Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XXIX - Oil Spill Prevention and Response › Chapter 1 - Natural Resource Damage Assessment › Subchapter A - General Provisions › Section XXIX-109 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in
					 this Chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the word, term, or
					 phrase is otherwise defined in the text.
Acquisition of Equivalent
- the acquisition
					 of a natural resource that provides services substantially equivalent to those
					 injured as the result of an unauthorized discharge of oil.
Area Contingency Plan
- the contingency
					 plan required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C., §
											1321 (j)(4)].
Assessment
or
Natural Resource
					 Damage Assessment
- the process of collecting, compiling, and analyzing
					 information through prescribed procedures and/or protocols to determine damages
					 for injuries to natural resources and/or any loss in the services provided by
					 the natural resources resulting from an unauthorized discharge of oil.
Baseline
- the condition of the natural
					 resources and services that would have existed had the incident not occurred.
					 Baseline data may be estimated using historical data, reference data, control
					 data, or data on incremental changes (e.g., number of dead animals), alone or
					 in combination, as appropriate.
Coastal Waters
- the waters and bed of the
					 Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of the state of Louisiana, including the
					 arms of the Gulf of Mexico subject to tidal influence, estuaries, and any other
					 waters within the state, if such other waters are navigated by vessels with a
					 capacity to carry 10,000 gallons or more of oil as fuel or cargo.
Coordinator
- the Louisiana Oil Spill
					 Coordinator.
Cost-Effective
- the least costly activity
					 among two or more activities that provide the same or a comparable level of
					 benefits, in the judgment of the state trustees.
Damages
- damages specified in Section
					 1002(b)(2)(A and D) of OPA [33 U.S.C.
					 2702(b)(2)], and includes
					 the costs of assessing these damages, as defined in Section 1001(5) of OPA
					 [33
					 U.S.C. 2701(5)], effective
					 as of the date of the adoption of this rule.
Discounted Service Acre-Year
(
DSAY
)-a unit of measure that is commonly used in habitat
					 equivalency analysis and reflects the level of ecological services provided by
					 a specified acreage of habitat over time, adjusted to account for differences
					 in timing between the provision of injured and compensatory ecological
					 services. Habitat equivalency analysis is a methodology commonly used in
					 natural resource damage assessments to quantify losses in ecological services
					 provided by injured natural resource habitat over time and estimate the scale
					 of compensatory restoration actions appropriate to offset quantified
					 losses.
Exposure
- when all or part of a natural
					 resource is or may be in physical contact with oil (resulting from an
					 unauthorized discharge) or with media containing oil or its degradation
					 products (see above).
Federal Fund
- the Oil Spill Liability
					 Trust Fund established by the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986
,
					  26 U.S.C. §
											9509.
Federal Trustee(s)
- official(s) of the
					 federal government designated, according to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. §
											2701  et seq.), §2706(b)(2), as trustees who may present a
					 claim for and recover damages for injury to natural resources.
Field Investigation
- an evaluation by one
					 or more representatives of the state natural resource trustees of the area
					 impacted by an unauthorized discharge of oil to determine the actual and
					 potential exposure of natural resources and the impact on natural resources and
					 the services they provide for the purpose of evaluating which damage assessment
					 methods, if any, should be utilized by state trustees.
In Consultation with the Other State
					 Trustee(s)
- process described in memoranda of agreement between the
					 oil spill coordinator and the state natural resource trust agencies.
Incident
- any unauthorized discharge of
					 oil or series of unauthorized discharges of oil, including the threat of
					 unauthorized discharge of oil, having the same origin, involving one or more
					 vessels, facilities, or any combination thereof.
Injury
- any observable or measurable
					 adverse change, either long or short term, in the chemical or physical quality
					 or the viability of a natural resource or loss of services (as defined in this
					 Section), resulting either directly or indirectly from an unauthorized
					 discharge of oil, response to an unauthorized discharge of oil, or substantial
					 threat of an unauthorized discharge of oil.
Lead Administrative Trustee
- the state
					 trustee, either the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator or his designee,
					 responsible for compiling the administrative record and for coordinating
					 activities of the state trustees in the natural resource damage assessment
					 process.
Loss
or
Loss of Services
-
					 any impairment of a service, as defined in this Section, provided by a natural
					 resource, resulting either directly or indirectly from exposure to an
					 unauthorized discharge of oil.
Louisiana Coastal Area-
Louisiana coastal
					 waters, defined in
					 R.S.
					 49:214.2(4) as "the Louisiana
					 coastal zone and contiguous areas subject to storm or tidal surge and the area
					 comprising the Louisiana coastal ecosystem as defined in
					 section
					 7001 of
					 P.L.
					 110-114 ".
National Contingency Plan
- the plan
					 prepared and published as revised from time to time, under the Federal Water
					 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §
											1321  et seq.) and the Comprehensive
					 Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. §
											9601  et seq.).
