U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offers Cooperative Agreement for Clinch River Mussel Restoration

This is a Notice of Intent to Award a Cooperative Agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) for the purpose of implementing the Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment for the Certus, Inc. Chemical Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the purpose of continuing mussel propagation and restoration activities within the Clinch River watershed. This Single Source Award is being made in accordance with Department of the Interior Policy 505 DM 2, 2.14 B(4), which allows for award to an applicant who is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based on location and technical expertise. These activities are being carried out as required by the consent decree that was entered with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on April 7, 2003, to address natural resource damages resulting from a 1998 chemical spill. The mussel propagation and restoration activities are described within the publicly reviewed Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment for the Certus Chemical Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Plan). The Plan specifically identifies the Virginia Tech mussel propagation facility to implement the restoration, as they are uniquely qualified to accomplish mussel restoration tasks and have decades of experience and knowledge of the Clinch River mussel fauna assemblage. The activities funded via the cooperative agreement are a continuation of ongoing freshwater mussel propagation work initiated in 2004 and scheduled to continue until 2016, as described in the Plan. Substantial involvement, in accordance with Department of the Interior Policy 505 DM 2.9 B, on the part of the Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded. In particular, the Service will be responsible for the following: oversight and cooperative planning of mussel restoration activities.