[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1512-1513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00231]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R2-FHC-2014-N178; FVHC98120208440-XXX-FF02ETTX00]
Texas City Y Oil Spill; Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration
Planning
AGENCY: Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: Under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), Federal and State trustees
for natural resources are authorized to assess natural resource
injuries resulting from an oil discharge or the substantial threat of
discharge, as well those injuries that result from response activities.
The trustees develop and implement a restoration plan to identify and
quantify injuries to natural resources and the restoration required to
compensate for those injuries. This notice announces the intent of the
Federal and State trustees to conduct restoration planning regarding
the discharge of oil from the Kirby Barge 27706 resulting from the
collision with an inbound bulk carrier, the M/V SUMMER WIND, an
incident that occurred in the Houston Ship Channel near Texas City,
Texas on March 22, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director,
Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ((505) 248-6911).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Texas City Y Oil Spill occurred on March
22, 2014, in Galveston Bay in the vicinity of the Houston Ship Channel
near Texas City, Texas, when the inbound bulk carrier M/V SUMMER WIND
collided with the oil tank-barge KIRBY 27706. At the time of the
collision, the M/V MISS SUSAN was towing the oil tank-barges KIRBY
27705 and KIRBY 27706. As a result of the collision, the number 2
starboard tank of KIRBY 27706 was punctured discharging approximately
168,000 gallons (4,000 barrels) of intermediate fuel oil (IFO-380) into
Galveston Bay and subsequently entered the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
(referred to as the ``Texas City Incident'').
Pursuant to Section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33
U.S.C. 2706, 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 from
response activities, and (2) develop and implement a plan for
restoration of such injured resources and their services. The Federal
trustees are designated pursuant to the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) (40 CFR 300.600) and
Executive Order 12777. State trustees are designated by the governors
of each State pursuant to the NCP, 40 CFR 300.605, OPA 33 U.S.C.
2706(b)(3), Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1321(f)(5), and the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA; 42 U.S.C. 9607(f)(2)(B)). The following agencies are
designated natural resources trustees under OPA and are currently
acting as trustees for this Incident: The United States Department of
the Interior (DOI), as represented by the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and the National Park Service; the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on behalf of the United States
Department of Commerce; and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
(TPWD), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas
General Land Office (GLO) for the State of Texas (collectively, the
Trustees). In addition to acting as Trustees for this Incident under
OPA, the State of Texas is also acting pursuant to its applicable state
laws and authorities, including the Texas Oil Spill Prevention and
Response Act of 1991, Tex. Nat. Res. Code Chapter 40.
The Responsible Party (RP) identified for this Incident thus far is
Kirby Inland Marine, LP (``Kirby''), owner of the M/V MISS SUSAN, KIRBY
27705 and KIRBY 27706. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(c), the Trustees have
invited the RP identified above to participate in a cooperative Natural
Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. To date, the Trustees have
coordinated with Kirby representatives on activities undertaken as part
of the NRDAR process.
The Trustees initiated the Preassessment Phase of the NRDA in
accordance with 15 CFR 990.40 to determine if they have jurisdiction to
pursue restoration under OPA and, if so, whether it is 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 and a determination to conduct
restoration planning, (2) ephemeral data, and (3) information needed
for assessment activities as part of the Restoration Planning Phase.
The collection and analysis of the data and information listed above
continues to date.
Under the NRDA regulations applicable to OPA, 15 CFR part 990 (NRDA
regulations), the Trustees prepare and issue a notice of intent to
conduct restoration planning (notice) to demonstrate that conditions
have been met that establish that the Trustees have jurisdiction over
this matter and that restoration of natural resources is feasible and
appropriate.
Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.44, this notice announces that the Trustees
have determined to proceed with restoration planning to fully evaluate,
assess, quantify and develop plans for restoring, replacing or
acquiring the equivalent of injured natural resources and services
losses resulting from the Texas City Y Incident. The restoration
planning process will include collection of information for evaluating
and quantifying injuries, and use of that information to determine the
need for, and type and scale of restoration actions.
Determination of Jurisdiction
The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR
990.41:
1. The Texas City Y Incident resulted in discharges of oil into and
upon navigable waters of the United States, including the Gulf of
Mexico, as well as adjoining shorelines, all of which constitute an
``incident'' within the meaning of 15 CFR 990.30.
