Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Phase 2 Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #7.1: Terrebonne HNC Island Restoration Project; and Finding of No Significant Impact, 72507-72508 [2022-25724]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 226 / Friday, November 25, 2022 / Notices
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[FR Doc. 2022–25633 Filed 11–23–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS–R4–ES–2022–N050;
FVHC98220410150–XXX–FF04H00000]
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana
Trustee Implementation Group Final
Phase 2 Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #7.1:
Terrebonne HNC Island Restoration
Project; and Finding of No Significant
Impact
Department of the Interior.
Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
In accordance with the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage
Assessment Restoration Plan and Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS), Record
of Decision (ROD) and the Consent
Decree, the Federal and State natural
resource trustee agencies for the
Louisiana Trustee Implementation
Group (LA TIG) have prepared the Final
Phase 2 Restoration Plan/Environmental
Assessment #7.1: Terrebonne HNC
Island Restoration Project (Final RP/EA
#7.1) and Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI). The Terrebonne HNC
Restoration Project (HNC Island project)
was approved for engineering and
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:43 Nov 23, 2022
Jkt 259001
design (E&D) in a 2020 restoration plan
entitled Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group Final
Restoration Plan #7: Wetlands, Coastal,
and Nearshore Habitats and Birds (RP/
EA #7). In the Final RP/EA #7.1, the LA
TIG analyzes a reasonable range of
design alternatives for the HNC Island
project and selects design alternative 7A
for construction, under the ‘‘Birds’’
restoration type. A No Action
alternative is also analyzed for the
project. The purpose of this notice is to
inform the public of the availability of
the Final RP/EA #7.1 and FONSI.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You
may download the Final RP/EA #7.1 at
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.
noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nanciann Regalado, at nanciann_
regalado@fws.gov or 678–296–6805.
Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On April 20, 2010, the mobile
offshore drilling unit Deepwater
Horizon (DWH), 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 DWH oil
spill is the largest offshore 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 DWH 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
PO 00000
Frm 00066
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
72507
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 to baseline (the resource
quality and conditions that would exist
if the spill had not occurred). This
includes the loss of use and services
provided by those resources from the
time of injury until the completion of
restoration.
The DWH 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;
• 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.
On April 4, 2016, the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of
Louisiana entered a consent decree
resolving civil claims by the Trustees
against BP arising from the DWH oil
spill: United States v. BPXP et al., Civ.
No. 10–4536, centralized in MDL 2179,
In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater
Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, on April
20, 2010 (E.D. La.) (https://
www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwaterhorizon). Pursuant to the consent
decree, restoration projects in the
Louisiana Restoration Area are chosen
and managed by the LA TIG. The LA
TIG is composed of the following
Trustees: State of Louisiana Coastal
Protection and Restoration Authority,
Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office,
Departments of Environmental Quality,
Wildlife and Fisheries, and Natural
Resources; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and
USDA.
E:\FR\FM\25NON1.SGM
25NON1
72508
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 226 / Friday, November 25, 2022 / Notices
Background
The Final PDARP/PEIS provides for
TIGs to propose phasing restoration
projects across multiple restoration
plans. A TIG may propose in a draft
restoration plan conceptual projects to
fund for an information-gathering
planning phase, such as E&D (phase 1).
This allows TIGs to develop information
needed to fully consider a subsequent
implementation phase in a later
restoration plan (phase 2). In the final
RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected three
conceptual projects for E&D, using
funds from the ‘‘Wetlands, Coastal and
Nearshore Habitats’’ and ‘‘Birds’’
restoration types, as provided for in the
DWH Consent Decree. One of the
projects selected for E&D in the Final
RP/EA #7, the Terrebonne HNC Island
project, reached a stage of design where
proposed construction alternatives
(phase 2) could be analyzed under the
OPA NRDA regulations and NEPA.
