DWH NRDA Restoration - Alabama TIG Draft Addendum to Final Restoration Plan III/Environmental Assessment

Federal Agencies - other than NPS » DWH NRDA Restoration - Alabama TIG Draft Addendum to Final Restoration Plan III/Environmental Assessment » Document List

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest maritime oil spill in U.S. history. It resulted in the discharge of millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), those responsible for an oil spill incur liability to clean up the oil and to restore injured public natural resources. As a result, federal and state natural resource trustees, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Agriculture, and trustee agencies from the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, are leading efforts to assess and restore affected Gulf resources.

A global settlement reached on April 4, 2016 has allowed the trustees to move forward with the Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS). The settlement agreement includes a funding schedule that will extend through 2031. During that timeframe the trustees will provide many opportunities for public participation, such as during plan scoping and when draft restoration plans are available for public review and comment.

Consistent with the PDARP/PEIS, the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (TIG) approved a Final Restoration Plan III/Environmental Assessment: Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities and Birds. The restoration plan includes two conditionally approved projects: Perdido Beach Public Access Coastal Protection project and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Recreation Enhancement-Mobile St. Boardwalk project.

The Draft Addendum to the Final Restoration Plan III/Environmental Assessment proposes to use interest earned on the Alabama TIG's Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities Restoration Type funds to supplement the base allocation for this restoration type and allow implementation of the two formerly conditionally approved projects.

Contact Information

Ben Frater (404) 314-8815