Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #7: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; and Birds; 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 Final Programmatic Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS) and Record of Decision; and the Consent Decree, the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG) prepared the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan #7 and Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats; and Birds (RP/EA #7), and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). In the final RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected projects to help restore bird habitat and marshes injured as a result of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Louisiana Restoration Area under the “Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats” and “Birds” restoration types described in the Final PDARP/PEIS. The total cost to implement the LA TIG's five selected projects is approximately $234,100,000.

ADDRESSES:

Obtaining Documents: You may download the final RP/EA #7 from either of the following websites:

• https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
• https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana

Alternatively, you may request a CD of the final RP/EA #7 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Copies are also available for review at the locations listed in the following table:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nanciann Regalado, via email at nanciann_regalado@fws.gov, via telephone at 678-296-6805, or via the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

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 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 of 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.) ( http://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; Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office; Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality, Wildlife and Fisheries, and Natural Resources; DOI; NOAA; EPA; and USDA.

Background

As provided for in the Final PDARP/PEIS, TIGs may propose conceptual projects for funding of a planning phase (e.g., initial engineering and design [E&D]) in a restoration plan. This allows the TIG to develop information needed to fully consider a subsequent implementation phase of the project in a subsequent restoration plan. In the final RP/EA #7, the LA TIG selected conceptual projects to fund for E&D and projects that have been fully developed to fund for construction.

Overview of the LA TIG Draft RP/EA #7

RP/EA #7 provides the LA TIG's analysis of alternatives under the “Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats” restoration type and the “Birds” restoration type. Under the “Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats” restoration type, the selected alternatives include one project for E&D and two for construction. These alternatives are: (1) Bird's Foot Delta Hydrologic Restoration project (E&D), (2) Terrebonne Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation Project: Bayou Terrebonne Increment (construction), and (3) Grande Cheniere Ridge Marsh Creation (construction). Under the “Birds” restoration type, the LA TIG selected two conceptual projects to undergo E&D: (1) Isle au Pitre Restoration and (2) Terrebonne Houma Navigation Canal Island Restoration.

Administrative Record

The documents comprising the Administrative Record for RP/EA #7 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 NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR 990, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations found at 40 CFR 1500-1508.