[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 116 (Friday, June 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39407-39408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12787]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning for Discharge of 
Oil From the Amplify Energy Corp Pipeline P00547 Into the Pacific Ocean 
Near Huntington Beach, Orange County, California

AGENCY: Office of Response and Restoration (ORR), National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce.

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 Amplify Energy Corp Pipeline P00547 
into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach, Orange County, California 
(Incident). The purpose of this restoration planning effort is to 
further evaluate injuries to natural resources and services and to use 
that information to determine the need for, type of, and scale of 
restoration actions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact one or 
more of the following Trustee representatives: Troy Baker (NOAA) at 
[email protected]; Mike Anderson (California Department of Fish and 
Wildlife) at [email protected]; Damian Higgins (U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service) at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 1, 2021, Pipeline P00547, an oil pipeline owned and 
operated by Amplify Energy Corp., Beta Operating Company, LLC, dba, 
``Beta Offshore''; and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Company (collectively, 
Amplify) ruptured. The underwater pipeline running from Platform Elly 
to Long Beach spilled a minimum of approximately 24,696 gallons of 
crude oil into San Pedro Bay. Product initially floated to the surface 
forming surface slicks and strands that extended from the source mainly 
south and southeast along prevailing ocean currents. Southern 
California beaches from at least Surfside Beach to potentially past the 
U.S./Mexico Border, including coastal marshes and lagoons, were either 
freshly oiled or received varying levels of tarballs in the weeks 
following the spill. This discharge affected natural resources in the 
area.
    Pursuant to section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), 33 U.S.C. 
2701 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 300.600 and Executive Order 
12777. State trustees for California are designated pursuant to the 
National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.605, and the Governor's 
Designation of State Natural Resource Trustees under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990, and California Health and Safety Code section 
25352(c), dated October 5, 2007, and the Delegation of Authority of 
Natural Resource Trustee, dated November 15, 2007. The natural 
resources trustees (Trustees) under OPA for this Incident are NOAA; the 
United States Department of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land 
Management; the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; the 
California State Lands Commission; and the California Department of 
Parks and Recreation.
    Amplify is the Responsible Party (RP) for this Incident. The 
Trustees have coordinated 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, and/or (3) information needed 
to design or implement anticipated emergency restoration and/or 
assessment activities as part of the Restoration Planning Phase.
    The NRDA regulations under OPA, 15 CFR 990 (NRDA regulations), 
provide that the Trustees are to prepare a Notice of Intent to Conduct 
Restoration Planning (Notice) if they determine certain conditions have 
been met, and if they decide to quantify the injuries to natural 
resources and to 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 further evaluate injuries to natural resources and 
services and to use that information to determine the need for, type 
of, and scale of restoration actions.

Determination of Jurisdiction

    The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR 
990.41:
    1. The rupture of Pipeline P00547 on October 1, 2021, resulted in a 
discharge of oil into and upon navigable waters of the United States, 
including the Pacific Ocean, as well as adjoining shorelines. Such 
occurrence constitutes an ``Incident'' within the meaning of 15 CFR 
930.30.
    2. 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.
    3. Natural resources under the trusteeship of the Trustees have 
been injured as a result of the Incident. The crude oil discharged from 
Pipeline P00547 is harmful to certain aquatic organisms, birds, 
wildlife, and vegetation that were exposed to the oil. Accordingly, the 
discharged oil and the response activities to address the discharge 
have had an adverse effect on the natural resources of the Pacific 
Ocean and its adjoining shorelines and impaired the services which 
those resources provide. Documents in the Administrative Record contain 
more information regarding the basis upon which the Trustees reached 
this determination.
    As a result of the foregoing determinations, the Trustees have 
jurisdiction to pursue restoration under OPA.

Determination To Conduct Restoration Planning

    The Trustees have determined, pursuant to 15 CFR 990.42(a), that:
    1. Observations and data collected in accordance with 15 CFR 990.43 
(including but not limited to dead and live oiled birds; oiling at 
beaches, rocky intertidal habitats, subtidal habitats, and other 
habitats; beach and fishery closures; and impacts from response 
activities) demonstrate that injuries to natural resources have 
resulted from the Incident. Immediately following the Incident, the 
Trustees, in cooperation with the RPs, identified several categories of 
impacted and potentially impacted natural resources, including

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birds, marine mammals, fish, and shoreline and subtidal habitats, as 
well as effects to human use resulting from impacts on these natural 
resources. The Trustees then began conducting activities, in 
cooperation with the RPs, 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.
    2. 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. In addition, certain response efforts, such as the removal 
of wrack from beaches and excavation of submerged oil, caused 
additional injuries to 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. In addition, 
there were lost and diminished human uses of the resources resulting 
from the impacts to the natural resources and from spill response 
actions.
    3. Feasible primary and compensatory restoration actions exist to 
address injuries to natural resources and lost human uses resulting 
from the Incident. The Trustees have compiled a list of restoration 
projects that could potentially be implemented to compensate for 
interim losses resulting from the Incident. The Trustees have also 
sought suggestions from the public on potential restoration projects to 
compensate for the services and functions provided by natural 
resources. In addition, assessment procedures such as Habitat 
Equivalency Analysis and Resource Equivalency Analysis are available to 
scale the appropriate amount of compensatory restoration required to 
offset ecological service losses resulting from this Incident. To 
quantify lost human uses resulting from the Incident, the Trustees, in 
cooperation with the RP, have collected and compiled data regarding 
visitor use of impacted sites and associated activities. To value those 
lost uses, the Trustees are investigating use of a Travel Cost Model 
and Benefits Transfer Method. To compensate for the lost and diminished 
human uses arising from the Incident, the Trustees intend to solicit 
project ideas from local, regional, State, and Federal managers of 
parks and other recreational areas, as well as from the general public. 
The final selection of projects will be informed by project costs, the 
value of lost use, distribution and character of impacts, and other 
criteria consistent with state and federal laws and practice.
    During restoration planning, the Trustees evaluate potential 
restoration 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 the foregoing determinations and information in the 
Administrative Record, the Trustees intend to proceed with restoration 
planning for this Incident.

Administrative Record

    The Trustees have opened an Administrative Record (Record) in 
accordance with 15 CFR 990.45. The Record will include documents 
considered by the Trustees during the preassessment, assessment, and 
restoration planning phases of the NRDA performed in connection with 
the Incident. The 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/14901.

Opportunity To Comment

    Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the Trustees seek public involvement 
in restoration planning for this Incident through public review of, and 
comment on, documents contained in the Record. The Trustees also intend 
to seek public comment on a draft Damage Assessment and Restoration 
Plan when it becomes available.

Scott Lundgren,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-12787 Filed 6-15-23; 8:45 am]
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