DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill; Final Phase II Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Review, 8184-8185 [2013-02430]
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8184
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2013 / Notices
location. Accordingly, all filings for the
annual election to average for motor
vehicles under Section 11 of Appendix
to Part 181, Rules of Origin Regulations
of North American Free Trade
Agreement, must be submitted to the
above address.
Dated: January 14, 2013.
Cynthia A. Covell,
Executive Director, Regulatory Audit, Office
of International Trade.
[FR Doc. 2013–02433 Filed 2–4–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111–14–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS–R4–FHC–2013–N026;
FVHC98130406900–XXX–FF04G01000]
DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill; Final
Phase II Early Restoration Plan and
Environmental Review
Interior.
Notice of availability of final
AGENCY:
ACTION:
report.
In accordance with the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), and the Framework Agreement
for Early Restoration Addressing
Injuries Resulting from the
DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill
(Framework Agreement), notice is
hereby given that the Federal and State
natural resource trustee agencies
(Trustees) have approved the Phase II
Early Restoration Plan and
Environmental Review (Phase II ERP/
ER) describing the second set of
restoration projects selected by the
Trustees 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. The purpose of this
notice is to inform the public of the
availability of the Phase II ERP/ER.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You
may download the Phase II ERP/ER and
the Framework Agreement at https://
www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. You
may also review hard copies of the
Phase II ERP/ER at any of the public
repositories listed at https://
www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
SUMMARY:
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Spears, at
fw4coastalDERPcomments@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On or about April 20, 2010, the
mobile offshore drilling unit
DEEPWATER HORIZON, which was
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:18 Feb 04, 2013
Jkt 229001
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 discharges of oil
and other substances from the rig and
from the wellhead on the seabed. An
estimated 4.9 million barrels (210
million gallons) of oil were released
from the well into the Gulf of Mexico
over a period of 87 days. In addition,
approximately 1.84 million gallons of
dispersants were applied to the waters
of the spill area in an attempt to
minimize impacts from spilled oil.
Affected resources include ecologically,
recreationally, and commercially
important species and their habitats in
the Gulf of Mexico and along the coastal
areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas.
Federal and State Trustees (listed
below) are conducting the natural
resource damage assessment for the
DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill under
the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Pursuant to OPA,
Federal and State agencies and Indian
tribes may act as trustees on behalf of
the public to assess natural resource
injuries and losses and to determine the
damages 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.
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);
• 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
PO 00000
Frm 00084
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
• For the State of Texas: Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department, Texas General
Land Office, and Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
Background
On April 20, 2011, BP agreed 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. This early
restoration agreement, entitled
‘‘Framework for Early Restoration
Addressing Injuries Resulting from the
DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill’’
(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 actively solicited public
input on restoration project ideas
through a variety of mechanisms,
including public meetings, electronic
communication, and creation of a
Trustee-wide public Web site and
database to share information and
receive public project submissions.
Their key objective in pursuing early
restoration is to secure tangible recovery
of natural resources and natural
resource services for the public’s benefit
while the longer-term process of fully
assessing injury and damages is
underway. As the first step in this
accelerated process, the Trustees
released, after public review of a draft,
a Phase I Early Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment (Phase I
ERP/EA) in April 2012. The Phase I ERP
is currently being implemented.
In a continuation of the early
restoration process, the Trustees
proposed two additional early
restoration projects in a Phase II Draft
Early Restoration Plan and
Environmental Review (Phase II DERP/
ER) to address response injuries from
the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill.
They address injuries to the nesting
habitats of beach-nesting birds and
loggerhead sea turtles that resulted from
response activities to the oil spill (e.g.,
efforts to prevent oil from reaching
beaches and to remove oil from
beaches). These projects address a
E:\FR\FM\05FEN1.SGM
05FEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2013 / Notices
number of specific public comments on
the Phase I ERP/EA that requested
development of additional habitat and
wildlife-based early restoration projects.
Because loggerhead sea turtles and
beach-nesting birds begin nesting along
the Northeast Gulf coast in February, the
Trustees recognized the need to
implement these two projects in a
timely manner to be effective during the
2013 breeding season and so expedited
their proposal. The Trustees continue to
work with BP to develop additional
restoration projects in accordance with
the Framework Agreement. The
Alternatives within this plan are not
intended to, and do not fully, address
all injuries caused by the spill or
provide the extent of restoration needed
to satisfy claims against BP.
Notice of availability of the Phase II
DERP/ER was published in the Federal
Register on November 6, 2012. (77 FR
66626, November 6, 2012) The public
was afforded 30 days to review and
comment on the Phase II DERP/ER.
During that review period, the Trustees
also held a public meeting in Pensacola,
Florida, on November 13, 2012, to
facilitate public comment on the Phase
II DERP/ER.
The Trustees considered the public
comments received on the Phase II
DERP/ER prior to finalizing selection of
the Phase II Early Restoration projects.
