Notice2021-14969
Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning
Primary source
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Published
July 14, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
Notice is hereby given of intent to proceed with restoration planning actions to address injuries to natural resources resulting from the discharge of oil from the Kirby Inland Marine LP tank barge 30015T (the "Incident"). The purpose of this restoration planning effort is to evaluate and select restoration actions to compensate the public for the natural resource injuries resulting from the Incident.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 132 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37122-37124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14969]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning
AGENCY: Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct restoration planning activities.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of intent to proceed with restoration
planning actions to address injuries to natural resources resulting
from the discharge of oil from the Kirby Inland Marine LP tank barge
30015T (the ``Incident''). The purpose of this restoration planning
effort is to evaluate and select restoration actions to compensate the
public for the natural resource injuries resulting from the Incident.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact one or
more of the following Trustee representatives: Laurie Sullivan (NOAA)
at (707) 570-1762, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f331e0a0d161a512c0a131316091e113f11101e1e51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b6fad7c3c4dfd398e5c3dadadfc0d7d8f6d8d9d7d798d1d9c0">[email protected]</span></a>; Johanna Gregory Belssner
(TPWD) at (512) 389-8703, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c68ca9aea7a8a8a7e881b4a3a1a9b4bf86b2b6b1a2e8b2a3bea7b5e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fcb693949d92929dd2bb8e999b938e85bc888c8b98d28899849d8fd29b938a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 10, 2019, tank barge 30015T, owned by Kirby Inland Marine,
LP (``Kirby''), collided with the tanker ship Genesis River near
Bayport, Texas. The collision penetrated the hull of Kirby's barge
30015T, and an estimated 14,278 barrels (about 600,000 gallons) of oil
in the form of reformate, a gasoline blending stock, was lost from the
barge. Reformate discharged from the Kirby barge flowed into the
Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay, spreading westward and
southward and washing ashore on the western coastline of the bay
roughly between Red Bluff and Eagle Point, Texas. The discharge
affected natural resources in the general area. All of the foregoing is
referred to as the ``Incident.''
Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act (``OPA''), 33
U.S.C. 2701,
[[Page 37123]]
et seq., federal and state trustees for natural resources are
authorized to (1) assess natural resource injuries resulting from a
discharge of oil or the substantial threat of a discharge and response
activities and (2) develop and implement a plan for restoration of such
injured resources. The federal trustees are designated pursuant to the
National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Section 300.600 and Executive Order
12777. State trustees for Texas are designated by the Governor of Texas
pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Section 300.605. The
natural resources trustees (``Trustees'') under OPA for this Incident
are the United States Department of Commerce, acting through the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (``NOAA''); the Texas
General Land Office (``TGLO''); the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (``TCEQ''); and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
(``TPWD''). Kirby is the Responsible Party (``RP'') for the Incident.
The Trustees are coordinating with representatives of the RP on Natural
Resource Damage Assessment (``NRDA'') activities.
The Trustees began the Preassessment Phase of the NRDA, in
accordance with 15 CFR 990.40, to determine if they had jurisdiction to
pursue restoration under OPA, and, if so, whether it was appropriate to
do so. During the Preassessment Phase, the Trustees collected and
analyzed the following: (1) Data reasonably expected to be necessary to
make a determination of jurisdiction or a determination to conduct
restoration planning, (2) ephemeral data (i.e., environmental data
collected in the immediate aftermath of the spill), and (3) other
assessment data.
The NRDA Regulations under OPA, 15 CFR part 990 (``NRDA
regulations''), provide that the Trustees are to prepare a Notice of
Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning (``notice'') if they (1)
determine certain conditions have been met, and if they decide to (2)
quantify the injuries to natural resources and (3) develop a
restoration plan.
This notice is to announce, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.44, that the
Trustees, having collected and analyzed data, intend to proceed with
restoration planning actions to address injuries to natural resources
resulting from the Incident. The purpose of this restoration planning
effort is to evaluate and select restoration actions to compensate the
public for the natural resource injuries resulting from the Incident.
