[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1512-1513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00231]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[FWS-R2-FHC-2014-N178; FVHC98120208440-XXX-FF02ETTX00]


Texas City Y Oil Spill; Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration 
Planning

AGENCY: Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: Under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), Federal and State trustees 
for natural resources are authorized to assess natural resource 
injuries resulting from an oil discharge or the substantial threat of 
discharge, as well those injuries that result from response activities. 
The trustees develop and implement a restoration plan to identify and 
quantify injuries to natural resources and the restoration required to 
compensate for those injuries. This notice announces the intent of the 
Federal and State trustees to conduct restoration planning regarding 
the discharge of oil from the Kirby Barge 27706 resulting from the 
collision with an inbound bulk carrier, the M/V SUMMER WIND, an 
incident that occurred in the Houston Ship Channel near Texas City, 
Texas on March 22, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director, 
Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ((505) 248-6911).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Texas City Y Oil Spill occurred on March 
22, 2014, in Galveston Bay in the vicinity of the Houston Ship Channel 
near Texas City, Texas, when the inbound bulk carrier M/V SUMMER WIND 
collided with the oil tank-barge KIRBY 27706. At the time of the 
collision, the M/V MISS SUSAN was towing the oil tank-barges KIRBY 
27705 and KIRBY 27706. As a result of the collision, the number 2 
starboard tank of KIRBY 27706 was punctured discharging approximately 
168,000 gallons (4,000 barrels) of intermediate fuel oil (IFO-380) into 
Galveston Bay and subsequently entered the waters of the Gulf of Mexico 
(referred to as the ``Texas City Incident'').
    Pursuant to Section 1006 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33 
U.S.C. 2706, Federal and State trustees for natural resources are 
authorized to (1) assess natural resource injuries resulting from a 
discharge of oil or the substantial threat of a discharge and from 
response activities, and (2) develop and implement a plan for 
restoration of such injured resources and their services. The Federal 
trustees are designated pursuant to the National Oil and Hazardous 
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) (40 CFR 300.600) and 
Executive Order 12777. State trustees are designated by the governors 
of each State pursuant to the NCP, 40 CFR 300.605, OPA 33 U.S.C. 
2706(b)(3), Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1321(f)(5), and the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA; 42 U.S.C. 9607(f)(2)(B)). The following agencies are 
designated natural resources trustees under OPA and are currently 
acting as trustees for this Incident: The United States Department of 
the Interior (DOI), as represented by the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service and the National Park Service; the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on behalf of the United States 
Department of Commerce; and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 
(TPWD), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas 
General Land Office (GLO) for the State of Texas (collectively, the 
Trustees). In addition to acting as Trustees for this Incident under 
OPA, the State of Texas is also acting pursuant to its applicable state 
laws and authorities, including the Texas Oil Spill Prevention and 
Response Act of 1991, Tex. Nat. Res. Code Chapter 40.
    The Responsible Party (RP) identified for this Incident thus far is 
Kirby Inland Marine, LP (``Kirby''), owner of the M/V MISS SUSAN, KIRBY 
27705 and KIRBY 27706. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(c), the Trustees have 
invited the RP identified above to participate in a cooperative Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. To date, the Trustees have 
coordinated with Kirby representatives on activities undertaken as part 
of the NRDAR process.
    The Trustees initiated the Preassessment Phase of the NRDA in 
accordance with 15 CFR 990.40 to determine if they have jurisdiction to 
pursue restoration under OPA and, if so, whether it is appropriate to 
do so. During the Preassessment Phase, the Trustees collected and 
analyzed the following: (1) Data reasonably expected to be necessary to 
make a determination of jurisdiction and a determination to conduct 
restoration planning, (2) ephemeral data, and (3) information needed 
for assessment activities as part of the Restoration Planning Phase. 
The collection and analysis of the data and information listed above 
continues to date.
    Under the NRDA regulations applicable to OPA, 15 CFR part 990 (NRDA 
regulations), the Trustees prepare and issue a notice of intent to 
conduct restoration planning (notice) to demonstrate that conditions 
have been met that establish that the Trustees have jurisdiction over 
this matter and that restoration of natural resources is feasible and 
appropriate.
    Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.44, this notice announces that the Trustees 
have determined to proceed with restoration planning to fully evaluate, 
assess, quantify and develop plans for restoring, replacing or 
acquiring the equivalent of injured natural resources and services 
losses resulting from the Texas City Y Incident. The restoration 
planning process will include collection of information for evaluating 
and quantifying injuries, and use of that information to determine the 
need for, and type and scale of restoration actions.

