[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12200-12201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03936]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Release of the Draft National Charting Plan
AGENCY: Office of Coast Survey, National Ocean Service, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The NOAA Office of Coast Survey has released a draft National
Charting Plan. The plan describes the current set of NOAA nautical
chart products and their distribution, as well as some of the steps
Coast Survey is taking to improve NOAA charts, including changes to
chart formats, scales, data compilation, and symbology. The purpose of
the plan is to solicit feedback from nautical chart users regarding
proposed changes to NOAA's paper and electronic chart products. Coast
Survey invites written comments on this plan that is available from
https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/news/2017/nationalchartingplan.html.
DATES: Comments are due by midnight, June 1, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments on the National Charting Plan through NOAA's
Nautical Discrepancy Report System at http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/idrs/discrepancy.aspx, or via mail to National Ocean Service, NOAA (NCS2),
ATTN National Charting Plan, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD
20910-3282.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colby Harmon, telephone 301-713-2737,
ext.187; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The first complete nautical chart published
by the Coast Survey of New York Harbor was in 1844. The format,
information, and intended uses of this first chart were quite similar
to the raster charts that NOAA continues to make today. Although NOAA
still produces ``traditional'' raster nautical charts, a sea change in
chart production methods and the art of navigation began in the mid-
1990s when Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and electronic
navigational charts (ENCs) became available to the public.
Since the introduction of ENCs thirty years ago, the size of
commercial vessels has increased more than four-fold and modern
navigational systems have become more sophisticated. There are over 15
million recreational boats in the U.S. and recreational boaters have
joined professional mariners in using electronic chart displays to ply
the nation's waters. Users of all types are expecting improved ease of
access to more precise, higher resolution charts that deliver the most
up to date information possible.
Coast Survey has developed a number of strategies to meet this
growing demand for greater performance in our products and services.
These changes allow us to be more responsive to changing public needs
for navigation data. In this context, Coast Survey has developed a
national charting plan to outline the next steps for further
improvement over the next generation. The national charting plan is
responsive to years of formal and informal feedback on our products
from the public and our partners. We are committed to ensuring that our
products evolve with the changing needs of our many stakeholders.
Comments received from nautical chart users about the National Charting
Plan will help us fulfil this commitment.
Authority: 33 U.S.C. Chapter 17, Coast and Geodetic Survey Act
of 1947.
[[Page 12201]]
Dated: February 16, 2017.
Kathryn Ries,
Deputy Director, Office of Coast Survey, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-03936 Filed 2-28-17; 8:45 am]
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