64360 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 1997 / Notices

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 11.419

Coastal Zone Management Program

Administration)

Dated: December 1, 1997.

Captain Evelyn J. Fields,

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Ocean Services and Coastal Zone

Management, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration.

Robert H. Wayland, III,

Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and

Watersheds, Environmental Protection

Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–31835 Filed 12–4–97; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Notice of Settlement Agreement on the

R/V Columbus Iselin Grounding

Between the United States on Behalf of

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) and the

University of Miami

AGENCY: The U.S. Department of Justice

of behalf of NOAA, Department of

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of settlement between

the United States, on behalf of NOAA

acting as the natural resource trustee,

and the University of Miami.

SUMMARY: The United States, on behalf

of NOAA, and the University of Miami

(collectively referred to as the ‘‘Parties’’)

enter into this Settlement Agreement

(‘‘Agreement’’) to settle civil claims for

damages for injury to Sanctuary

resources, civil penalties, response

costs, and forfeiture arising from the

August 10 to 12, 1994, grounding of the

R/V COLUMBUS ISELIN (‘‘ISELIN’’) in

the Looe Key National Marine

Sanctuary, now part of the Florida Keys

National Marine Sanctuary. This

settlement is entered into by the Parties

pursuant to section 312 of the National

Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), 16

U.S.C. § 1431 et seq.

Proposed Action

Notice is hereby given that on

November 22, 1997 a settlement has

been entered into between the Parties to

resolve claims against the University of

Miami and the R/V COLUMBUS ISELIN

for destruction or loss of, or injury to,

Sanctuary resources pursuant to section

312 of the NMSA, as amended, as a

result of the August 10 to 12, 1994,

grounding of the R/V COLUMBUS

ISELIN in the Looe Key National Marine

Sanctuary. The Agreement provides for

cash payments to NOAA for

implementation of structural and

biological restoration of the grounding

site, compensatory restoration, and long

term monitoring, and to reimburse

NOAA for damage assessment costs and

emergency response costs incurred by

NOAA.

A. Cash Payments

(1) The University of Miami shall pay

to NOAA, two million and nine

hundred thousand dollars

($2,900,000.00). This sum will pay for

the implementation of restoration,

monitoring, damage assessment costs,

compensatory restoration for interim

losses of sanctuary resources, permitting

and environmental compliance costs, as

a result of the ISELIN grounding. (2) The

amount identified in A. (1) above is in

addition to payment already received by

NOAA from the University of Miami in

the amounts of: (a) Two hundred

thousand dollars ($200,000) in civil

penalties; (b) one hundred and forty six

thousand, forty seven dollars and sixty

cents ($146,047.60); and one hundred

and fourteen thousand, ninety nine

dollars and seventy-seven cents

($114,099.77) for response and damage

assessment costs; and (c) six hundred

thousand dollars ($600,000.00) for

restoration planning.

B. Use of Funds

(1) Restoration of Natural Resources.

Funds received by NOAA identified in

A.(1) above will be used for (a)

structural and biological restoration of

coral reef injured at the grounding site,

(b) biological monitoring, (c) off-site

compensatory restoration, and (d)

project management and oversight.

Restoration activities at the grounding

site will include: (i) Stabilizing the

underlying physical structure of the

coral reef habitat; (ii) re-creating the

physical structure of the coral reef

habitat; and, (iii) enhancing the rate of

recovery of the biological community

through the transplantation of coral,

sponges, and sea fans. Biological

monitoring will be used to evaluate the

effectiveness of the restoration at the

site and design any mid-course

corrections to those restoration

measures. Off-site compensatory

restoration projects will be designed to

enhance the long-term health of the

coral reefs. The projects will include

field and lab-based methods for

enhancing the recovery rates of coral

and other benthic invertebrates through

the transplantation and culture of corals

and benethic invertebrates. Projects also

will be designed to minimize the risk of

future major vessel groundings in the

vicinity of coral reef habitats.

(2) Restoration of Cultural Resources.

Artifacts which were dislodged by the

vessel during the grounding and

subsequent rubble and ship debris

removal activities have been conserved

by NOAA. The parties agree that NOAA

shall be the permanent custodian and

conservator of the cultural resources.

Funds received from the University will

reimburse NOAA for costs incurred to

conserve the artifacts as well as to

ensure long-term curation.

(3) Reimbursement of Costs Incurred

by the Government. Funds identified in

A.(2) above will be used to reimburse

NOAA for costs incurred for emergency

response activities during the

grounding, rubble and ship debris

removal, and damage assessment costs.

Public Comment

NOAA will receive comments from

the public on the settlement agreement

for a period of thirty (30) days from the

date of this publication. Comments on

the settlement agreement should be

addressed to Sharon Shutler, Office of

General Counsel for Natural Resources,

NOAA, 1315 East-West Highway,

SSMC#3, Silver Spring, MD 20910–

3282.

Effective Date of the Agreement.

The effective of the settlement

agreement will be upon completion of

the public comment period, notification

to the University from NOAA that it has

accepted the settlement agreement, and

payment by the University to NOAA of

$2.9 million. Payment from the

University will be made within 15 days

of receipt of such notice.

For Further Information Contact:

Copies of the settlement agreement may

be obtained from Harriet Sopher,

Sanctuaries and Reserves Division,

National Ocean Service, NOAA,

SSMC#4, 11th floor, 1305 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or

Billy Causey, Marathon office of the

Florida Keys National Marine

Sanctuary, P.O. Box 500368, 5550

Overseas Highway, Main House,

Marathon, FL 33050.

Dated: November 22, 1997.

Monica Medina,

General Counsel, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce.

[FR Doc. 97–31854 Filed 12–4–97; 8:45 am]

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