83 FR 34571 - Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and Recreational Opportunities and Finding of No Significant Impact

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 140 (July 20, 2018)

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) have prepared the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and Recreational Opportunities (Final RP/EA #4). The Final RP/EA #4 describes and, in conjunction with the associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), selects twenty-three preferred 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 alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, and evaluated the environmental consequences of the restoration alternatives in accordance with NEPA. The selected 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 Federal Trustees of the Louisiana TIG have determined that implementation of the Final RP/EA #4 is not a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the context of NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI is appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the approval and availability of the Final RP/EA #4 and FONSI.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34571-34572]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15347]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9980-78-OW]


Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and 
Recreational Opportunities and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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) have prepared the Final Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment #4: Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source) and 
Recreational Opportunities (Final RP/EA #4). The Final RP/EA #4 
describes and, in conjunction with the associated Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI), selects twenty-three preferred 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 alternatives under criteria set 
forth in the OPA natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations, 
and evaluated the environmental consequences of the restoration 
alternatives in accordance with NEPA. The selected 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 
Federal Trustees of the Louisiana TIG have determined that 
implementation of the Final RP/EA #4 is not a major federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the 
context of NEPA. They have concluded a FONSI is appropriate, and, 
therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared. The 
purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the approval and 
availability of the Final RP/EA #4 and FONSI.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Final RP/EA #4 and 
FONSI at any of the following sites:
     http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov
     http://www.la-dwh.com
    Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Final RP/EA #4 and FONSI 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may also view the document 
at any of the public facilities listed at http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Louisiana--Joann Hicks, 225-
342-5477.
     EPA--Doug 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

[[Page 34572]]

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

    A 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 Opportunities (Draft RP/EA #4) was published in the 
Federal Register on April 20, 2018. The Louisiana TIG hosted a public 
meeting on April 24, 2018, in New Orleans, and the public comment 
period for the Draft RP/EA #4 closed on May 21, 2018. The Draft RP/EA 
#4 proposed twenty-three restoration projects, evaluated in accordance 
with OPA and NEPA. The Louisiana TIG considered the public comments 
received on the Draft RP/EA #4 which informed the Louisiana TIG's 
analyses and selection of the restoration projects in the Final RP/EA 
#4. A summary of the public comments received and the Trustees' 
responses to those comments are included in Chapter 7 of the Final RP/
EA #4.

Overview of the Final RP/EA #4

    The Final RP/EA #4 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 Final RP/EA #4, the 
Louisiana TIG selects the following preferred project alternatives:
    Nutrient Reduction (Nonpoint Source):
     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 Lands in Bayou 
Folse
     Winter Water Holding on Cropland in Vermilion and Cameron 
Parishes Plus
    Agricultural Best Management Practices
    Recreational Use:
     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
     Montegut S1/S2 Access/Pointe-aux-Chenes Fishing Piers
     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 Unit
     Des Allemands Boat Launch
     Middle Pearl
     Improvements to Grand Avoille Boat Launch
     Belle Chasse
    The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the 
Deepwater Horizon Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to 
address the injuries. In the Final RP/EA #4, the Louisiana TIG presents 
to the public its plan for providing partial compensation for lost 
recreational use services and reducing nutrients from nonpoint sources 
in the Louisiana Restoration Area. The selected projects are intended 
to continue the process of using restoration funding to reduce 
nutrients (nonpoint source) and restore recreational use services lost 
as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The total estimated 
cost of the selected projects is $47.5 million. Additional restoration 
planning for the Louisiana Restoration Area will continue.

Administrative Record

    The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Final 
RP/EA #4 and FONSI 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: July 2, 2018.
Benita Best-Wong,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2018-15347 Filed 7-19-18; 8:45 am]
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