[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10835-10837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4847]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021495C]


New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council; Scoping Meetings

AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; and Office of 
Environmental Policy and Compliance, U.S. Department of the Interior 
(DOI).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS, acting as Administrative Trustee, and DOI announce the 
intention of the New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council (Council) to 
prepare an EIS for a proposed plan to address the restoration of 
natural resources that have been injured by the release of hazardous 
substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the New 
Bedford Harbor environment. The Council also announces its initiation 
of a public process to determine the scope of issues under 
consideration. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of 
this process and of the opportunity to participate in the development 
of the restoration plan/EIS. All persons affected by, or otherwise 
interested in, the proposed restoration plan are invited to participate 
in determining the scope of significant issues to be considered in the 
EIS by submitting written comments or by attending scoping meetings. 
The scoping process will identify and prioritize alternatives for 
potential restoration activities.

DATES: The Council will hold scoping meetings in each of the affected 
communities within the New Bedford Harbor environment. The scoping 
meetings are scheduled as follows:
    1. February 28, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., New Bedford, MA
    2. March 1, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., North Dartmouth, 
MA [[Page 10836]] 
    3. March 8, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., Acushnet, MA
    4. March 9, 1995, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., Fairhaven, MA

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the following locations:
    1. New Bedford--New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, 
New Bedford, MA 02740
    2. North Dartmouth--University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth, Old 
Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02714
    3. Acushnet-- Acushnet Elementary School, 80 Middle Road, Acushnet, 
MA 02743
    4. Fairhaven--Hastings Middle School, 30 School Street, Fairhaven, 
MA 02719
    Additional meetings will be announced as they are scheduled. Public 
hearings will be scheduled upon completion of the Draft EIS. Send 
written comments on the scoping process and scope of the EIS to Jack 
Terrill, Coordinator, New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298, 
or fax number 508-281-9301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Terrill, Coordinator, 508-281-
9136.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    New Bedford Harbor is an urban tidal estuary on the western shore 
of Buzzards Bay, MA, situated between the City of New Bedford on the 
west and the towns of Fairhaven and Acushnet on the east, with the 
Acushnet River flowing into the harbor from the north. The area 
contains approximately 6 square miles (15.54 square kilometers) of open 
water, tidal creeks and salt marshes.
    New Bedford Harbor is an active port frequented by both commercial 
and recreational fishing vessels, as well as merchant vessels 
delivering produce for distribution throughout the Northeast. For many 
years, the commercial landings of predominantly scallops and groundfish 
species resulted in either the highest or second highest value of any 
port in the country. Historically, approximately 300 to 400 commercial 
fishing vessels have landed in the port each year. Located along the 
shores of the harbor are support services for the fishing industry 
(ice, fuel, provisions, etc.) and manufacturing facilities, as well as 
residential neighborhoods.
    Also situated along the shore were electronic manufacturers which 
were major users of PCBs from the time their operations commenced in 
the late 1940's until 1977, when the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) banned the use and manufacture of PCBs. These industries 
discharged wastewaters containing PCBs directly into the Acushnet River 
estuary and Buzzards Bay and indirectly via the municipal wastewater 
treatment system.
    PCBs are considered to be human carcinogens that can be introduced 
through the eating of contaminated fish and shellfish. PCBs found at 
high concentration may be released into the air for further deposit on 
surfaces affecting vegetation. PCBs are concentrated in fish and 
shellfish through the process of biomagnification in which fish and 
shellfish eat smaller organisms such as plankton, and the PCBs within 
the smaller organisms are retained in the tissue of the larger 
organism. Subsequent exposure further accumulates the PCBs in these 
tissues.
    PCBs can also have adverse effects on natural resources 
particularly birds and higher mammals. Birds exposed to PCBs have 
exhibited reproductive failure and birth defects. Some shellfish 
species will die after exposure to even small concentrations of PCBs. 
Some fish species can have relatively high concentrations without 
serious effect but pose a danger when eaten by other natural resources 
such as birds.
    Between 1974 and 1982, a number of environmental studies were 
conducted to assess the magnitude and extent of contamination by PCBs 
