Notice of Availability of the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan II Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters, 22393-22395 [2020-08419]

Download as PDF 22393 Notices Federal Register Vol. 85, No. 78 Wednesday, April 22, 2020 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES April 16, 2020. The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. Comments are requested regarding: Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques and other forms of information technology. Comments regarding this information collection received by May 22, 2020 will be considered. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:59 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 250001 displays a currently valid OMB control number. Forest Service Title: Generic Information Collection to Conduct Survey Improvement Projects. OMB Control Number: 0596–NEW. Summary of Collection: The primary function of the USDA Forest Service is to manage the national forests and grasslands, and to provide assistance and science-based information to land managers across the urban to rural to wilderness continuum. Forests and natural areas provide a wide range of benefits and services to all Americans. Understanding these many issues is critical to managing forests and other natural areas to meet the needs of Americans and to achieving the mission of the USDA Forest Service ‘‘to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.’’ In the last decade, state-ofthe art techniques have been instituted by the FS and other Federal agencies and are now routinely used to improve the quality and timeliness of surveys and related methods of data collection and analyses, while simultaneously reducing respondents’ cognitive workload and burden. The purpose of this generic clearance is to allow the FS to evaluate, adopt, and use these stateof-the art techniques to improve current data collection efforts of forest and for natural land management practices. Collection of data to support the broad-ranging mission of the USDA Forest Service is supported by a number of federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 and 1978, and the 2012 Planning Rule all specifically require or support the lines of research proposed in this information collection. Need and Use of the Information: The information obtained from these efforts will be used to develop new Forest Service surveys and related data collection protocols and improve current ones. Specifically, the information will be used to reduce respondent burden while simultaneously improving the quality of the data collected in these surveys. These objectives are met when respondents are presented with plain, PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 coherent, and unambiguous questions in surveys and related data collection instruments that ask for data compatible with respondents’ memory and/or current reporting and record keeping practices. The purpose of the survey improvement projects will be to ensure that Forest Service surveys continuously attempt to meet these standards of excellence. Without adequate testing, data collected may be of poor quality, resulting in additional resources required to process data or negative impacts on survey estimates. Description of Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government. Number of Respondents: 7,500. Frequency of Responses: On occasion. Total Burden Hours: 2,700. Ruth Brown, Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2020–08450 Filed 4–21–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–15–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service [Docket No. NRCS–2020–0005] Notice of Availability of the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan II Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments. AGENCY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP PEIS), Record of Decision, and Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies for the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group (Mississippi TIG) have prepared a Draft Restoration Plan II Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\22APN1.SGM 22APN1 22394 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 78 / Wednesday, April 22, 2020 / Notices khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Nearshore Habitats and Oysters (Draft RP II EA). MS TIG identified two Restoration Types—Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats (WCNH) and Oysters—that it considered appropriate for the Draft RP II EA. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft RP II EA and to request public comments on the document. DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by May 22, 2020. ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. In your comments, include the volume, date, and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: • The web: https://www.gulfspill restoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/ mississippi; or • Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 29649, Atlanta, Georgia 30345. Please note that mailed comments must be postmarked on or before the comment deadline of May 22, 2020 to be considered. MS TIG will host a public webinar on May 13, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. CDT. The public may register for the webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/ register/548768858601614861. Comments will be accepted during the public webinar. After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Howard, Senior Technical Advisor, Natural Resource Specialist, at ron.howard@ms.usda.gov; and Valerie Alley, NRDA Coordinator, at mississippiTIG@mdeq.ms.