Notice2024-27302
Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan IV and Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Nutrient Reduction; Birds; Oysters; and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities and Finding of No Significant Impact
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Published
November 21, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior Department
Abstract
The natural resource trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (Alabama TIG) have prepared the "Final Restoration Plan IV and Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; Nutrient Reduction; Birds, Oysters; and Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities" (Final RP/EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The Final RP/EA selects projects to partially restore resources injured in the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The Final RP/EA evaluates a reasonable range of 11 project alternatives under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), including criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing regulations. A No Action alternative is also analyzed for each restoration type. The total cost to implement the Alabama TIG's seven preferred alternatives is approximately $24,000,000.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92143-92145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27302]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-ES-2024-N052; FVHC98220410150-XXX-FF04H00000]
Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Alabama
Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan IV and
Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats;
Nutrient Reduction; Birds; Oysters; and Provide and Enhance
Recreational Opportunities and Finding of No Significant Impact
AGENCY: Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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[[Page 92144]]
SUMMARY: The natural resource trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee
Implementation Group (Alabama TIG) have prepared the ``Final
Restoration Plan IV and Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal,
and Nearshore Habitats; Nutrient Reduction; Birds, Oysters; and Provide
and Enhance Recreational Opportunities'' (Final RP/EA) and a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI). The Final RP/EA selects projects to
partially restore resources injured in the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil
spill. The Final RP/EA evaluates a reasonable range of 11 project
alternatives under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), including criteria set
forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations,
and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing
regulations. A No Action alternative is also analyzed for each
restoration type. The total cost to implement the Alabama TIG's seven
preferred alternatives is approximately $24,000,000.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP/EA and
FONSI at <a href="https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/alabama">https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/alabama</a>. Alternatively, you may request a USB flash drive containing
the Final RP/EA and FONSI (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanciann Regalado, at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#94faf5faf7fdf5fafacbe6f1f3f5f8f5f0fbd4f2e3e7baf3fbe2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fd939c939e949c9393a28f989a9c919c9992bd9b8a8ed39a928b">[email protected]</span></a> 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, which was drilling a well for BP Exploration and Production,
Inc. (BP), experienced a significant explosion, fire, and subsequent
sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the release of millions of
barrels of oil and other discharges into the Gulf. Under the authority
of the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), designated
Federal and State Trustees, acting on behalf of the public, assessed
the injuries to natural resources and prepared the ``Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement'' (Final PDARP/PEIS),
and subsequent Record of Decision (ROD), which sets forth the
governance structure and process for DWH restoration planning under the
OPA's natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). 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.
The Alabama TIG is composed of the Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources, the Geological Survey of Alabama,
the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of the
Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama TIG selects and implements
restoration projects under the TIG's management authority in accordance
with the Consent Decree. The Final PDARP/PEIS, ROD, Consent Decree, and
information on the DWH Trustees can be found at <a href="https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan">https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan</a>.
Background
On April 19, 2024, the Alabama TIG announced on its website that it
had reviewed projects analyzed in previous restoration plans;
identified projects that could provide restoration benefits to the
Alabama restoration area if selected, continued, or expanded upon; and
had initiated drafting its fourth restoration plan and environmental
assessment. The RP/EA includes a reasonable range of 11 restoration
alternatives (projects) for the 5 restoration types indicated in the
plan's title. On June 24, 2024, the Alabama TIG released the Draft RP/
EA IV for a 30-day public review period (89 FR 52498). The Alabama TIG
accepted public comments through July 24, 2024. To facilitate public
understanding of the document, the Alabama TIG held a webinar on July
10, 2024, during which public comments were solicited. After the public
review period closed, the Alabama TIG reviewed the comments received,
prepared responses to those comments, finalized the plan, and prepared
a FONSI.
Overview of the Alabama TIG's Final RP/EA
The Final RP/EA and FONSI are being released in accordance with
OPA, its implementing NRDA regulations found in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR part 990, the National Environmental Policy
Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations found at
40 CFR parts 1500-1508, the Final PDARP/PEIS, and the Consent Decree.
The Final RP/EA provides OPA and NEPA analyses for a reasonable range
of 11 alternatives listed below under the restoration types from which
funds will be allocated. One project, Lower Perdido Islands Habitat
Restoration--Phase II, will be funded through two restoration type
allocations: the Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitat restoration
type and the Birds restoration type. Two projects, the Lower Perdido
Islands Habitat Restoration--Phase II project and the Walker Island
Expansion project, were considered under both the Wetlands, Coastal,
and Nearshore Habitat restoration type and the Birds restoration type
and are shown under both restoration types below. The seven
alternatives selected for implementation are denoted with an asterisk
(*).
Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats Restoration Type:
<bullet> Lower Perdido Islands Habitat Restoration Phase II*
<bullet> Walker Island Expansion
Nutrient Reduction Restoration Type:
<bullet> Puppy Creek--Juniper Creek--Big Creek Nutrient Reduction*
<bullet> Bayou la Batre Nutrient Reduction
Birds Restoration Type:
<bullet> Stewardship of Coastal Alabama Beach Nesting Bird Habitat*
<bullet> Lower Perdido Islands Habitat Restoration--Phase II*
<bullet> Walker Island Expansion
Oysters Restoration Type:
<bullet> Improving Resilience for Oysters by Linking Brood Reefs and
Sink Reefs (Large-scale)--Component 4--Mid-lower Mobile Bay, AL*
<bullet> Oyster Grow-Out and Restoration Reef Replacement--5-year
continuation*
<bullet> Oyster Grow-Out and Restoration Reef Replacement--3-year
continuation
Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities Restoration Type:
<bullet> Bayfront Park Restoration and Improvement Phases Ia and Ib*
<bullet> Laguna Cove Little Lagoon Natural Resource Protection--Large
Scale Amenities
<bullet> Laguna Cove Little Lagoon Natural Resource Protection--Small
Scale Amenities*
The total estimated cost to implement the seven selected
alternatives is approximately $24,000,000. Restoration planning in the
Alabama Restoration Area will continue.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final
RP/EA can be viewed electronically at <a href="https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord">https://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord</a> under folder 6.5.3.2.5.
[[Page 92145]]
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,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2024-27302 Filed 11-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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