(a) General. If trustees determine that all the conditions under § 990.42(a) of this part are met and trustees decide to proceed with the natural resource damage assessment, they must prepare a Notice of Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning.

(b) Contents of the notice. The Notice of Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning must include a discussion of the trustees' analyses under §§ 990.41 and 990.42 of this part. Depending on information available at this point, the notice may include the trustees' proposed strategy to assess injury and determine the type and scale of restoration. The contents of a notice may vary, but will typically discuss:

(1) The facts of the incident;

(2) Trustee authority to proceed with the assessment;

(3) Natural resources and services that are, or are likely to be, injured as a result of the incident;

(4) Potential restoration actions relevant to the expected injuries; and

(5) If determined at the time, potential assessment procedures to evaluate the injuries and define the appropriate type and scale of restoration for the injured natural resources and services.

(c) Public availability of the notice. Trustees must make a copy of the Notice of Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning publicly available. The means by which the notice is made publicly available and whether public comments are solicited on the notice will depend on the nature and extent of the incident and various information requirements, and is left to the discretion of the trustees.

(d) Delivery of the notice to the responsible parties. Trustees must send a copy of the notice to the responsible parties, to the extent known, in such a way as will establish the date of receipt, and invite responsible parties' participation in the conduct of restoration planning. Consistent with § 990.14(c) of this part, the determination of the timing, nature, and extent of responsible party participation will be determined by the trustees on an incident-specific basis.