70698 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Notice of Intent To Conduct

Restoration Planning

AGENCIES: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce; U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the

Interior; State of Maryland Department

of the Environment; and State of

Maryland Department of Natural

Resources

SUMMARY: The agencies listed above (the

Trustees) are providing notice of their

efforts to plan restoration actions for

injuries to natural resources in Swanson

Creek and the Patuxent River caused by

the April 7, 2000, release of 126,000

gallons of oil from a ruptured pipeline

owned by Potomac Electric Power

Company (Pepco). The pipeline

supplied oil to Pepco’s Chalk Point

Generating Station and is managed by

Support Terminal Services Operating

Partnership (ST Services). The purpose

of this restoration planning is to

evaluate potential injuries to natural

resources and services, and use that

information to determine the need for

and scale of restoration actions.

The Trustees seek public involvement

in the restoration planning process for

this spill. Opportunities for public

comment are provided through public

review and comment on documents

contained in the Administrative Record,

as well as on the Draft and Final

Restoration Plans when they have been

prepared.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Pipeline Break and Oil Spill Incident

On April 7, 2000, a break in the

pipeline that supplies oil to the Pepco

Chalk Point Generating Station released

an estimated 126,000 gallons of oil into

Swanson Creek and the surrounding

marsh area. A storm during the night of

April 8, 2000, blew the oil over the

containment booms that were placed at

the mouth of Swanson Creek and into

the Patuxent River and its tributaries. As

a result, the oil spread about 10 miles,

primarily downstream of the spill

location.

Since the spill, the Trustees’ have

initiated a number of preassessment

data collection activities. Findings

demonstrate or suggest four general

areas of natural resource injuries: (1)

Wetlands and shorelines; (2) fisheries

and other aquatic resources; (3) birds

and wildlife; and (4) lost interim use of

public services. The Trustees have

implemented or are developing studies

to assess the extent of these injuries.

The natural resource Trustees for this

oil spill incident are the U.S.

Department of Commerce, National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA); U.S.

Department of the Interior, Fish and

Wildlife Service (FWS); State of

Maryland Department of the

Environment (MDE); and State of

Maryland Department of Natural

Resources (MDNR). The Trustees are

designated pursuant to the National

Contingency Plan, 40 C.F.R. 300.600

and 300.605.

The Responsible Parties (RP’s) for this

incident are Pepco, the pipeline owner,

and ST Services, the manager of the

pipeline. To date, the RP’s have

cooperated with the Trustees in the

performance and/or funding of

response, cleanup and preassessment

data collection activities.

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 performed in conjunction

with the incident. To date, the Record

contains:

(1) A copy of this notice;

(2) A letter from the Trustees to Pepco

inviting their participation in a

cooperative natural resource damage

assessment;

(3) A letter from the Trustees to ST

Services inviting their participation in a

cooperative natural resource damage

assessment; and

(4) A letter to the Trustees from ST

Services indicating their willingness to

participate in a cooperative natural

resource damage assessment.

The Record is on file at the NOAA

Damage Assessment Center in Silver

Spring, Maryland. Duplicate copies will

be maintained for public review at the

following locations:

Calvert County, Swanson Creek

Command Center, Calvert County

Industrial Park 230 Bugeye Square,

Prince Frederick, MD 20678

St. Mary’s County, Pepco Community

Outreach Center, Light Point

Commerce Center, 30383 Three Notch

Road, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622

Information Resource Center, Maryland

Department of Natural Resources 580

Taylor Avenue, B–3, Annapolis, MD

21401

Trustees’ Determination of Jurisdiction:

Following the notice of the pipeline

break and oil discharge, the Trustees

initiated preassessment data collection

activities. The following determinations

were made as required by 15 CFR

990.41:

(1) The spill of approximately 126,000

gallons of fuel oil from the pipeline on

April 7, 2000, into the Swanson Creek

Marsh, Swanson Creek, and the

Patuxent River was an incident as

defined at 15 CFR Section 990.30.

(2) The incident was not permitted

under Federal, state, or local law; it did

not occur from a public vessel; and it

did not occur from an offshore facility

subject to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Authority Act, 43 U.S.C. 1651, et seq.

(3) Based upon information gathered

during the response and preassessment

phases, the Trustees have determined

that natural resources under the

trusteeship of NOAA, DOI, and

Maryland, have been injured as a result

of the incident. The oil released

contains components that are toxic at

sufficiently high exposure levels to

aquatic organisms, birds, wildlife, and

vegetation. In addition, the Trustees

observed birds, marshes and aquatic

organisms that were exposed to the oil

from this discharge.

Based on the above findings, the

Trustees made the determination that

they have jurisdiction to pursue

restoration pursuant to the Oil Pollution

Act, 33 U.S.C. 2702 and 2706 (b)-(c).

Trustee Determination to Conduct

Restoration Activities:

For the reasons discussed below, the

Trustees have made the determination

required by 15 C.F.R. Section 990.42(a)

and are proceeding with restoration

planning to develop restoration

alternatives that will restore, replace,

rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent of

natural resources injured and/or natural

resource services lost as a result of this

incident.

(1) Injuries have resulted from the

incident. The Trustees base this

determination upon data collected and

analyzed pursuant to 15 CFR Section

990.43 that demonstrate that injuries to

natural resources are likely to have

resulted from the incident, including,

but not limited to, the following:

(A) Wetlands and Shorelines: Spilled

oil spread throughout Swanson Creek

and about 10 miles downstream from

Chalk Point, oiling approximately 25

miles of shoreline and 75 acres of

wetlands. As part of the response, data

was collected on types of shorelines

impacted and degree(s) of oiling. This

work, along with aerial photography

and field measurements, will be used to

define the extent and degree of impact.

