NRDAR News

Deepwater Horizon NRDAR Trustees Release Draft Restoration Plan to Restore Birds

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

Gannet Parent and Chick With Nest Material

3/16/2023

The Deepwater Horizon NRDAR Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has released its Draft Restoration Plan 3 and Environmental Assessment: Birds (PDF, 304 pages) for public comment through April 28, 2023. The draft plan is available for review and in libraries and other repositories.

Louisiana Trustees Release Final Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Restoration Plan

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

9/24/2022

Nanciann Regalado, USFWS

The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, the agencies charged with restoring Louisiana’s natural resources after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, has released the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Final Restoration Plan .The plan evaluates using a large-scale sediment diversion to reconnect the Mississippi River to Louisiana's Barataria Basin estuary to restore wetlands and contribute to the broader restoration of its ecosystem. If it is ultimately permitted and funded, this first-of-its-kind project, estimated to cost more than $2 billion, represents one of the largest and most innovative coastal habitat restoration efforts ever undertaken.

Deepwater Horizon NRDA Release Draft Plan to Restore Terrebonne HNC Island

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

9/15/2022

Nanciann Regalado, USFWS

The Deepwater Horizon Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group is proposing the Terrebonne Houma Navigation Canal (HNC) Island Restoration project to restore birds injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The project is included in a draft restoration plan, which is now open for public comment through September 26, 2022.

Settlement Reached on Taylor Energy Oil Spill - the Largest Oil Spill You Never Heard of

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana, Restoration, Press Release

vessel in the water with oil seen on the surface

4/26/2022

Alison Schwartz, FWS Gulf Restoration Office Public Affairs detailee

On March 17, 2022, the U.S Department of Justice announced completion of a settlement agreement with Taylor Energy, the company responsible for an oil spill that began in 2004. The settlement comes after the Department of Justice drafted a Consent Decree—a 60-page document that spells out the terms of the settlement—and provided a 40-day public comment.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trustees Release First Programmatic Review of Restoration Efforts

Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

Mississippi Gulf Coast, beach view looking out at dock in the water

11/15/2021

Nanciann Regalado, USFWS

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council has released the 2021 Programmatic Review (PDF, 97 pages) of its Gulf restoration work. The Trustees have committed to periodically re-examining the restoration program through programmatic reviews. This is the first of these efforts, and includes data collected from their work through 2020.

Evaluation of Two Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Cases to Restore Mussels in the Clinch and Powell Rivers in Virginia and Tennessee.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Restoration, Press Release

Scooped hands hold Tennessee Bean (Venustaconcha trabalis) mussels.

10/5/2021

Authors: J. Murray Hyde and Jess W. Jones

The Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment would like to announce the recent completion of the subject study and related report that the Office funded.

HEA/REA

9/10/2021

Draft Plan for $2 Billion Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plan Released

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

3/5/2021

The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group is seeking public input on a draft restoration plan proposing an investment of up to $2 billion in the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project. If approved, the large-scale project would reconnect the Mississippi River to Louisiana’s Barataria Basin. The project will allow the controlled release of freshwater, nutrients and sediment back into the basin to rebuild wetlands and contribute to the broader restoration of its ecosystem. The Draft Phase II Restoration Plan #3.2 is available for public comment for 60 days through May 4, 2021, with virtual public meetings to present the plan and environmental impact statement April 6, 7, and 8, 2021.

Louisiana Draft Restoration Plan for Birds and Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitat Released

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

9/3/2020

The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group has released its Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #7: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats, and Birds . Trustees will accept comments through September 22, 2020, and hold a public webinar on September 3.

Louisiana Restoration Area Draft Restoration Plan for Rabbit Island and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park Released

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

Shoreline project at Jean Lafitte Historical National Park and Preserve

11/21/2019

Nanciann Regalado

Louisiana Restoration Area Draft Restoration Plan for Rabbit Island and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park Released for Public Comment

Environmental Compliance Efficiencies Speed Up Restoration of Important Brown Pelican Rookery

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

Young pelicans at Queen Bess Island. Photo: LA DWF

9/24/2019

By Nadine Leavit Siak, USFWS Gulf Restoration

"Good Queen Bess" (a.k.a. Queen Elizabeth) is credited with putting an end to a period of instability in mid-16th century England. Unfortunately, the tiny scrap of land in Louisiana that bears her name, Queen Bess Island, has been anything but stable. The island, located about two-and-a-half miles north of Grand Isle in Barataria Bay, has been sinking and eroding into the Gulf of Mexico. This is a matter of grave concern, as Queen Bess Island supports the third largest brown pelican rookery in Louisiana. Less than five acres of suitable nesting and brood-rearing bird habitat remain on Queen Bess Island, so immediate action is needed to stop the erosion and build back what has been lost. Using $18.7 million of Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (DWH NRDA) settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a restoration effort aimed at adding 37 acres of prime nesting habitat will start this October. If not for a remarkable regulatory feat, project managers would have had to wait until next year to start the project. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS’) streamlining of the environmental compliance process led to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) being able to issue a permit for the project in only two days.

Notice of Public Comment Period for Alabama Draft Restoration Plan on Recreation and Birds

Alabama, Restoration, Deepwater Horizon, Press Release

9/19/2019

The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (DWH NRDAR) Alabama Trustee Implementation Group (AL TIG), of which the Department of the Interior is a member, is seeking public comment on its recently released draft restoration plan to address injuries to natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The AL TIG will accept comments on the Draft Restoration Plan III through October 3, 2019.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Opens 30-day Public Comment Period on Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the East Helena Smelter Site in Lewis and Clark County, East Helena, Montana

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana, Restoration, Press Release

8/22/2019

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is soliciting public comment on its Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) proposes options for habitat restoration projects for migratory birds in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. The Draft RP/EA proposes alternatives to restore natural resources and migratory bird habitat that have been injured by hazardous substances released from the East Helena Smelter Site.

Restoration Fosters Recreation in the Dutchman Wetlands near Anaconda, MT

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana, Press Release

5/30/2019

Isaac VanDyne

A few miles north of Anaconda, Montana, a newly restored landscape is home to a wide range of the state’s native plants and wildlife. Many unique species of fish, birds, mammals, and vegetation thrive in this expansive wetlands area. Thanks to the site’s two new public access points, trails, and information kiosks, visitors can now learn more about these creatures than ever before.

Notice of Public Meeting and Public Comment Period – Draft Round 4 Restoration Plan for the Housatonic River Watershed

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Massachusetts, Office of the Secretary, NEPA, Press Release

Department of the Interior bison seal set against green mountainous background.

4/22/2019

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in coordination with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is seeking public comment on its Round 4 Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment Addendum (RP/EA Addendum) proposing alternatives to restore natural resources injured by the release of chemical wastes, primarily polychlorinated biphenyls ("PCBs"), from the General Electric facility in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, and the Department of the Interior Natural Resource Damage Assessment regulations (43 C.F.R. Part 11).

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