§ 990.26 Emergency restoration.

(a) Trustees may take emergency restoration action before completing the process established under this part, provided that: (1) The action is needed to avoid irreversible loss of natural resources, or to prevent or reduce any continuing danger to natural resources or similar need for emergency action; (2) The action will not be undertaken by the lead response agency; (3) The action is feasible and likely to succeed; (4) Delay of the action to complete the restoration planning process established in this part likely would result in increased natural resource damages; and (5) The costs of the action are not unreasonable. (b) If response actions are still underway, trustees must coordinate with the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC), consistent with the NCP, to ensure that emergency restoration actions will not interfere with or duplicate ongoing response actions. Emergency restoration may not address residual oil unless: (1) The OSC's response is complete; or (2) The OSC has determined that the residual oil identified by the trustee as part of a proposed emergency restoration action does not merit further response. (c) Trustees must provide notice to identified responsible parties of any emergency restoration actions and, to the extent time permits, invite their participation in the conduct of those actions as provided in § 990.14(c) of this part. (d) Trustees must provide notice to the public, to the extent practicable, of these planned emergency restoration actions. Trustees must also provide public notice of the justification for, nature and extent of, and results of emergency restoration actions within a reasonable time frame after completion of such actions. The means by which this notice is provided is left to the discretion of the trustee.