[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10835-10837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4847]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021495C]
New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council; Scoping Meetings
AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; and Office of
Environmental Policy and Compliance, U.S. Department of the Interior
(DOI).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS); request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS, acting as Administrative Trustee, and DOI announce the
intention of the New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council (Council) to
prepare an EIS for a proposed plan to address the restoration of
natural resources that have been injured by the release of hazardous
substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the New
Bedford Harbor environment. The Council also announces its initiation
of a public process to determine the scope of issues under
consideration. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of
this process and of the opportunity to participate in the development
of the restoration plan/EIS. All persons affected by, or otherwise
interested in, the proposed restoration plan are invited to participate
in determining the scope of significant issues to be considered in the
EIS by submitting written comments or by attending scoping meetings.
The scoping process will identify and prioritize alternatives for
potential restoration activities.
DATES: The Council will hold scoping meetings in each of the affected
communities within the New Bedford Harbor environment. The scoping
meetings are scheduled as follows:
1. February 28, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., New Bedford, MA
2. March 1, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., North Dartmouth,
MA [[Page 10836]]
3. March 8, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., Acushnet, MA
4. March 9, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., Fairhaven, MA
ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the following locations:
1. New Bedford--New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill,
New Bedford, MA 02740
2. North Dartmouth--University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth, Old
Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02714
3. Acushnet-- Acushnet Elementary School, 80 Middle Road, Acushnet,
MA 02743
4. Fairhaven--Hastings Middle School, 30 School Street, Fairhaven,
MA 02719
Additional meetings will be announced as they are scheduled. Public
hearings will be scheduled upon completion of the Draft EIS. Send
written comments on the scoping process and scope of the EIS to Jack
Terrill, Coordinator, New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council, National
Marine Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298,
or fax number 508-281-9301.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Terrill, Coordinator, 508-281-
9136.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
New Bedford Harbor is an urban tidal estuary on the western shore
of Buzzards Bay, MA, situated between the City of New Bedford on the
west and the towns of Fairhaven and Acushnet on the east, with the
Acushnet River flowing into the harbor from the north. The area
contains approximately 6 square miles (15.54 square kilometers) of open
water, tidal creeks and salt marshes.
New Bedford Harbor is an active port frequented by both commercial
and recreational fishing vessels, as well as merchant vessels
delivering produce for distribution throughout the Northeast. For many
years, the commercial landings of predominantly scallops and groundfish
species resulted in either the highest or second highest value of any
port in the country. Historically, approximately 300 to 400 commercial
fishing vessels have landed in the port each year. Located along the
shores of the harbor are support services for the fishing industry
(ice, fuel, provisions, etc.) and manufacturing facilities, as well as
residential neighborhoods.
Also situated along the shore were electronic manufacturers which
were major users of PCBs from the time their operations commenced in
the late 1940's until 1977, when the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) banned the use and manufacture of PCBs. These industries
discharged wastewaters containing PCBs directly into the Acushnet River
estuary and Buzzards Bay and indirectly via the municipal wastewater
treatment system.
PCBs are considered to be human carcinogens that can be introduced
through the eating of contaminated fish and shellfish. PCBs found at
high concentration may be released into the air for further deposit on
surfaces affecting vegetation. PCBs are concentrated in fish and
shellfish through the process of biomagnification in which fish and
shellfish eat smaller organisms such as plankton, and the PCBs within
the smaller organisms are retained in the tissue of the larger
organism. Subsequent exposure further accumulates the PCBs in these
tissues.
PCBs can also have adverse effects on natural resources
particularly birds and higher mammals. Birds exposed to PCBs have
exhibited reproductive failure and birth defects. Some shellfish
species will die after exposure to even small concentrations of PCBs.
Some fish species can have relatively high concentrations without
serious effect but pose a danger when eaten by other natural resources
such as birds.
