New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council; Scoping Meetings

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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