Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Draft Swift Tract Living Shoreline Supplemental Environmental Assessment

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and a Consent Decree with BP Exploration & Production Inc. (BP), the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Federal natural resource trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (Alabama TIG) have prepared a Draft Swift Tract Living Shoreline Supplemental Environmental Assessment (Draft Supplemental EA). This Draft Supplemental EA evaluates the proposed removal of rocks from the bay bottom near the Swift Tract project action area and the placement of the removed rocks on a nearby breakwater. The proposed action falls within the general scope of the purpose and need for the original project, Swift Tract Living Shoreline, identified in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration Plan and Early Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Phase III ERP/PEIS) and is consistent with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS), as it focuses on the restoration of injuries to Alabama's natural resources and services--in particular to Restoration Type: "Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats," using funds made available in early restoration and through the DWH Consent Decree (see Final PDARP/PEIS [DWH Trustees 2016: Chapter 10]). The Alabama TIG evaluated the environmental consequences of the alternatives in accordance with NEPA. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft Supplemental EA and to seek public comments on the document.