[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 13, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58131-58133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29047]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15 CFR Part 990
RIN 0648-AE13
Natural Resource Damage Assessments
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: Section 1006(e)(1) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires
the President, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere, to promulgate regulations for the assessments of
natural resource damages resulting from the discharge of oil. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promulgated
final regulations on January 5, 1996. As part of the development of the
regulations, NOAA has developed five natural resource damage assessment
guidance documents. These documents are not regulatory in nature, but
are designed to
[[Page 58132]]
provide guidance to natural resource trustees using the natural
resource damage assessment regulations.
DATES: The five guidance documents are available as of November 13,
1996.
ADDRESSES: Written inquiries are to be submitted to: NOAA, Damage
Assessment Center, Attn: Eli Reinharz, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC #4,
N/ORCAx1, Workstation #10218, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eli Reinharz, 1305 East-West Highway,
SSMC #4, N/ORCAx1, Workstation #10218, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281,
phone: (301) 713-3038, ext. 193; facsimile: (301) 713-4387, e-mail:
ereinharz@spur.nos.noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq., provides for the prevention of, liability for,
removal of, and compensation for the discharge, or substantial threat
of discharge, of oil into or upon the navigable waters of the United
States, adjoining shorelines, or the Exclusive Economic Zone. Section
1006(e) requires the President, acting through the Under Secretary of
Commerce of Oceans and Atmosphere, to develop regulations establishing
procedures for natural resource trustees to use in the assessment of
damages for injury to, destruction of, loss of, or loss of use of
natural resources covered by OPA. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) published the final natural resource damage
assessment regulations on January 5, 1996 (61 FR 440). A major goal of
OPA is to make the environment and public whole for injury to natural
resources and their services as a result of an incident. The OPA
regulations provide a framework for conducting sound natural resource
damage assessments that achieve this OPA goal. Under the regulations,
assessments are conducted in the open, with responsible parties and the
public involved in the planning process so that restoration may be
achieved more quickly, transaction costs may decrease, and litigation
may be avoided. Restoration plans developed with input from the public
and responsible parties form the basis of a claim for natural resource
damages, with final restoration plans presented to responsible parties
for funding or implementation.
NOAA also has developed guidance documents as part of, and in
support of, the rulemaking effort. Five guidance documents were made
available in draft form when the OPA regulations were first proposed
January 7, 1994 (59 FR 1061). These guidance documents are now
available in final form. The guidance documents are:
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document:
Preassessment Phase (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration
Program, Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199419; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: Injury
Assessment (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration
Program, Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199427; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document:
Specifications for Use of NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 to Generate
Compensation Formula (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration Program,
Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of this
document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port
Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199435; ph: (703) 487-4650.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: Primary
Restoration (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration
Program, Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199443; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document:
Restoration Planning (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration
Program, Silver Spring MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199450; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
Although the guidance documents were prepared primarily to provide
guidance to natural resource trustees using the OPA regulations, other
interested persons may also find the information contained in these
documents useful.
Injury Assessment: The purpose of the Injury Assessment Guidance
Document is to provide trustees with general approaches for identifying
and evaluating injuries to natural resources resulting from incidents.
This document provides guidance on conducting injury assessment studies
based upon careful consideration of preassessment information and the
need to restore natural resources and compensate for interim lost
services. This document does not direct the user in the selection of
specific procedures, but describes a logical, flexible, and cost-
effective approach that can accommodate varied circumstances of
incidents under OPA.
Preassessment Phase: The purpose of the Preassessment Phase
Guidance Document is to provide trustees with general guidance for
early assessment activities required under the Preassessment Phase of
the OPA regulations. The Preassessment Phase is a preliminary fact-
finding exercise that provides the information to determine if trustees
have the jurisdiction to pursue restoration under OPA, and, if so,
whether it is appropriate to do so. The information gained through
preassessment activities should serve as the foundation for a more
detailed assessment of injuries to natural resources and services.
Primary Restoration: The purpose of the Primary Restoration
Guidance Document is to provide trustees with a review of the state of
the art for restoration of certain habitats and biological natural
resources and an evaluation of potential restoration actions following
injury to natural resources resulting from incidents. This document
focuses on the procedures that may be used to restore or replace
natural resources injured as a result of an oil incident. The guidance
in this document is meant to summarize existing information and methods
so that informed decisions can be made in the restoration planning and
implementation process.
Restoration Planning: The purpose of the Restoration Planning
Guidance Document is to provide trustees with general guidance for
developing restoration plans under OPA that comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedural requirements. Federal
agencies who must comply with the requirements of NEPA are encouraged
to integrate those requirements with the restoration planning
procedures required by OPA. Therefore, the focus of this document is to
more fully describe the processes and products required for restoration
planning under the OPA regulations and how the NEPA requirements can be
integrated into the OPA process.
Specifications for Use of NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 to Generate
Compensation Formulas: The purpose of the Specifications for Use of
NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 to Generate Compensation Formulas document is to
provide trustees with guidance and data to use with the Natural
Resource
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Damage Assessment Model for Coastal and Marine Environments (NRDAM/
CME), Version 2.4, developed by the Department of the Interior. Using
the NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 and the information contained in this
document, trustees will have a simplified, cost-effective tool to use
in estimating expected impacts of most incidents involving oil. This
information also can be used to evaluate the possible development of a
simplified method, such as a compensation formula, that could be
developed through the use of the NRDAM/CME Version 2.4.
NOAA plans to have these documents available on the Internet at
http://www.darcnw.noaa.gov/opa.htm and on CD-ROM by the end of the
calendar year. NOAA would appreciate any suggestion on how these
documents could be made more practical and useful in the future.
Persons wishing to make any suggestions are referred to the address at
the front of this Notice.
Dated: November 7, 1996.
Terry D. Garcia,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 96-29047 Filed 11-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-M
