[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 162 (Monday, August 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45951-45952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21774]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Proposed MFS 
Globenet, Inc. Monterey Bay Fiber Optic Cable Installation Project 
Within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS)

AGENCY: Marine Sanctuaries Division (MSD), Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce 
(DOC).

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA announces its intention to prepare an EIS in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for the 
authorization of the proposed installation of a fiber optic cable 
through Monterey Bay, California within the MBNMS. The action to be 
evaluated by this EIS is the proposal to install a submarine fiber 
optic telecommunications cable from New Zealand to Hawaii to 
California, with a focus on that part of the ocean route within the 
boundaries of the MBNMS and the terrestrial route within Santa Cruz and 
Monterey counties.
    The EIS will be prepared in cooperation with the County of Santa 
Cruz, which issued a Notice of Preparation on March 29, 1999, regarding 
its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIS prepared under 
this notice will be combined with the EIR and a joint EIR/EIS will be 
published.

DATES: Written comments on the intent to prepare an EIS and the scope 
of the EIS will be accepted on or before September 22, 1999. A public 
scoping meeting to inform interested parties of the proposed action and 
to receive public comments on the scope of the EIS is scheduled as 
follows:

September 1, 1999, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
    Moss Landing Chamber of Commerce, 8045 Moss Landing Road, Moss 
Landing, California

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, suggested 
alternatives and potential impacts should be sent to William Douros, 
Responsible Program Manager, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 
299 Foam Street, Monterey, California 93940. Comments may be submitted 
by FAX at (831) 647-4250. Comments received will be available for 
public inspection at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Douros, Responsible Program 
Manager, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 299 Foam Street, 
Monterey, California 93940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Proposed Action

    The proposed action would involve the authorization of installation 
of approximately 58.5 miles of submarine cable within the boundaries of 
the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as part of a larger project 
for a cable that would link New Zealand to Hawaii and the continental 
United States. Sanctuary regulations at 15 CFR Part 922, Subpart M, 
require authorization by the Sanctuary for installation and continued 
operation of the proposed cable within the MBNMS. The applicant (MFS 
Globenet, Inc. and Worldcom Network Services, Inc.) anticipates the 
cable would operate for a minimum of 25 years. The scope of the EIS 
will address the offshore area from shore to the seaward boundary of 
the MBNMS.
    The seaward component of the project includes the seaward portions 
of two directionally bored conduits (approximately 950 meters out to 
sea to a water depth of 15 meters) and one two-inch wide submarine 
cable extending westward from one of the conduits to deep ocean. The 
offshore cable would extend along the submarine ridge (``Smooth 
Ridge'') to the western boundary of the MBNMS (and then onward to New 
Zealand via Hawaii).
    The applicant proposes to bury the cable to a depth of one meter 
out to a water depth of 2,000 meters, where feasible and where 
sensitive areas are not prohibitive. In general, the cable would be 
laid directly onto the ocean floor at ocean depths greater than 2,000 
meters, where the potential for conflict with other marine uses is 
likely to be minimal.
    Two cable burial methods are proposed. Where feasible, an 
underwater plow deployed from the cable ship would cut a narrow trench

[[Page 45952]]

for the cable and bury the cable. In sensitive areas or areas where the 
plow cannot operate safely, the cable would be laid directly on the sea 
floor and buried using a post lay jetting system in which a remotely 
operated vehicle with high-volume, low-pressure water jets would jet 
the cable into the sediment. This system would liquefy the substrate 
directly beneath the cable, causing the cable to sink into the 
substrate.
    The applicant proposes to land the cable onshore in Santa Cruz 
County at the Monterey Bay Academy approximately two miles south of La 
Selva Beach. A cable landing facility would be located at the Monterey 
Bay Academy and the cable would continue onshore buried for 8.7 miles 
to a cable equipment building to be located within the unincorporated 
community of Pajaro. The cable would be connected to the existing 
network facilities at the cable termination station.

