[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38182-38183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17783]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
May 1997 Lake Barre, Louisiana Oil Spill; Notice of Availability
and Request for Comments on a Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration
Plan/Environmental Assessment
AGENCIES: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce; United States Department of
[[Page 38183]]
the Interior (DOI); Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinators Office (LOSCO);
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ); Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources (LDNR); Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).
ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft Damage Assessment and
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment, and 30-day period for
public comment on the plan.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.23 and 15 CFR 990.55(c), notice is
hereby given that a document entitled, ``Draft Damage Assessment and
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the May 16, 1997
Texaco Pipeline Company Lake Barre Oil Spill'' (Draft DARP/EA) is
available for public review and comment. This document was prepared by
the agencies listed above (the Trustees) to address natural resource
injuries and losses of service following the May 1997 pipeline rupture
and subsequent discharge of crude oil into Lake Barre, Louisiana (the
Incident). This document presents the Trustees' assessment of the
natural resource injuries and losses of service attributable to this
Incident, and their proposed plan to restore, replace or acquire
resources or services equivalent to those lost as a basis for
compensating for the natural resource injuries and losses of service
that occurred. The Trustees will consider comments received during the
public comment period before finalizing the document. Public review of
the Draft DARP/EA is consistent with all state and federal laws and
regulations that apply to the natural resource damage assessment
process, including section 1006 of OPA, the regulations for Natural
Resource Damage Assessment under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA)
(15 CFR part 990), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C.
4371, et seq.), and implementing regulations (40 CFR part 1500, et
seq.).
DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing on or before August 16,
1999.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the draft DARP/EA should be sent to
John Kern of NOAA, 9721 Executive Center Drive, N., Suite 114, St.
Petersburg, FL 33702 or Warren Lorentz, LOSCO, 625 N. Fourth Street,
Suite 800, Baton Rouge, LA 70802. Written comments on the plan should
be sent to either John Kern of NOAA or to Warren Lorentz of LOSCO at
the same addresses as listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kern, at (727) 570-5391, email:
john.kern@noaa.gov, or Warren Lorentz, at (225) 219-5800, email:
loscolorentz@linknet.net.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At around 1600 hours Central Daylight
Savings time on May 16, 1997, a discharge from a 16-inch crude oil
transmission pipeline was discovered by Texaco Pipeline Inc. (hereafter
``Texaco'') in Lake Barre, Louisiana. The discharge was caused by a 34-
inch long gash in the pipeline, which had been buried five or more feet
below the sediment surface. The site of the pipeline rupture was at
29 deg. 14.8' N latitude, 90 deg. 29.3' W longitude, which is
approximately 27 miles southeast of Houma, in Terrebonne Parish. Texaco
estimated that approximately 6,561 barrels (275,562 gallons) of crude
oil were discharged as a result of the pipeline rupture into Lake
Barre. Although Texaco undertook response actions, these actions did
not prevent exposure of natural resources including marsh, shorelines,
birds, and estuarine water column organisms to the oil. A variety of
injuries and lost uses of natural resources were documented as a result
of that exposure.
The incident is subject to the authority of OPA, 33 U.S.C. 2701-
2761 (OPA), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321 et
seq. (FWPCA) and the Louisiana Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act,
LSA L.S.R. 30:2451 et seq. (OSPRA). NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR, and
LDWF are Trustees for natural resources pursuant to the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) OPA, the FWPCA, subpart G of the
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, 40
CFR 300.600-300.615, and, in the case of the Louisiana Trustees, OSPRA
LSA L.S.R. 30:2451, and in the case of the Federal Trustees, Executive
Order 12777. As a designated Trustee, each agency is authorized to act
on behalf of the public under state and/or federal law to assess and
recover natural resource damages, and to plan and implement actions to
restore natural resources and resource services injured or lost as the
result of an incident.
Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA),
designated natural resource Trustees have conducted a damage assessment
for this Incident to evaluate potential injuries to natural resources
and services, and to determine the need for and scale of restoration
actions required. The draft DARP/EA discusses the natural resources and
services believed to be affected by the Incident, details the
assessment procedures used, outlines the restoration alternative
selection and scaling process, and identifies the preferred restoration
alternative to address natural resource injuries and losses of service.
The Trustees determined that injured natural resources have largely
returned to baseline conditions, and are expected to fully return to
baseline without requiring any further actions. However, the Trustees
have determined that there have been interim losses to marsh habitat
services, birds, and aquatic fauna that require compensatory
restoration to make the environment and the public whole for these
losses. Under the preferred restoration alternative, 18.6 acres on East
Timbalier Island will be planted with marsh vegetation, and, due to the
planting design, another 39.4 acres is expected to be gained from
natural spreading from the planted area over the anticipated lifetime
of the project. The 58 total acres of marsh expected to result from
implementation of the preferred restoration alternative will be
sufficient to satisfy compensatory restoration requirements.
Interested members of the public are invited to request a copy of
the Draft DARP/EA form and to submit written comments to either John
Kern or Warren Lorentz at the addresses given above. All written
comments will be considered by NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR, and LDWF
in finalizing the DARP/EA.
Dated: July 6, 1999.
Captain Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone
Management.
[FR Doc. 99-17783 Filed 7-14-99; 8:45 am]
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