[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39492-39493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18755]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Mystery Oil Spill at Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Vicinity, August 8, 
2000: Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning Pursuant to 15 
CFR 990.44

AGENCIES: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the 
Department of Commerce (NOAA) and Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection (FDEP).

ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct restoration planning pursuant to 
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 for the impacts of the August 2000 
mystery oil spill in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area.

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SUMMARY: Natural resource trustees (Trustees) are designated pursuant 
to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 2706(e), Executive Order 
12777, and the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600 and 300.605, 
with responsibility to conduct natural resource damage assessments on 
behalf of the public when releases of oil affect natural resources and 
services. A discharge of oil exposed approximately 20 miles of beaches 
north and south of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on or about August 8, 2000. 
Trustees for this incident are the U.S. Department of the Interior 
(DOI), FDEP, and NOAA, though DOI has elected not to participate in the 
assessment. The Trustees have determined that the incident warrants 
conducting a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). This notice 
serves to inform the public that the Trustees are proceeding with the 
assessment, including restoration planning, and will subsequently seek 
public input for planning restoration for the injuries resulting from 
this oil spill. This assessment will be conducted in accordance with 
the NRDA regulations for oil spills at 15 CFR part 990.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this Notice of Intent, the Trustee Assessment 
Strategy, and related information is available for downloading at 
http://www.darp.noaa.gov/publicat.htm, http://www.dep.state.fl.us/law/ber, or http://www.incidentnews.gov/incidents/incident_4.htm. Copies of 
this notice, and further information relating to the assessment and 
restoration planning may be obtained by contacting: Jim Jeansonne, NOAA 
Damage Assessment Center, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702, Phone: 727-570-5391, X-159, email: 
[email protected], or Cathy Porthouse, FDEP Bureau of Emergency 
Response, P.O. Box 15425, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, Phone: 561-681-
6711, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In support of their decision to proceed with 
the assessment and issue this notice, the Trustees have made several 
determinations as required by 15 CFR 990.41. First, the Trustees have 
jurisdiction to pursue restoration pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act. 
The Trustees have determined that the discharge of 15,000 gallons, or 
more, of oil which resulted in oil exposure of the marine waters and 
shorelines of the United States and Florida, was an incident as defined 
in 15 CFR 990.30. This incident was not permitted under State, Federal 
or local law. Using information gathered during preassessment, the 
Trustees have determined that natural resources under their trusteeship 
have been injured as a result of this incident.
    The Trustees have made the further determination required by 15 CFR 
990.42(a), that it is appropriate to proceed with restoration planning 
for this incident. Restoration planning is necessary since injuries 
have resulted from the incident. The Trustees base this determination 
upon data that demonstrates natural resources and services have been 
injured. Natural resources or their services injured as a result of the 
spill and spill response may include, but are not limited to: 
Threatened and endangered sea turtles and their habitats, marine 
surface waters and their biota including fish, birds, other wildlife 
species, benthic communities, and recreational use of beaches. The 
spill occurred during the active sea turtle nesting and hatchling 
emergence season at the exposed beaches. Sea turtles are protected 
under the Endangered Species Act. Local groups and the response 
organizations acted quickly to protect sea turtle nests and hatchlings 
on exposed beaches. However, hatchlings that entered the ocean and 
began their swim eastward into the Gulf Stream were at risk of oil 
exposure and injury or death as a result of contact with the oil while 
transiting the beach and once in the ocean. Other biota in and on the 
marine waters swept by the oil slick, and in the surf zone of the 
exposed areas, were likely exposed, and potentially injured or killed 
as a result of the spilled oil. Public recreational use of several 
beaches and fishing piers was significantly disrupted. Records of beach 
recreational use for Ft. Lauderdale, John U. Lloyd State Recreation 
Area, Dania, and Hollywood beaches indicate there was a significant 
reduction in attendance for several days until the oil was removed.
    Response actions have not adequately addressed, or are not expected 
to address, the potential injuries from the incident, so restoration 
planning is required. Response actions were able to remove the majority 
of the shoreline oil within a few days of oiling. However, response 
records indicated that deposits of submerged oil were present in 
sediments just seaward of the most heavily exposed beaches, and that 
efforts to remove these oil deposits were only partially successful. 
These response actions did not restore or rehabilitate natural resource 
injuries that resulted from the discharge of oil. Use of the 
recreational beaches likely returned to baseline conditions the week 
following the spill. However, the public has not been compensated for 
the loss of beach use associated with the incident and response 
operations.
    The Trustees are conducting restoration planning since there are 
feasible primary and/or compensatory restoration actions available to 
address the potential injuries. There are many opportunities to restore 
or compensate for injury to sea turtle and other nearshore marine 
resources near the affected areas. The Trustees have begun to identify 
appropriate specific restoration programs and projects for this 
incident. Multiple opportunities also exist to compensate for lost 
beach use in the affected area. The Trustees will benefit from 
restoration planning for similar recreational beach losses

[[Page 39493]]

associated with the 1993 Tampa Bay oil spill, which is currently in the 
restoration implementation stage.
    Finally, restoration planning is being undertaken since assessment 
procedures exist to evaluate the injuries and define the appropriate 
type and scale of restoration for the injured natural resources and 
services. The Trustees have determined that assessment procedures are 
available that are appropriate for this incident and that meet the 
applicable standards for such methods in 15 CFR 990.27. The Trustees 
have prepared a ``Trustee NRDA Assessment Strategy and Action Plan'' 
(Strategy) for this incident. As discussed in the Strategy, the 
Trustees intend to use a computer model-based method to determine and 
quantify ecological injuries, while potentially augmenting the model 
with additional injury data obtained during spill response and 
preassessment, and from available routine sea turtle monitoring data. 
For lost public recreational beach use, the Trustees intend to quantify 
the injury as reduction in beach visits, by use of available beach 
attendance records and interviews with managers for the affected 
beaches. The value of lost trips will be derived from appropriate 
studies within the economics literature and a similar valuation 
conducted for the 1993 Tampa Bay oil spill NRDA.
    The Trustees have begun compiling applicable documents into an 
Administrative Record that explains the assessment and restoration 
decision-making process for this incident. Information regarding public 
access to this record may be obtained by contacting: Cheryl Scannell, 
NOAA Office of General Counsel, Southeast, phone 727-570-5365, fax: 
727-570-5376, email: [email protected].
    This oil spill incident has no identified responsible party. Legal 
notices were published by the U.S. Coast Guard in south Florida 
newspapers advertising the process by which Oil Pollution Act claims 
resulting from this incident, including natural resource damages 
claims, may be submitted to the Federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 
for payment, in the absence of a known responsible party.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information relating to this 
notice contact: Jim Jeansonne, NOAA Damage Assessment Center, St. 
Petersburg, FL, 727-570-5391, X-159, email: [email protected], or 
Cathy Porthouse, FDEP Bureau of Emergency Response, West Palm Beach, 
FL, 561-681-6711, email: [email protected].

    Dated: July 18, 2001.
Jamison S. Hawkins,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 01-18755 Filed 7-30-01; 8:45 am]
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