[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4534]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 1, 1994]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15 CFR Part 990
Natural Resource Damage Assessments Under the Oil Pollution Act
of 1990
agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), of the
Department of Commerce.
action: Proposed rule; Notice of public meeting and extension of
comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
summary: Section 1006(e)(1) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires
the President, acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and
Atmosphere to promulgate regulations for the assessment of natural
resource damages resulting from the discharge of oil. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed those
regulations on January 7, 1994 (59 1062). Today's Notice announces a
public meeting to be held on March 24-25, 1994, in Washington, DC, and
extends the comment period on the proposed rule to July 7, 1994.
dates: Written comments on the January 7, 1994 proposed rule (59 FR
1062) should be received no later than July 7, 1994.
addresses: Written inquiries are to be submitted to: Damage Assessment
Regulations Team (DART), c/o NOAA/DAC, 1350 East-West Highway, SSMC #4,
10th Floor, Workstation #10218, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
for further information contact: Linda Burlington or Karl Gleaves,
Office of General Counsel, DART, telephone 202-606-8000; FAX: 202-606-
4900.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On January 7, 1994 (59 FR 1062), NOAA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking concerning the natural resource damage assessment
and restoration regulations required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
NOAA requested comments, recommendations, and technical information
concerning appropriate assessment procedures and the overall assessment
process. NOAA also announced a series of regional meetings to discuss
and solicit comments on the proposed rule (59 FR 1189). Comments on the
proposed rule were to be received by April 7, 1994. Through today's
Notice, NOAA announces a public meeting concerning the proposed rule
and an extension of the comment period.
II. Public Meeting
NOAA has held six regional meetings in January and February of 1994
to discuss the proposed natural resource damage assessment regulations
and to encourage future cooperative efforts among various natural
resource trustees and potentially responsible parties. NOAA has
received requests from these meeting participants and other interested
parties that an additional meeting should be held in Washington, DC, to
discuss and take questions on the proposed rule and to report on the
regional meetings. Therefore, NOAA will hold a meeting on March 24-25,
1994, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The meeting will be held in
Room 4830 at the Department of Commerce, 14th and Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. This meeting will be open to the public, however,
representatives of organizations that have a direct interest in the
assessment process and the proposed rule are encouraged to attend. Such
interested organizations may include, but are not limited to: Federal
response and trustee agencies; States; Indian tribes; foreign trustees;
industries or industry organizations; natural scientists; and
economists.
The general format of the meeting is as follows (although it may be
revised in some part): the morning of March 24 will be devoted mainly
to a discussion of issues that were of most concern in the regional
meetings, as well as an opportunity to raise new issues; the afternoon
of March 24 will provide an opportunity to report on the cooperative
prespill planning workshops with a discussion of the possibilities and
concerns that arose during those meetings. On March 25, the morning
session will be divided into three concurrent discussion groups: one
group to discuss the legal/procedural issues; a second group to discuss
the scientific/resource issues; and the third group to discuss the
economic/valuation issues. In the afternoon of March 25, all groups
will come together again to begin a question and answer period devoted
to both the proposed rule and the cooperative efforts.
III. Comment Period for Proposed Rule
NOAA has received numerous requests to extend the comment period
for the proposed rule. Several of the participants in the regional
meetings asked for more time to review the compensation formulas in
particular. Because NOAA wants to encourage a thorough and thoughtful
review of all components of the proposed rule, the comment period will
be extended for ninety days. Therefore, comments on the proposed rule
are now due on or before July 7, 1994. Comments are to be submitted to
the address given at the beginning of this Notice.
Authority: Sec. 1006(e), Pub. L. 101-380.
Dated: February 23, 1994.
Meredith J. Jones,
General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-4534 Filed 2-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-M
