[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4534]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 1, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 990

 

Natural Resource Damage Assessments Under the Oil Pollution Act 
of 1990

agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), of the 
Department of Commerce.

action: Proposed rule; Notice of public meeting and extension of 
comment period.

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summary: Section 1006(e)(1) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires 
the President, acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and 
Atmosphere to promulgate regulations for the assessment of natural 
resource damages resulting from the discharge of oil. The National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed those 
regulations on January 7, 1994 (59 1062). Today's Notice announces a 
public meeting to be held on March 24-25, 1994, in Washington, DC, and 
extends the comment period on the proposed rule to July 7, 1994.

dates: Written comments on the January 7, 1994 proposed rule (59 FR 
1062) should be received no later than July 7, 1994.

addresses: Written inquiries are to be submitted to: Damage Assessment 
Regulations Team (DART), c/o NOAA/DAC, 1350 East-West Highway, SSMC #4, 
10th Floor, Workstation #10218, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

for further information contact: Linda Burlington or Karl Gleaves, 
Office of General Counsel, DART, telephone 202-606-8000; FAX: 202-606-
4900.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On January 7, 1994 (59 FR 1062), NOAA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking concerning the natural resource damage assessment 
and restoration regulations required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. 
NOAA requested comments, recommendations, and technical information 
concerning appropriate assessment procedures and the overall assessment 
process. NOAA also announced a series of regional meetings to discuss 
and solicit comments on the proposed rule (59 FR 1189). Comments on the 
proposed rule were to be received by April 7, 1994. Through today's 
Notice, NOAA announces a public meeting concerning the proposed rule 
and an extension of the comment period.

II. Public Meeting

    NOAA has held six regional meetings in January and February of 1994 
to discuss the proposed natural resource damage assessment regulations 
and to encourage future cooperative efforts among various natural 
resource trustees and potentially responsible parties. NOAA has 
received requests from these meeting participants and other interested 
parties that an additional meeting should be held in Washington, DC, to 
discuss and take questions on the proposed rule and to report on the 
regional meetings. Therefore, NOAA will hold a meeting on March 24-25, 
1994, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The meeting will be held in 
Room 4830 at the Department of Commerce, 14th and Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. This meeting will be open to the public, however, 
representatives of organizations that have a direct interest in the 
assessment process and the proposed rule are encouraged to attend. Such 
interested organizations may include, but are not limited to: Federal 
response and trustee agencies; States; Indian tribes; foreign trustees; 
industries or industry organizations; natural scientists; and 
economists.
    The general format of the meeting is as follows (although it may be 
revised in some part): the morning of March 24 will be devoted mainly 
to a discussion of issues that were of most concern in the regional 
meetings, as well as an opportunity to raise new issues; the afternoon 
of March 24 will provide an opportunity to report on the cooperative 
prespill planning workshops with a discussion of the possibilities and 
concerns that arose during those meetings. On March 25, the morning 
session will be divided into three concurrent discussion groups: one 
group to discuss the legal/procedural issues; a second group to discuss 
the scientific/resource issues; and the third group to discuss the 
economic/valuation issues. In the afternoon of March 25, all groups 
will come together again to begin a question and answer period devoted 
to both the proposed rule and the cooperative efforts.

III. Comment Period for Proposed Rule

    NOAA has received numerous requests to extend the comment period 
for the proposed rule. Several of the participants in the regional 
meetings asked for more time to review the compensation formulas in 
particular. Because NOAA wants to encourage a thorough and thoughtful 
review of all components of the proposed rule, the comment period will 
be extended for ninety days. Therefore, comments on the proposed rule 
are now due on or before July 7, 1994. Comments are to be submitted to 
the address given at the beginning of this Notice.

    Authority: Sec. 1006(e), Pub. L. 101-380.

    Dated: February 23, 1994.
Meredith J. Jones,
General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-4534 Filed 2-28-94; 8:45 am]
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