[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-959]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 14, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 

Restoration Plan for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Area, Prince 
William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, and Alaska Peninsula, AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: On April 10, 1992 (57 FR 12473-12475) on behalf of the Exxon 
Valdez Trustee Council, the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service 
published a Notice of Intent to prepare a programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the development of a Restoration Plan 
following the March 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez oil spill. This notice 
revises the dates for completion of the Draft and Final EIS and 
provides more information on the proposed action. The responsible 
official for the preparation of the EIS is the Regional Forester, 
Michael A. Barton. The Restoration Plan will establish management 
direction and guide all natural resource restoration activities covered 
by the civil settlement to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

DATES: Initial comments concerning the proposed development of a 
Restoration Plan should be received by February 7, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to or for further information contact 
Rod Kuhn, EIS Project Manager, 645 G Street, Anchorage, Alaska, 99501; 
phone (907) 278-8012.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Introduction

    On October 8, 1991, a federal court approved settlement between the 
State and Federal governments and Exxon under which Exxon will pay $1 
billion in criminal restitution and civil damages to the governments. 
The State and Federal Trustees will receive $900 million in civil 
damages from Exxon over the 10 years. The funds are to be used to 
restore to their pre-spill condition the natural resources and the 
services they provide, that were injured by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. 
This includes the restoration of any natural resource injured, lost or 
destroyed and the services provided by that resource or which replaces 
or substitutes for the injured, lost or destroyed resource and affected 
services. Restoration includes all phases of injury assessment, 
restoration, replacement, and enhancement of natural resources, and 
acquisition of equivalent resources and services.
    All decisions about restoration and uses of restoration funds are 
determined by six natural resources Trustees, three Federal and three 
State. The three Federal Trustees are: The Administrator for the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, and the Secretaries of the Department of Agriculture and of 
the Interior. The three State Trustees are: The Commissioners of Fish 
and Game and Environmental Conservation, and the Attorney General. A 
Trustee Council, located in Alaska, which is made up of designees of 
the Federal Trustees and the three State Trustees, is responsible for 
decisions relating to the assessment of injuries, uses of the 
restoration funds, and all restoration activities including the 
preparation of a Restoration Plan.
    On April 10, 1992 (57 FR 12473-12475) on behalf of the Exxon Valdez 
Trustee Council, the Forest Service published a Notice of Intent to 
prepare an EIS on the Restoration Plan. Since then the Trustee Council 
has developed a draft Restoration Plan which has become the proposed 
action for the analysis to be conducted in the EIS.

