[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: 43CFR11.73]

[Page 265-266]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 11--NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart E--Type B Procedures
 
Sec. 11.73  Quantification phase--resource recoverability analysis.

    (a) Requirement. The time needed for the injured resources to 
recover to the state that the authorized official determines services 
are restored, rehabilitated, replaced, and/or the equivalent have been 
acquired to baseline levels shall be estimated. The time estimated for 
recovery or any lesser period of time as determined in the Assessment 
Plan must be used as the recovery period for purposes of Sec. 11.38 and 
the Damage Determination phase, Secs. 11.80 through 11.84.
    (1) In all cases, the amount of time needed for recovery if no 
restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, and/or acquisition of 
equivalent resources efforts are undertaken beyond response actions 
performed or anticipated shall be estimated. This time period shall be 
used as the ``No Action-Natural Recovery'' period for purposes of 
Sec. 11.82 and Sec. 11.84(g)(2)(ii) of this part.
    (2) The estimated time for recovery shall be included in possible 
alternatives for restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, and/or 
acquisition of equivalent resources, as developed in Sec. 11.82 of this 
part, and the data and process by which these recovery times were 
estimated shall be documented.
    (b) Restoration not feasible. If the authorized official determines 
that restoration will not be technically feasible, as that phrase is 
used in this part, the reasoning and data on which this decision is 
based shall be documented as part of the justification for any 
replacement alternatives that may be considered or proposed.
    (c) Estimating recovery time. (1) The time estimates required in 
paragraph (a) of this section shall be based on the best available 
information and where appropriate may be based on cost-effective models. 
Information gathered may come from one or more of the following sources, 
as applicable:
    (i) Published studies on the same or similar resources;

[[Page 266]]

    (ii) Other data sources identified in Sec. 11.72 of this part;
    (iii) Experience of managers or resource specialists with the 
injured resource;
    (iv) Experience of managers or resource specialists who have dealt 
with restoration for similar discharges or releases elsewhere; and
    (v) Field and laboratory data from assessment and control areas as 
necessary.
    (2) The following factors should be considered when estimating 
recovery times:
    (i) Ecological succession patterns in the area;
    (ii) Growth or reproductive patterns, life cycles, and ecological 
requirements of biological species involved, including their reaction or 
tolerance to the oil or hazardous substance involved;
    (iii) Bioaccumulation and extent of oil or hazardous substances in 
the food chain;
    (iv) Chemical, physical, and biological removal rates of the oil or 
hazardous substance from the media involved, especially as related to 
the local conditions, as well as the nature of any potential degradation 
or decomposition products from the process including:
    (A) Dispersion, dilution, and volatilization rates in air, 
sediments, water, or geologic materials;
    (B) Transport rates in air, soil, water, and sediments;
    (C) Biological degradation, depuration, or decomposition rates and 
residence times in living materials;
    (D) Soil or sediment properties and adsorption-desorption rates 
between soil or sediment components and water or air;
    (E) Soil surface runoff, leaching, and weathering processes; and
    (F) Local weather or climatological conditions that may affect 
recovery rates.

[51 FR 27725, Aug. 1, 1986, as amended at 59 FR 14283, Mar. 25, 1994; 61 
FR 20612, May 7, 1996]