Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2024 / Notices 1589 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

Individuals requesting records of 

themselves should address written 

inquiries to the Department of Housing 

Urban and Development, 451 7th Street 

SW, Washington, DC 20410–0001. For 

verification, individuals should provide 

their full name, current address, and 

telephone number. In addition, the 

requester must provide either a 

notarized statement or an unsworn 

declaration made under 24 CFR 16.4. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

The HUD rule for contesting the 

content of any record pertaining to the 

individual by the individual concerned 

is published in 24 CFR 16.8 or may be 

obtained from the system manager. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES: 

Individuals requesting notification of 

records of themselves should address 

written inquiries to the Department of 

Housing Urban Development, 451 7th 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20410–0001. 

For verification purposes, individuals 

should provide their full name, office or 

organization where assigned, if 

applicable, and current address and 

telephone number. In addition, the 

requester must provide either a 

notarized statement or an unsworn 

declaration made under 24 CFR 16.4. 

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

N/A. 

HISTORY: 

N/A. 

LaDonne White, 

Chief Privacy Officer, Office of 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00277 Filed 1–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

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. 

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 Mike_Szumski@

fws.gov or via phone at 541–867–4550, 

or Donald Noviello (Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife), via 

email at Donald.Noviello@dfw.wa.gov 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-ofcontact 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 OregonWashington 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 §§ 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. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
1590 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2024 / Notices 

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 TransAlaska 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 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2023–0252; 

FXIA16710900000–234–FF09A30000] 

Endangered Species; Issuance of 

Permits 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of permits. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have issued 

the following permits to conduct certain 

activities with endangered species. We 

issue these permits under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

ADDRESSES: Information about the 

applications for the permits listed in 

this notice is available online at https:// 

www.regulations.gov. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for details. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brenda Tapia, by phone at 703–358– 

2185 or via email at DMAFR@fws.gov. 

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-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

have issued permits to conduct certain 

activities with endangered and 

threatened species in response to permit 

applications that we received under the 

authority of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

After considering the information 

submitted with each permit application 

and the public comments received, we 

issued the requested permits subject to 

certain conditions set forth in each 

permit. For each application for an 

endangered species, we found that (1) 

the application was filed in good faith, 

(2) the granted permit would not operate 

to the disadvantage of the endangered 

species, and (3) the granted permit 

would be consistent with the purposes 

and policy set forth in section 2 of the 

ESA. 

Availability of Documents 

The permittees’ original permit 

application materials, along with public 

comments we received during public 

comment periods for the applications, 

are available for review. To locate the 

application materials and received 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1