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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), exploded, caught fire, and subsequently sank 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 maritime oil spill in U.S. history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a period of 87 days. In addition, well over one million gallons of dispersants were applied to the waters of the spill area to disperse the spilled oil. An undetermined amount of natural gas was also released to the environment as a result of the spill. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:59 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 250001 The Deepwater Horizon State and Federal natural resource trustees (DWH 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. 2701–2720) and the implementing NRDA regulations (15 CFR part 990). In accordance with 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 to 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 DWH Trustees are: • U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM); • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC); • 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; • 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. Upon completion of NRDA, the DWH Trustees reached and finalized a settlement of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent Decree 1 approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In accordance with that 1 https://www.justice.gov/enrd/file/838066/ download. PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Consent Decree, restoration projects in the Mississippi Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the MS TIG. The MS TIG is composed of the following Trustees: • Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality; • U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM); • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC); • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); and • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The restoration planning activity is proceeding in accordance with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan (PDARP) and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). Information on the restoration types being considered in the Draft RP II EA, as well as a general overview of the OPA criteria against which project ideas are being evaluated, can be found in the Final PDARP/PEIS (https://www.gulfspill restoration.noaa.gov/restorationplanning/gulf-plan) and in the Overview section of the PDARP PEIS (https://www.gulfspill restoration.noaa.gov/restorationplanning/gulf-plan). MS TIG posted a Notice of Solicitation calling for project ideas on June 11, 2018 2 (June 11, 2018, Notice). Project ideas requested included the following restoration types: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats (WCNH); Nutrient Reduction; Oysters; Sea Turtles; and Marine Mammals. MS TIG notified the public that it would consider new, revised, and previously submitted project ideas received by August 10, 2018. On October 10, 2018, MS TIG published a notice of Initiation of Restoration Planning in Mississippi.3 During the planning process MS TIG decided to focus only on WCNH and Oyster Restoration Types in RP II. In developing the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG considered projects previously submitted to the MDEQ Restoration Project Idea portal 4 and the Trustee 2 https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/ 06/mississippi-trustee-implementation-groupwelcomes-publics-project-ideas. 3 https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/ 10/notice-initiation-restoration-planningmississippi. 4 https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/restoration/projectportal/. E:\FR\FM\22APN1.SGM 22APN1 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 78 / Wednesday, April 22, 2020 / Notices Council Project Submission Portal,5 as well as those proposed in response to the June 11, 2018, Notice. In total, MS TIG evaluated seven alternatives and a No Action Alternative for WCNH and for Oysters. The proposed action of the Draft RP II EA is the selection of four alternatives (projects) for implementation: (1) Wolf River Coastal Preserve Habitat Management—Dupont and Bell’s Ferry Tracts—WCNH; (2) Hancock County Coastal Preserve Habitat Management—Wachovia Tract—WCNH; (3) Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi—Oysters; and (4) Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program—Oysters. The proposed action is consistent with the restoration alternatives selected in the Final PDARP PEIS and would be funded by $4,887,500 from the WCNH Restoration Type and $10,500,000 from the Oysters Restoration Type. khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Overview of the Draft RP II EA The Draft RP II EA is being released in accordance with the OPA NRDA regulations in 15 CFR part 990, NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), and 40 CFR 1500. For the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG proposes moving forward with the four preferred alternatives: • Wolf River Coastal