[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8184-8185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02430]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R4-FHC-2013-N026; FVHC98130406900-XXX-FF04G01000]
DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill; Final Phase II Early Restoration
Plan and Environmental Review
AGENCY: Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of final report.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Framework Agreement
for Early Restoration Addressing Injuries Resulting from the DEEPWATER
HORIZON Oil Spill (Framework Agreement), notice is hereby given that
the Federal and State natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) have
approved the Phase II Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Review
(Phase II ERP/ER) describing the second set of restoration projects
selected by the Trustees to continue the process of restoring natural
resources and services injured or lost as a result of the DEEPWATER
HORIZON oil spill, which occurred on or about April 20, 2010 in the
Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of
the availability of the Phase II ERP/ER.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Phase II ERP/ER
and the Framework Agreement at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon. You
may also review hard copies of the Phase II ERP/ER at any of the public
repositories listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Spears, at
fw4coastalDERPcomments@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On or about 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
discharges of oil and other substances from the rig and from the
wellhead on the seabed. An estimated 4.9 million barrels (210 million
gallons) of oil were released from the well into the Gulf of Mexico
over a period of 87 days. In addition, approximately 1.84 million
gallons of dispersants were applied to the waters of the spill area in
an attempt to minimize impacts from spilled oil. Affected resources
include ecologically, recreationally, and commercially important
species and their habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and along the coastal
areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
Federal and State Trustees (listed below) are conducting the
natural resource damage assessment for the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill
under the Oil Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
Pursuant to OPA, Federal and State agencies and Indian tribes may act
as trustees on behalf of the public to assess natural resource injuries
and losses and to determine the damages 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.
The 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. Department of Defense (DOD);
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA);
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
For the State of Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
Background
On April 20, 2011, BP agreed to provide up to $1 billion toward
early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to address injuries to
natural resources caused by the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill. This early
restoration agreement, entitled ``Framework for Early Restoration
Addressing Injuries Resulting from the DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill''
(Framework Agreement), represents a preliminary step toward the
restoration of injured natural resources. The Framework Agreement is
intended to expedite the start of restoration in the Gulf in advance of
the completion of the injury assessment process. The Framework
Agreement provides a mechanism through which the Trustees and BP can
work together ``to commence implementation of early restoration
projects that will provide meaningful benefits to accelerate
restoration in the Gulf as quickly as practicable'' prior to the
resolution of the Trustees' natural resource damages claim.
The Trustees actively solicited public input on restoration project
ideas through a variety of mechanisms, including public meetings,
electronic communication, and creation of a Trustee-wide public Web
site and database to share information and receive public project
submissions. Their key objective in pursuing early restoration is to
secure tangible recovery of natural resources and natural resource
services for the public's benefit while the longer-term process of
fully assessing injury and damages is underway. As the first step in
this accelerated process, the Trustees released, after public review of
a draft, a Phase I Early Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment
(Phase I ERP/EA) in April 2012. The Phase I ERP is currently being
implemented.
In a continuation of the early restoration process, the Trustees
proposed two additional early restoration projects in a Phase II Draft
Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Review (Phase II DERP/ER) to
address response injuries from the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill. They
address injuries to the nesting habitats of beach-nesting birds and
loggerhead sea turtles that resulted from response activities to the
oil spill (e.g., efforts to prevent oil from reaching beaches and to
remove oil from beaches). These projects address a
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number of specific public comments on the Phase I ERP/EA that requested
development of additional habitat and wildlife-based early restoration
projects. Because loggerhead sea turtles and beach-nesting birds begin
nesting along the Northeast Gulf coast in February, the Trustees
recognized the need to implement these two projects in a timely manner
to be effective during the 2013 breeding season and so expedited their
proposal. The Trustees continue to work with BP to develop additional
restoration projects in accordance with the Framework Agreement. The
Alternatives within this plan are not intended to, and do not fully,
address all injuries caused by the spill or provide the extent of
restoration needed to satisfy claims against BP.
Notice of availability of the Phase II DERP/ER was published in the
Federal Register on November 6, 2012. (77 FR 66626, November 6, 2012)
The public was afforded 30 days to review and comment on the Phase II
DERP/ER. During that review period, the Trustees also held a public
meeting in Pensacola, Florida, on November 13, 2012, to facilitate
public comment on the Phase II DERP/ER.
The Trustees considered the public comments received on the Phase
II DERP/ER prior to finalizing selection of the Phase II Early
Restoration projects. The public comments received and the Trustees'
responses are addressed in Chapter 5 of the Phase II ERP/--ER.
Overview of the Phase II ERP/ER
Early Restoration Plan Alternatives, Including the Selected Alternative
The Phase II ERP/ER describes two early restoration alternatives:
No Action--Natural Recovery (required for consideration by OPA) and
Selected Alternative--Phase II Early Restoration Projects. Under the No
Action alternative, the Trustees would not implement early restoration
projects as described in the Phase II ERP/ER. Rather, the No Action
approach would result in delaying protection and improvement of
important nesting habitats injured by response actions during the oil
spill.
The Selected Alternative includes two projects that meet the
selection criteria, as described in the Phase II ERP/ER.
Selected Early Restoration Alternative
The Selected Alternative includes two projects intended to protect
and enhance beach nesting habitats used by birds and sea turtles. The
selected projects will, among other things, protect bird-nesting
habitat with symbolic fencing and signs and reduce the presence of
harmful lighting on certain beaches as described in the plan. The
projects are: (1) Enhanced Management of Avian Breeding Habitat Injured
by Response in the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, and Mississippi; and (2)
Improving Habitat Injured by Spill Response: Restoring the Night Sky.
Each of these projects will benefit coastal nesting habitats injured by
response to the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill.
This Phase II ERP/ER represents the second set of projects selected
as part of the early restoration process. Planning for additional early
restoration actions is continuing. Neither the Phase II ERP/ER nor any
subsequent plan for early restoration is intended to or will fully
address all injuries caused by the spill or provide the extent of
restoration needed to satisfy claims against responsible parties.
Further comprehensive restoration will still be required to fully
compensate the public for natural resource losses from the oil spill.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record can be viewed
electronically at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon
Author
The primary author of this notice is James Haas (james_haas@nps.gov).
Authorities
The authorities of this action are the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
(33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), the implementing Natural Resource Damage
Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR Part 990, and the Framework
Agreement.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
DOl Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 2013-02430 Filed 2-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P