[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 57 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13193-13194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6693]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for Natural Resource 
Injuries and Service Losses Associated With Hazardous Substance 
Releases Into Bayou Verdine and the Calcasieu River, in Calcasieu 
Parish, LA (``Bayou Verdine Site'')

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for natural resource 
injuries and service losses associated with hazardous substance 
releases into Bayou Verdine and the Calcasieu River, in Calcasieu 
Parish, Louisiana (``Bayou Verdine Site''); 60-day period for public

[[Page 13194]]

comment on this plan begins March 27, 2009.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 43 CFR 11.32 and 11.81-.82, notice is hereby given 
that a document entitled, ``A Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Bayou Verdine Site, Calcasieu 
Parish, Louisiana'' (Draft DARP/EA) is available for public review and 
comment. This document has been prepared by the state and federal 
natural resource trustee agencies (the ``Trustees'') to address natural 
resource injuries and resource services losses attributable to past 
releases of hazardous substances from two facilities situated in the 
upper Calcasieu Estuary, in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana that are 
presently owned and operated by ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North 
America Inc (collectively, the ``potentially responsible parties'' or 
``PRPs''). The Trustees include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), Commerce; United States Fish & Wildlife Service, 
acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior (USFWS/DOI); 
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and Louisiana 
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).
    This Draft DARP/EA presents the Trustees' proposed assessment of 
natural resource injuries and service losses in the upper Calcasieu 
Estuary due to hazardous substances released from these facilities, and 
presents the restoration plan that the Trustees are proposing for use 
to compensate for these losses. The Trustees will consider comments 
received during the public comment period before adopting the final 
DARP/EA.
    Deadline for Comments: Comments on the Draft DARP/EA must be 
submitted in writing on or before May 26, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft DARP/EA should be sent to 
John Rapp of NOAA at 1315 East-West Highway, SSMC3, F/HC3, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910, e-mail: [email protected]. The Draft DARP/EA 
is also available for downloading at http://www.darrp.noaa.gov (by 
clicking on the document title in the Bayou Verdine announcement on 
that page).
    Comments on this plan are to be sent in writing to John Rapp of 
NOAA for receipt on or before May 26, 2009. These written comments may 
be submitted either by mail at the address provided above; by fax to 
301-713-0184, or by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bayou Verdine is a shallow, sinuous bayou in 
the upper Calcasieu Estuary, southwest of the City of Westlake and 
slightly northwest of the City of Lake Charles, in Calcasieu Parish, 
LA. It originates in an agricultural area immediately north and 
northwest of petroleum facilities owned and operated by ConocoPhillips 
Company and Sasol North America Inc., and flows in a south-southeast 
direction through this industrialized segment before entering the 
Calcasieu River at Coon Island Loop. Historical operations at these two 
facilities have resulted in releases of hazardous substances, such as 
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, and other 
hazardous compounds, into Bayou Verdine and Coon Island Loop, within 
the Estuary.
    The upper Calcasieu Estuary has been the focus of a number of past 
investigations related to contaminant releases and is the subject of 
several on-going response or corrective action planning processes under 
the direction or oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(USEPA) and/or LDEQ. The most extensive effort to identify the nature 
and extent of hazardous substances present in the Estuary to date is 
the federal-lead Remedial Investigation (RI) of contaminants in 
sediments, surface water, and biota in the Calcasieu Estuary undertaken 
by the USEPA in 1999. Results from this investigation, combined with 
other relevant data and information, prompted the Trustees to pursue a 
natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to determine and quantify 
resource injuries and losses in the Estuary attributable to hazardous 
substances from the PRPs' facilities, and to develop a restoration plan 
that would be sufficient to compensate for those losses. The Trustees' 
decision to proceed with this NRDA was identified in a ``Notice Of 
Intent To Perform Damage Assessment & Develop Restoration Plan for 
Natural Resources Injured by Hazardous Substances in Bayou Verdine & 
Coon Island Loop in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana'' published September 
26, 2004, in the American Press, a newspaper of general circulation in 
Calcasieu Parish, LA. That notice also invited public input regarding 
potential restoration opportunities in the watershed that the Trustees 
could consider in developing an appropriate restoration plan. The PRPs 
were cooperatively involved in the NRDA process as well, consistent 
with 43 CFR 11.32.
    The Draft DARP/EA released today identifies the Trustees' proposed 
assessment of natural resource injuries and losses due to past releases 
from these facilities and identifies the restoration action which is 
preferred for use to restore, replace or acquire resources or services 
equivalent to those lost.
    In undertaking this NRDA and in releasing this Draft DARP/EA, the 
Trustees are acting in accordance with their designation and 
authorities under section 107(f) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. Sec.  
9607(f), section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution and Control Act 
(FWPCA), 33 U.S.C. section 1321, Subpart G of the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR sections 
300.600-300.615, and regulations at 43 CFR part 11 that are applicable 
to natural resource damage assessments under CERCLA. The Trustees act 
on behalf of the public under these authorities to protect and restore 
natural resources injured or lost as a result of discharges or releases 
of hazardous substances.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rapp, at (301) 713-0174 x174, or 
e-mail: [email protected].

    Dated: March 9, 2009.
David G. Westerholm,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E9-6693 Filed 3-25-09; 8:45 am]
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