Between 1974 and 1982, a number of environmental studies were
conducted to assess the magnitude and extent of contamination by PCBs
and heavy metals in New Bedford Harbor. These studies showed PCB
contamination in marine sediment over a 985-acre area to range from a
few parts per million (ppm) to over 100,000 ppm. Portions of western
Buzzards Bay are also contaminated with sediment PCB concentrations in
excess of 50 ppm. Water-column concentrations were found in excess of
Federal ambient water quality criteria (0.030 ppm based on chronic
impacts to marine organisms). Fish and shellfish PCB concentrations
were found in excess of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tolerance
limit (2 ppm for edible tissue).
To reduce the potential for human exposure to PCBs, the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health closed much of the New
Bedford Harbor area to fishing or fishing for selected species with the
establishment of three closure areas on September 25, 1979. New Bedford
Harbor was added to EPA's Superfund National Priorities List in July
1982 and was simultaneously identified as the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts' priority Superfund site.
Executive Order 12580 and the National Contingency Plan, which is
the implementing regulation for the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), designates the
Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, and Interior to
be Federal Trustees for natural resources. Federal Trustees are
designated because of their statutory responsibilities for protection
and/or management of natural resources, or management of federally
owned land. In addition, the governors of each state are required to
designate a state Trustee. The Trustees' responsibilities include
assessing damages from the release of hazardous substances, pursuing
recoveries of both damages and costs, and using the sums to restore,
replace, or acquire the equivalent of the resources that were injured
by the release.
In 1983, the Federal and state trustees filed complaints in Federal
District Court in Boston alleging causes of action under CERCLA against
the electronics manufacturers for injuries to natural resources under
their trusteeship that had resulted from releases of hazardous
substances, including PCBs. The eventual outcome of the complaints was
monetary settlement agreements with defendants to: (1) Fund the cleanup
of the harbor by EPA, (2) restore the natural resources by the
Trustees, and (3) reimburse the governments for funds expended.
The Council was created as a result of the settlement agreements.
There are three natural resource trustees on the Council representing
Commerce, DOI, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Secretary of
Commerce has delegated trustee responsibility to NOAA, with NMFS having
responsibility for restoration. The Secretary of the Interior has
delegated trustee responsibility to the Regional Office of Policy and
Compliance. The Governor of Massachusetts has delegated trustee
responsibility to the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. These
are the only Trustees having identified trust responsibilities for
natural resources present in the New Bedford Harbor environment.
The Trustees are required to develop a restoration plan before
settlement money can be spent on restoration projects. Such a plan will
include a range of projects including near-term restoration efforts
though restoration may continue for 10 to 15 years or more. The
Trustees primary task is to determine how best to restore the injured
natural resources and the Trustees are seeking the assistance of the
public in this process. There are many projects that can be done to
restore the injured natural resources but there are also limited funds
with which to accomplish this. By incorporating the public in the
process and by developing a formal restoration plan, there is greater
likelihood of success and acceptance. [[Page 10837]]
Federal actions require adherence to the National Environmental
Policy Act. This Act requires the development of an environmental
assessment or an EIS which analyzes the effects of the proposed Federal
action(s) on the environment. This notice initiates the process of
developing an EIS. Alternatives developed though this process will be
included in the EIS as well as an analysis of their potential impacts
on the environment.
The Trustees have scheduled four meetings to initiate this process.
The purpose of these meetings is to introduce the public to the Trustee
Council, define the Council's role and responsibilities, explain what
restoration means and the legal requirements that must be followed:
Describe and seek comment on the Trustee Council's goals, objectives,
and project selection criteria; and provide guidance and receive
comment on how restoration projects should be presented for
consideration.
These meetings are the first step in the restoration plan/EIS
development process. Meetings of the Trustee Council are open to the
public and the public is invited to attend and participate. The
Trustees will be seeking public participation through citizen advisors
who can play a continuing role in restoration plan development. Once a
draft restoration plan/EIS is developed, public hearings will be held
on the content before any such plan is finalized.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. and 9601 et seq.
Dated: February 21, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-4847 Filed 2-27-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