The public comments received and the
Trustees’ responses are addressed in
Chapter 5 of the Phase II ERP/_ER.
the presence of harmful lighting on
certain beaches as described in the plan.
The projects are: (1) Enhanced
Management of Avian Breeding Habitat
Injured by Response in the Florida
Panhandle, Alabama, and Mississippi;
and (2) Improving Habitat Injured by
Spill Response: Restoring the Night Sky.
Each of these projects will benefit
coastal nesting habitats injured by
response to the DEEPWATER HORIZON
oil spill.
This Phase II ERP/ER represents the
second set of projects selected as part of
the early restoration process. Planning
for additional early restoration actions is
continuing. Neither the Phase II ERP/ER
nor any subsequent plan for early
restoration is intended to or will fully
address all injuries caused by the spill
or provide the extent of restoration
needed to satisfy claims against
responsible parties. Further
comprehensive restoration will still be
required to fully compensate the public
for natural resource losses from the oil
spill.
Overview of the Phase II ERP/ER
The authorities of 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,
and the Framework Agreement.
Early Restoration Plan Alternatives,
Including the Selected Alternative
The Phase II ERP/ER describes two
early restoration alternatives: No
Action—Natural Recovery (required for
consideration by OPA) and Selected
Alternative—Phase II Early Restoration
Projects. Under the No Action
alternative, the Trustees would not
implement early restoration projects as
described in the Phase II ERP/ER.
Rather, the No Action approach would
result in delaying protection and
improvement of important nesting
habitats injured by response actions
during the oil spill.
The Selected Alternative includes two
projects that meet the selection criteria,
as described in the Phase II ERP/ER.
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Selected Early Restoration Alternative
The Selected Alternative includes two
projects intended to protect and
enhance beach nesting habitats used by
birds and sea turtles. The selected
projects will, among other things,
protect bird-nesting habitat with
symbolic fencing and signs and reduce
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:18 Feb 04, 2013
Jkt 229001
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the
Administrative Record can be viewed
electronically at https://www.doi.gov/
deepwaterhorizon
Author
The primary author of this notice is
James Haas (james_haas@nps.gov).
Authorities
Cynthia K. Dohner,
DOl Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 2013–02430 Filed 2–4–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Status
Reviews of 44 Species in Oregon,
Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern
Mariana Islands
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of reviews;
request for information.
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), are initiating
5-year status reviews for 44 species in
Oregon, Hawaii, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands, under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (Act). A 5-year status review is
based on the best scientific and
commercial data available at the time of
the review; therefore, we are requesting
submission of any new information on
these species that has become available
since the last review for that particular
species.
DATES: To ensure consideration in our
reviews, we are requesting submission
of new information no later than April
8, 2013. However, we will continue to
accept new information about any listed
species at any time.
ADDRESSES: For the 42 species in
Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern
Mariana Islands (see Table 1 below),
submit information to: Field Supervisor,
Attention: 5-Year Review, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish
and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana
Blvd., Room 3–122, Box 50088,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850.
For the Oregon chub and Hutton tui
chub, submit information to: Field
Supervisor, Attention: 5-Year Review,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Office, 2600 SE 98th
Avenue, Suite 100, Portland, Oregon
97266. Information on Oregon species
can also be submitted by email to:
fw1or5yearreview@fws.gov.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kristi Young, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Pacific Islands Fish and
Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES), 808–
792–9400 (for species in Hawaii, Guam,
and the Northern Mariana Islands); or
Jeff Dillon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Office, 503–231–6179 (for Oregon chub
and Hutton tui chub). Individuals who
are hearing impaired or speech impaired
may call the Federal Relay Service at
(800) 877–8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Why do we conduct 5-year reviews?
[FWS–R1–ES–2012–N293;
FXES11130100000C4–123–FF01E00000]
AGENCY:
8185
Under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
we maintain Lists of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and Plants (which
we collectively refer to as the List) in
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at
50 CFR 17.11 (for animals) and 17.12
(for plants). Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Act
requires us to review each listed
species’ status at least once every 5
years. Our regulations at 50 CFR 424.21
require that we publish a notice in the
Federal Register announcing those
species under active review.
