Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities, 60397-60398 [2017-26565]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2017 / Notices
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
three years from the completion of the
transaction.
3. Agents acting on behalf of sellers or
lessors are specifically required by
Section 1018 to comply with the
disclosure regulations described above.
Responses to the collection of
information are mandatory (see 40 CFR
745, Subpart F, and 24 CFR 35, Subpart
H). Respondents may claim all or part
of a notice confidential. EPA will
disclose information that is covered by
a claim of confidentiality only to the
extent permitted by, and in accordance
with, the procedures in TSCA section 14
and 40 CFR part 2.
Burden statement: The annual public
reporting and recordkeeping burden for
this collection of information is
estimated to average 0.11 hours per
response. Burden is defined in 5 CFR
1320.3(b).
The ICR, which is available in the
docket along with other related
materials, provides a detailed
explanation of the collection activities
and the burden estimate that is only
briefly summarized here:
Respondents/Affected Entities:
Entities potentially affected by this ICR
are persons engaged in selling or leasing
certain residential dwellings built before
1978, or who are real estate agents
representing such parties.
Estimated total number of potential
respondents: 21,504,926.
Frequency of response: On occasion.
Estimated total average number of
responses for each respondent: 2.6.
Estimated total annual burden hours:
5,952,344 hours.
Estimated total annual costs:
$130,067,754. This includes an
estimated burden cost of $130,067,754
and an estimated cost of $0 for capital
investment or maintenance and
operational costs.
III. Are there changes in the estimates
from the last approval?
There is a decrease of 514,832 hours
in the total estimated respondent
burden compared with that identified in
the ICR currently approved by OMB.
This decrease reflects revisions to the
estimated number of respondents based
on updates to data sources, and
revisions based on market factors, e.g.,
declines in the numbers of new rentals
and declines in the amount of owneroccupied target housing in the market.
This change is an adjustment. See the
Supporting Statement for details.
IV. What is the next step in the process
for this ICR?
EPA will consider the comments
received and amend the ICR as
appropriate. The final ICR package will
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:36 Dec 19, 2017
Jkt 244001
then be submitted to OMB for review
and approval pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.12. EPA will issue another Federal
Register document pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the
submission of the ICR to OMB and the
opportunity to submit additional
comments to OMB. If you have any
questions about this ICR or the approval
process, please contact the technical
person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: December 4, 2017.
Charlotte Bertrand,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant
Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2017–27424 Filed 12–19–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9971–53–OW]
Notice of Availability of the Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group Draft
Restoration Plan and Environmental
Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance
Recreational Opportunities
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for public comments.
AGENCY:
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 a
Draft Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment #2: Provide
and Enhance Recreational Opportunities
(RP/EA). The Draft RP/EA describes and
proposes restoration project alternatives
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
these alternatives under criteria set forth
in the OPA natural resource damage
assessment (NRDA) regulations, and
also evaluated the environmental
consequences of the restoration
alternatives in accordance with NEPA.
The proposed projects 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). The purpose of this
notice is to inform the public of the
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
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60397
availability of the Draft RP/EA and to
seek public comments on the document.
DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider
public comments received on or before
January 19, 2018.
Public Meeting: The Louisiana TIG
will also take written and verbal
comments at the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority Board Meeting on
January 17, 2018; 9:30 a.m.; Louisiana
State Capitol, House Committee Room 5,
900 North Third Street, Baton Rouge,
LA 70802.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You
may download the Draft RP/EA at any
of the following sites:
• https://www.gulfspill
restoration.noaa.gov
• https://www.la-dwh.com
Alternatively, you may request a CD
of the Draft RP/EA (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also
view the document at any of the public
facilities listed at https://www.gulfspill
restoration.noaa.gov.
Submitting Comments: You may
submit comments on the Draft RP/EA by
one of following methods:
• Via the Web: https://www.gulfspill
restoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/
louisiana.
• Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 49567,
Atlanta, GA 30345; or Louisiana Coastal
Protection & Restoration Authority,
ATTN: Liz Williams, P.O. Box 44027,
Baton Rouge, LA 70804.
• In Person: Written and verbal
comments may be submitted at the
public meeting on January 17, 2018
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
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 not 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:
E:\FR\FM\20DEN1.SGM
20DEN1
60398
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2017 / Notices
• Louisiana—Liz Williams at
LATIGPublicComments@la.gov.
• EPA—Tim Landers at
landers.timothy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
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 U.S.C.
2701 et seq.). Under 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.
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 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;
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:36 Dec 19, 2017
Jkt 244001
• 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.
Background
In a November 2016 notice posted at
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
the Louisiana TIG notified the public
that the $22 million originally allocated
to the Louisiana Marine Fisheries
Enhancement, Research, and Science
Center (LMFERSC) in the 2014
Programmatic and Phase III Early
Restoration Plan and Early Restoration
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (Phase III ERP/PEIS) would
need to be re-allocated to other
restoration projects intended to provide
and enhance recreational opportunities.
Site issues that arose during planning
and development of the LMFERSC had
precluded the Louisiana TIG from
moving forward with the project. The
Louisiana TIG requested restoration
project ideas, including in a May 17,
2017, notice posted at https://www.gulf
spillrestoration.noaa.gov, to provide and
enhance recreational opportunities
using the $22 million in early
restoration funding.