Preserve Habitat Management—Dupont and Bell’s Ferry Tracts (WCNH); • Hancock County Coastal Preserve Habitat Management—Wachovia Tract (WCNH); • Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi (Oysters), and • Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program (Oysters). The total cost of the four preferred alternatives is approximately $15 million. The MS TIG has examined and assessed the extent of injury and the restoration alternatives. In the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG presents to the public its draft plan for providing partial compensation to the public for injured natural resources and ecological services in the Mississippi Restoration Area. The proposed alternatives are intended to continue the process of restoring natural resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Additional restoration planning 5 https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/ restoration/give-us-your-ideas/suggest-arestoration-project/. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:59 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 250001 for the Mississippi Restoration Area will continue. Matthew Lohr, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service. [FR Doc. 2020–08419 Filed 4–21–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–16–P COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS Notice of Public Meeting of the Vermont Advisory Committee Commission on Civil Rights. Announcement of meeting. AGENCY: ACTION: Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), that a meeting of the Vermont Advisory Committee to the Commission will convene by conference call at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss next steps regarding the release of its report on school discipline. The Committee will also consider other possible work products to conclude its appointment term, which ends in June 2020. DATES: Tuesday, April 28, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT). Public Call-In Information: Conference call-in number: 1–888–208– 1711 and conference call 5689268. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Evelyn Bohor at ero@usccr.gov or by phone at 202–376–7533. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested members of the public may listen to the discussion by calling the following tollfree conference call-in number: 1–888– 208–1711 and conference call 5689268. Please be advised that before placing them into the conference call, the conference call operator will ask callers to provide their names, their organizational affiliations (if any), and email addresses (so that callers may be notified of future meetings). Callers can expect to incur charges for calls they initiate over wireless lines, and the Commission will not refund any incurred charges. Callers will incur no charge for calls they initiate over landline connections to the toll-free conference call-in number. Persons with hearing impairments may also follow the discussion by first calling the Federal Relay Service at 1– 800–977–8339 and providing the operator with the toll-free conference call-in number: 1–888–208–1711 and conference call 5689268. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 22395 Members of the public are invited to make statements during the open comment period of the meeting or submit written comments. The comments must be received in the regional office approximately 30 days after each scheduled meeting. Written comments may be mailed to the Eastern Regional Office, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20425 or emailed to Evelyn Bohor at ero@usccr.gov. Persons who desire additional information may contact the Eastern Regional Office at (202) 376– 7533. Records and documents discussed during the meeting will be available for public viewing as they become available at https://www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/ FACAPublicViewCommitteeDetails?id= a10t0000001gzmXAAQ, click the ‘‘Meeting Details’’ and ‘‘Documents’’ links.Records generated from this meeting may also be inspected and reproduced at the Eastern Regional Office, as they become available, both before and after the meetings. Persons interested in the work of this advisory committee are advised to go to the Commission’s website, www.usccr.gov, or to contact the Eastern Regional Office at the above phone numbers, email or street address. Agenda: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. (EDT). • Rollcall • Next Steps for Report Release • Other Business • Open Comment • Adjourn Dated: April 16, 2020. David Mussatt, Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit. [FR Doc. 2020–08436 Filed 4–21–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Economic Development Administration Notice of Petitions by Firms for Determination of Eligibility To Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice and opportunity for public comment. AGENCY: The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has received petitions for certification of eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance from the firms listed below. Accordingly, EDA has initiated SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\22APN1.SGM 22APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22393-22395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08419]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2020-0005]


