[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23898-23899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11075]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of 30-day Public Comment Period on an Addendum to the 
Portland Harbor Damage Assessment Plan

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: On June 1, 2010 NOAA and its co-members of the Portland Harbor 
Trustee Council (Trustee Council) published the ``Portland Harbor 
Superfund Site Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan'', which set 
forward the Trustee Council's approach for assessing natural resource 
damages at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site in cooperation with 
potentially responsible parties in order to resolve natural

[[Page 23899]]

resource damages liability through legal settlements.
    Through today's notice, NOAA is announcing: (1) An addendum to the 
plan that provides for additional efforts to complete the assessment of 
natural resource damages for lost ecological and human use services 
resulting from releases of hazardous substances and oil to the lower 
Willamette River in Portland, Oregon; and (2) a provision of a 30-day 
period for public comment on the addendum.

ADDRESSES: Comments are sought on the new addendum to the damage 
assessment plan and should be emailed to [email protected] with the 
subject line: ``Comments on Addendum to the Portland Harbor Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment Plan.'' Comments may also be mailed to: Rob 
Neely of NOAA Western Region Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, Building 1, 
Seattle, WA, 98118. The addendum is found at: https://casedocuments.darrp.noaa.gov/northwest/portharbor/pdf/Portland_Harbor_Addendum_to_Nat_Res_Damage_Assess_Plan_0309_2018_Public.pdf

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 1, 2000 the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency placed Portland Harbor on the National Priorities 
List, thus designating it as a Superfund Site. Since the early 1900s 
numerous industrial facilities have operated in the vicinity of the 
lower Willamette River from its confluence with the Columbia River at 
river mile 0 upstream to downtown Portland at approximately river mile 
14. Activities have included ship building, repair and maintenance; 
energy generation; oil and gas transfer and storage; pesticide 
production; port operations; and others. These activities have resulted 
in the release of hazardous substances and oil to the Portland Harbor.
    Examples of contaminants of concern released to the Portland Harbor 
include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, metals, 
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and semi-volatile organic compounds. 
Natural resources such as benthic invertebrates, migratory fish (such 
as juvenile Chinook salmon), resident fish (such as sculpin), mink, 
osprey and bald eagles exposed to these compounds can potentially be 
harmed as a result. In addition, hazardous substances released to the 
Portland Harbor have resulted have reduced the human use services 
(e.g., recreational fishing, recreational boating, tribal uses) 
provided by the lower Willamette River. In addition, fish consumption 
advisories related to hazardous substances have been issued to the 
public warning of the risks associated with consumption of various fish 
species commonly targeted by anglers. Addendum 2 to the Damage 
Assessment Plan sets forth the approach the Trustee Council will apply 
to completing the damage assessment process to resolve natural resource 
damages liability with non-settling parties.
    The Trustee Council is composed of Federal, state and tribal 
natural resource trustees. Members of the Trustee Council include the 
U.S. Department of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS); the U.S. Department of Commerce, acting 
through NOAA; the State of Oregon; the Confederated Tribes of the Grand 
Ronde Community of Oregon; the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; 
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; the 
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; and the 
Nez Perce Tribe. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.; the 
Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.; the Clean 
Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1251; the National Oil and Hazardous 
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan [National Contingency Plan 
(NCP)], 40 CFR 300, Subpart G; Executive Orders 12580 and 12777; and 
other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, provide a 
legal framework for the Trustee Council's actions.
    Under the federal regulations, the Trustee Council can elect to 
perform a Type A or Type B injury assessment. Type A assessment 
procedures use simplified model assumptions to assess injuries that 
result from a single event or short-term exposure. Releases of 
hazardous substances from the Site have occurred from multiple sources 
over many decades, resulting in complex exposure conditions impacting 
aquatic and upland media and associated complex food webs. Therefore, 
the Trustee Council previously elected to perform a Type B assessment, 
the procedures for which require ``more extensive field observation 
than the Type A procedures.'' 43 CFR 11.33(b). This assessment method 
includes injury determination, quantification, and damage 
determination. Because substantial Site-specific data already exist to 
support the assessment, a Type B assessment can be conducted for the 
Site at a reasonable cost. The federal regulations for a Type B 
assessment outline methods for determining (1) pathways through which 
hazardous substances released by PLPs expose natural resources, (2) 
injuries to natural resources, (3) the extent of those injuries and 
resultant public losses, (4) baseline conditions and time required for 
the resources to recover to baseline, and (5) the cost or value of 
restoring injured resources. These methods facilitate calculation of 
natural resource damages. 43 CFR 11.60-11.84.

    Dated: May 16, 2018.
David Westerholm,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2018-11075 Filed 5-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P