The LA TIG made the Draft RP/EA
#7.1 available for public review and
comment via publication of a notice of
availability in the Federal Register on
August 25, 2022 (87 FR 52411). The
public review and comment period ran
through September 26, 2022. To
facilitate public understanding of the
document, the LA TIG held a public
webinar on September 8, 2022, during
which public comment was also
solicited. The LA TIG received no
comments during the public comment
period. After public review, the LA TIG
finalized the plan and selected design
alternative 7A for construction.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
The Final RP/EA #7.1 and FONSI
(Appendix C of the Final RP/EA #7.1) 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/ROD, and
the Consent Decree. The Final RP/EA
#7.1 provides the LA TIG’s OPA, NRDA,
and NEPA analyses for a reasonable
range of design alternatives for the HNC
Island project and selects the LA TIG’s
preferred design alternative, 7A, for
implementation.
Alternative 7A would increase the
acreage of the island from 27.6 acres (ac)
to up to approximately 45 ac of shrub
nesting, ground nesting, and marsh
habitat. The approximate cost to
complete E&D, construct, maintain, and
monitor the selected alternative is $34
million. A second design alternative, 7,
is also evaluated in the restoration plan,
as well as a No Action alternative. Both
18:43 Nov 23, 2022
Jkt 259001
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the
Administrative Record for the RP/EA
#7.1 can be viewed electronically at
https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/
adminrecord.
Authority
The authority for 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. 2022–25724 Filed 11–23–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Oil and Gas
Decommissioning Activities on the
Pacific Outer Continental Shelf,
Extending Comment Period
Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of extension of the public
comment period.
AGENCY:
BSEE is extending the public
comment period for the Draft
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) for Oil and Gas
Decommissioning Activities on the
Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
[EIS No. 20220156].
DATES: BSEE published the Notice of
Availability (NOA) for the PEIS on
October 12, 2022, and opened a public
comment period through November 28,
2022. BSEE is extending this public
comment period to January 10, 2023.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00067
Fmt 4703
You may submit comments
in writing or through
www.regulations.gov. Written comments
may be delivered by hand or by mail,
enclosed in an envelope labeled,
‘‘Pacific Decommissioning’’ and
addressed to Richard Yarde, Regional
Supervisor, Office of Environment,
BOEM Pacific Region, 760 Paseo
Camarillo, Suite 102, Camarillo, CA,
93010. Comments may also be
submitted online through the
regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket No. BOEM–2021–0043. Click
on the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button to the
right of the document link. Enter your
information and comment, then click
‘‘Submit.’’
ADDRESSES:
For
information on the PEIS, contact
Richard Yarde, Regional Supervisor,
Office of Environment, at
richard.yarde@boem.gov or 805–384–
6379.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
On
October 12, 2022, BSEE published a
notice in the Federal Register [87 FR
61628] that provided a 47-day public
comment period on the Draft PEIS for
Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities
on the Pacific OCS, which would close
on November 28, 2022. On October 28,
2022, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) published a notice in the
Federal Register [87 FR 65202] that also
provided a 45-day public comment
period on the Draft PEIS for Oil and Gas
Decommissioning Activities on the
Pacific OCS, which will close on
December 12, 2022. BSEE has received
numerous requests from the public
seeking longer extensions to the
comment period. In consideration of the
EPA’s public comment period, the
numerous requests seeking extensions
to the comment period, and to ensure
robust public comments, BSEE is
extending the public comment period
by an additional twenty-nine days
beyond December 12, 2022, to January
10, 2023.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[EEEE500000 234E1700D2
ET1SF0000.EAQ000; BOEM–2021–0043]
Overview of the Final RP/EA #7.1
VerDate Sep<11>2014
HNC Island action alternatives would
include a rock dike around the island
perimeter, breakwaters, and a bird ramp.
While the non-preferred alternative
would create more total habitat acres
(53.3 ac), the preferred alternative
would provide a balance between
constructability, feasibility, and creation
of optimal habitat features for nesting
birds, while minimizing environmental
impacts during construction.
