|
As
required by the National Marine Sanctuaries Act
(NMSA) (also known as Title III of the Marine
Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972),
NOAA will expend the settlement monies (received
from the operators of the Columbus Iselin)
toward restoration of the damaged site. The NMSA
stipulates that recovered amounts in excess of that
required to be expended for response costs and
damage assessments must be used, in order of
priority, to restore, replace, or acquire the
equivalent of the sanctuary resources where the
subject resources are located and to manage and
improve any other national marine sanctuary.
Detailed investigations began in 1994 to formulate
the structural restoration alternatives for the
Columbus Iselin grounding site. A restoration plan
was developed as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The work being
undertaken and described within this site
constitutes the first stage of the restoration of
the actual grounding site. Biological restoration
and monitoring will follow. Additionally,
settlement monies are being used for compensatory
restoration projects.
National
Marine Sanctuaries Act
16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.
The
National Marine Sanctuaries Act mandates that
parties who destroy, cause the loss of, or injure
sanctuary resources are responsible for their
restoration.
This
is the principle statute governing the designation
and management of protected marine areas of special
significance. The statute requires NOAA to
designate national marine sanctuaries in accordance
with specific guidelines and to develop and review
management plans for these sites. It provides for
the continuation of existing leases, licenses and
other established rights in sanctuary areas, and
for the development of research and education
programs. The statute also prohibits destruction,
injury or loss of sanctuary resources, and
establishes liability for response costs and
natural resource damages for injury to these
resources. The NMSA was formerly referred to as
Title III of the Marine Protection, Research and
Sanctuaries Act of 1972.
In
1981 Congress recognized the significance of this
area when it designated the area as a National
Marine Sanctuary, under the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act (NMSA). Looe Key National Marine
Sanctuary was formally incorporated into the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in July 1997
with the publication of regulations implementing
the 1990 congressional designation under the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and
Protection Act (Public Law 101-605) (FKNMSPA).
Specific
Natural Resource Trustee Authorities of the
NMSA:
Section 1432:
defines
natural resource damages to include --
• the cost of replacing, restoring, or
acquiring the equivalent of a sanctuary
resource
• the value of the lost use of the resource
pending its restoration
• cost of damage assessments, and reasonable
costs of monitoring
Section
1443:
•
establishes liability for destruction, loss of or
injuries to sanctuary resources
• authorizes the pursuit of civil actions for
response costs and damages
requires
that recovered response costs and damages be used
--
• to finance response actions and damage
assessments
• to restore, replace, or acquire the
equivalent of the injured sanctuary resource,
and
• to manage and improve national marine
sanctuaries.
NOAA's
Other Legal Authorities for Restoring Coastal
Resources
Explicit
statutory authority to restore injured natural
resources began with the Clean Water Act amendments
of 1977 and continued with the later enactment of
the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act (CERLCA or
Superfund), the National Marine Sanctuaries Act
(NMSA), and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and
other related laws. As the primary Federal natural
resource trustee for coastal resources, NOAA has
responsibility for ensuring the restoration of
coastal resources injured by releases of hazardous
materials and of national marine sanctuary
resources injured by physical impacts. The Clean
Water Act, CERCLA and OPA mandate that parties that
release hazardous materials and oil into the
environment are responsible not only for the cost
of cleaning up the release, but they are also
responsible for restoring any injury to natural
resources that resulted.
(top)
|
