Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #5: Living Coastal and Marine Resources-Marine Mammals and Oysters, 47190-47191 [2020-16976]

Download as PDF 47190 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 150 / Tuesday, August 4, 2020 / Notices submission of written comment is 12 p.m., Wednesday, August 12, 2020. The following agenda items will be addressed by the SSC during the meeting: 1. Review and approve Statements of Work for the 2023 Snowy Grouper and Tilefish stock assessments; 2. An update on the operational assessment and research track development; 3. Replace an open SSC representative seat on the Citizen Science Operations Committee; 4. Discussion of other business as needed. The SSC will provide guidance to staff and recommendations for Council consideration as appropriate. Multiple opportunities for comment on agenda items will be provided during SSC meetings. Open comment periods will be provided at the start of the meeting and near the conclusion. Those interested in providing comment should indicate such in the manner requested by the Chair, who will then recognize individuals to provide comment. Additional opportunities for comment on specific agenda items will be provided, as each item is discussed, between initial presentations and SSC discussion. Those interested in providing comment should indicate such in the manner requested by the Chair, who will then recognize individuals to provide comment. All comments are part of the record of the meeting. Although non-emergency issues not contained in the meeting agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the intent to take final action to address the emergency jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES Special Accommodations This meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary aids should be directed to the SAFMC office (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 business days prior to the meeting. Note: The times and sequence specified in this agenda are subject to change. (Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:14 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 250001 Dated: July 30, 2020. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2020–16914 Filed 8–3–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XV184] Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #5: Living Coastal and Marine Resources—Marine Mammals and Oysters National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: The Deepwater Horizon Federal natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) have prepared a Final Restoration Plan/ Environmental Assessment (RP/EA #5): Living Coastal and Marine Resources— Marine Mammals and Oysters. The Final RP/EA #5 describes, and, in conjunction with the associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), selects the preferred restoration projects considered by the Louisiana TIG to restore natural resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Federal Trustees of the Louisiana TIG have determined that the implementation of the Final RP/EA #5 is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the context of the NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI is appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared. ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP/EA #5 at: https:// www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/ restoration-areas/louisiana. Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final RP/EA #5 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below). Also, you may view the document at any of the public facilities listed in Appendix A of the Final RP/EA #5. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—Mel Landry, NOAA SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Restoration Center, 225–425–0583, mel.landry@noaa.gov. 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. In addition, well over one 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 Deepwater Horizon Federal and State natural resource trustees (Trustees) conducted the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under OPA (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. OPA further instructs the designated trustees to develop and implement a plan for the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition of the equivalent of the injured natural resources under their trusteeship, including the loss of use and services from those resources from the time of injury until the time of restoration to baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would exist if the spill had not occurred) is complete. The Deepwater Horizon 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 (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (LOSCO), Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife E:\FR\FM\04AUN1.SGM 04AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 150 / Tuesday, August 4, 2020 / Notices 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: 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 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in the Louisiana Restoration Area are selected and implemented by the Louisiana TIG which is composed of the following Trustees: CPRA, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDWF, and LDNR NOAA, DOI, EPA, and USDA. Background Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #5: Marine Mammals and Oysters (Draft RP/EA #5) was published in the Federal Register at 85 FR 16078 on March 20, 2020. The Louisiana TIG hosted a public webinar on April 8, 2020, and the public comment period for the Draft RP/EA #5 closed on April 20, 2020. The Draft RP/EA #5 evaluated seven restoration alternatives: Two Marine Mammal alternatives, four Oyster project alternatives, and the No Action alternative in accordance with the OPA and the NEPA. The Louisiana TIG considered the public comments received on the Draft RP/EA #5 which informed the analyses and selection of four restoration projects for implementation in the Final RP/EA #5. A summary of the public comments received and the Trustees’ responses to those comments are included in Chapter 6 of the Final RP/EA #5 and all correspondence received are provided in the DWH Administrative Record. jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES Overview of the Final RP/EA The Final RP/EA is being released in accordance with the OPA, NRDA implementing regulations, and the NEPA. In the Final RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG selects the following preferred alternatives in the Marine Mammals and Oysters restoration types: • Increasing Capacity and Expanding Partnerships along the Louisiana VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:14 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 250001 Coastline for Marine Mammal Stranding Response ($3,955,620). • Enhancing Oyster Recovery Using Brood Reefs ($9,701,447). • Cultch Plant Oyster Restoration Projects ($10,070,000). • Hatchery-based Oyster Restoration Projects ($5,850,000). The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the Deepwater Horizon Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to address the injuries. In the Final RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG presents to the public its plan for providing partial compensation for lost living coastal and marine resources. The selected projects are intended to continue the process of using restoration funding to replenish and protect marine mammals and oysters injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The total estimated cost of the selected projects is approximately $28,717,075. The funding proposed for implementation of oyster restoration under the trustees’ preferred alternatives represents a commitment of all remaining available funding for oyster restoration in the Louisiana Restoration Area. The programmatic structure of the proposed oyster cultch and brood reef projects would allow the trustees to continue to construct specific reef sites in the future. In alignment with the PDARP, the trustees may propose projects in the future that benefit oysters through the wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats restoration allocation. Additional restoration planning for marine mammals and other restoration types in the Louisiana Restoration Area will continue. Administrative Record The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final RP/ EA #5 and FONSI 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.) and its implementing Oil Pollution Act 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.). Dated: July 30, 2020. Carrie Selberg, Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2020–16976 Filed 8–3–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 47191 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces; Notice of Federal Advisory Committee Meeting General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: Notice of Federal Advisory Committee meeting. AGENCY: The DoD is publishing this notice to announce that the following Federal Advisory Committee meeting of the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces will take place. DATES: Open to the public, Friday, August 21, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. ADDRESSES: This public meeting will be held via teleconference. To access the teleconference dial: 410–874–6300, Conference Pin: 645–604–037. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dwight Sullivan, 703–695–1055 (Voice), dwight.h.sullivan.civ@mail.mil (Email). Mailing address is DAC–IPAD, One Liberty Center, 875 N. Randolph Street, Suite 150, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Website: https://dacipad.whs.mil/. The most up-to-date changes to the meeting agenda can be found on the website. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This meeting is being held under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102–3.140 and 102–3.150. Purpose of the Meeting: In section 546 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Pub. L. 113– 291), as modified by section 537 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Pub. L. 114–92), Congress tasked the DAC–IPAD to advise the Secretary of Defense on the investigation, prosecution, and defense of allegations of rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct involving members of the Armed Forces. This will be the eighteenth public meeting held by the DAC–IPAD. At this meeting the Committee will deliberate and vote on the draft Final Report on Investigative Case File Reviews for Military Penetrative Sexual Offense Cases Closed in Fiscal Year 2017. Next, DAC–IPAD staff will provide the Committee with the status of the Committee’s review and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\04AUN1.SGM 04AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47190-47191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16976]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XV184]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #5: Living Coastal and Marine Resources--
Marine Mammals and Oysters