E:\FR\FM\05FEN1.SGM
05FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8184-8185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02430]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-FHC-2013-N026; FVHC98130406900-XXX-FF04G01000]
DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill; Final Phase II Early Restoration
Plan and Environmental Review
AGENCY: Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of final report.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Framework Agreement
for Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the DEEPWATER
HORIZON Oil Spill (Framework Agreement), notice is hereby given that
the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) have
approved the Phase II Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Review
(Phase II ERP/ER) describing the second set of restoration projects
selected by the Trustees 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. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of
the availability of the Phase II ERP/ER.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Phase II ERP/ER
and the Framework Agreement at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. You
may also review hard copies of the Phase II ERP/ER at any of the public
repositories listed at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Spears, at
fw4coastalDERPcomments@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
discharges of oil and other substances from the rig and from the
wellhead on the seabed. An estimated 4.9 million barrels (210 million
gallons) of oil were released from the well into the Gulf of Mexico
over a period of 87 days. In addition, approximately 1.84 million
gallons of dispersants were applied to the waters of the spill area in
an attempt to minimize impacts from spilled oil. Affected resources
include ecologically, recreationally, and commercially important
species and their habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and along the coastal
areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
Federal and State Trustees (listed below) are conducting the
natural resource damage assessment for the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill
under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
Pursuant to OPA, Federal and State agencies and Indian tribes may act
as trustees on behalf of the public to assess natural resource injuries
and losses and to determine the damages 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.
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);
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.
Background
On April 20, 2011, BP agreed 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. This early
restoration agreement, entitled ``Framework for Early Restoration
Addressing Injuries Resulting from the DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill''
(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 actively solicited public input on restoration project
ideas through a variety of mechanisms, including public meetings,
electronic communication, and creation of a Trustee-wide public Web
site and database to share information and receive public project
submissions. Their key objective in pursuing early restoration is to
secure tangible recovery of natural resources and natural resource
services for the public's benefit while the longer-term process of
fully assessing injury and damages is underway. As the first step in
this accelerated process, the Trustees released, after public review of
a draft, a Phase I Early Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment
(Phase I ERP/EA) in April 2012. The Phase I ERP is currently being
implemented.
In a continuation of the early restoration process, the Trustees
proposed two additional early restoration projects in a Phase II Draft
Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Review (Phase II DERP/ER) to
address response injuries from the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill. They
address injuries to the nesting habitats of beach-nesting birds and
loggerhead sea turtles that resulted from response activities to the
oil spill (e.g., efforts to prevent oil from reaching beaches and to
remove oil from beaches). These projects address a
[[Page 8185]]
number of specific public comments on the Phase I ERP/EA that requested
development of additional habitat and wildlife-based early restoration
projects. Because loggerhead sea turtles and beach-nesting birds begin
nesting along the Northeast Gulf coast in February, the Trustees
recognized the need to implement these two projects in a timely manner
to be effective during the 2013 breeding season and so expedited their
proposal. The Trustees continue to work with BP to develop additional
restoration projects in accordance with the Framework Agreement. The
Alternatives within this plan are not intended to, and do not fully,
address all injuries caused by the spill or provide the extent of
restoration needed to satisfy claims against BP.
Notice of availability of the Phase II DERP/ER was published in the
Federal Register on November 6, 2012. (77 FR 66626, November 6, 2012)
The public was afforded 30 days to review and comment on the Phase II
DERP/ER. During that review period, the Trustees also held a public
meeting in Pensacola, Florida, on November 13, 2012, to facilitate
public comment on the Phase II DERP/ER.
The Trustees considered the public comments received on the Phase
II DERP/ER prior to finalizing selection of the Phase II Early
Restoration projects. The public comments received and the Trustees'
responses are addressed in Chapter 5 of the Phase II ERP/--ER.
Overview of the Phase II ERP/ER
Early Restoration Plan Alternatives, Including the Selected Alternative
The Phase II ERP/ER describes two early restoration alternatives:
No Action--Natural Recovery (required for consideration by OPA) and
Selected Alternative--Phase II Early Restoration Projects. Under the No
Action alternative, the Trustees would not implement early restoration
projects as described in the Phase II ERP/ER. Rather, the No Action
approach would result in delaying protection and improvement of
important nesting habitats injured by response actions during the oil
spill.
The Selected Alternative includes two projects that meet the
selection criteria, as described in the Phase II ERP/ER.
Selected Early Restoration Alternative
The Selected Alternative includes two projects intended to protect
and enhance beach nesting habitats used by birds and sea turtles. The
selected projects will, among other things, protect bird-nesting
habitat with symbolic fencing and signs and reduce the presence of
harmful lighting on certain beaches as described in the plan. The
projects are: (1) Enhanced Management of Avian Breeding Habitat Injured
by Response in the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, and Mississippi; and (2)
Improving Habitat Injured by Spill Response: Restoring the Night Sky.
Each of these projects will benefit coastal nesting habitats injured by
response to the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill.
This Phase II ERP/ER represents the second set of projects selected
as part of the early restoration process. Planning for additional early
restoration actions is continuing. Neither the Phase II ERP/ER nor any
subsequent plan for early restoration is intended to or will fully
address all injuries caused by the spill or provide the extent of
restoration needed to satisfy claims against responsible parties.
Further comprehensive restoration will still be required to fully
compensate the public for natural resource losses from the oil spill.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record can be viewed
electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
Author
The primary author of this notice is James Haas (james_haas@nps.gov).
Authorities
The authorities of 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, and the Framework
Agreement.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
DOl Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 2013-02430 Filed 2-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
