Notice of Availability of a Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the M/V ATHOS I Oil Spill; Request for Comments, 430-432 [E8-31042]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 430-432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31042]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the M/V ATHOS I Oil 
Spill; Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Natural Resource Trustees (Trustees) for this project 
(identified below) have written a Draft Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Draft DARP/EA) that 
describes proposed alternatives for restoring natural resource injuries 
and compensating for recreational losses resulting from the November 
26, 2004, oil spill at a refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey, into the 
Delaware River. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of 
the availability of the Draft DARP/EA and to seek written comments on 
the proposed restoration alternatives.

DATES: Comments on the Draft DARP/EA must be submitted in writing on or 
before February 20, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft DARP/EA should be submitted 
to: NOAA/GCNR, Room 15107, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 
20910, FAX: 301-713-1229. Alternatively, comments may be submitted 
electronically to the following e-mail address: 
NOS.AthosComments@noaa.gov. All comments received, including names

[[Page 431]]

and addresses, will become part of the public record.
    The Draft DARP/EA is available at: https://www.darrp.noaa.gov/
northeast/athos/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Burlington, NOAA/GCNR, Room 
15107, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 26, 2004, the M/T ATHOS I 
(Athos) struck a large, submerged anchor while preparing to dock at a 
refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey. The anchor punctured the vessel's 
bottom, resulting in the discharge of nearly 265,000 gallons of crude 
oil into the Delaware River and nearby tributaries. Federal, state, and 
local agencies responded to the incident to supervise and assist in 
clean-up and begin assessing the impact of the spill on natural 
resources. Under the federal Oil Pollution Act (OPA), two federal 
government agencies--the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), of the Department of Commerce, and U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS), of the Department of the Interior--and the 
three affected states--New Jersey (NJ), Pennsylvania (PA), and Delaware 
(DE)--are responsible for restoring natural resources injured by the 
Athos spill with funding from the responsible party (RP) or, where an 
RP does not exist or exceeds its limit of liability, the Oil Spill 
Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) administered by the U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG).
    The two federal agencies and the three affected states, acting as 
Trustees on the public's behalf, have conducted a natural resource 
damage assessment (NRDA) to determine the nature and extent of natural 
resource losses resulting from this incident and the restoration 
actions needed to restore these losses. The NRDA was conducted using 
the OPA NRDA regulations found at 15 CFR Part 990. On the basis of data 
provided by the NRDA, the Athos Trustees prepared this Draft Damage 
Assessment and Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (Draft DARP/
EA) to consider restoration alternatives. The purpose of presenting 
this Draft DARP/EA for comment is to inform the public about the NRDA 
and restoration planning efforts that were conducted following the oil 
spill incident. Further, the Trustees seek comments on the proposed 
restoration alternatives presented in this Draft DARP/EA, and will 
consider written comments received during the public comment period 
before developing the Final Restoration Plan (Final Plan).
    Injury assessments conducted by the Trustees and other experts 
determined that the following natural resources and recreational 
services were affected by the spill: Shoreline (including tributary and 
non-tributary losses); aquatic; birds; and recreational services (lost 
use). The four injury reports are:
     Shoreline Injury Assessment: M/T ATHOS I Oil Spill
     Bird and Wildlife Injury Assessment: M/T ATHOS I Oil 
Spill, Delaware River System
     Aquatic Injury Assessment: M/T ATHOS I Oil Spill, Delaware 
River System
     Lost Use Valuation Report

