Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Notice of Intent To Conduct Strategic Restoration Planning That Considers Existing Projects for Barataria Bay, Louisiana and To Initiate Restoration Planning With Regard to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion

NOAA, on behalf of the Federal and state natural resource trustees for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG Trustees) for the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, is initiating two actions with this notice. First, the Louisiana TIG Trustees are announcing their intent to prepare a Strategic Restoration Plan for Barataria Basin, Louisiana, pursuant to the Deepwater Horizon Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS) (Feb 2016). This Barataria Basin Strategic Restoration Plan, referred to herein as the Phase I Plan, will consider identifying habitat restoration components of the Louisiana Draft 2017 Coastal Master Plan (draft 2017 CMP) to serve as an Oil Pollution Act (OPA) Strategic Restoration Plan for restoring wetland, coastal, and nearshore habitat in Barataria Basin, Louisiana, consistent with OPA and with the Trustees' PDARP/PEIS. The Louisiana TIG Trustees will consider whether a combination of Barataria Basin habitat restoration projects in the draft 2017 CMP constitutes a preferred alternative, among other feasible alternatives, for fulfilling OPA's and the PDARP/ PEIS's intent for the trustees to address ecosystem-level injuries and to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the injured wetland, coastal and nearshore habitat resources and services and compensate for interim losses of those resources from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Any projects or suites of projects that are ultimately included in the resulting Strategic Restoration Plan will be further analyzed in subsequent phased restoration plans and their accompanying environmental impact analyses as required by OPA, NEPA, and the Trustees' PDARP/PEIS. Second, the Louisiana TIG Trustees are providing notice of the initiation of restoration planning, including analysis of the Mid- Barataria Sediment Diversion and appropriate alternatives to partially restore ecosystem and wetland, coastal and nearshore habitat resources and services in Barataria Basin, and compensate for interim losses of those resources and services, injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This potential Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Restoration Plan is referred to herein as the Phase 2 Plan. The Louisiana TIG Trustees are evaluating whether the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is an appropriate project for restoring injuries from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the Louisiana TIG Trustees anticipate that their decision in that regard will be informed by the results of the Phase 1 Plan. Further, by separate Supplemental Notice of Intent, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is announcing its intent, as part of its review under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (``Section 10/404''), and section 408 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, as amended (``Section 408''), to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (``EIS'') pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). USACE will use the EIS, in conjunction with other relevant materials, to inform decision-making on the Department of the Army, section 10/404 and section 408 requests for permits and permissions for the Mid- Barataria Sediment Diversion. In order to capitalize on that ongoing environmental review, the Louisiana TIG Trustees are, at this time, requesting input on the scope of the USACE EIS via the process outlined in the coordinated USACE NOI. The LA TIG is supporting the development of the USACE EIS with the potential for the EIS to serve as the EIS for the Phase 2 Restoration Plan. The Louisiana TIG Trustees will additionally seek formal public involvement in the Phase 2 Draft Restoration Plan process in accordance with applicable Federal regulations and consistent with the PDARP/PEIS.