(B) Birds and Wildlife: Oiled birds,

mammals, reptiles and amphibians were

collected during the response. Ruddy

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Notices 70699

ducks and muskrats were the two

biggest categories of oiled animals.

Ospreys and great blue herons were also

found oiled but to a lesser extent. The

diamondback terrapin is a resource of

special concern to the State of

Maryland; both adults and nesting

beaches for this species were oiled as a

result of the spill. The Trustees are

continuing to monitor the nesting

success of ospreys and great blue herons

and will develop studies to determine

the impact of the spill on the muskrats

and diamondback terrapins.

(C) Shellfish, Finfish and Crabs: The

watershed provides valuable spawning

and nursery habitat for anadromous

species such as striped bass, white

perch and herring, all of which were

entering their spawning period at the

time of the spill. The effect of the spill

on these species will be determined

during the damage assessment.

(D) Lost Use: MDE issued fishing,

shellfishing, and crabbing advisories

and closures immediately following the

spill. These areas have since been

reopened. In addition, sections of the

river and its tributaries were closed to

boat traffic as part of the response.

(2) Response actions during clean up

have not adequately addressed the

injuries resulting from the incident.

Although response actions were

initiated promptly, the nature of

discharge and the sensitivity of the

environment precluded prevention of

injuries to some natural resources. It is

anticipated that injured natural

resources will eventually return to

baseline levels, but there is a potential

for significant interim losses to have

occurred and to continue to occur, until

return to baseline is achieved.

(3) Feasible primary and

compensatory restoration exists to

address injuries from this incident.

Among the available procedures are

marsh injury assessment studies to be

used in conjunction with Habitat

Equivalency Analysis to determine

compensation for injuries to marsh

vegetation and marsh services. Other

approaches are available for evaluating

injuries to fauna such as migratory

birds. Components of a restoration plan

may include wetland habitat

enhancement, water quality

improvement projects, bird and wildlife

enhancement activities and

compensation for lost human use.

Public Involvement: Pursuant to 15

CFR 990.44, the Trustees seek public

involvement in restoration planning

through public review and comment on

the documents contained in the

Administrative Record. Comments

should be sent to Jim Hoff, NOAA

Damage Assessment Center, Room

10218, 1305 East West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910–3281, (301) 713–

3038 ext. 188.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jim Hoff, NOAA Damage Assessment

Center, Room 10218, 1305 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910–

3281; (301) 713–3038 ext. 188.

Beth McGee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 177 Admiral Cochrane Drive,

Annapolis, MD 21401; (410) 573–

4524.

Carolyn V. Watson, Maryland

Department of Natural Resources,

Tawes State Office Bldg, 580 Taylor

Avenue C4, Annapolis, MD 21401;

(410) 260–8113.

Bob Summers, Maryland Department of

the Environment, 2500 Broening

Hwy., Baltimore, MD 21224; (410)

631–3680.

Dated: November 3, 2000

Margaret A. Davidson

Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean

Services and Coastal Zone Management.

[FR Doc. 00–30127 Filed 11–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–U

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY

COMMISSION

‘‘Federal Register’’ Citation of Previous

Announcement: November 21, 2000

(Volume 65, Number 225, Page 69915)

Previously Announced Time and Date

of Meeting: 2 p.m., November 29, 2000.

Changes in Meeting: The closed

meeting regarding the Compliance

Status Report is canceled. The meeting

will be rescheduled.

For a recorded message containing the

latest agenda information, call (301)

504–0709.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sadye E. Dunn, Office of the Secretary,

4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD

20207 (301) 504–0800.

Dated: November 22, 2000.

Sadye E. Dunn,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30272 Filed 11–22–00; 1:22 pm]

BILLING CODE 6355–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force,

DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

In compliance with section

3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Department

of Defense Medical Examination Review

Board announces the proposed public

information collection and seeks public

comment on the provisions thereof.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed information collection; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the information collection on

respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or

other forms or information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all

comments received by January 26, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

recommendations on the proposed

information collection should be sent to

SAF/PAX, Air Force Public Affairs,

1690 Air Force Pentagon, Washington,

DC 20330–1690, Attention: Lt Col Anne

Morris.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To

request more information on this

proposed information collection or to

obtain a copy of the proposal and

associated collection instruments,

please write to the above address, or call

SAF/PAX at (703) 692–6228.

Title: The Public and the United

States Air Force (USAF): Recruiting and

Retention Challenges.

Needs and Uses: For the first time in

its history, the USAF is struggling to

meet its recruiting goals. The USAF also

faces the challenge of improving

retention levels for those people who

have joined the Air Force. A

combination of environmental factors,

including increasing operations tempo,

frequency and length of deployments

and the robust American economy of

the past few years have rendered

continuing service in the USAF less

desirable for some of its members. Both

recruitment and retention challenges

impact the Air Force’s ability to sustain

mandated end strength. To address

these requirements and challenges, the

USAF has launched the first paid

network television advertising campaign

in its history. New television

advertisements began airing in

September 2000 as a primary element of

a focused national campaign to tell the

Air Force story to Americans and, in the

process, address recruiting and

retention challenges. Continued

audience research is needed to guide

evaluation of the campaign’s