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DWH NRDA Restoration - Mississippi TIG Draft Restoration Plan II/Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters

Federal Agencies - other than NPS » DWH NRDA Restoration - Mississippi TIG Draft Restoration Plan II/Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters » 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), each party responsible for a vessel or facility from which oil is discharged, or which poses the substantial threat of a discharge, is liable for, among other things, removal costs and damages for injury to, destruction of, loss, or loss of use of natural resources, including the reasonable cost of assessing the damage. Pursuant to OPA, federal and state natural resource trustees, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and trustee agencies from the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, were charged with assessing and restoring for injuries to affected Gulf resources.

Under a global settlement reached on April 4, 2016, the Trustees released 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 this timeframe the trustees will provide many opportunities for public participation, including the opportunity to submit project ideas and proposals and to comment on draft restoration plans.

Consistent with the PDARP/PEIS, the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group has completed the Draft Restoration Plan II/Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters. The proposed action of this Draft RP II/EA is the selection of four alternatives/projects for implementation: Wolf River Coastal Preserves Habitat Management - Dupont and Bell's Ferry Tracts- WCNH; Hancock County Coastal Preserves Habitat Management - Wachovia Tract-WCNH; Oyster Spawning Reefs in Mississippi- Oysters; and Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program-Oysters. The combined estimated cost of the proposed projects is $15,387,500. If approved, the projects/activities would be funded by $4,887,500 from the WCNH Restoration Type and $10,500,000 from the Oysters Restoration Type.

Contact Information

USDA: Ron Howard (601) 790-3754
MS: Valerie Alley (601) 961-5182