Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin; Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Utah, 29232-29233 [2019-13021]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2019 / Notices
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by the appropriate TIG, in this case the
FL TIG.
Background
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 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
the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Pursuant to 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 completion
of restoration to baseline (the resource
quality and conditions that would exist
if the spill had not occurred).
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;
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18:30 Jun 20, 2019
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• 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.
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
U.S. 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 FL TIG. The
FL 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.
Overview of the FL TIG Draft Phase V.3
RP/SEA
The draft Phase V.3 RP/SEA is being
released in accordance with OPA NRDA
regulations found in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR part 990,
NEPA and its implementing regulations
found at 40 CFR parts 1500–1508, the
Final PDARP/PEIS, and the Consent
Decree. The Phase V.3 RP/SEA provides
an OPA analysis for the proposed third
phase of the Florida Coastal Access
Project and supplements the NEPA
analysis completed in the first and
second phases of the project (2016 Final
Phase V Early Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment and the
2017 Final Phase V.2 Restoration Plan
and Supplemental Environmental
Assessment, respectively). In the draft
Phase V.3 RP/SEA, the FL TIG proposes
the acquisition of the Navarre Beach
Park Addition—an approximately 4.75acre privately owned inholding parcel
within the existing Navarre Beach
Marine Park, a county park in Santa
Rosa County—as the preferred
alternative. The proposal consists of
land acquisition only; construction of
recreational amenities is not proposed.
The parcel would become part of the
Navarre Beach Marine Park and would
be owned by Santa Rosa County, who
would be responsible for maintaining it
as part of the Santa Rosa County Park
System. Deed restrictions would ensure
the property remains in the Santa Rosa
County Park System in perpetuity.
Acquisition of the Navarre Beach
Marine Park Addition would continue
the process of restoring natural
resources and services injured or lost as
a result of the DWH oil spill. This
would be accomplished using
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approximately $2 million in Florida
Coastal Access Project remaining funds.
Next Steps
As described above, the Trustees will
hold a public meeting to facilitate the
public review and comment process.
After the public comment period ends,
the Trustees will consider and address
the comments received before issuing a
final Phase V.3 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 Phase V.3
RP/SEA can be viewed electronically at
https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/
adminrecord.
Authority
The authority of this action is the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et
seq.), 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.) and its
implementing regulations found at 40
CFR parts 1500–1508.
Mary Josie Blanchard,
Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration,
Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2019–13224 Filed 6–20–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[19X.LLID930000.L11100000.DF0000.
LXSGPL000000.241A.4500132602]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Fuel Breaks in the Great
Basin; Idaho, Washington, Oregon,
California, Nevada, and Utah
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land
SUMMARY:
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jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2019 / Notices
Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for Fuel Breaks in the
Great Basin and by this notice is
announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft
Programmatic EIS for Fuel Breaks in the
Great Basin within 45 days following
the date the Environmental Protection
Agency publishes its Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The
BLM will announce future meetings or
hearings and any other public
involvement activities at least 15 days
in advance through public notices,
media releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Draft Programmatic EIS for
Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin by any
of the following methods: website:
https://go.usa.gov/xnQcG, Email:
GRSG_PEIS@blm.gov, Fax: 208–373–
3805, Mail: Bureau of Land
Management, Idaho State Office, ATTN:
Fuel Breaks Draft PEIS, 1387 South
Vinnell Way, Boise ID 83709.
Copies of the Draft Programmatic EIS
for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin are
available in the BLM Idaho State at the
above address; additional copies can be
made available at the California,
Nevada, Oregon/Washington, and Utah
State Offices upon request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marlo Draper, telephone 208–373–3812;
address BLM Idaho State Office, 1387
South Vinnell Way, Boise ID 83709;
email mdraper@blm.gov. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to
contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with the
above individual. You will receive a
reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
purpose of a system of strategically
placed fuel breaks in the Great Basin
region is to slow the spread of wildfires
and provide firefighters with the best
opportunity to catch rapidly moving
fires and establish an anchor point,
thereby reducing wildfire size and
improving firefighter safety while
engaging in fire suppression. Fuel
breaks would also offer greater
protection of human life and property,
sagebrush communities, and habitat
restoration investments. Reducing fire
size helps to reduce the expansion of
invasive species, such as cheatgrass and
medusahead. The need for fuel breaks
relates to the increased size and
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:30 Jun 20, 2019
Jkt 247001
frequency of wildfires throughout the
western United States in recent years.
The fires have impacted healthy
rangelands, sagebrush communities, and
the general productivity of the lands.
Efforts to suppress these wildfires have
cost approximately $1.7 billion dollars
between 2007 and 2017. These wildfires
have resulted in increased numbers of
injuries and fatalities among wildland
firefighters, destruction of private
property, degradation and loss of
rangelands, loss of recreational
opportunities, and habitat loss for a
variety of species, including the
conversion of native habitats to invasive
annual grasses. The conversion of
rangeland habitats to invasive annual
grasslands further impedes rangeland
health and productivity by slowing or
preventing the recovery of sagebrush
ecosystems.