B. Draft Restoration Plan

    The proposed action (Draft Restoration Plan) consists of nine 
policy statements, a discussion of categories of restoration actions 
and broad objectives for injured resources. The policies for 
identifying and conducting restoration actions are:
    1. The restoration program will take an ecosystem approach.
    2. Restoration activities may be considered for any injured 
resource or service.
    3. Most restoration activities will occur within the spill area. 
However, restoration activities outside the spill are, but within 
Alaska, may be considered when the most effective restoration actions 
for an injured migratory population are in a part of its range outside 
the spill area or when the information acquired from research and 
monitoring activities outside the spill area will be important for 
restoration or understanding injuries within the spill area.
    4. Restoration activities will emphasize resources and services 
that have not recovered. Resources and service will be enhanced, as 
appropriate, to promote restoration. Restoration projects should not 
adversely affect the ecosystem.
    5. Projects designed to restore or enhance an injured service must 
have a sufficient relationship to an injured resource; must benefit the 
same user group that was injured; and, should be compatible with the 
character and public uses of the area.
    6. Competitive proposals for restoration projects will be 
encouraged.
    7. Restoration projects will be subject to independent scientific 
review before Trustee Council approval.
    8. Meaningful public participation in restoration decisions will be 
actively solicited.
    9. Government agencies will be funded only for restoration work 
that they do not normally conduct.
    Four types of restoration actions are identified and discussed in 
the Draft Restoration Plan: General restoration, habitat protection and 
acquisition, monitoring and research, and public information and 
administration. Alternatives to the proposed action will place 
different emphases on each of these categories of restoration actions.
    General Restoration consists of activities that fall within 
manipulation of the environment, management of human use for reduction 
of marine pollution. Decisions about conducting general restoration 
projects would look at the following factors: Extent of natural 
recovery, the value of an injured resource to the ecosystem and to the 
public, the duration of benefits, the technical feasibility of the 
project, the likelihood of success, the relationship of costs to 
expected benefits, potential for harmful side effects, benefits to more 
than one resource, effects on health and human safety, consistency with 
applicable laws, and policies, and duplication with other actions.
    Habitat Protection and Acquisition is a category that includes 
purchase of private land or interests in land such as conservation 
easements, mineral rights, or timber rights. It also includes 
recommendations for changing public agency management practices. 
Specific policies that relate to habitat protection and acquisition are 
proposed. These policies deal with ranking potential lands to determine 
potential benefits, the need for a willing seller, purchasing at fair 
market value, post acquisition management of the acquired lands and 
involving the public in the prioritization process.
    Monitoring and Research consists of recovery monitoring, 
restoration monitoring and ecological monitoring and research. Specific 
policies governing the selecting and performance of monitoring 
activities are discussed in the Draft Restoration Plan.
    Public Information and Administration is the last category of 
restoration actions. It consists of all necessary administrative 
actions that are not attributable to a particular project. The Draft 
Restoration Plan goal for this category is for administrative costs to 
average no more than 5 percent of overall restoration expenditures for 
the remainder of the settlement period.
    General restoration objectives have been developed for resources 
that are recovering, resources not recovering, resources where the 
recovery is unknown, resources such as archaeological resources and 
wilderness, and services. These broad objectives will guide in the 
development of annual work plans.
    Further information regarding the proposed action and possible 
restoration alternatives is included in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 
Restoration, Volume I: Restoration Framework, April, 1992; the Draft 
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Plan, Summary of Alternatives for 
Public Comment, April 1993; the Supplement to Draft Exxon Valdez Oil 
Spill Restoration Plan, Summary of Alternatives for Public Comment, 
June 1993; the Summary of Public Comment on Alternatives of the Draft 
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Plan, September 1993; and the Draft 
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Plan, November 1993. Copies of these 
documents may be required from the Oil Spill Public Information Office, 
645 G. Street, Anchorage, Alaska, 99501. Phone number 907 278-8008 or 
within Alaska 800 478-7745, outside Alaska 800 283-7745.

C. Scoping and Issue Development

    With publication of this Revised Notice of Intent, the Trustees are 
continuing a process intended to identify those issues that need to be 
addressed in preparing the Draft EIS (DEIS). Under the National 
Environmental Policy Act, this process is called ``scoping.'' Two 
rounds of public meetings have been held within the spill area 
soliciting comments on development of the Draft Restoration Plan. The 
results of the scoping to date have guided the preparation of the Draft 
Restoration Plan. During the scoping process for development of the 
proposed action the Trustees obtained information, comments, and 
assistance from Federal, State and local agencies, and other 
individuals or organizations interested in, or affected by restoration. 
Several of the documents referenced above provide summaries of public 
comments received to date.
    Further scoping is being conducted to identify the issues to be 
addressed in the EIS and the range of alternatives that will need to be 
developed and analyzed. In addition to publishing this Revised Notice 
of Intent, interested and affected people within the spill area will be 
contacted through the news media. The Public Advisory Group will also 
be contacted soliciting comments.

D. Expected Time for Completion

    A DEIS should be filed with EPA by mid June 1994 and the final EIS 
should be filed in late October 1994. The Trustees will consider the 
comments, responses, disclosure of environmental consequences, and 
applicable laws, regulations and policies in making decisions regarding 
restoration.

E. Comments

    The comment period on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in the 
Federal Register. It is very important that those interested in this 
proposed action participate at that time. To be most helpful, comments 
on the DEIS statement should be as specific as possible, and may 
address the adequacy of the statement or the merits of the alternatives 
discussed. (See the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental 
Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3).
    In addition, Federal court decisions have established that 
reviewers of DEIS statements must structure their participation in the 
environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and 
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and concerns. Vermont 
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC. 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). 
Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage 
may be waived if not raised until after completion of the final EIS. 
Wisconsin Heritage, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1138 (E.D. Wis. 
1980). The reason for this is to ensure that substantive comments and 
objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it 
can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final.

    Dated: January 6, 1994.
Michael A. Barton,
Regional Forester.
[FR Doc. 94-959 Filed 1-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M