Natural Recovery
- the process through
					 which injured natural resources and their services return to baseline condition
					 without additional human intervention.
Natural Resources
- all land, fish,
					 shellfish, fowl, wildlife, biota, vegetation, air, water, groundwater supplies,
					 and other similar resources owned, managed, held in trust, regulated, or
					 otherwise controlled by the state of Louisiana.
Oil
- oil of any kind or in any form
					 including, but not limited to, crude oil, petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil
					 refuse, oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil, but does not include
					 petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, which is specifically
					 listed or designated as a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive
					 Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA),  42 U.S.C. §
											9601 (14)(A)-(F), effective as of the date of the adoption of this rule
					 and which is subject to the provisions of that Act.
On-Scene Coordinator
or
State
					 On-Scene Coordinator
or
SOSC
- the Louisiana Oil Spill
					 Coordinator or state official designated by the coordinator to coordinate and
					 direct response actions under the State Oil Spill Contingency Plan pursuant to
					 R.S.
					 30:2464.
OSPRA
- the Oil Spill Prevention and
					 Response Act
					 R.S. 30:2451 et
					 seq.
Pathway
- the medium, mechanism, or route
					 by which the incident has resulted in exposure to oil (from an unauthorized
					 discharge) of natural resources. For unauthorized discharges of oil, a pathway
					 is the sequence of events by which:
a. the oil traveled through various components of an
					 ecosystem and contacted the natural resource of concern; or
b. exposure to oil in one part of an ecosystem was
					 transmitted to the natural resource of concern, without the oil directly
					 contacting the natural resource.
Public Use(s)
- the services provided by
					 natural resources for human activities; this includes, but is not limited to,
					 cultural, archaeological, transportation, public water supply, industrial water
					 supply, swimming, fishing, harvesting of natural resources, nature viewing,
					 hunting, diving, sailing, boating, hiking, camping, climbing, photographing,
					 drawing, painting, and other human uses.
Recovery
- the return of the injured
					 natural resource and service to baseline conditions.
Reference Area
or
Reference
					 Resource
- an area or natural resource, unaffected by the relevant
					 incident, and which is comparable in physical, chemical, and biological
					 characteristics or in the level of services provided to the area potentially
					 injured as a result of the relevant incident.
Rehabilitation
- those actions which
					 enhance the recovery of injured natural resources.
Replacement
- substituting natural
					 resources at or near the impacted area to compensate for the loss of natural
					 resources and/or services due to an unauthorized discharge of oil.
Responsible Party
or
Responsible
					 Parties
-
a. the owner(s) and/or operator(s) of a vessel or terminal
					 facility from which an unauthorized discharge of oil emanates or threatens to
					 emanate; and
b. in the case of an abandoned vessel or facility, the
					 party who would have been responsible immediately prior to the abandonment;
					 and
c. any other person, but not including a person or entity
					 who is rendering care, assistance, or advice in response to an unauthorized
					 discharge or threatened unauthorized discharge of another person, who causes,
					 allows, or permits an unauthorized discharge of oil or threatened unauthorized
					 discharge of oil.
a.
Primary Restoration
-any action,
					 including natural recovery, that returns injured natural resources and services
					 to baseline; and
b.
Compensatory Restoration
-any action
					 taken to compensate for interim losses of natural resources and services that
					 occur from the date of the incident until recovery.
Restoration Plan
- a plan developed for
					 public review and comment that describes the restoration alternatives to be
					 considered in the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, and/or acquisition
					 of equivalent natural resources.
Services
,
Ecological
					 Services
, or
Natural Resource Services
- the processes
					 or functions provided by natural resources for the benefit of other natural
					 resources and/or the public and includes, but is not limited to, water
					 purification, flood control, erosion control, shelter, food supply, and
					 reproductive habitats.
State Natural Resource Trustees
- Louisiana
					 Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources,
					 Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and/or other agencies of the
					 state of Louisiana designated by the governor according to the Oil Pollution
					 Act of 1990 as state natural resources trustees.
State Oil Spill Contingency Plan
- the plan
					 required by
					 R.S.
					 30:2456.
State Trustee(s)
- the state trustee
					 coordinator (Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator) and the state natural resource
					 trustees (Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department
					 of Natural Resources, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries). The
					 definition of state trustees may also include other agencies of the state of
					 Louisiana designated by the governor according to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
					 as state natural resource trustees.
Trustee(s)
- those officials of the federal
					 and state governments, of Indian tribes, and foreign governments, designated
					 under
					 33 U.S.C.
					 2706(b) of Oil Pollution
					 Act.
Unauthorized Discharge of Oil
- any actual
					 or threatened discharge or oil not authorized by a federal or state
					 permit.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
					 Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S. 30:2451 et
					 seq.