The preferred alternative (Alternative
D) would authorize a full suite of tools
to construct approximately 11,000 miles
of new fuel breaks within the
223,000,000-acre planning area. Impacts
would include those to native plant
communities that are currently resistant
to invasive annual plants, but may
become vulnerable through repeated
fires. Potential tools would include
manual, chemical, mechanical,
prescribed fire, reseeding, and targeted
grazing. Fuel break types would include
green strips (areas planted with lowstatured, fire-resistant vegetation),
brown strips (areas where all vegetation
is removed), mowed fuel breaks, and
targeted grazing fuel breaks (where
livestock grazing is managed to reduce
vegetation).
Please note that public comments and
information submitted including names,
street addresses, and email addresses of
persons who submit comments will be
available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during
regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except
holidays.
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.
PO 00000
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10
John F. Ruhs,
Idaho State Director, Bureau of Land
Management.
[FR Doc. 2019–13021 Filed 6–20–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLORV00000.L18200000. XZ0000.
LXSS020H0000. 19X.HAG 19–0060]
Change of Hours of Operation for the
Lakeview Interagency Office, Oregon
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION:
Notice of change in office hours.
The Lakeview Interagency
Office, which includes the Bureau of
Land Management Lakeview District
Office and the Fremont-Winema
National Forest Supervisor’s Office, will
implement new hours of operation,
weekdays, excluding Federal holidays,
from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The hours
of operation for all other Lakeview BLM
Offices will not change.
SUMMARY:
The new hours of operation take
effect on July 1, 2019.
DATES:
The Lakeview Interagency
Office is located at 1301 S G St.,
Lakeview, OR 97630.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Seana Lammers, Administrative Officer,
1301 S G St., Lakeview, Oregon 97630;
telephone: 541–947–6202; email:
seanamlammers@fs.fed.us. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to
contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question. You will
receive a reply during normal business
hours.
This
change is intended to better serve the
public—based on a long-term review of
calls received and the number of public
visits between 7:45 and 8 a.m.—and to
improve staffing efficiency.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
(Authority: 43 CFR 1821.11)
Todd Forbes,
Lakeview District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2019–13088 Filed 6–20–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29232-29233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13021]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[19X.LLID930000.L11100000.DF0000.LXSGPL000000.241A.4500132602]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin; Idaho, Washington,
Oregon, California, Nevada, and Utah
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land
[[Page 29233]]
Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin and by this notice
is announcing the opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft Programmatic EIS for Fuel Breaks in the
Great Basin within 45 days following the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings and any
other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through
public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Draft Programmatic
EIS for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin by any of the following methods:
website: https://go.usa.gov/xnQcG, Email: [email protected], Fax: 208-
373-3805, Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office, ATTN:
Fuel Breaks Draft PEIS, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise ID 83709.
Copies of the Draft Programmatic EIS for Fuel Breaks in the Great
Basin are available in the BLM Idaho State at the above address;
additional copies can be made available at the California, Nevada,
Oregon/Washington, and Utah State Offices upon request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlo Draper, telephone 208-373-3812;
address BLM Idaho State Office, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise ID 83709;
email [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-
8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The
FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of a system of strategically
placed fuel breaks in the Great Basin region is to slow the spread of
wildfires and provide firefighters with the best opportunity to catch
rapidly moving fires and establish an anchor point, thereby reducing
wildfire size and improving firefighter safety while engaging in fire
suppression. Fuel breaks would also offer greater protection of human
life and property, sagebrush communities, and habitat restoration
investments. Reducing fire size helps to reduce the expansion of
invasive species, such as cheatgrass and medusahead. The need for fuel
breaks relates to the increased size and frequency of wildfires
throughout the western United States in recent years. The fires have
impacted healthy rangelands, sagebrush communities, and the general
productivity of the lands. Efforts to suppress these wildfires have
cost approximately $1.7 billion dollars between 2007 and 2017. These
wildfires have resulted in increased numbers of injuries and fatalities
among wildland firefighters, destruction of private property,
degradation and loss of rangelands, loss of recreational opportunities,
and habitat loss for a variety of species, including the conversion of
native habitats to invasive annual grasses. The conversion of rangeland
habitats to invasive annual grasslands further impedes rangeland health
and productivity by slowing or preventing the recovery of sagebrush
ecosystems.
The preferred alternative (Alternative D) would authorize a full
suite of tools to construct approximately 11,000 miles of new fuel
breaks within the 223,000,000-acre planning area. Impacts would include
those to native plant communities that are currently resistant to
invasive annual plants, but may become vulnerable through repeated
fires. Potential tools would include manual, chemical, mechanical,
prescribed fire, reseeding, and targeted grazing. Fuel break types
would include green strips (areas planted with low-statured, fire-
resistant vegetation), brown strips (areas where all vegetation is
removed), mowed fuel breaks, and targeted grazing fuel breaks (where
livestock grazing is managed to reduce vegetation).
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10
John F. Ruhs,
Idaho State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2019-13021 Filed 6-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GG-P