2. The discharge(s) are not permitted pursuant to federal, state,
or local law; are not from a public vessel; and are 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 and continue to be injured or threatened as a result of discharged
oil and associated removal efforts. The discharged oil is harmful to
natural resources exposed to the oil, including aquatic organisms,
birds, wildlife, vegetation, and habitats. Discharged oil and the
response activities to address the discharges of oil have resulted in
adverse effects on natural resources in and around the coastal waters
of Texas and along its adjoining shorelines, and impaired services that
those resources provide. The full extent of potential injuries is
currently unknown; however current natural resources and resource
services that have been impacted due to the discharged oil include but
are not limited to the following:
Over 160 miles of shoreline habitats, including salt
marshes, sandy beaches, and mangroves.
[[Page 1513]]
A variety of wildlife, including birds, and marine
mammals.
Lost human use opportunities associated with various
natural resources in the Gulf region, including fishing, swimming,
beach-going, and viewing of birds and wildlife.
Waters of the Gulf of Mexico and adjoining coastal waters
of the State.
Various other biota, including benthic communities and
fish.
Water column habitat.
Accordingly, the Trustees have determined they have jurisdiction to
pursue restoration under OPA.
Determination To Conduct Restoration Planning
1. The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR
990.42. Observations and data collected pursuant to 15 CFR 990.43
demonstrate that injuries to natural resources and the services they
provide have resulted from the Texas City Y incident; however, the
nature and extent of such injuries has not been fully determined at
this time. The Trustees have identified numerous categories of impacted
and potentially impacted resources, including marine mammals and birds,
as well as their habitats. Potentially or actually impacted habitats
include but are not limited to wetlands, marshes, sand beaches, bottom
sediments and the water. Impacts to these resources have or are
anticipated to affect human use of these affected resources or
habitats. The Trustees have been conducting, and continue to conduct,
activities to evaluate injuries and potential injuries within these
categories. More information on these resource categories, including
assessment work plans developed jointly by the Trustees and the RP, if
any, and information gathered during the Preassessment Phase, will be
available in the Administrative Record (AR), as discussed below. The
full nature and extent of injuries will be determined during the injury
assessment conducted as part of the Restoration Planning Phase.
2. Response actions employed for this spill included containment,
skimming of oil and other removal operations. These response actions
have not addressed and are not expected to address all injuries
resulting from the discharges of oil. Although response actions were
initiated soon after the spill, they were unable to prevent injuries to
many natural resources. In addition, some of these response actions
have caused or are likely to cause injuries to natural resources and
the services they provide, including the impairment of sensitive
marshes, beaches, and other habitats and impacts to human uses of the
resources. While injured natural resources may eventually recover
naturally to the condition they would have been in had the discharges
not occurred, interim losses did occur and will persist until baseline
conditions are achieved. In addition, there have been losses of and
diminution of human uses of the resources resulting from the impacts to
the natural resources and from the response actions themselves.
3. Feasible restoration actions exist to address the natural
resource injuries and losses, including lost human uses, resulting from
the discharges of oil. Assessment procedures are available to scale the
appropriate amount of restoration required to offset these ecological
and human use service losses. During the restoration planning phase,
the Trustees will evaluate potential projects, determine the scale of
restoration actions needed to make the environment and the public
whole, and release a draft Restoration Plan for public review and
comment.
Based upon these determinations, the Trustees intend to proceed
with restoration planning for the Texas City Y Incident.
Administrative Record
The Department of the Interior, acting on behalf of the Trustees,
has opened an Administrative Record (AR) in compliance with 15 CFR
990.45 and applicable state authorities. The AR is publicly accessible
and includes documents considered by the Trustees during the NRDA and
restoration planning performed in connection with the Incident. The AR
will be augmented with additional information over the course of the
NRDA process. The administrative record is available through the
following location in electronic format: http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/orda_docs/DamageCase.aspx?DamageCaseId=388.
Opportunity To Comment
In accordance with 15 CFR 990.14(d) and state authorities, the
Trustees will provide opportunities for public involvement in the
restoration planning for the Incident. The opportunities for public
involvement will be addressed in future notices and announcements.
Author
The primary author of this notice is Chip Wood.
Authority
The authority of this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and the implementing Natural Resource Damage
Assessment found at 15 CFR part 990.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-00231 Filed 1-9-15; 8:45 am]
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