These injury assessment reports are now available in the Administrative 
Record at https://www.darrp.noaa.gov/northeast/athos/admin.html. The 
Trustees considered numerous restoration alternatives to compensate the 
public for spill-related injuries and to restore similar types of 
resources, and the services provided by the resources, that were 
injured by the spill. After evaluating the proposals, the Trustees 
identified and recommend each of the following preferred restoration 
projects for implementation once the DARP is finalized. For your 
information, a summary is provided below of the nine restoration 
projects proposed by the trustees. When submitting comments on these 
nine projects, please refer to the specific details outlined in the 
DARP. If, based on comments received, significant changes are required 
for any of the proposed projects, an alternative plan will be proposed 
for public consideration.
    (1) Freshwater tidal wetlands restoration at John Heinz National 
Wildlife Refuge (PA) The Trustees propose to restore 7 acres of 
freshwater tidal wetland to benefit 56 acres within John Heinz National 
Wildlife Refuge to compensate for tributary losses. This project would 
restore tidal exchange to the proposed site through tidal channels, 
shallow pools, and shrub/scrub wetland habitat.
    (2) Create oyster reef sanctuaries (NJ, DE) The Trustees propose to 
create roughly 78 acres of oyster reef sanctuary in the Delaware River 
to compensate for injuries to aquatic resources, diving birds, and 
gulls. The oyster reefs enhance benthic communities, increase aquatic 
food for fish and birds, and improve water quality by filtering out 
sediments and pollutants from the water column.
    (3) Darby Creek dam removal and habitat restoration (PA) The 
Trustees propose to remove three dams from Darby Creek in southeastern 
Pennsylvania to open up an additional 2.6 miles of habitat to 
anadromous fish, and restore about 10 acres of riparian habitat along 
the creek edges. Dam removal and riparian habitat projects would 
compensate for tributary losses.
    (4) Habitat restoration at Mad Horse Creek (NJ) The Trustees 
propose to restore 62.5 acres of degraded wetland and create 35 acres 
of wet meadow and 100 acres of grassland at state-owned property on Mad 
Horse Creek (NJ). The proposed wetland restoration would compensate for 
non-tributary shoreline losses and a portion of bird loss. The increase 
in upland vegetation (wet meadow and grassland habitat) would serve as 
food sources that can reasonably be expected to enhance bird biomass, 
thereby compensating for a portion of the total bird loss.
    (5) Shoreline restoration at Lardner's Point (PA) The Trustees 
propose to restore shoreline through the demolition of existing 
structures, import of fill material, grading of the site to restore 
tidal inundation, and creation of intertidal marsh and wet meadow 
habitat. This shoreline restoration project would have multiple 
benefits in the urban part of the river that was heavily impacted by 
the spill.
    (6) Blackbird Reserve Wildlife Area Pond and Pasture Enhancement 
(DE) The Trustees propose to excavate two shallow wetland ponds in 
former agricultural areas, convert 16 acres of agricultural lands to 
cool-season grass pasture, and establish 24 acres of food plots by 
modifying existing agricultural practices. Conversion of existing 
agricultural land to pond and pasture habitat and modification of 
existing agricultural practices would provide resting and foraging 
areas targeted to migratory geese.
    Improve recreational opportunities (PA, NJ, DE) The Trustees 
propose to implement three projects to address the estimated 41,709 
river trips that were affected by the spill:
    (7) Improve the Stow Creek (NJ) boat ramp;
    (8) Create an additional breakwater at Augustine Boat Ramp (DE) to 
address ongoing shoaling immediately offshore of the boat ramp; and
    (9) Enhance the recreational trail on Little Tinicum Island (PA).
    The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has determined that the Responsible 
Party has exceeded its limit of liability under OPA. Therefore, the 
Final Plan will be submitted to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 
(OSLTF) as part of a claim for funds to implement the selected 
restoration projects. The OSLTF is administered by the USCG. It was 
established and is maintained by a fee

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paid by industry based on the amount of oil shipped.

Administrative Record

    Pursuant to the OPA NRDA regulations, the Trustees have developed 
an Administrative Record to support their restoration planning 
decisions and inform the public of the basis of their decisions. 
Additional information and documents, including public comments 
received on this Draft DARP/EA, the Final Restoration Plan, and other 
related restoration planning documents, will also become part of the 
Administrative Record, and will be submitted to a public repository 
upon their completion.
    The documents comprising the public record (Administrative Record) 
can be viewed at https://www.darrp.noaa.gov/northeast/athos/admin.html.

    Dated: December 19, 2008.
Christopher C. Cartwright,
Associate Assistant Administrator for Management and CFO/CAO, Ocean 
Services and Coastal Zone Management.
[FR Doc. E8-31042 Filed 1-5-09; 8:45 am]
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