[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 52 (Monday, March 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16655-16656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06137]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Draft Damage Assessment, Restoration Plan and Environmental 
Assessment for the T/B DBL 152 Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the T/B DBL 152 Oil 
Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA, the Natural Resource Trustee for this incident has 
written a Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment (Draft DARP/EA) that describes proposed 
alternatives for restoring natural resource injuries resulting from the 
November 11, 2005, T/B DBL 152 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The 
purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of 
the Draft DARP/EA and to seek written comments on the proposed 
restoration alternative.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Plaisted, NOAA/GCNR, 501 W. 
Ocean Blvd., Suite 4470, Long Beach, CA 90802, 562-980-4080.
    Written comments on the Draft DARP/EA should be submitted to: Chris 
Plaisted, NOAA/GCNR, FAX: 562-980-4065. Alternatively, comments may be 
submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov (Docket I.D.: NOAA-
NMFS-2013-0034). All comments received, including names and addresses 
will become a part of the administrative record.
    The Draft DARP/EA is available at: http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/southeast/dbl152/admin.html. Comments on the Draft DARP/EA must be 
submitted in writing on or before April 15, 2013.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 11, 2005, while en route from 
Houston, Texas, to Tampa, Florida, the integrated tug-barge unit 
comprised of the tugboat ``Rebel'' and the double-hull Tank Barge (T/B) 
DBL 152 struck the submerged remains of a pipeline service platform in 
the Gulf of Mexico that collapsed during Hurricane Rita. An

[[Page 16656]]

estimated 45,846 barrels of oil (1,925,532 gallons) were discharged 
into federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico as a result of this incident, 
most of which sank to the ocean floor. Of this volume, an estimated 
2,355 barrels (98,910 gallons) were recovered by divers. In total, an 
estimated 43,491 barrels (1,826,622 gallons) of oil remained 
unrecovered at the time submerged oil cleanup operations were 
discontinued in January 2006.
    Government agencies responded to the incident to supervise and 
assist in clean-up and begin assessing the impact of the spill on 
natural resources. Under the federal Oil Pollution Act (OPA), the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), of the 
Department of Commerce, is responsible for restoring natural resources 
injured by the T/B DBL 152 oil spill with funding from either the 
responsible party (RP) or, where an RP does not exist or exceeds its 
limit of liability, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) 
administered by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
    NOAA, acting as Trustee on the public's behalf, has conducted a 
natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to determine the nature and 
extent of natural resource losses resulting from this incident and the 
restoration actions needed to restore these losses. The NRDA was 
conducted using the OPA NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR part 990. On 
the basis of data provided by the NRDA, NOAA prepared this Draft Damage 
Assessment and Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (Draft DARP/
EA) to consider restoration alternatives. The purpose of presenting 
this Draft DARP/EA for comment is to inform the public about the NRDA 
and restoration planning efforts that were conducted following the oil 
spill. Further, the Trustees seek comments on the proposed restoration 
alternative presented in this Draft DARP/EA, and will consider written 
comments received during the public comment period before developing 
the Final Restoration Plan (Final Plan).
    An injury assessment conducted by NOAA determined that the primary 
injury resulting from this incident was to offshore benthic habitat. 
This conclusion is described in greater detail in the Draft DARP/EA.
    NOAA considered various restoration alternatives to compensate the 
public for spill-related injuries and to restore similar types of 
natural resource services as those that were provided by the resources 
injured by the spill. The preferred restoration alternative identified 
by NOAA is an estuarine shoreline protection and salt marsh restoration 
project at the Texas Chenier Plain National Wildlife Refuge Complex. 
The project area is located in Galveston Bay, Texas. The project is 
designed to protect shoreline with a protective structure consisting of 
rip-rap habitat. The project will be designed so that salt marsh 
habitat will be created behind the breakwater.
    USCG has determined that the RP has exceeded its limit of liability 
under OPA. Therefore, the Final DARP/EA will be submitted to the Oil 
Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) as part of a claim for funds to 
implement the selected restoration project. The OSLTF is administered 
by the USCG and is maintained through fees paid by industry.
    Administrative Record: Pursuant to the OPA NRDA regulations, the 
Trustees have developed an Administrative Record to support their 
restoration planning decisions and inform the public of the basis of 
their decisions. Additional information and documents, including public 
comments received on this Draft DARP/EA, the Final Restoration Plan, 
and other related restoration planning documents, will also become part 
of the Administrative Record. The documents comprising the public 
record (Administrative Record) can be viewed at http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/southeast/dbl152/admin.html.

    Dated: February 22, 2013.
David G. Westerholm,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-06137 Filed 3-15-13; 8:45 am]
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