Determination of Jurisdiction

    The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR 
990.41:
    1. The Texas City Y Incident resulted in discharges of oil into and 
upon navigable waters of the United States, including the Gulf of 
Mexico, as well as adjoining shorelines, all of which constitute an 
``incident'' within the meaning of 15 CFR 990.30.
    2. The discharge(s) are not permitted pursuant to federal, state, 
or local law; are not from a public vessel; and are not from an onshore 
facility subject to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authority Act, (43 U.S.C. 
1651 et seq.).
    3. Natural resources under the trusteeship of the Trustees have 
been and continue to be injured or threatened as a result of discharged 
oil and associated removal efforts. The discharged oil is harmful to 
natural resources exposed to the oil, including aquatic organisms, 
birds, wildlife, vegetation, and habitats. Discharged oil and the 
response activities to address the discharges of oil have resulted in 
adverse effects on natural resources in and around the coastal waters 
of Texas and along its adjoining shorelines, and impaired services that 
those resources provide. The full extent of potential injuries is 
currently unknown; however current natural resources and resource 
services that have been impacted due to the discharged oil include but 
are not limited to the following:
    <bullet> Over 160 miles of shoreline habitats, including salt 
marshes, sandy beaches, and mangroves.

[[Page 1513]]

    <bullet> A variety of wildlife, including birds, and marine 
mammals.
    <bullet> Lost human use opportunities associated with various 
natural resources in the Gulf region, including fishing, swimming, 
beach-going, and viewing of birds and wildlife.
    <bullet> Waters of the Gulf of Mexico and adjoining coastal waters 
of the State.
    <bullet> Various other biota, including benthic communities and 
fish.
    <bullet> Water column habitat.
Accordingly, the Trustees have determined they have jurisdiction to 
pursue restoration under OPA.

Determination To Conduct Restoration Planning

    1. The Trustees have made the following findings pursuant to 15 CFR 
990.42. Observations and data collected pursuant to 15 CFR 990.43 
demonstrate that injuries to natural resources and the services they 
provide have resulted from the Texas City Y incident; however, the 
nature and extent of such injuries has not been fully determined at 
this time. The Trustees have identified numerous categories of impacted 
and potentially impacted resources, including marine mammals and birds, 
as well as their habitats. Potentially or actually impacted habitats 
include but are not limited to wetlands, marshes, sand beaches, bottom 
sediments and the water. Impacts to these resources have or are 
anticipated to affect human use of these affected resources or 
habitats. The Trustees have been conducting, and continue to conduct, 
activities to evaluate injuries and potential injuries within these 
categories. More information on these resource categories, including 
assessment work plans developed jointly by the Trustees and the RP, if 
any, and information gathered during the Preassessment Phase, will be 
available in the Administrative Record (AR), as discussed below. The 
full nature and extent of injuries will be determined during the injury 
assessment conducted as part of the Restoration Planning Phase.
    2. Response actions employed for this spill included containment, 
skimming of oil and other removal operations. These response actions 
have not addressed and are not expected to address all injuries 
resulting from the discharges of oil. Although response actions were 
initiated soon after the spill, they were unable to prevent injuries to 
many natural resources. In addition, some of these response actions 
have caused or are likely to cause injuries to natural resources and 
the services they provide, including the impairment of sensitive 
marshes, beaches, and other habitats and impacts to human uses of the 
resources. While injured natural resources may eventually recover 
naturally to the condition they would have been in had the discharges 
not occurred, interim losses did occur and will persist until baseline 
conditions are achieved. In addition, there have been losses of and 
diminution of human uses of the resources resulting from the impacts to 
the natural resources and from the response actions themselves.
    3. Feasible restoration actions exist to address the natural 
resource injuries and losses, including lost human uses, resulting from 
the discharges of oil. Assessment procedures are available to scale the 
appropriate amount of restoration required to offset these ecological 
and human use service losses. During the restoration planning phase, 
the Trustees will evaluate potential projects, determine the scale of 
restoration actions needed to make the environment and the public 
whole, and release a draft Restoration Plan for public review and 
comment.
    Based upon these determinations, the Trustees intend to proceed 
with restoration planning for the Texas City Y Incident.

Administrative Record

    The Department of the Interior, acting on behalf of the Trustees, 
has opened an Administrative Record (AR) in compliance with 15 CFR 
990.45 and applicable state authorities. The AR is publicly accessible 
and includes documents considered by the Trustees during the NRDA and 
restoration planning performed in connection with the Incident. The AR 
will be augmented with additional information over the course of the 
NRDA process. The administrative record is available through the 
following location in electronic format: http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/orda_docs/DamageCase.aspx?DamageCaseId=388.

Opportunity To Comment

    In accordance with 15 CFR 990.14(d) and state authorities, the 
Trustees will provide opportunities for public involvement in the 
restoration planning for the Incident. The opportunities for public 
involvement will be addressed in future notices and announcements.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Chip Wood.

Authority

    The authority of this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and the implementing Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment found at 15 CFR part 990.

Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-00231 Filed 1-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P