[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1589-1590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00348]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2023-N087; FXES11140400000-234-FF04E00000]


Restoration Planning To Address 1999 Oregon-Washington Coast 
Mystery Oil Spill

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct restoration planning.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the trustees' (Department of the 
Interior, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) intent to 
proceed with restoration planning actions to address injuries to 
natural resources resulting from the discharge of oil associated with a 
1999 mystery spill along the northern Oregon and southern Washington 
coastline. The purpose of this restoration planning effort is to assess 
injuries to natural resources resulting from the spill and develop and 
implement a plan for the restoration of these injured resources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact the 
following trustee representatives: Mike Szumski (U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service), via email at [email protected] or via phone at 541-867-
4550, or Donald Noviello (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), 
via email at [email protected] or via phone at 360-280-9376. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in 
the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On March 4, 1999, Federal and State natural resource agencies 
received reports of tarballs and oiled birds coming ashore on beaches 
in northern Oregon and southern Washington. The event lasted several 
days, during which response crews collected the carcasses of 272 
seabirds, primarily rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata), 
Cassin's auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus), common murres (Uria aalge), 
and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). At the time, the trustees 
were responding to the New Carissa oil spill, which had occurred 120 
miles to the south, near Waldport, Oregon. The New Carissa was 
initially suspected as the source of the spill, but chemical analysis 
of tarballs and oiled bird feathers indicated that the oil in the 
northern Oregon and southern Washington area did not match the New 
Carissa source samples. The vessel responsible for the spill was never 
identified. Therefore, we are referring to the northern Oregon/southern 
Washington spill as the Oregon-Washington Coast Mystery Spill (or 
incident).
    Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), 
and in accordance with the provisions of regulations in title 15 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at Sec. Sec.  990.42 and 990.44 (15 
CFR 990.42 and 990.44), the trustees are initiating a natural resource 
damage assessment (NRDA), which will include injury assessment and 
restoration planning for the incident.
    The purpose of the OPA is to make the environment and public whole 
for injuries to natural resources and services resulting from an 
incident involving a discharge of oil. Pursuant to section 1006(b) of 
OPA (33 U.S.C. 2706(b)), the Department of the Interior (U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service) and the State of Washington (Washington Department of 
Fish and Wildlife) are joint trustees (trustees) for natural resources 
injured by the incident. Per section 1006 of OPA (33 U.S.C. 2706), the 
trustees are authorized to assess the type and extent of injury to 
natural resources from an oil spill and then develop a plan that will 
restore injured resources back to baseline, a process known as 
restoration planning. With this Federal Register notice, the trustees 
announce their intent to assess the injuries and damages to natural 
resources caused by the incident and prepare a plan for the restoration 
of those resources (damage assessment/restoration plan).
    The NRDA process will identify and quantify the nature and extent 
(both temporal and spatial) of injuries to natural resources and 
resource services arising out of the incident, and enable the trustees 
to develop plans for the restoration, replacement, or rehabilitation of 
those injured resources, or for the acquisition of equivalent resources 
or resource services. The assessment will be conducted pursuant to the 
regulations for NRDA at 15 CFR part 990. The NRDA will address natural 
resources and resource services, primarily bird injury, along the 
northern Oregon and southern Washington coastline for which injuries 
attributable to the incident have been, or can be, determined.
    Section 1006 of the OPA, 33 U.S.C. 2706, authorizes the trustees to 
seek damages from the responsible party to pay for the implementation 
of the restoration plan. In the event that a viable responsible party 
cannot be identified, the trustees are authorized (33 U.S.C. 1321) to 
seek funding for natural resource damage claims for damage costs from 
the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF), which is administered by 
the U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center (Center). The 
trustees are proceeding in accordance with the regulations for NRDA at 
15 CFR part 990, and plan to seek funding from the Center for costs 
associated with the Oregon-Washington Coast Mystery Spill NRDA and 
restoration.

[[Page 1590]]

Determination of Jurisdiction

    The trustees have made the following determinations pursuant to 15 
CFR 990.41 and 990.42:
    1. A spill of undetermined volume began on or about March 4, 1999, 
into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, off the coasts of northern Oregon 
and southern Washington. This occurrence constituted an ``incident'' 
within the meaning of 15 CFR 990.30.
    2. The incident was not permitted under a permit issued under 
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. Oil discharged during the incident adversely affected marine and 
shoreline habitats, and wildlife. Consequently, natural resources under 
the trusteeship of the trustees have been injured as a result of the 
incident.
    4. 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:
    1. Pre-assessment data collected and analyzed pursuant to 15 CFR 
990.43 demonstrate that injuries to a wide variety and number of 
seabirds have resulted from the incident, including marbled murrelets 
(Brachyramphus marmoratus, a species listed as threatened under the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)). Specifically, 272 
dead seabirds of various species were collected during the incident. 
The trustees plan to undertake additional assessment activities to 
determine the total number of birds injured and services lost from the 
incident.
    2. Response actions during cleanup have not adequately addressed 
the injuries and lost services resulting from the incident. Response 
efforts consisted of cleaning up oil stranded along affected beaches 
and the collection of injured birds. These efforts reduced the 
magnitude and duration of impacts to shoreline habitats and wildlife 
but did not eliminate all injuries or make restoration unnecessary. 
Data from numerous oil spills demonstrate that the bird carcasses 
collected during an oil spill represent only a portion of the birds 
killed by the oil, suggesting that additional birds likely died as a 
result of the incident.
    3. Assessment procedures are available to estimate total injury, 
identify appropriate restoration projects, and scale those projects to 
compensate for the injury. Procedures consist of, but are not limited 
to, the following.
    a. Analysis of mortality data collected during the incident;
    b. Analysis of reproductive and demographic parameters of key 
species;
    c. Modeling environmental parameters such as historical winds and 
currents;
    d. Analysis of historic seabird population data; and
    e. Analysis of habitat information to scale restoration.
    4. Feasible restoration alternatives exist to address injuries from 
the incident. Restoration activities are expected to focus on seabirds. 
Restoration could include enhancement or protection of seabird nesting 
habitat through acquisition, predator management, invasive species 
removal, habitat creation, habitat enhancement, education, or other 
means. During restoration planning, 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 the foregoing determinations, the trustees intend to 
proceed with restoration planning for this incident.

Administrative Record

    The trustees have opened an administrative record (``record'') in 
compliance with 15 CFR 990.45. The record will include documents relied 
upon by the trustees during the assessment of natural resource damages 
being performed in connection with the incident. The public may view 
the record online at https://www.cerc.usgs.gov/orda_docs/CaseDetails?ID=1099.

Opportunity To Comment

    Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the trustees intend to seek public 
comment on the draft damage assessment and restoration plan once it is 
completed. A separate Federal Register notice will be issued when the 
draft damage assessment and restoration plan is available for comment.

Bridget Fahey,
Acting Regional Director--Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; Lead Administrative Trustee, Oregon-Washington Coast Mystery 
Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2024-00348 Filed 1-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P