[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37122-37124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14969]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning

AGENCY: Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), National Ocean 
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct restoration planning activities.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of intent to proceed with restoration 
planning actions to address injuries to natural resources resulting 
from the discharge of oil from the Kirby Inland Marine LP tank barge 
30015T (the ``Incident''). The purpose of this restoration planning 
effort is to evaluate and select restoration actions to compensate the 
public for the natural resource injuries resulting from the Incident.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact one or 
more of the following Trustee representatives: Laurie Sullivan (NOAA) 
at (707) 570-1762, [email protected]; Johanna Gregory Belssner 
(TPWD) at (512) 389-8703, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 10, 2019, tank barge 30015T, owned by Kirby Inland Marine, 
LP (``Kirby''), collided with the tanker ship Genesis River near 
Bayport, Texas. The collision penetrated the hull of Kirby's barge 
30015T, and an estimated 14,278 barrels (about 600,000 gallons) of oil 
in the form of reformate, a gasoline blending stock, was lost from the 
barge. Reformate discharged from the Kirby barge flowed into the 
Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay, spreading westward and 
southward and washing ashore on the western coastline of the bay 
roughly between Red Bluff and Eagle Point, Texas. The discharge 
affected natural resources in the general area. All of the foregoing is 
referred to as the ``Incident.''
    Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act (``OPA''), 33 
U.S.C. 2701,

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et seq., federal and state trustees for natural resources are 
authorized to (1) assess natural resource injuries resulting from a 
discharge of oil or the substantial threat of a discharge and response 
activities and (2) develop and implement a plan for restoration of such 
injured resources. The federal trustees are designated pursuant to the 
National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Section 300.600 and Executive Order 
12777. State trustees for Texas are designated by the Governor of Texas 
pursuant to the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR Section 300.605. The 
natural resources trustees (``Trustees'') under OPA for this Incident 
are the United States Department of Commerce, acting through the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (``NOAA''); the Texas 
General Land Office (``TGLO''); the Texas Commission on Environmental 
Quality (``TCEQ''); and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 
(``TPWD''). Kirby is the Responsible Party (``RP'') for the Incident. 
The Trustees are coordinating with representatives of the RP on Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment (``NRDA'') activities.
    The Trustees began the Preassessment Phase of the NRDA, in 
accordance with 15 CFR 990.40, to determine if they had jurisdiction to 
pursue restoration under OPA, and, if so, whether it was appropriate to 
do so. During the Preassessment Phase, the Trustees collected and 
analyzed the following: (1) Data reasonably expected to be necessary to 
make a determination of jurisdiction or a determination to conduct 
restoration planning, (2) ephemeral data (i.e., environmental data 
collected in the immediate aftermath of the spill), and (3) other 
assessment data.
    The NRDA Regulations under OPA, 15 CFR part 990 (``NRDA 
regulations''), provide that the Trustees are to prepare a Notice of 
Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning (``notice'') if they (1) 
determine certain conditions have been met, and if they decide to (2) 
quantify the injuries to natural resources and (3) develop a 
restoration plan.
    This notice is to announce, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.44, that the 
Trustees, having collected and analyzed data, intend to proceed with 
restoration planning actions to address injuries to natural resources 
resulting from the Incident. The purpose of this restoration planning 
effort is to evaluate and select restoration actions to compensate the 
public for the natural resource injuries resulting from the Incident.

