[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR11.31]

[Page 232-233]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 11--NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart C--Assessment Plan Phase
 
Sec. 11.31  What does the Assessment Plan include?

    (a) General content and level of detail. (1) The Assessment Plan 
must identify and document the use of all of the type A and/or type B 
procedures that will be performed.
    (2) The Assessment Plan shall be of sufficient detail to serve as a 
means of evaluating whether the approach used for assessing the damage 
is likely to be cost-effective and meets the definition of reasonable 
cost, as those terms are used in this part. The Assessment Plan shall 
include descriptions of the natural resources and the geographical areas 
involved. The Assessment Plan shall also include a statement of the 
authority for asserting trusteeship, or co-trusteeship, for those 
natural resources considered within the Assessment Plan. The authorized 
official's statement of the authority for asserting trusteeship shall 
not have the force and effect of a rebuttable presumption under 
Sec. 11.91(c) of this part. In addition, for type B assessments, the 
Assessment Plan shall include the sampling locations within those 
geographical areas, sample and survey design, numbers and types of 
samples to be collected, analyses to be performed, preliminary 
determination of the recovery period, and other such information 
required to perform the selected methodologies.
    (3) The Assessment Plan shall contain information sufficient to 
demonstrate that the damage assessment has been coordinated to the 
extent possible with any remedial investigation feasibility study or 
other investigation performed pursuant to the NCP.
    (4) The Assessment Plan shall contain procedures and schedules for 
sharing data, split samples, and results of analyses, when requested, 
with any identified potentially responsible parties and other natural 
resource trustees.
    (b) Identification of types of assessment procedures. The Assessment 
Plan must identify whether the authorized official plans to use a type A 
procedure, type B procedures, or a combination. Sections 11.34 through 
11.36 contain standards for deciding which types of procedures to use. 
The Assessment Plan must include a detailed discussion of how these 
standards are met.
    (c) Specific requirements for type B procedures. If the authorized 
official plans to use type B procedures, the Assessment Plan must also 
include the following:
    (1) The results of the confirmation of exposure performed under 
Sec. 11.37;
    (2) A Quality Assurance Plan that satisfies the requirements listed 
in the

[[Page 233]]

NCP and applicable EPA guidance for quality control and quality 
assurance plans;
    (3) The objectives, as required in Sec. 11.64(a)(2) of this part, of 
any testing and sampling for injury or pathway determination; and
    (4) The Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan developed in 
accordance with the guidance in Sec. 11.81 of this part. If existing 
data are not sufficient to develop the Restoration and Compensation 
Determination Plan as part of the Assessment Plan, the Restoration and 
Compensation Determination Plan may be developed later, at any time 
before the completion of the Injury Determination or Quantification 
phases. If the Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan is 
published separately, the public review and comment will be conducted 
pursuant to Sec. 11.81(d) of this part.
    (d) Specific requirements for type A procedures. If the authorized 
official plans to use a type A procedure, the Assessment Plan must also 
contain the information described in subpart D.

[51 FR 27725, Aug. 1, 1986, as amended at 52 FR 9095, Mar. 20, 1987; 53 
FR 5174, Feb. 22, 1988; 59 FR 14281, Mar. 25, 1994; 61 FR 20609, May 7, 
1996]