[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]


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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.

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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