(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 §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 §11.37;

(2) A Quality Assurance Plan that satisfies the requirements listed in the NCP and applicable EPA guidance for quality control and quality assurance plans;

(3) The objectives, as required in §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 §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, after 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 §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; 73 FR 57265, Oct. 2, 2008]