Overview of the Draft RP/EA
The Draft RP/EA is being released in
accordance with OPA, NRDA
regulations found in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR part 990,
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). In
the Draft RP/EA, the Louisiana TIG
presents to the public their plan to
compensate for recreational use services
lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill. The Draft RP/EA proposes four
restoration project alternatives,
evaluated in accordance with OPA and
NEPA. The four proposed restoration
project alternatives in the Draft RP/EA
are as follows:
• Elmer’s Island Access
• Island Road Piers
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
• Statewide Artificial Reefs
• Lake Charles Science Center and
Educational Complex
The Draft RP/EA also evaluates a no
action alternative. One or more
alternatives may be selected for
implementation by the Louisiana TIG to
compensate for recreational use services
lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill.
The Louisiana TIG has examined the
injuries assessed by the Deepwater
Horizon Trustees and evaluated
restoration project alternatives to
address the injuries. In the Draft RP/EA,
the Louisiana TIG presents to the public
its plan for providing partial
compensation for lost recreational use
services in the Louisiana Restoration
Area. The proposed project alternatives
are intended to continue the process of
using restoration funding to restore
recreational use services lost as a result
of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The
total estimated cost of the proposed
project alternatives is $22 million.
Additional restoration planning for lost
recreational use in the Louisiana
Restoration Area will occur at a later
time.
Next Steps
The public is encouraged to review
and comment on the Draft RP/EA. A
public meeting is scheduled to also 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 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.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the
Administrative Record for the Draft RP/
EA can be viewed electronically at
https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/
administrativerecord.
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 NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Dated: November 22, 2017.
Benita Best-Wong,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant
Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2017–26565 Filed 12–19–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
E:\FR\FM\20DEN1.SGM
20DEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60397-60398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26565]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9971-53-OW]
Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational
Opportunities
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 a Draft Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment #2: Provide and Enhance Recreational
Opportunities (RP/EA). The Draft RP/EA describes and proposes
restoration project alternatives 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 these
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource
damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and also evaluated the
environmental consequences of the restoration alternatives in
accordance with NEPA. The proposed projects 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). The purpose of this notice
is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft RP/EA and to
seek public comments on the document.
DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider public comments received on or
before January 19, 2018.
Public Meeting: The Louisiana TIG will also take written and verbal
comments at the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board
Meeting on January 17, 2018; 9:30 a.m.; Louisiana State Capitol, House
Committee Room 5, 900 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA at any
of the following sites:
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
https://www.la-dwh.com
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP/EA (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also view the document at any of
the public facilities listed at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA by
one of following methods:
Via the Web: https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.
Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box
49567, Atlanta, GA 30345; or Louisiana Coastal Protection & Restoration
Authority, ATTN: Liz Williams, P.O. Box 44027, Baton Rouge, LA 70804.
In Person: Written and verbal comments may be submitted at
the public meeting on January 17, 2018
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 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 not 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:
[[Page 60398]]
Louisiana--Liz Williams at [email protected].
EPA--Tim Landers at [email protected].
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 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Under 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. 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 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.
Background
In a November 2016 notice posted at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov the Louisiana TIG notified the public
that the $22 million originally allocated to the Louisiana Marine
Fisheries Enhancement, Research, and Science Center (LMFERSC) in the
2014 Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration Plan and Early
Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Phase III ERP/
PEIS) would need to be re-allocated to other restoration projects
intended to provide and enhance recreational opportunities. Site issues
that arose during planning and development of the LMFERSC had precluded
the Louisiana TIG from moving forward with the project. The Louisiana
TIG requested restoration project ideas, including in a May 17, 2017,
notice posted at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov, to provide
and enhance recreational opportunities using the $22 million in early
restoration funding.
Overview of the Draft RP/EA
The Draft RP/EA is being released in accordance with OPA, NRDA
regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR
part 990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). In the Draft RP/EA, the
Louisiana TIG presents to the public their plan to compensate for
recreational use services lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill. The Draft RP/EA proposes four restoration project alternatives,
evaluated in accordance with OPA and NEPA. The four proposed
restoration project alternatives in the Draft RP/EA are as follows:
Elmer's Island Access
Island Road Piers
Statewide Artificial Reefs
Lake Charles Science Center and Educational Complex
The Draft RP/EA also evaluates a no action alternative. One or more
alternatives may be selected for implementation by the Louisiana TIG to
compensate for recreational use services lost as a result of the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the
Deepwater Horizon Trustees and evaluated restoration project
alternatives to address the injuries. In the Draft RP/EA, the Louisiana
TIG presents to the public its plan for providing partial compensation
for lost recreational use services in the Louisiana Restoration Area.
The proposed project alternatives are intended to continue the process
of using restoration funding to restore recreational use services lost
as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The total estimated
cost of the proposed project alternatives is $22 million. Additional
restoration planning for lost recreational use in the Louisiana
Restoration Area will occur at a later time.
Next Steps
The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RP/EA.
A public meeting is scheduled to also 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 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.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Draft
RP/EA can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/administrativerecord.
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 NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Dated: November 22, 2017.
Benita Best-Wong,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2017-26565 Filed 12-19-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P