[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5699-5701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01949]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15 CFR Part 922
Revisions of Boundaries for Flower Garden Banks National Marine
Sanctuary; Intent To Prepare Draft Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of intent to revise boundaries; intent to prepare
environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 304(e) of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA), the Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) is initiating a review of Flower Garden Banks
National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS or Sanctuary) boundaries, based on
the recommendation contained within the Sanctuary Expansion Action Plan
of the FGBNMS Management Plan (April 2012). The review process, as
required by the NMSA, will be conducted concurrently with a public
process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This
document also informs the public that NOAA will coordinate its
responsibilities under section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) with its ongoing NEPA process, including the
use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder meetings to also meet
the requirements of section 106. The public scoping process is intended
to solicit information and comments on the range and significance of
issues related to the expansion of the FGBNMS boundaries. The results
of this scoping process will assist NOAA in formulating alternatives
for the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed revised
sanctuary boundaries.
DATES: Comments must be received by April 6, 2015. Public hearings will
be held as detailed below:
(1) New Orleans, LA
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Location: Hilton New Orleans Airport, Cocodrie Room
Address: 901 Airline Drive, Kenner, LA 70062
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
(2) Houston, TX
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2015
Location: Bayland Community Center
Address: 6400 Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX 77074
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
(3) Galveston, TX
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Location: Flower Garden Banks NMS Office, NOAA Galveston Laboratory
Address: 4700 Avenue U, Building 216, Galveston, TX 77551
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any one of the following
methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2014-0154, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields and enter or attach
your comments.
Mail: George Schmahl, Sanctuary Superintendent, Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 4700 Avenue U, Bldg. 216,
Galveston, TX 77551.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NOAA. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. ONMS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Drinnen, 409-621-5151 Ext. 105,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information
I. Background
The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.)
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to designate and
protect as a national marine sanctuaries areas of the marine
environment that are of special national significance due to their
conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific,
cultural, archeological, educational, or esthetic qualities. Day-to-day
management of national marine sanctuaries has been delegated by the
Secretary to the ONMS. The primary objective of the NMSA is to protect
the biological and cultural resources of the sanctuary system, such as
coral reefs, marine animals, historical shipwrecks, historic
structures, and archaeological sites.
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary was designated on
January 17, 1992 (Pub. L. 102-251, Title I, Sec. 101). At that time,
the sanctuary consisted of two areas known as East and West Flower
Garden Banks (56 FR 63634). In 1996, Congress added Stetson Bank to the
sanctuary (Pub. L. 104-283). FGBNMS regulations were first published on
December 5, 1991 (56 FR 63634) and became effective on January 18, 1994
(58 FR 65664). Current FGBNMS regulations can be found at 15 CFR part
922, subpart L.
[[Page 5700]]
FGBNMS is located in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The
banks'salt domes range in depth from 55 feet to over 500 feet,
providing conditions supporting several distinct habitats (including
the northern-most coral reefs in the continental United States) and
essential habitat for a variety of marine species. The combination of
location and geology makes the sanctuary an extremely productive and
nationally significant ecosystem.
II. Need for Action
NOAA published a revised FGBNMS Management Plan in April 2012,
which described the need to protect additional sensitive biological
resources and geological features associated with reefs and banks in
the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The expansion of sanctuary protection
for certain critical areas would address concerns about impacts of
anchoring, safe access by fishers and divers, damage as a result of
unregulated activities, and the need to protect unique features in
these areas.
Based on six years of input from the public and the FGBNMS Advisory
Council, NOAA developed a Sanctuary Expansion Action Plan as part of
the 2012 management plan revision. The action plan's primary purpose
was to ''evaluate and expand, as appropriate, the network of protected
areas within the sanctuary to include five to twelve additional reefs
and banks, and modify the boundary of East and West Flower Garden and
Stetson Banks to include critical adjacent habitats.'' This proposal
was developed in particular by the Sanctuary Advisory Council's (SAC)
boundary expansion working group, which was comprised of researchers,
oil and gas production representatives, recreational divers, Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) representatives, and ONMS staff. The
working group met initially in February 2007, and then periodically
over the course of 10 months, to discuss the concept in detail. The
working group employed a consensus driven, constituent-based process to
address the concept of boundary expansion. All participants discussed a
variety of issues, considerations, priorities and concerns for each
step of the process.
The following recommendation was developed by the working group and
adopted as a recommendation to NOAA by the SAC:
Expand the sanctuary, with boundaries based on a critical
habitat area and a 500-meter buffer zone, by modifying the existing
boundaries of East and West Flower Garden Banks and Stetson Bank,
and adding Horseshoe Bank, McGrail Bank, Geyer Bank, Bright Bank,
Sonnier Bank, Alderdice Bank, MacNeil Bank, Rankin Bank, and 28
Fathom Bank.