and heavy metals in New Bedford Harbor. These studies showed PCB 
contamination in marine sediment over a 985-acre area to range from a 
few parts per million (ppm) to over 100,000 ppm. Portions of western 
Buzzards Bay are also contaminated with sediment PCB concentrations in 
excess of 50 ppm. Water-column concentrations were found in excess of 
Federal ambient water quality criteria (0.030 ppm based on chronic 
impacts to marine organisms). Fish and shellfish PCB concentrations 
were found in excess of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tolerance 
limit (2 ppm for edible tissue).
    To reduce the potential for human exposure to PCBs, the 
Massachusetts Department of Public Health closed much of the New 
Bedford Harbor area to fishing or fishing for selected species with the 
establishment of three closure areas on September 25, 1979. New Bedford 
Harbor was added to EPA's Superfund National Priorities List in July 
1982 and was simultaneously identified as the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts' priority Superfund site.
    Executive Order 12580 and the National Contingency Plan, which is 
the implementing regulation for the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), designates the 
Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, and Interior to 
be Federal Trustees for natural resources. Federal Trustees are 
designated because of their statutory responsibilities for protection 
and/or management of natural resources, or management of federally 
owned land. In addition, the governors of each state are required to 
designate a state Trustee. The Trustees' responsibilities include 
assessing damages from the release of hazardous substances, pursuing 
recoveries of both damages and costs, and using the sums to restore, 
replace, or acquire the equivalent of the resources that were injured 
by the release.
    In 1983, the Federal and state trustees filed complaints in Federal 
District Court in Boston alleging causes of action under CERCLA against 
the electronics manufacturers for injuries to natural resources under 
their trusteeship that had resulted from releases of hazardous 
substances, including PCBs. The eventual outcome of the complaints was 
monetary settlement agreements with defendants to: (1) Fund the cleanup 
of the harbor by EPA, (2) restore the natural resources by the 
Trustees, and (3) reimburse the governments for funds expended.
    The Council was created as a result of the settlement agreements. 
There are three natural resource trustees on the Council representing 
Commerce, DOI, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Secretary of 
Commerce has delegated trustee responsibility to NOAA, with NMFS having 
responsibility for restoration. The Secretary of the Interior has 
delegated trustee responsibility to the Regional Office of Policy and 
Compliance. The Governor of Massachusetts has delegated trustee 
responsibility to the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. These 
are the only Trustees having identified trust responsibilities for 
natural resources present in the New Bedford Harbor environment.
    The Trustees are required to develop a restoration plan before 
settlement money can be spent on restoration projects. Such a plan will 
include a range of projects including near-term restoration efforts 
though restoration may continue for 10 to 15 years or more. The 
Trustees primary task is to determine how best to restore the injured 
natural resources and the Trustees are seeking the assistance of the 
public in this process. There are many projects that can be done to 
restore the injured natural resources but there are also limited funds 
with which to accomplish this. By incorporating the public in the 
process and by developing a formal restoration plan, there is greater 
likelihood of success and acceptance. [[Page 10837]] 
    Federal actions require adherence to the National Environmental 
Policy Act. This Act requires the development of an environmental 
assessment or an EIS which analyzes the effects of the proposed Federal 
action(s) on the environment. This notice initiates the process of 
developing an EIS. Alternatives developed though this process will be 
included in the EIS as well as an analysis of their potential impacts 
on the environment.
    The Trustees have scheduled four meetings to initiate this process. 
The purpose of these meetings is to introduce the public to the Trustee 
Council, define the Council's role and responsibilities, explain what 
restoration means and the legal requirements that must be followed: 
Describe and seek comment on the Trustee Council's goals, objectives, 
and project selection criteria; and provide guidance and receive 
comment on how restoration projects should be presented for 
consideration.
    These meetings are the first step in the restoration plan/EIS 
development process. Meetings of the Trustee Council are open to the 
public and the public is invited to attend and participate. The 
Trustees will be seeking public participation through citizen advisors 
who can play a continuing role in restoration plan development. Once a 
draft restoration plan/EIS is developed, public hearings will be held 
on the content before any such plan is finalized.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. and 9601 et seq.

    Dated: February 21, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-4847 Filed 2-27-95; 8:45 am]
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