Sfmt 4703
Kevin Sligh,
Director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2022–25745 Filed 11–23–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P
E:\FR\FM\25NON1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 226 (Friday, November 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72507-72508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25724]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-ES-2022-N050; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation
Group Final Phase 2 Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #7.1:
Terrebonne HNC Island Restoration Project; and Finding of No
Significant Impact
AGENCY: Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS),
Record of Decision (ROD) and the Consent Decree, the Federal and State
natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group (LA TIG) have prepared the Final Phase 2
Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #7.1: Terrebonne HNC Island
Restoration Project (Final RP/EA #7.1) and Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI). The Terrebonne HNC Restoration Project (HNC Island
project) was approved for engineering and design (E&D) in a 2020
restoration plan entitled Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final
Restoration Plan #7: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and
Birds (RP/EA #7). In the Final RP/EA #7.1, the LA TIG analyzes a
reasonable range of design alternatives for the HNC Island project and
selects design alternative 7A for construction, under the ``Birds''
restoration type. A No Action alternative is also analyzed for the
project. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the
availability of the Final RP/EA #7.1 and FONSI.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP/EA #7.1
at https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, at
[email protected] or 678-296-6805. Individuals in the United
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater
Horizon (DWH), 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 DWH oil spill is the largest offshore 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 DWH 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 to
baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would exist if the
spill had not occurred). This includes the loss of use and services
provided by those resources from the time of injury until the
completion of restoration.
The DWH 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;
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.
On April 4, 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana entered a consent decree resolving civil claims
by the Trustees against BP arising from the DWH oil spill: United
States v. BPXP et al., Civ. No. 10-4536, centralized in MDL 2179, In
re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico,
on April 20, 2010 (E.D. La.) (https://www.justice.gov/enrd/deepwater-horizon). Pursuant to the consent decree, restoration projects in the
Louisiana Restoration Area are chosen and managed by the LA TIG. The LA
TIG is composed of the following Trustees: State of Louisiana Coastal
Protection and Restoration Authority, Oil Spill Coordinator's Office,
Departments of Environmental Quality, Wildlife and Fisheries, and
Natural Resources; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and USDA.
[[Page 72508]]
Background
The Final PDARP/PEIS provides for TIGs to propose phasing
restoration projects across multiple restoration plans. A TIG may
propose in a draft restoration plan conceptual projects to fund for an
information-gathering planning phase, such as E&D (phase 1). This
allows TIGs to develop information needed to fully consider a
subsequent implementation phase in a later restoration plan (phase 2).
In the final RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected three conceptual projects
for E&D, using funds from the ``Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore
Habitats'' and ``Birds'' restoration types, as provided for in the DWH
Consent Decree. One of the projects selected for E&D in the Final RP/EA
#7, the Terrebonne HNC Island project, reached a stage of design where
proposed construction alternatives (phase 2) could be analyzed under
the OPA NRDA regulations and NEPA.
The LA TIG made the Draft RP/EA #7.1 available for public review
and comment via publication of a notice of availability in the Federal
Register on August 25, 2022 (87 FR 52411). The public review and
comment period ran through September 26, 2022. To facilitate public
understanding of the document, the LA TIG held a public webinar on
September 8, 2022, during which public comment was also solicited. The
LA TIG received no comments during the public comment period. After
public review, the LA TIG finalized the plan and selected design
alternative 7A for construction.
Overview of the Final RP/EA #7.1
The Final RP/EA #7.1 and FONSI (Appendix C of the Final RP/EA #7.1)
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/ROD, and the Consent Decree. The Final RP/EA #7.1 provides
the LA TIG's OPA, NRDA, and NEPA analyses for a reasonable range of
design alternatives for the HNC Island project and selects the LA TIG's
preferred design alternative, 7A, for implementation.
Alternative 7A would increase the acreage of the island from 27.6
acres (ac) to up to approximately 45 ac of shrub nesting, ground
nesting, and marsh habitat. The approximate cost to complete E&D,
construct, maintain, and monitor the selected alternative is $34
million. A second design alternative, 7, is also evaluated in the
restoration plan, as well as a No Action alternative. Both HNC Island
action alternatives would include a rock dike around the island
perimeter, breakwaters, and a bird ramp. While the non-preferred
alternative would create more total habitat acres (53.3 ac), the
preferred alternative would provide a balance between constructability,
feasibility, and creation of optimal habitat features for nesting
birds, while minimizing environmental impacts during construction.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the RP/EA
#7.1 can be viewed electronically at https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
Authority
The authority for 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. 2022-25724 Filed 11-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