It is important to note that certain activities related to oil and gas
exploration and development are already prohibited within a significant
portion of each of the banks recommended for expansion, as these areas
have been designated ``no activity zones'' by BOEM under lease
stipulations that have been in place since 1973. (These restrictions
are contained within ``Notice to Lessees'' (NTL) No. 2009-G39 for
``Biologically-Sensitive Underwater Features and Areas'', for the
Central and Western planning areas of the OCS in the Gulf of Mexico
region.) NOAA has now decided that the SAC's recommendation should be
further explored through a public review process. Additional
information on the SAC recommendation can be found in the FGBNMS
Sanctuary Expansion Action Plan at the following link: http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/document_library/mgmtdocs/fmp2012/fmpexpansionactionplan.pdfith.
In accordance Section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries
Act, as amended (NMSA), 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq., NOAA is initiating a
review of the FGBNMS boundaries to ``evaluate and expand, as
appropriate'' the network of protected areas within the sanctuary. The
action under consideration will evaluate options for the expansion of
the sanctuary by incorporating selected reefs and banks in the
northwestern Gulf of Mexico for their long-term protection and
management. An environmental impact statement will describe the various
reefs and banks to be considered, alternative scenarios for
incorporating additional areas, and NOAA's preferred alternative. In
addition, NOAA will analyze various regulatory scenarios for any new
potential sanctuary areas, as well as for the existing sanctuary as
described in the 2012 final management plan.
III. Process
The process for considering the expansion of FGBNMS is composed of
four primary stages:
1. Information collection and characterization, including the
consideration of public comment;
2. Preparation and release of a draft environmental impact
statement (DEIS) that identifies boundary expansion alternatives, as
well as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the sanctuary
regulations to reflect any new boundary if proposed;
3. Public review and comment on the DEIS and NPRM;
4. Preparation and release of a final environmental impact
statement, including a response to public comments, with a final rule
if appropriate.
With this document, NOAA is opening a public comment period to:
1. Gather information and public comments from individuals,
organizations, and government agencies on whether FGBNMS should expand
its boundary, suggestions for the extent of an expanded boundary, and
the potential effects of a boundary expansion; and
2. Help determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the
preparation of an environmental analysis under NEPA.
[INFORMATION ON DATES AND LOCATIONS FOR PUBLIC MEETINGS WILL BE ADDED
LATER].
IV. Consultation Under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act
This document confirms that NOAA will fulfill its responsibility
under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, 16
U.S.C. 470) through the ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR
800.8(a) including the use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder
meetings to meet the section 106 requirements. The NHPA specifically
applies to any agency undertaking that may affect historic properties.
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.16(1)(1), historic properties includes any
prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure or object
included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of
Historic Places maintained by the Secretary of the Interior. The term
includes artifacts, records, and remains that are related to and
located within such properties. The term includes properties of
traditional religious and cultural importance to an Indian tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization and that meet the National Register
criteria. In fulfilling its responsibility under the NHPA and NEPA,
NOAA intends to identify consulting parties; identify historic
properties and assess the effects of the undertaking on such
properties; initiate formal consultation with the State Historic
Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation,
and other consulting parties; involve the public in accordance with
NOAA's NEPA procedures, and develop in consultation with identified
consulting parties alternatives and proposed measures that might avoid,
minimize or mitigate any adverse effects on historic properties and
describe them in any environmental assessment or draft environmental
impact statement.
[[Page 5701]]
V. Consultation Under Section 304(a)(5) of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act
This document confirms that NOAA will fulfill its responsibility
under section 304(a)(5) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA,
16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), which states that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council (GMFMC) should be provided with the opportunity to
prepare draft regulations for fishing within Federal waters, if NOAA
pursues the addition of areas within the Gulf of Mexico to the
sanctuary and if regulations regarding fishing are needed. The NMSA
further declares that draft regulations prepared by the GMFMC, or a
GMFMC determination that regulations are not necessary, shall be
accepted and issued as proposed regulations unless the GMFMC's action
fails to fulfill the purposes and policies of the Act and the goals and
objectives of the proposed designation. If the GMFMC declines to make a
determination with respect to the need for regulations, makes a
determination that is rejected by the Secretary of Commerce, or fails
to prepare draft regulations in a timely manner, then NOAA shall
prepare fishing regulations.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.
Dated: January 15, 2015.
Daniel J. Basta,
Director for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2015-01949 Filed 2-2-15; 8:45 am]
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