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: The Deepwater Horizon Federal natural resource trustee 
agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) 
have prepared a Final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA 
#5): Living Coastal and Marine Resources--Marine Mammals and Oysters. 
The Final RP/EA #5 describes, and, in conjunction with the associated 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), selects the preferred 
restoration projects considered by the Louisiana TIG to restore natural 
resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Federal Trustees of the Louisiana TIG 
have determined that the implementation of the Final RP/EA #5 is not a 
major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment within the context of the NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI 
is appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will 
not be prepared.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP/EA #5 at: 
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana. 
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final RP/EA #5 (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below). Also, you may view the document at 
any of the public facilities listed in Appendix A of the Final RP/EA 
#5.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration--Mel Landry, NOAA Restoration Center, 225-425-0583, 
[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. In addition, well over one 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 Deepwater Horizon Federal and State natural resource trustees 
(Trustees) conducted the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) for 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under OPA (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. OPA further instructs the designated trustees to 
develop and implement a plan for the restoration, rehabilitation, 
replacement, or acquisition of the equivalent of the injured natural 
resources under their trusteeship, including the loss of use and 
services from those resources from the time of injury until the time of 
restoration to baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would 
exist if the spill had not occurred) is complete.
    The Deepwater Horizon 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 (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife

[[Page 47191]]

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: 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 United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in 
the Louisiana Restoration Area are selected and implemented by the 
Louisiana TIG which is composed of the following Trustees: CPRA, LOSCO, 
LDEQ, LDWF, and LDNR NOAA, DOI, EPA, and USDA.

Background

    Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana 
Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental 
Assessment #5: Marine Mammals and Oysters (Draft RP/EA #5) was 
published in the Federal Register at 85 FR 16078 on March 20, 2020. The 
Louisiana TIG hosted a public webinar on April 8, 2020, and the public 
comment period for the Draft RP/EA #5 closed on April 20, 2020. The 
Draft RP/EA #5 evaluated seven restoration alternatives: Two Marine 
Mammal alternatives, four Oyster project alternatives, and the No 
Action alternative in accordance with the OPA and the NEPA. The 
Louisiana TIG considered the public comments received on the Draft RP/
EA #5 which informed the analyses and selection of four restoration 
projects for implementation in the Final RP/EA #5. A summary of the 
public comments received and the Trustees' responses to those comments 
are included in Chapter 6 of the Final RP/EA #5 and all correspondence 
received are provided in the DWH Administrative Record.

Overview of the Final RP/EA

    The Final RP/EA is being released in accordance with the OPA, NRDA 
implementing regulations, and the NEPA. In the Final RP/EA #5, the 
Louisiana TIG selects the following preferred alternatives in the 
Marine Mammals and Oysters restoration types:
     Increasing Capacity and Expanding Partnerships along the 
Louisiana Coastline for Marine Mammal Stranding Response ($3,955,620).
     Enhancing Oyster Recovery Using Brood Reefs ($9,701,447).
     Cultch Plant Oyster Restoration Projects ($10,070,000).
     Hatchery-based Oyster Restoration Projects ($5,850,000).
    The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the 
Deepwater Horizon Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to 
address the injuries. In the Final RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG presents 
to the public its plan for providing partial compensation for lost 
living coastal and marine resources. The selected projects are intended 
to continue the process of using restoration funding to replenish and 
protect marine mammals and oysters injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. The total estimated cost of the selected projects is 
approximately $28,717,075.
    The funding proposed for implementation of oyster restoration under 
the trustees' preferred alternatives represents a commitment of all 
remaining available funding for oyster restoration in the Louisiana 
Restoration Area. The programmatic structure of the proposed oyster 
cultch and brood reef projects would allow the trustees to continue to 
construct specific reef sites in the future. In alignment with the 
PDARP, the trustees may propose projects in the future that benefit 
oysters through the wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats 
restoration allocation. Additional restoration planning for marine 
mammals and other restoration types in the Louisiana Restoration Area 
will continue.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final 
RP/EA #5 and FONSI 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.) and its implementing Oil Pollution Act 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.).

    Dated: July 30, 2020.
Carrie Selberg,
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-16976 Filed 8-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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