[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 171 (Friday, September 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 60676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21059]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Public Hearing and Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Management Plan for the
Proposed Designation of the He`eia National Estuarine Research Reserve
in Hawai`i
AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management (OCM), National Ocean Service
(NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing and Availability of Draft
Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Management Plan for the
proposed designation of the He`eia National Estuarine Research Reserve
in Hawai`i.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Coastal Zone
Management Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Office for Coastal Management (OCM) is announcing a forty-five
day public comment period and will hold a public hearing for the
purpose of receiving comments on the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement and Draft Management Plan (DEIS/DMP) prepared for the
proposed designation of the He`eia National Estuarine Research Reserve
in Hawai`i. The DMP addresses research, monitoring, education, and
stewardship/cultural resource needs for the proposed reserve, and the
DEIS analyzes alternatives to the proposed action along with their
potential environmental impacts. The National Estuarine Research
Reserve System (NERRS) is a federal-state partnership administered by
NOAA. The system protects more than 1.3 million acres of estuarine
habitat for long-term research, monitoring, education and stewardship
throughout the coastal United States. Established by the Coastal Zone
Management Act of 1972, as amended, each reserve is managed by a lead
state agency or university, with input from local partners. NOAA
provides funding and national programmatic guidance.
DATES: NOAA is accepting public comments through 5:00 p.m. (HST),
October 17, 2016. In addition, NOAA will also accept public comments,
conveyed orally or through submitted written statements, during a
public hearing held from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on October 6, 2016, at
He`eia State Park, 46-465 Kamehameha Highway, K[amacr]ne`ohe, HI 96744.
NOAA is soliciting the views of interested persons and organizations on
the adequacy of the DEIS/DMP. All relevant comments received at the
hearing and during the 45-day public comment period ending 5:00 p.m.
(HST), October 17, 2016, will be considered in the preparation of the
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Final Management Plan
(FMP).
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-2016-0114, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields and enter or attach
your comments.
Mail: Joelle Gore, Stewardship Division, Office for
Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, NOAA, 1305 East West
Highway, N/ORM2, Room 10622 Silver Spring, MD 20910. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Tanimoto, Coastal Management
Specialist, Policy, Planning, and Communications Division, Office for
Coastal Management at (808) 725-5253 or via email at
[email protected].
Electronic copies of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and
Draft Management Plan may be found on the OCM Web site at http://coast.noaa.gov/czm/compliance/ or may be obtained upon request from
coastal.info@noaa.gov">coastal.info@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The requirements of 40 CFR parts 1500-1508
(Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations to implement the
National Environmental Policy Act) apply to the preparation of
Environmental Impact Statements. Specifically, 40 CFR 1506.6 requires
agencies to provide public notice of the availability of environmental
documents. Likewise, the NERRS implementing regulations at 15 CFR
921.13(d) require NOAA to provide notice, in the Federal Register, of
the DEIS availability and the public hearing. This notice is part of
NOAA's action to comply with these requirements.
Dated: August 23, 2016.
John R. King,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-21059 Filed 9-1-16; 8:45 am]
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