office of State Parks was successful in securing other 
non-NRDA funding to construct the breakwater system that was originally 
proposed as a component of the Cypremort Improvements project. The 
Louisiana TIG prepared the Supplemental RP/EA to evaluate modifications 
to the Cypremort Improvements project and consider alternatives, 
consistent with the purpose and need of the original project. 
Alternatives considered in the Supplemental RP/EA include replacing the 
original proposed breakwater system project feature with construction 
of an RV campground, associated infrastructure, and amenities at the 
park. The Louisiana TIG prepared the Supplemental RP/EA to inform the 
public about potential modifications to the Cypremort Improvements 
project and to seek public comment.

Next Steps

    The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Supplemental 
RP/EA. A public webinar is scheduled to help facilitate the public 
review and comment process. After the public comment period ends, the 
Louisiana TIG will consider the comments received before issuing a 
Final Supplemental RP/EA. A summary of comments received and the 
Louisiana TIG's responses and any revisions to the document, as 
appropriate, will be included in the final document. Public comments on 
the Supplemental RP/EA will inform the Louisiana TIG's decision on 
whether to select the Cypremort Improvements project, as modified, in 
the Final Supplemental RP/EA.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the 
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 found at 15 CFR 
part 990, and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Dated: March 31, 2020.
Benita Best-Wong,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2020-07263 Filed 4-17-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P