The Natural Resource Damages Trustee Council for the Bouchard Barge-120 oil spill released its final Programmatic Restoration Plan (PRP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for shoreline, aquatic and recreational use resources impacted or lost due to the 2003 spill in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The Final PRP/EA is the second of three anticipated plans to restore natural resources injured and uses affected by the 98,000-gallon spill that oiled roughly 100 miles of shoreline in Buzzards Bay in April 2003. A $6 million natural resource damages settlement with the Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. is funding development and implementation of restoration, with $4,255,248 awarded to restore shoreline and aquatic resources and lost recreational uses.
The final plan selects 19 projects throughout the Buzzards Bay environment in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to restore resources in the following categories of injuries resulting from the spill:
– Shoreline resources, including tidal marshes, sand beaches, rocky coast, and gravel and boulder shorelines;
– Aquatic resources, including benthic organisms such as American lobster, bivalves, and their habitats, and finfish such as river herring and their habitats; and
– Lost uses, including public coastal access, recreational shell-fishing and recreational boating.
Shoreline and aquatic habitats will be restored at Round Hill Marsh and Allens Pond Marsh in Dartmouth, as well as in the Weweantic River in Wareham. Populations of shellfish, including quahog, bay scallop and oyster, will be enhanced or restored through transplanting and seeding programs in numerous towns and multiple locations. These designated shellfish restoration areas are expected to help improve recreational shell-fishing opportunities.
Public access opportunities will be created through a variety of projects, including acquisition of a large land tract in Fairhaven and Mattapoisett to increase the Nasketucket Bay State Reservation, trail improvements at several coastal parks, amenities for access for persons with physical disabilities, and a handicapped-accessible fishing platform in Fairhaven. New and improved public boat ramps will also be installed in Clarks Cove in Dartmouth and Onset Harbor in Wareham.
The plan also identifies secondary Tier 2 preferred projects that may be funded, if settlement funds remain following the implementation of the primary Tier 1 projects.