Determination of Jurisdiction

    The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR 
990.41:
    a. The rupture of the oil storage tanks on Kirby's barge 30015T on 
May 10, 2019, resulted in a discharge of oil into and upon navigable 
waters of the United States, including the Houston Ship Channel and 
Galveston Bay, as well as adjoining shorelines. Such occurrence 
constitutes an ``Incident'' within the meaning of 15 CFR 930.30.
    b. The Incident was not permitted pursuant to federal, state, or 
local law; was not from a public vessel; and was not from an onshore 
facility subject to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authority Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1651 et seq.
    c. Natural resources under the trusteeship of the Trustees have 
been injured as a result of the Incident. Chemical components of the 
reformate discharged from Kirby barge 30015T are known to be harmful to 
marine and coastal organisms and habitat that were exposed to the oil. 
Accordingly, the discharged oil has had an adverse effect on the 
natural resources in Galveston Bay and its adjoining shorelines and 
impaired the services, which those resources provide.
    Documents in the Administrative Record contain more information 
regarding the specific studies, observations, analyses, etc., by which 
the Trustees reached this determination.
    As a result of the foregoing determinations, the Trustees have 
jurisdiction to pursue restoration under the OPA.

Determination To Conduct Restoration Planning

    The Trustees have determined, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.42(a), that: 
a. Observations and data collected pursuant to 15 CFR 990.43 (including 
dead fish and invertebrates exposed to reformate; information regarding 
shoreline beaches, and subtidal habitats and other habitats affected by 
oil or response activities) demonstrate that injuries to natural 
resources have resulted from the Incident. Immediately following the 
Incident, the Trustees, in cooperation with the RP, identified several 
categories of impacted and potentially impacted resources, including 
marine mammals, fish, invertebrates, oysters, shoreline and subtidal 
habitats, and the water column, as well as effects to human use/
recreation resulting from impacts on these natural resources. The 
Trustees then began conducting activities to evaluate injuries and 
potential injuries within these categories. More information on these 
resource categories is available in the Administrative Record, 
including information gathered during the Preassessment Phase.
    b. Spill response actions did not address all injuries resulting 
from the Incident to the extent that restoration would not be 
necessary. Although response actions were initiated soon after the 
spill, the nature and location of the discharge prevented recovery of 
all of the oil and precluded prevention of injuries to some natural 
resources. It is anticipated that injured natural resources will 
eventually return to baseline levels (the condition they would have 
been in had it not been for the Incident), but interim losses have 
occurred or have likely occurred and will continue until a return to 
baseline is achieved.
    Feasible compensatory restoration actions exist to address injuries 
resulting from the Incident. To conduct restoration planning, the 
Trustees have reviewed a number of restoration options in Galveston Bay 
and its adjoining shoreline that could potentially be implemented to 
compensate for interim losses resulting from the Incident. In addition, 
assessment procedures such as Habitat Equivalency Analysis are 
available to scale the appropriate amount of compensatory restoration 
required to offset ecological service losses resulting from this 
Incident. The Trustees will work cooperatively with local governmental 
agencies and non-governmental organizations to identify a suite of 
potential restoration projects commensurate with the injuries sustained 
due to the spill. The public may also send restoration project ideas to 
the Trustees (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section for contacts). It is the 
goal of the Trustees to select restoration with a strong nexus to the 
spill.
    During the Restoration Planning Phase, the Trustees evaluate 
potential projects, determine the scale of restoration actions needed 
to make the environment and the public whole, and release a draft 
Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan for public review and comment.
    Based upon information in the Administrative Record and the 
foregoing determinations, the Trustees intend to proceed with the 
Restoration Planning Phase for this Incident.

Opportunity To Comment

    Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the Trustees seek public involvement 
in restoration planning for this Incident through the solicitation of 
restoration ideas and public review of the Administrative Record. The 
Trustees also intend to seek public comment on a draft Damage 
Assessment and

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Restoration Plan after it has been prepared.

Administrative Record

    The Trustees have opened an Administrative Record in compliance 
with 15 CFR 990.45. The Administrative Record will include documents 
considered by the Trustees during the Preassessment, and Restoration 
Planning Phases of the NRDA performed in connection with the Incident. 
The Administrative Record will be augmented with additional information 
over the course of the NRDA process.
    The Administrative Record may be viewed at the following website: 
https://www.diver.orr.noaa.gov/web/guest/diver-admin-record/12302.

Scott Lundgren,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-14969 Filed 7-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P