Determination of Jurisdiction
The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR
990.41:
a. The rupture of the oil storage tanks on Kirby's barge 30015T on
May 10, 2019, resulted in a discharge of oil into and upon navigable
waters of the United States, including the Houston Ship Channel and
Galveston Bay, as well as adjoining shorelines. Such occurrence
constitutes an ``Incident'' within the meaning of 15 CFR 930.30.
b. The Incident was not permitted pursuant to federal, state, or
local law; was not from a public vessel; and was not from an onshore
facility subject to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authority Act, 43 U.S.C.
1651 et seq.
c. Natural resources under the trusteeship of the Trustees have
been injured as a result of the Incident. Chemical components of the
reformate discharged from Kirby barge 30015T are known to be harmful to
marine and coastal organisms and habitat that were exposed to the oil.
Accordingly, the discharged oil has had an adverse effect on the
natural resources in Galveston Bay and its adjoining shorelines and
impaired the services, which those resources provide.
Documents in the Administrative Record contain more information
regarding the specific studies, observations, analyses, etc., by which
the Trustees reached this determination.
As a result of the foregoing determinations, the Trustees have
jurisdiction to pursue restoration under the OPA.
Determination To Conduct Restoration Planning
The Trustees have determined, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.42(a), that:
a. Observations and data collected pursuant to 15 CFR 990.43 (including
dead fish and invertebrates exposed to reformate; information regarding
shoreline beaches, and subtidal habitats and other habitats affected by
oil or response activities) demonstrate that injuries to natural
resources have resulted from the Incident. Immediately following the
Incident, the Trustees, in cooperation with the RP, identified several
categories of impacted and potentially impacted resources, including
marine mammals, fish, invertebrates, oysters, shoreline and subtidal
habitats, and the water column, as well as effects to human use/
recreation resulting from impacts on these natural resources. The
Trustees then began conducting activities to evaluate injuries and
potential injuries within these categories. More information on these
resource categories is available in the Administrative Record,
including information gathered during the Preassessment Phase.
b. Spill response actions did not address all injuries resulting
from the Incident to the extent that restoration would not be
necessary. Although response actions were initiated soon after the
spill, the nature and location of the discharge prevented recovery of
all of the oil and precluded prevention of injuries to some natural
resources. It is anticipated that injured natural resources will
eventually return to baseline levels (the condition they would have
been in had it not been for the Incident), but interim losses have
occurred or have likely occurred and will continue until a return to
baseline is achieved.
Feasible compensatory restoration actions exist to address injuries
resulting from the Incident. To conduct restoration planning, the
Trustees have reviewed a number of restoration options in Galveston Bay
and its adjoining shoreline that could potentially be implemented to
compensate for interim losses resulting from the Incident. In addition,
assessment procedures such as Habitat Equivalency Analysis are
available to scale the appropriate amount of compensatory restoration
required to offset ecological service losses resulting from this
Incident. The Trustees will work cooperatively with local governmental
agencies and non-governmental organizations to identify a suite of
potential restoration projects commensurate with the injuries sustained
due to the spill. The public may also send restoration project ideas to
the Trustees (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section for contacts). It is the
goal of the Trustees to select restoration with a strong nexus to the
spill.
During the Restoration Planning Phase, the Trustees evaluate
potential projects, determine the scale of restoration actions needed
to make the environment and the public whole, and release a draft
Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan for public review and comment.
Based upon information in the Administrative Record and the
foregoing determinations, the Trustees intend to proceed with the
Restoration Planning Phase for this Incident.
Opportunity To Comment
Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the Trustees seek public involvement
in restoration planning for this Incident through the solicitation of
restoration ideas and public review of the Administrative Record. The
Trustees also intend to seek public comment on a draft Damage
Assessment and
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Restoration Plan after it has been prepared.
Administrative Record
The Trustees have opened an Administrative Record in compliance
with 15 CFR 990.45. The Administrative Record will include documents
considered by the Trustees during the Preassessment, and Restoration
Planning Phases of the NRDA performed in connection with the Incident.
The Administrative Record will be augmented with additional information
over the course of the NRDA process.
The Administrative Record may be viewed at the following website:
<a href="https://www.diver.orr.noaa.gov/web/guest/diver-admin-record/12302">https://www.diver.orr.noaa.gov/web/guest/diver-admin-record/12302</a>.
Scott Lundgren,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-14969 Filed 7-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P
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