Notice of Availability of the Mississippi Trustee Implementation 
Group Draft Restoration Plan II Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, 
Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP PEIS), 
Record of Decision, and Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Mississippi Trustee Implementation 
Group (Mississippi TIG) have prepared a Draft Restoration Plan II 
Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and

[[Page 22394]]

Nearshore Habitats and Oysters (Draft RP II EA). MS TIG identified two 
Restoration Types--Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats (WCNH) and 
Oysters--that it considered appropriate for the Draft RP II EA. The 
purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of 
the Draft RP II EA and to request public comments on the document.

DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by May 22, 2020.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. In your 
comments, include the volume, date, and page number of this issue of 
the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     The web: https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/mississippi; or
     Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 29649, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30345. Please note that mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline of May 22, 2020 to be 
considered.
    MS TIG will host a public webinar on May 13, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. 
CDT. The public may register for the webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/548768858601614861. Comments will be 
accepted during the public webinar.
    After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email 
with instructions for joining the webinar.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Howard, Senior Technical Advisor, 
Natural Resource Specialist, at [email protected]; and Valerie 
Alley, NRDA Coordinator, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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), exploded, caught fire, and subsequently sank 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 maritime oil spill in U.S. 
history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a period of 87 
days. In addition, well over one million gallons of dispersants were 
applied to the waters of the spill area to disperse the spilled oil. An 
undetermined amount of natural gas was also released to the environment 
as a result of the spill.
    The Deepwater Horizon State and Federal natural resource trustees 
(DWH 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. 2701-2720) and the implementing NRDA regulations (15 
CFR part 990). In accordance with 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 to 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 DWH Trustees are:
     U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by 
the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), 
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC);
     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;
     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.
    Upon completion of NRDA, the DWH Trustees reached and finalized a 
settlement of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent 
Decree \1\ approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Louisiana. In accordance with that Consent Decree, 
restoration projects in the Mississippi Restoration Area are now chosen 
and managed by the MS TIG.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://www.justice.gov/enrd/file/838066/download.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The MS TIG is composed of the following Trustees:
     Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
     U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by 
the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), 
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC);
     U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); and
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    The restoration planning activity is proceeding in accordance with 
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment 
and Restoration Plan (PDARP) and Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS). Information on the restoration types being 
considered in the Draft RP II EA, as well as a general overview of the 
OPA criteria against which project ideas are being evaluated, can be 
found in the Final PDARP/PEIS (https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan) and 
in the Overview section of the PDARP PEIS (https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan).
    MS TIG posted a Notice of Solicitation calling for project ideas on 
June 11, 2018 \2\ (June 11, 2018, Notice). Project ideas requested 
included the following restoration types: Wetlands, Coastal, and 
Nearshore Habitats (WCNH); Nutrient Reduction; Oysters; Sea Turtles; 
and Marine Mammals. MS TIG notified the public that it would consider 
new, revised, and previously submitted project ideas received by August 
10, 2018. On October 10, 2018, MS TIG published a notice of Initiation 
of Restoration Planning in Mississippi.\3\ During the planning process 
MS TIG decided to focus only on WCNH and Oyster Restoration Types in RP 
II.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/06/mississippi-trustee-implementation-group-welcomes-publics-project-ideas.
    \3\ https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/10/notice-initiation-restoration-planning-mississippi.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In developing the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG considered projects 
previously submitted to the MDEQ Restoration Project Idea portal \4\ 
and the Trustee

[[Page 22395]]

Council Project Submission Portal,\5\ as well as those proposed in 
response to the June 11, 2018, Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/restoration/project-portal/.
    \5\ https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration/give-us-your-ideas/suggest-a-restoration-project/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In total, MS TIG evaluated seven alternatives and a No Action 
Alternative for WCNH and for Oysters. The proposed action of the Draft 
RP II EA is the selection of four alternatives (projects) for 
implementation:
    (1) Wolf River Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--Dupont and 
Bell's Ferry Tracts--WCNH;
    (2) Hancock County Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--Wachovia 
Tract--WCNH;
    (3) Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi--Oysters; and
    (4) Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program--Oysters.
    The proposed action is consistent with the restoration alternatives 
selected in the Final PDARP PEIS and would be funded by $4,887,500 from 
the WCNH Restoration Type and $10,500,000 from the Oysters Restoration 
Type.

Overview of the Draft RP II EA

    The Draft RP II EA is being released in accordance with the OPA 
NRDA regulations in 15 CFR part 990, NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), and 40 
CFR 1500.
    For the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG proposes moving forward with the 
four preferred alternatives:
     Wolf River Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--Dupont and 
Bell's Ferry Tracts (WCNH);
     Hancock County Coastal Preserve Habitat Management--
Wachovia Tract (WCNH);
     Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi (Oysters), and
     Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program (Oysters).
    The total cost of the four preferred alternatives is approximately 
$15 million.
    The MS TIG has examined and assessed the extent of injury and the 
restoration alternatives. In the Draft RP II EA, MS TIG presents to the 
public its draft plan for providing partial compensation to the public 
for injured natural resources and ecological services in the 
Mississippi Restoration Area. The proposed alternatives are intended to 
continue the process of restoring natural resources and ecological 
services injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. Additional restoration planning for the Mississippi Restoration 
Area will continue.

Matthew Lohr,
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-08419 Filed 4-21-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-16-P


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