[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17550-17552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07745]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9976-76-OW]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and 
Recreational Use

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal and State natural 
resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation 
Group (Louisiana TIG) prepared a Draft Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and 
Recreational Use (Draft RP/EA). The Draft RP/EA describes and proposes 
restoration project alternatives considered by the Louisiana TIG to 
improve water quality by reducing nutrients from nonpoint sources and 
to compensate for recreational use services lost as a result of the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Louisiana TIG evaluated these 
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource 
damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and also evaluated the 
environmental consequences of the restoration alternatives in 
accordance with NEPA. The proposed projects are consistent with the 
restoration alternatives selected in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 
Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS). The purpose of this notice 
is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft RP/EA and to 
seek public comments on the document.

DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider public comments received on or 
before May 21, 2018.
    Public Meeting: The Louisiana TIG will also take verbal comments at 
a public meeting that will be held at the Tulane River and Coastal 
Center on April 24, 2018; Open House 5:30 p.m., Meeting 6:00 p.m.; 1370 
Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130.

ADDRESSES:
    Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA at any of the 
following sites:

 http://www. gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
 http://www.la-dwh.com

    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP/EA (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also view the document at any of 
the public facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA by 
one of the following methods:

 Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana

[[Page 17551]]

 Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 49567, 
Atlanta, GA 30345
 In Person: Verbal comments may be provided at the public 
meeting on April 24, 2018

    Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
Louisiana TIG may publish any comment received on the document. Do not 
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must 
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to make. The Louisiana TIG will generally not consider comments or 
comment contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on 
the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). Please be aware that 
your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, 
will become part of the public record. Please note that mailed comments 
must be postmarked on or before the comment deadline of 30 days 
following publication of this notice to be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
 Louisiana--Joann Hicks, 225-342-5477
 EPA--Douglas Jacobson, 214-665-6692

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater 
Horizon, which was being used to drill a well for BP Exploration and 
Production, Inc. (BP), in the Macondo prospect (Mississippi Canyon 252-
MC252), experienced a significant explosion, fire, and subsequent 
sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an unprecedented volume of 
oil and other discharges from the rig and from the wellhead on the 
seabed. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the largest off shore oil 
spill in U.S. history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a 
period of 87 days. The Trustees conducted the natural resource damage 
assessment for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the Oil Pollution 
Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Under OPA, Federal and State 
agencies act as trustees on behalf of the public to assess natural 
resource injuries and losses and to determine the actions required to 
compensate the public for those injuries and losses. OPA further 
instructs the designated trustees to develop and implement a plan for 
the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition of the 
equivalent of the injured natural resources under their trusteeship, 
including the loss of use and services from those resources from the 
time of injury until the time restoration to baseline (the resource 
quality and conditions that would exist if the spill had not occurred) 
is complete.
    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Trustees are:
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
     U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by 
the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau 
of Land Management;
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on 
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
     U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA);
     State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration 
Authority (CPRA), Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 
(LDWF), and Department of Natural Resources (LDNR);
     State of Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
     State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural 
Resources and Geological Survey of Alabama;
     State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and
     State of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, General Land 
Office, and Commission on Environmental Quality.
    On April 4, 2016, the Trustees reached and finalized a settlement 
of their natural resource damage claims with BP in a Consent Decree 
approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in 
the Louisiana Restoration Area are now chosen and managed by the 
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Trustees: 
CPRA, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDWF, LDNR, EPA, DOI, NOAA, USDA.

Background

    In a July 2017 notice posted at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov the Louisiana TIG requested public 
input on restoration project ideas in Louisiana within the Nutrient 
Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities restoration types. The Louisiana TIG reviewed and 
considered these restoration project ideas.

Overview of the Draft RP/EA

    The Draft RP/EA is being released in accordance with OPA, NRDA 
regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR 
990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). In the Draft RP/EA, the 
Louisiana TIG presents to the public their plan to improve water 
quality through nutrient reduction (nonpoint sources) and to compensate 
for recreational use services lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon 
oil spill. In accordance with OPA and NEPA, the Draft RP/EA evaluates a 
total of 31 restoration project alternatives within the Nutrient 
Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and Provide and Enhance Recreational 
Opportunities restoration types. Of those, 23 are identified as 
preferred alternatives, four nutrient reduction projects and 19 
projects to provide and enhance recreational uses.
    For the Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) restoration type, the 
Draft RP/EA proposes the following preferred project alternatives:

 Nutrient Reduction on Dairy Farms in St. Helena and Tangipahoa 
Parishes
 Nutrient Reduction on Dairy Farms in Washington Parish
 Nutrient Reduction on Cropland and Grazing Land in Bayou Folse
 Winter Water Holding on Cropland in Vermilion and Cameron 
Parishes Plus Agricultural Best Management Practices

    For the Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities restoration 
type, the Draft RP/EA proposes the following preferred project 
alternatives:

 Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area Crevasse Access
 Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area Campgrounds
 Grand Isle State Park Improvements
 Chitimacha Boat Launch
 Sam Houston Jones State Park Improvements
 Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area Recreational Use 
Enhancement
 WHARF Phase 1
 Bayou Segnette State Park Improvements
 Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area Access
 Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area Campgrounds
 Rockefeller Piers/Rockefeller Signage
 St. Bernard State Park Improvements
 Cypremort Point State Park Improvements
 The Wetlands Center
 Recreational Use Improvements at Barataria Preserve in 
Jefferson Parish, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, 
Barataria Preserve Unit

[[Page 17552]]

 Des Allemands Boat Launch
 Middle Pearl
 Improvements to Grand Avoille Boat Launch
 Belle Chasse

    The Draft RP/EA also evaluates a no action alternative. One or more 
alternatives may be selected for implementation by the Louisiana TIG. 
The proposed projects are intended to continue the process of using 
restoration funding to reduce nutrients (nonpoint sources) and restore 
recreational use services lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill. The total estimated cost of the preferred alternatives is 
approximately $47.5 million ($9.5 million for nutrient reduction and 
$38 million for recreational use). Additional restoration planning for 
the Louisiana Restoration Area will continue.

Next Steps

    The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RP/EA. 
A public meeting is scheduled to also help facilitate the public review 
and comment process. After the public comment period ends, the 
Louisiana TIG will consider the comments received before issuing a 
Final RP/EA. A summary of comments received and the Louisiana TIG's 
responses and any revisions to the document, as appropriate, will be 
included in the final document.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Draft 
RP/EA can be viewed electronically at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/administrativerecord.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), its implementing NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR 
part 990, and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Dated: April 5, 2018.
Benita Best-Wong,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2018-07745 Filed 4-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


