[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39686-39687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16490]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC092


Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Restoration 
Plan To Compensate for Injuries to Natural Resources in Portland 
Harbor, OR

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement and Restoration Plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA, the Department of the Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Nez Perce 
Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation 
of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, 
the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the Confederated Tribes 
of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon are collectively referred to as 
the Trustee Council for this case. The Trustee Council is providing 
notice that the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(PEIS) and Draft Restoration Plan are being released for public 
comment. The Restoration Plan identifies a restoration approach to 
compensate for injuries to natural resources in Portland Harbor in the 
Lower Willamette River. The Trustees seek damages from potentially 
responsible parties (PRPs) to restore, rehabilitate, replace or acquire 
the equivalent of natural resources and services injured by the release 
of hazardous substances in Portland Harbor. This notice provides 
details on the availability of and opportunity to comment on the Draft 
PEIS and Restoration Plan. Comments may be submitted in written form or 
verbally at a public meeting.

DATES: Written comments must be received by October 7, 2012.
    Public meetings to discuss and comment on the Draft PEIS/RP will be 
held as follows:
     Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 5:30-7:30 p.m., St. Johns 
Community Center, 8427 N. Central Street, Portland, OR 97203.
     Thursday, August 2, 2012, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Portland State 
University, Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 238, 1719 SW 10th Ave., 
Portland, Oregon 97201.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft PEIS/RP should be sent to 
Megan Callahan Grant, NOAA Restoration Center, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd. 
1100, Portland, OR 97232. Comments may be submitted 
electronically to [email protected].
    The Draft PEIS and Restoration Plan is available for viewing at the 
following locations:
     Multnomah County Central Library, 801 SW 10th Avenue, 
Portland, OR 97205.
     Multnomah County Northwest Library, 2300 NW Thurman 
Avenue, Portland, OR 97210.
     Multnomah County St. Johns Library, 7510 N. Charleston 
Avenue, Portland, OR 97203.
    A full electronic copy may be downloaded at: http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/Contaminants/PortlandHarbor/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Callahan Grant at (503) 231-2213 
or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), the Oil Pollution Act 
(OPA) of 1990, the Clean Water Act (CWA), the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (National Contingency 
Plan [NCP]), and other applicable federal and state laws and 
regulations provide a legal framework for addressing injuries to the 
nation's natural resources resulting from releases of hazardous 
substances and discharges of oil. The National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1960 requires an assessment of any federal action that may 
impact the environment, in this case development of a Restoration Plan.
    In January of 2007, the Portland Harbor Trustee Council released a 
Pre-Assessment Screen (PAS) for the Portland Harbor Superfund site. The 
PAS concluded that natural resources in the area have been affected or 
potentially affected from releases or discharges of contaminants. Based 
on the conclusions of the PAS, the Portland Harbor Trustee Council 
determined that proceeding past the preassessment phase to a full 
natural resource damage assessment was warranted.
    Exposed living natural resources include, but are not limited to: 
(1) Aquatic-dependent mammals such as mink and river otter, and species 
they depend on as prey items; (2) migratory birds, including osprey, 
bald eagle, mergansers and other waterfowl, great blue heron, spotted 
sandpiper and other shorebirds, cliff swallow, belted kingfisher, and 
other species; (3) threatened and endangered species; (4) anadromous 
and resident fish, including salmon and steelhead; (5) reptiles and 
amphibians; (6) aquatic invertebrates; (7) wapato and other aquatic 
plants.
    Exposed habitat types and water natural resources include wetland 
and upland habitats, groundwater, and surface water. The services that 
are provided by these potentially affected natural resources include, 
but are not limited to: (1) Habitat for trust resources, including 
food, shelter, breeding, foraging, and rearing areas, and other factors 
essential for survival; (2) consumptive commercial resource use such as 
commercial fishing; (3) consumptive recreational resource use such as 
hunting and fishing; (4) non-consumptive uses such as wildlife viewing, 
photography, and other outdoor recreation activities; (5) primary and 
secondary contact activities such as swimming and boating; (6) 
cultural, spiritual, and religious use; (7) option and existence 
values; (7) traditional foods.
    An Assessment Plan was completed in June of 2010. Based on this 
plan, scientific literature and studies being conducted by the Trustee 
Council seek to document injuries from hazardous substances found in 
Portland Harbor. The objective of these studies is to demonstrate (1) 
how the contamination has harmed the organisms that inhabit the 
riverine sediments, (2) how the contamination has harmed the fish and 
wildlife that come into contact with the contaminated sediments or that 
eat

[[Page 39687]]

contaminated prey items, and (3) how the harm to the natural resources 
has impacted the people that use these resources. Concurrent with the 
damage assessment, the Trustee Council is conducting restoration 
planning.
    By identifying criteria and guidance to be used in selecting 
feasible restoration projects, the Restoration Plan provides a 
framework to maximize the benefits of restoration projects to the 
affected resources and services in the defined areas of the Lower 
Willamette River. The Trustee Council analyzed three alternatives 
including: (1) (Preferred) integrated habitat restoration actions that 
will benefit multiple species and services (those species listed above 
as potentially affected by releases of hazardous substances, such as 
salmon and resident fish, mammals such as mink and river otter, and 
aquatic-dependent birds such as osprey and bald eagle); (2) species-
specific restoration actions (for example, augmenting a species 
population through artificial production); and (3) a no-action 
alternative (no action takes place and the public is not compensated). 
A fourth alternative for restoration without a limited geographic 
boundary was also considered, but was not moved forward for detailed 
study because it did not meet the purpose and need for the project.
    The Trustee Council has opened an Administrative Record (Record). 
The Record includes documents that the Trustees relied upon during the 
development of the Draft Restoration Plan and Draft PEIS. The Record is 
on file at the offices of Parametrix, a contractor to NOAA. The Record 
is also available at: http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/contaminants/PortlandHarbor/default.asp.

    Dated: June 29, 2012.
Brian T. Pawlak,
Acting Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-16490 Filed 7-3-12; 8:45 am]
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