Natural Resource Damage Assessments: Type A Procedure for Great Lakes Environments

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

43 CFR Part 11

RIN 1090-AA21

Natural Resource Damage Assessments: Type A Procedure for Great

Lakes Environments

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On August 8, 1994, the Department of the Interior issued a

[[Page 7155]] notice of proposed rulemaking (59 FR 40319) to revise the

natural resource damage assessment regulations. The natural resource

damage assessment regulations establish procedures for assessing

damages for injury to natural resources resulting from a discharge of

oil into navigable waters under the Clean Water Act, or a release of a

hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act. The August 8, 1994, notice proposed a

simplified ``type A'' procedure for assessing damages from relatively

minor discharges or releases in the Great Lakes. The Department is

extending the period for comment on the proposed rule and making it

coextensive with the comment period for a similar proposed type A

procedure for coastal and marine environments.

DATES: Comments will be accepted through July 6, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent in duplicate to the Office of

Environmental Policy and Compliance, ATTN: NRDA Rule--GLE, Room 2340,

Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240

(regular business hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen F. Specht at (202) 208-3301,

or [email protected] on Internet.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The natural resource damage assessment

regulations establish procedures that Federal, State, and Tribal

natural resource trustees may use to obtain compensation from liable

parties for natural resource injuries under the Comprehensive

Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (42

U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and the Clean Water Act, as amended (33 U.S.C.

1251 et seq.). The regulations provide an administrative process for

conducting assessments as well as two types of technical procedures for

the actual determination of injuries and damages. ``Type A'' procedures

are standard procedures for simplified assessments requiring minimal

field observation in cases of minor discharges or releases in certain

environments. ``Type B'' procedures are site-specific procedures for

detailed assessments in other cases.

On August 8, 1994, the Department of the Interior published a

proposed rule to amend the regulations to include an additional type A

procedure for assessing natural resource damages in Great Lakes

environments. 59 FR 40319. The proposed procedure incorporates a

computer model called the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model for

Great Lakes Environments Version 1.31 (NRDAM/GLE). The comment period

on the August 8, 1994, proposed rule was originally set to close on

November 7, 1994, but was extended through February 6, 1995. 59 FR

54877 (November 2, 1994).

On December 8, 1994, the Department published a proposed rule to

revise an existing type A procedure for coastal and marine

environments. 59 FR 63300. The proposed revised type A procedure for

coastal and marine environments incorporates a computer model, called

the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model for Coastal and Marine

Environments Version 2.2 (NRDAM/CME), that uses the same computer

modelling approach as the proposed NRDAM/GLE. The comment period on the

December 8, 1994, proposed rule was originally set to close on February

6, 1995.

The Department has received numerous requests for additional time

to comment on the proposed type A procedure for coastal and marine

environments. In a separate notice appearing elsewhere in today's

Federal Register, the Department is extending the comment period on the

proposed type A procedure for coastal and marine environments through

July 6, 1995.

A number of commenters have noted the structural similarities

between the proposed NRDAM/CME and the proposed NRDAM/GLE and have

requested that they be allowed to review the two type A procedures

concurrently. Although the proposed NRDAM/CME and the proposed NRDAM/

GLE incorporate distinct geographic databases and information, there

are substantial similarities between the two proposed rules and

computer models. Therefore, the Department has decided to allow for

concurrent public review of the two proposed models and consolidated

consideration of the comments received on the proposed rules. The

Department is extending the comment period for the proposed type A

procedure for Great Lakes through July 6, 1995, to make it coextensive

with the extended comment period for the proposed type A procedure for

coastal and marine environments. Any comment that is submitted on only

one of the proposed rules but that is relevant to both rules will be

considered in both rulemakings.

Dated: February 2, 1995.

Bonnie R. Cohen,

Assistant Secretary--Policy, Management, and Budget.

[FR Doc. 95-3023 Filed 2-6-95; 8:45 am]

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