Notice2023-12787
Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning for Discharge of Oil From the Amplify Energy Corp Pipeline P00547 Into the Pacific Ocean Near Huntington Beach, Orange County, California
Primary source
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Published
June 16, 2023
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 Amplify Energy Corp Pipeline P00547 into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach, Orange County, California (Incident). The purpose of this restoration planning effort is to further evaluate injuries to natural resources and services and to use that information to determine the need for, type of, and scale of restoration actions.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 116 (Friday, June 16, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 116 (Friday, June 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39407-39408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12787]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning for Discharge of
Oil From the Amplify Energy Corp Pipeline P00547 Into the Pacific Ocean
Near Huntington Beach, Orange County, California
AGENCY: Office of Response and Restoration (ORR), National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce.
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 Amplify Energy Corp Pipeline P00547
into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach, Orange County, California
(Incident). The purpose of this restoration planning effort is to
further evaluate injuries to natural resources and services and to use
that information to determine the need for, type of, and scale of
restoration actions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact one or
more of the following Trustee representatives: Troy Baker (NOAA) at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c8bcbaa7b1e6aaa9a3adba88a6a7a9a9e6afa7be"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6014120f194e02010b0512200e0f01014e070f16">[email protected]</span></a>; Mike Anderson (California Department of Fish and
Wildlife) at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f4999d979c959198da959a909186879b9ab4839d9890989d9291da9795da939b82"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="026f6b616a63676e2c636c666770716d6c42756b6e666e6b64672c61632c656d74">[email protected]</span></a>; Damian Higgins (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service) at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f793969a9e9699a89f9e90909e9984b7918084d9909881"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c4a0a5a9ada5aa9bacada3a3adaab784a2b3b7eaa3abb2">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 1, 2021, Pipeline P00547, an oil pipeline owned and
operated by Amplify Energy Corp., Beta Operating Company, LLC, dba,
``Beta Offshore''; and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Company (collectively,
Amplify) ruptured. The underwater pipeline running from Platform Elly
to Long Beach spilled a minimum of approximately 24,696 gallons of
crude oil into San Pedro Bay. Product initially floated to the surface
forming surface slicks and strands that extended from the source mainly
south and southeast along prevailing ocean currents. Southern
California beaches from at least Surfside Beach to potentially past the
U.S./Mexico Border, including coastal marshes and lagoons, were either
freshly oiled or received varying levels of tarballs in the weeks
following the spill. This discharge affected natural resources in the
area.
Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), 33 U.S.C.
2701 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 300.600 and Executive Order
12777. State trustees for California are designated pursuant to the
National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.605, and the Governor's
Designation of State Natural Resource Trustees under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990, and California Health and Safety Code section
25352(c), dated October 5, 2007, and the Delegation of Authority of
Natural Resource Trustee, dated November 15, 2007. The natural
resources trustees (Trustees) under OPA for this Incident are NOAA; the
United States Department of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land
Management; the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; the
California State Lands Commission; and the California Department of
Parks and Recreation.
Amplify is the Responsible Party (RP) for this Incident. The
Trustees have coordinated 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, and/or (3) information needed
to design or implement anticipated emergency restoration and/or
assessment activities as part of the Restoration Planning Phase.
The NRDA regulations under OPA, 15 CFR 990 (NRDA regulations),
provide that the Trustees are to prepare a Notice of Intent to Conduct
Restoration Planning (Notice) if they determine certain conditions have
been met, and if they decide to quantify the injuries to natural
resources and to 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 further evaluate injuries to natural resources and
services and to use that information to determine the need for, type
of, and scale of restoration actions.
Determination of Jurisdiction
The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR
990.41:
1. The rupture of Pipeline P00547 on October 1, 2021, resulted in a
discharge of oil into and upon navigable waters of the United States,
including the Pacific Ocean, as well as adjoining shorelines. Such
occurrence constitutes an ``Incident'' within the meaning of 15 CFR
930.30.
2. 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.
3. Natural resources under the trusteeship of the Trustees have
been injured as a result of the Incident. The crude oil discharged from
Pipeline P00547 is harmful to certain aquatic organisms, birds,
wildlife, and vegetation that were exposed to the oil. Accordingly, the
discharged oil and the response activities to address the discharge
have had an adverse effect on the natural resources of the Pacific
Ocean and its adjoining shorelines and impaired the services which
those resources provide. Documents in the Administrative Record contain
more information regarding the basis upon which the Trustees reached
this determination.
As a result of the foregoing determinations, the Trustees have
jurisdiction to pursue restoration under OPA.
Determination To Conduct Restoration Planning
The Trustees have determined, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.42(a), that:
1. Observations and data collected in accordance with 15 CFR 990.43
(including but not limited to dead and live oiled birds; oiling at
beaches, rocky intertidal habitats, subtidal habitats, and other
habitats; beach and fishery closures; and impacts from response
activities) demonstrate that injuries to natural resources have
resulted from the Incident. Immediately following the Incident, the
Trustees, in cooperation with the RPs, identified several categories of
impacted and potentially impacted natural resources, including
[[Page 39408]]
birds, marine mammals, fish, and shoreline and subtidal habitats, as
well as effects to human use resulting from impacts on these natural
resources. The Trustees then began conducting activities, in
cooperation with the RPs, 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.
2. 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. In addition, certain response efforts, such as the removal
of wrack from beaches and excavation of submerged oil, caused
additional injuries to 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. In addition,
there were lost and diminished human uses of the resources resulting
from the impacts to the natural resources and from spill response
actions.
3. Feasible primary and compensatory restoration actions exist to
address injuries to natural resources and lost human uses resulting
from the Incident. The Trustees have compiled a list of restoration
projects that could potentially be implemented to compensate for
interim losses resulting from the Incident. The Trustees have also
sought suggestions from the public on potential restoration projects to
compensate for the services and functions provided by natural
resources. In addition, assessment procedures such as Habitat
Equivalency Analysis and Resource Equivalency Analysis are available to
scale the appropriate amount of compensatory restoration required to
offset ecological service losses resulting from this Incident. To
quantify lost human uses resulting from the Incident, the Trustees, in
cooperation with the RP, have collected and compiled data regarding
visitor use of impacted sites and associated activities. To value those
lost uses, the Trustees are investigating use of a Travel Cost Model
and Benefits Transfer Method. To compensate for the lost and diminished
human uses arising from the Incident, the Trustees intend to solicit
project ideas from local, regional, State, and Federal managers of
parks and other recreational areas, as well as from the general public.
The final selection of projects will be informed by project costs, the
value of lost use, distribution and character of impacts, and other
criteria consistent with state and federal laws and practice.
During restoration planning, the Trustees evaluate potential
restoration 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 the foregoing determinations and information in the
Administrative Record, the Trustees intend to proceed with restoration
planning for this Incident.
Administrative Record
The Trustees have opened an Administrative Record (Record) in
accordance with 15 CFR 990.45. The Record will include documents
considered by the Trustees during the preassessment, assessment, and
restoration planning phases of the NRDA performed in connection with
the Incident. The 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/14901">https://www.diver.orr.noaa.gov/web/guest/diver-admin-record/14901</a>.
Opportunity To Comment
Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the Trustees seek public involvement
in restoration planning for this Incident through public review of, and
comment on, documents contained in the Record. The Trustees also intend
to seek public comment on a draft Damage Assessment and Restoration
Plan when it becomes available.
Scott Lundgren,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-12787 Filed 6-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P
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