[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 13, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58131-58133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29047]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 990

RIN 0648-AE13


Natural Resource Damage Assessments

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Section 1006(e)(1) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires 
the President, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Oceans and Atmosphere, to promulgate regulations for the assessments of 
natural resource damages resulting from the discharge of oil. The 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promulgated 
final regulations on January 5, 1996. As part of the development of the 
regulations, NOAA has developed five natural resource damage assessment 
guidance documents. These documents are not regulatory in nature, but 
are designed to

[[Page 58132]]

provide guidance to natural resource trustees using the natural 
resource damage assessment regulations.

DATES: The five guidance documents are available as of November 13, 
1996.

ADDRESSES: Written inquiries are to be submitted to: NOAA, Damage 
Assessment Center, Attn: Eli Reinharz, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC #4, 
N/ORCAx1, Workstation #10218, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eli Reinharz, 1305 East-West Highway, 
SSMC #4, N/ORCAx1, Workstation #10218, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281, 
phone: (301) 713-3038, ext. 193; facsimile: (301) 713-4387, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq., provides for the prevention of, liability for, 
removal of, and compensation for the discharge, or substantial threat 
of discharge, of oil into or upon the navigable waters of the United 
States, adjoining shorelines, or the Exclusive Economic Zone. Section 
1006(e) requires the President, acting through the Under Secretary of 
Commerce of Oceans and Atmosphere, to develop regulations establishing 
procedures for natural resource trustees to use in the assessment of 
damages for injury to, destruction of, loss of, or loss of use of 
natural resources covered by OPA. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) published the final natural resource damage 
assessment regulations on January 5, 1996 (61 FR 440). A major goal of 
OPA is to make the environment and public whole for injury to natural 
resources and their services as a result of an incident. The OPA 
regulations provide a framework for conducting sound natural resource 
damage assessments that achieve this OPA goal. Under the regulations, 
assessments are conducted in the open, with responsible parties and the 
public involved in the planning process so that restoration may be 
achieved more quickly, transaction costs may decrease, and litigation 
may be avoided. Restoration plans developed with input from the public 
and responsible parties form the basis of a claim for natural resource 
damages, with final restoration plans presented to responsible parties 
for funding or implementation.
    NOAA also has developed guidance documents as part of, and in 
support of, the rulemaking effort. Five guidance documents were made 
available in draft form when the OPA regulations were first proposed 
January 7, 1994 (59 FR 1061). These guidance documents are now 
available in final form. The guidance documents are:

    Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: 
Preassessment Phase (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Program, Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of 
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199419; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
    Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: Injury 
Assessment (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Program, Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of 
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199427; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
    Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: 
Specifications for Use of NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 to Generate 
Compensation Formula (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, 
Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of this 
document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port 
Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199435; ph: (703) 487-4650.
    Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: Primary 
Restoration (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Program, Silver Spring, MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of 
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199443; ph: (703) 487-
4650.
    Natural Resource Damage Assessment Guidance Document: 
Restoration Planning (Oil Pollution Act of 1990). National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Program, Silver Spring MD. Interested parties may obtain a copy of 
this document from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 
Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; PB96-199450; ph: (703) 487-
4650.

    Although the guidance documents were prepared primarily to provide 
guidance to natural resource trustees using the OPA regulations, other 
interested persons may also find the information contained in these 
documents useful.
    Injury Assessment: The purpose of the Injury Assessment Guidance 
Document is to provide trustees with general approaches for identifying 
and evaluating injuries to natural resources resulting from incidents. 
This document provides guidance on conducting injury assessment studies 
based upon careful consideration of preassessment information and the 
need to restore natural resources and compensate for interim lost 
services. This document does not direct the user in the selection of 
specific procedures, but describes a logical, flexible, and cost-
effective approach that can accommodate varied circumstances of 
incidents under OPA.
    Preassessment Phase: The purpose of the Preassessment Phase 
Guidance Document is to provide trustees with general guidance for 
early assessment activities required under the Preassessment Phase of 
the OPA regulations. The Preassessment Phase is a preliminary fact-
finding exercise that provides the information to determine if trustees 
have the jurisdiction to pursue restoration under OPA, and, if so, 
whether it is appropriate to do so. The information gained through 
preassessment activities should serve as the foundation for a more 
detailed assessment of injuries to natural resources and services.
    Primary Restoration: The purpose of the Primary Restoration 
Guidance Document is to provide trustees with a review of the state of 
the art for restoration of certain habitats and biological natural 
resources and an evaluation of potential restoration actions following 
injury to natural resources resulting from incidents. This document 
focuses on the procedures that may be used to restore or replace 
natural resources injured as a result of an oil incident. The guidance 
in this document is meant to summarize existing information and methods 
so that informed decisions can be made in the restoration planning and 
implementation process.
    Restoration Planning: The purpose of the Restoration Planning 
Guidance Document is to provide trustees with general guidance for 
developing restoration plans under OPA that comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedural requirements. Federal 
agencies who must comply with the requirements of NEPA are encouraged 
to integrate those requirements with the restoration planning 
procedures required by OPA. Therefore, the focus of this document is to 
more fully describe the processes and products required for restoration 
planning under the OPA regulations and how the NEPA requirements can be 
integrated into the OPA process.
    Specifications for Use of NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 to Generate 
Compensation Formulas: The purpose of the Specifications for Use of 
NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 to Generate Compensation Formulas document is to 
provide trustees with guidance and data to use with the Natural 
Resource

[[Page 58133]]

Damage Assessment Model for Coastal and Marine Environments (NRDAM/
CME), Version 2.4, developed by the Department of the Interior. Using 
the NRDAM/CME Version 2.4 and the information contained in this 
document, trustees will have a simplified, cost-effective tool to use 
in estimating expected impacts of most incidents involving oil. This 
information also can be used to evaluate the possible development of a 
simplified method, such as a compensation formula, that could be 
developed through the use of the NRDAM/CME Version 2.4.
    NOAA plans to have these documents available on the Internet at 
http://www.darcnw.noaa.gov/opa.htm and on CD-ROM by the end of the 
calendar year. NOAA would appreciate any suggestion on how these 
documents could be made more practical and useful in the future. 
Persons wishing to make any suggestions are referred to the address at 
the front of this Notice.

    Dated: November 7, 1996.
Terry D. Garcia,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 96-29047 Filed 11-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-M