II. Alternatives

    Pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, 
the EIR/EIS will evaluate the No Action Alternative and alternative 
routes for placement and landing of the fiber optic cable. Six 
preliminary alternatives to the proposed action have been developed 
based on initial discussions with state and local agencies, as well as 
the local commercial fishing industry.
    Additional alternatives to the proposed action may be developed as 
part of the public scoping phase for inclusion in the Draft EIR/EIS. 
The possible alternatives include:
    No Action Alternative--Under the No Action Alternative, MFS 
Globenet would not construct the proposed fiber optic cable.
    Alternative 1 Route--This alternative route follows along the 
northern edge of Soquel and Cabrillo canyons to minimize potential 
conflicts with commercial fishing. A re-route of the transition between 
inner shelf and smooth ridge between 120-400 meter depth contours also 
minimizes impacts to hard-bottom benthic habitat. The route would 
traverse approximately 62.4 miles of the MBNMS. The onshore landing 
area would be the same as the proposed action.
    Alternative 2 Route--The cable would be routed up the length of 
Monterey Canyon and through Soquel Canyon for a distance of 75.5 miles 
across the MBNMS. This alternative is intended to reduce potential 
impacts to commercial trawl fishing. The onshore landing area would be 
the same as the proposed action.
    Alternative 3 Route--This alternative considers a combined landing 
at a beach proposed by another cable project proponent. Fiber optic 
cables would generally follow the proposed action route, but would land 
at La Selva Beach instead of Monterey Bay Academy.
    Alternative 4 Route--The cable would generally follow the ridge of 
Ano Nuevo Canyon and would traverse approximately 47.3 miles of the 
MBNMS. The landing site would be located at Davenport Beach, just south 
of El Jarro Point. This alternative reduces linear encroachment into 
MBNMS and reduces encroachment onto the continental shelf.
    Alternative 5 Route--The offshore segment of the cable would be 
routed across a narrower section of the MBNMS (compared to the proposed 
action) and along the northern rim of Ascension Canyon to Davenport 
Beach, just south of El Jarro Point (same landing as Alternative 4). 
The route would traverse approximately 35.8 miles of the MBNMS. This 
alternative would reduce linear encroachment into the Sanctuary.
    Alternative 6 Route--The cable would be constructed outside the 
boundaries of the MBNMS to avoid impacts to Sanctuary resources. The 
nearshore cable route and landing site would be consolidated with the 
applicant's other proposed cable landings in Morro Bay, California.

III. Summary of Environmental Issues

    The installation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning and 
removal of the cable pose potentially significant impacts upon 
Sanctuary resources and qualities. The EIR/EIS will address onshore and 
offshore environmental effects of cable construction, operation, 
maintenance and repair, and removal. Potential onshore impacts have 
been identified in the separate Notice of Preparation, issued by the 
County of Santa Cruz, as the EIR lead agency. Specific offshore 
environmental issues that have been identified for analysis in the EIR/
EIS include:
     Effects on commercial and recreational fisheries and 
fisheries operations, including construction interference with fishing 
activities, potential loss of catch, and potential accidents (e.g., 
fishing net entanglement);
     Trenching effects (e.g., sediment plume, benthic 
disruption, and siltation) on the water column, marine water quality, 
and flora and fauna;
     Effects on kelp beds, benthic communities, rocky hard-
bottom communities, plankton, fish, marine birds, marine mammals, and 
marine turtles from construction disturbances and/or release of 
contaminants, including boats anchoring, increased turbidity, sediment 
contamination, boat and construction-related noise, and introduction of 
exotic species from foreign vessels;
     Potential for bentonite spills and spill effects on water 
quality and aquatic habitats and species;
     Potential entanglements by cetaceans (whales) including 
sperm whales where the cable is exposed and gray whales that feed on 
the ocean bottom;
     ``Strumming'' (lateral movement of the cable along the 
seafloor due to ocean currents) impacts on the marine environment;
     Geologic hazards and physical effects on the cable (e.g., 
submarine landslides and erosion);
     Electromagnetic field effects on marine species;
     Impacts on submerged cultural resources;
     Direct or indirect effects on sensitive species and 
habitats;
     Cable installation vessel interference with commercial and 
recreational vessel navigation; and
     Short-term air quality effects from construction 
equipment, vehicle, and vessel emissions.

IV. Future Public Involvement

    Additional opportunities for public review will be provided when 
the Draft EIR/EIS is completed. A notice of availability of the Draft 
EIR/EIS will be published in the Federal Register. In addition, release 
of the Draft EIR/EIS for public comment and public meetings on the 
Draft EIR/EIS will be announced in the local news media, as the dates 
are established. According to the current schedule, which is subject to 
change, the Draft EIR/EIS is expected to be released in December 1999.

V. Special Accommodations

    The public scoping meeting is physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Scott Kathey at the Monterey Bay 
National Marine Sanctuary, (831) 647-4251, at least five days prior to 
the meeting date.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. Section 1431 et seq.

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.429 Marine Sanctuary 
Program)

    Dated: August 17, 1999.
Ted Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 99-21774 Filed 8-20-99; 8:45 am]
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