[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38182-38183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17783]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


May 1997 Lake Barre, Louisiana Oil Spill; Notice of Availability 
and Request for Comments on a Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Plan/Environmental Assessment

AGENCIES: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce; United States Department of

[[Page 38183]]

the Interior (DOI); Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinators Office (LOSCO); 
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ); Louisiana 
Department of Natural Resources (LDNR); Louisiana Department of 
Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment, and 30-day period for 
public comment on the plan.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.23 and 15 CFR 990.55(c), notice is 
hereby given that a document entitled, ``Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the May 16, 1997 
Texaco Pipeline Company Lake Barre Oil Spill'' (Draft DARP/EA) is 
available for public review and comment. This document was prepared by 
the agencies listed above (the Trustees) to address natural resource 
injuries and losses of service following the May 1997 pipeline rupture 
and subsequent discharge of crude oil into Lake Barre, Louisiana (the 
Incident). This document presents the Trustees' assessment of the 
natural resource injuries and losses of service attributable to this 
Incident, and their proposed plan to restore, replace or acquire 
resources or services equivalent to those lost as a basis for 
compensating for the natural resource injuries and losses of service 
that occurred. The Trustees will consider comments received during the 
public comment period before finalizing the document. Public review of 
the Draft DARP/EA is consistent with all state and federal laws and 
regulations that apply to the natural resource damage assessment 
process, including section 1006 of OPA, the regulations for Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) 
(15 CFR part 990), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 
4371, et seq.), and implementing regulations (40 CFR part 1500, et 
seq.).

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing on or before August 16, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the draft DARP/EA should be sent to 
John Kern of NOAA, 9721 Executive Center Drive, N., Suite 114, St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702 or Warren Lorentz, LOSCO, 625 N. Fourth Street, 
Suite 800, Baton Rouge, LA 70802. Written comments on the plan should 
be sent to either John Kern of NOAA or to Warren Lorentz of LOSCO at 
the same addresses as listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kern, at (727) 570-5391, email: 
[email protected], or Warren Lorentz, at (225) 219-5800, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At around 1600 hours Central Daylight 
Savings time on May 16, 1997, a discharge from a 16-inch crude oil 
transmission pipeline was discovered by Texaco Pipeline Inc. (hereafter 
``Texaco'') in Lake Barre, Louisiana. The discharge was caused by a 34-
inch long gash in the pipeline, which had been buried five or more feet 
below the sediment surface. The site of the pipeline rupture was at 
29 deg. 14.8' N latitude, 90 deg. 29.3' W longitude, which is 
approximately 27 miles southeast of Houma, in Terrebonne Parish. Texaco 
estimated that approximately 6,561 barrels (275,562 gallons) of crude 
oil were discharged as a result of the pipeline rupture into Lake 
Barre. Although Texaco undertook response actions, these actions did 
not prevent exposure of natural resources including marsh, shorelines, 
birds, and estuarine water column organisms to the oil. A variety of 
injuries and lost uses of natural resources were documented as a result 
of that exposure.
    The incident is subject to the authority of OPA, 33 U.S.C. 2701-
2761 (OPA), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321 et 
seq. (FWPCA) and the Louisiana Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, 
LSA L.S.R. 30:2451 et seq. (OSPRA). NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR, and 
LDWF are Trustees for natural resources pursuant to the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) OPA, the FWPCA, subpart G of the 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, 40 
CFR 300.600-300.615, and, in the case of the Louisiana Trustees, OSPRA 
LSA L.S.R. 30:2451, and in the case of the Federal Trustees, Executive 
Order 12777. As a designated Trustee, each agency is authorized to act 
on behalf of the public under state and/or federal law to assess and 
recover natural resource damages, and to plan and implement actions to 
restore natural resources and resource services injured or lost as the 
result of an incident.
    Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 
designated natural resource Trustees have conducted a damage assessment 
for this Incident to evaluate potential injuries to natural resources 
and services, and to determine the need for and scale of restoration 
actions required. The draft DARP/EA discusses the natural resources and 
services believed to be affected by the Incident, details the 
assessment procedures used, outlines the restoration alternative 
selection and scaling process, and identifies the preferred restoration 
alternative to address natural resource injuries and losses of service. 
The Trustees determined that injured natural resources have largely 
returned to baseline conditions, and are expected to fully return to 
baseline without requiring any further actions. However, the Trustees 
have determined that there have been interim losses to marsh habitat 
services, birds, and aquatic fauna that require compensatory 
restoration to make the environment and the public whole for these 
losses. Under the preferred restoration alternative, 18.6 acres on East 
Timbalier Island will be planted with marsh vegetation, and, due to the 
planting design, another 39.4 acres is expected to be gained from 
natural spreading from the planted area over the anticipated lifetime 
of the project. The 58 total acres of marsh expected to result from 
implementation of the preferred restoration alternative will be 
sufficient to satisfy compensatory restoration requirements.
    Interested members of the public are invited to request a copy of 
the Draft DARP/EA form and to submit written comments to either John 
Kern or Warren Lorentz at the addresses given above. All written 
comments will be considered by NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR, and LDWF 
in finalizing the DARP/EA.

    Dated: July 6, 1999.
Captain Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 99-17783 Filed 7-14-99; 8:45 am]
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