[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 39494-39495] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-19356] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 15 CFR Part 922 [Docket No. 970404078-7078-01] RIN 0648-AE41 Proposed Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary AGENCY: Santuaries and Reserves Division (SRD), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC). ACTION: Extension of comment period; notice of public hearings. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD) issued a proposed rule on June 23, 1997 (62 FR 33768) to designate an approximately 808 square-mile area of Great Lakes waters on Lake Huron, Michigan, over and surrounding Thunder Bay, and the submerged lands thereunder, off the northeastern coast of the State of Michigan as a National Marine Sanctuary. The public comment period on this proposal was to close on September 22, 1997. Representatives of a variety of interests in the communities adjoining the proposal area are forming a group to work with NOAA and the State of Michigan on completion of the sanctuary designation process. Those communities have requested additional time to review the proposal and to develop recommendations for NOAA and the State. Thus, this notice extends the comment period to October 31, 1997. In compliance with section 304(a)(3) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (Pub. L. 104-283), NOAA will also conduct public hearings in Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle Counties, Michigan, to receive the views of interested parties on the proposed designation and on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan (DEIS/MP) for the Proposed Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The views expressed at these hearings, as well as written comments received on the DEIS/MP, will be considered by NOAA and the State of Michigan in determining whether to proceed with preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan. Copies of the DEIS/MP are available at the following regional distribution points, or upon request to the Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD): Presque Isle County Clerk's Office, Presque Isle County Building, 151 East Huron, Rogers City, MI 49779, (517) 734-3288 Alpena County Clerk's Office, Alpena County Courthouse, 729 West Chisholm Street, Alpena, MI 49707 Alcona County Clerk's Office, Alcona County Building, 106 Fifth Street, Harrisville, MI 48740 DATES: Comments on the DEIS/MP must be received by October 31, 1997. The public hearings will be held on the following dates, at the following locations: September 8, 1997, at 7:00 p.m. at the Court Room, Alcona County Building, 106 Fifth Street, Harrisville, MI; September 9, 1997, at 7:00 p.m. at the Granum Theater, Alpena [[Page 39495]] Community College, 666 Johnson Street, Ctr. #107, Alpena, MI; and September 10, 1997, at 7:00 p.m. at the Circuit Court Room, Presque Isle County Building, 151 East Huron, Rogers City, MI. All interested persons are invited to attend. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Stephanie R. Thornton, Chief, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1305 East West Highway, SSMC4, 11th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Comments will be available for public inspection at the same address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Brubeck at (616) 526-8434 or Sherrard Foster at (301) 713-3137, ext. 151. (Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.429 Marine Sanctuary Program.) Dated: July 17, 1997. Nancy Foster, Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management. [FR Doc. 97-19356 Filed 7-22-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-08-M