[EBB Sightings] oil spill NRDA/restoration public meetings

Contacts:
Al Donner, (916) 414-6566   al_donner at fws.gov 
Steve Hampton, (916) 323-4724   SHAMPTON at OSPR.DFG.CA.GOV 


Cosco Busan oil spill restoration agencies
 Schedule two public meetings to obtain public input
Jan. 22 Oakland and Jan. 29 Mill Valley 
Meetings are distinct from clean-up


Restoration of the natural resources injured by the Cosco Busan oil spill 
in San Francisco Bay will be the focus of two public meetings, on Tuesday, 
Jan. 22 in Oakland and on Tuesday, Jan. 29 in Mill Valley.

The Jan. 22 Oakland open house will take place from 11 am to 1 pm in the 
First Floor Auditorium in the Elihu M. Harris State Building 1515 Clay 
Street Oakland.  The Jan. 29 Mill Valley open house will take place from 
6:30 to 8:30 pm in the Cascade Room of the Mill Valley Community Center, 
180 El Camino Alto, Mill Valley.

The meetings will be conducted by State and Federal Trustee Agencies 
(trustees) responsible for restoring the injured resources, after 
assessing ecological injuries and human use losses caused by the spill. 
The trustees will brief the public on the restoration process, answer 
questions and seek information from the public about injuries resulting 
from the spill. 

A primary purpose of the meetings is to provide an opportunity for the 
public and other organizations to learn about the restoration process and 
to provide any additional information and data they collected. Because the 
focus of these meetings is on injury assessment and ultimate restoration, 
these representatives will not be able to address questions about the 
immediate response to the spill.

The restoration process is distinct from the initial clean-up activities. 
As the clean-up work winds down, the injury assessment and restoration 
process continues. Known as NRDA, or Natural Resource Damage Assessment, 
the restoration process is a long-term effort to quantify injuries to 
wildlife and habitat, and loss of human use of natural resources. Trustees 
from six federal and state agencies will develop a restoration plan both 
to restore the injured resources and to compensate the public for the 
injuries to the natural resources and human activities. 

The trustees, in cooperation with local cities, counties, and other 
organizations, are working to assess the ecological injuries and human use 
losses caused by the spill. Through this process, the trustees will 
quantify the injuries to wildlife, habitat, and lost use of those 
resources, and develop a restoration plan. The trustees ultimately will 
make a claim for funds from the responsible party to implement restoration 
projects designed to both restore and compensate for the injured resources 
and human activities.

On the day of the spill, the trustees started working to assess the 
injuries and to collect time-critical data.  Since then, they have been 
collecting samples, conducting other assessment activities and begun 
analyzing data.  To date, they have identified impacts to birds, mammals, 
various habitats (including rocky intertidal, sandy beach, salt marsh, and 
eelgrass), and human uses.  During the course of the NRDA, the trustees 
will attempt to quantify these injuries.  The trustees will provide 
additional information on the status of this ongoing process at the open 
houses. 

The natural resource trustees are: 
State of California: 
Department of Fish and Game, 
State Lands Commission;
Federal: 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
National Park Service, 
Bureau of Land Management, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Steve Hampton
________________
Resource Economist
Office of Spill Prevention and Response
California Dept of Fish and Game
PO Box 944209
Sacramento, CA 94244-2090
-----------------------------------
(916) 323-4724 phone
(916) 324-8829 fax