[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52294-52295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25017]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Alcoa Point Comfort/Lavaca Bay NPL Site, Point Comfort, Texas: 
Notice of Availability and Request for Comments on a Draft Damage 
Assessment and Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment for 
Recreational Fishing Service Losses

AGENCIES: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce; United States Department of the Interior (DOI); Texas Parks 
and Wildlife Department (TPWD); Texas General Land Office (TGLO); Texas 
Natural Resources and Conservation Commission (TNRCC).

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for recreational fishing 
service losses associated with the Alcoa Point Comfort/Lavaca Bay NPL 
Site, and of a 30-day period for public comment on the draft plan 
beginning September 28, 1999.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 43 CFR 11.32 and 11.81-.82, notice is hereby given 
that a document entitled, ``Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Point Comfort/Lavaca Bay NPL 
Site Recreational Fishing Service Losses'' (Draft DARP/EA) is available 
for public review and comment. This document has been prepared by the 
state and federal natural resource trustee agencies listed above to 
address recreational fishing services affected by releases of hazardous 
substances from the Alcoa Point Comfort/Lavaca Bay NPL Site (`Lavaca 
Bay Site' or `Site'). This Draft DARP/EA presents the Trustees' 
assessment of the recreational fishing service losses attributable to 
the Site, and their proposed plan to compensate for the recreational 
fishing service losses by restoring recreational fishing services. The 
Trustees will consider comments received during the public comment 
period before finalizing the DARP/EA for recreational fishing service 
losses.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing on or before October 28, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft DARP/EA should be sent to 
Richard Seiler of TNRCC, MC142, PO Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087 or 
Tony Penn of NOAA, 1305 East West Highway, Station 10218, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910. Written comments on the plan should be sent either to 
Richard Seiler of TNRCC or Tony Penn of NOAA at the addresses listed 
above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Alcoa Point Comfort/Lavaca Bay NPL Site 
is located in Point Comfort, Calhoun County, Texas and encompasses 
releases of hazardous substances from Alcoa's Point Comfort Operations 
facility. Between 1948 and the present, Alcoa has constructed and 
operated several types of manufacturing processes at this facility, 
including aluminum smelting, carbon paste and briquette manufacturing, 
gas processing, chlor-alkali processing, and alumina refining. Past 
operations at the facility have resulted in the release of hazardous 
substances into the environment, including through the discharge of 
mercury-containing wastewater into Lavaca Bay from 1966 to 1970 and 
releases of mercury into the bay through a groundwater pathway. In 
April 1988, the Texas Department of Health (TDH) issued a ``closure 
order'' prohibiting the taking of finfish and crabs for consumption 
from a specific area of Lavaca Bay near the facility due to elevated 
mercury concentrations found in these species.
    The Alcoa Point Comfort/Lavaca Bay Site was added to the National 
Priorities List (NPL), pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 
U.S.C. 9601, effective on March 25, 1994 (59 FR 8794, February 23, 
1994). The Site was listed primarily due to the presence of mercury in 
several species of fish and crab in Lavaca Bay, the fishing closure 
imposed by TDH, and the presence of mercury and other hazardous 
substances in bay sediments adjacent to the facility. Alcoa, the State 
of Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed an 
Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) under CERCLA in March 1994 for 
the conduct of a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) 
for the Site.
    NOAA, DOI, TPWD, TGLO and TNRCC (collectively, the Trustees) are 
designated natural resource trustees under section 107(f) of CERCLA, 
section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution and Control Act (FWPCA), 33 
U.S.C. 1321, and other applicable federal or state laws, including 
Subpart G of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances

[[Page 52295]]

Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR 300.600-300.615. The Trustees 
are authorized to act on behalf of the public under these authorities 
to protect and restore public resources and services injured or lost as 
a result of discharges or releases of hazardous substances.
    Paralleling the RI/FS process for the Site, the Trustees have 
undertaken an assessment of the natural resource injuries and service 
losses attributable to hazardous substances from the Site. The 
assessment for this Site has been aided and supported by Alcoa's 
cooperation pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement between Alcoa and the 
Trustees, which was effective January 14, 1997. The Draft DARP/EA 
released today was developed under the cooperative assessment framework 
outlined in the MOA and addresses the lost access to or use of fishery 
resources due to the closure. These losses begin in 1988 and will 
continue until removal of the closure order, which is expected to occur 
through remedial activities at the Site. The Draft DARP/EA identifies 
the assessment procedures used to define the recreational fishing 
service losses, including to scale restoration actions, and identifies 
the restoration actions preferred for use to restore recreational 
fishing services as a basis for compensating for assessed losses.
    The Draft DARP/EA released today does not address any other natural 
resource injuries or services losses that may be attributable to the 
Site. Other resource injuries or losses are being considered by the 
Trustees in the assessment process but will be addressed in one or more 
subsequent Draft DARP/EA(s).
    Interested members of the public may request a copy of the Draft 
DARP/EA for recreational fishing service losses from either Richard 
Seiler or Tony Penn at the addresses given above. Written comments 
should be submitted to these individual and will be considered by TPWD, 
TGLO, TNRCC, NOAA, and DOI, in finalizing the DARP/EA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact: 
Richard Seiler at (512) 239-2523, email: [email protected] or 
Tony Penn, at (301) 713-3038 x 197, email: [email protected].

    Dated: September 21, 1999.
Captain Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 99-25017 Filed 9-27-99; 8:45 am]
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