[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50061-50062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24093]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Sanctuary Program
AGENCY: Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM),
National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: NOAA is withdrawing the Northwest Straits from consideration
as an Active Candidate for designation as a National Marine Sanctuary.
The Northwest Straits are located north of Puget Sound, and encompass
marine waters surrounding the San Juan Islands, north to the Canadian
border, U.S. waters west to the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
Haro and Rosario Straits and the lower portion of the Strait of
Georgia. The Northwest Straits site was identified by NOAA for
evaluation as a national marine sanctuary by being listed on the
National Marine Sanctuary Program's Site Evaluation List (SEL) in 1983
(as ``Washington State Nearshore''). Congress directed NOAA to prepare
a designation prospectus on Northwest Straits in 1988 and the site
became an Active Candidate. For reasons related to designation guidance
contained in the 1996 reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuary
Act (NMSA), the findings of a Congressionally-convened Northwest
Straits Citizens Advisory Commission, and limited agency resources,
NOAA is discontinuing consideration of the site for possible
designation as a national marine sanctuary.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Malek, NOAA Marine Sanctuaries
Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM2, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
or at (301) 713-3141 Ext. 162.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The NMSA (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of
Commerce to designate discrete areas of the marine environment as
national marine sanctuaries to fulfill the purposes and policies of the
NMSA (set forth in section 301(b) (16 U.S.C. 1431(b)), and if: (1) the
area proposed for designation is of special national significance due
to its resource or human-use values; (2) existing state and federal
authorities are inadequate or should be supplemented to ensure
coordinated and comprehensive conversation and management of the area,
including resource protection, scientific research, and public
education; (3) designation of the area as a national marine sanctuary
will facilitate the coordinated and comprehensive conservation and
management of the area; and (4) the area is of a size and nature that
will permit comprehensive and coordinated conservation and management
(16
[[Page 50062]]
U.S.C. 1433(a)). The NMSA is administered by NOAA through the Office of
Ocean and Coastal Resource Management of the National Ocean Service.
II. Administrative History
In January 1982, NOAA published a Program Development Plan (PDP)
for the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP), describing the
Program's mission and goals, site identification and selection
criteria, and the nomination and designation process. Based on the PDP
and Program regulations, NOAA published a proposed SEL recommended to
NOAA by regional resource evaluation teams. On August 4, 1983, NOAA
published the final SEL (48 FR 35568). The SEL is described in the
regulations for the National Marine Sanctuary Program at 15 CFR 922.10.
The Northwest Straits appeared on the SEL in 1983 as ``Washington
state Nearshore'' (48 FR 35568). It was made an Active Candidate under
the name of Northern Puget Sound by the 1988 reauthorization of the
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (Pub. L. No.
100-627 section 205) (54 FR 41481). This notice expanded the study area
beyond that initially recognized in the SEL. A Discussion Paper
presenting the rationale for a federal Sanctuary entirely in state
waters, a description of some of the threats to the marine resources,
and suggestions for ways in which the Sanctuary could address those
threats was drafted for public review in 1993. NOAA, in conjunction
with the State Department of Ecology, held 24 focus group meetings
throughout the study area in March 1995 to ensure accurate information
was considered for developing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Management Plan (DEIS/MP). Three public focus group meetings were held
in May 1995, followed by two workshops in summer 1995 dedicated to
discussing issues of education and research within the proposed
sanctuary.
Throughout Fiscal Year 1996, NOAA worked with the State Department
of Ecology to synthesize information gathered during the 1995 meetings
and workshops, in anticipation of releasing a DEIS/MP, which was not
completed. The 1996 reauthorization of the NMSA and subsequent
Congressional instructions gave NOAA specific guidance as to the
designation process for the proposed Northwest Straits NMS. Section 10
of Public Law 104-283 provided that, ``No designation of an area in the
Northwest Straits in the State of Washington as a national marine
sanctuary under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act shall take effect
unless that designation is specifically authorized by a law enacted
after the date of enactment of this Act.'' Accompanying statements by
Senator Murray and Representative Metcalf resulted in the formation of
an independent Citizen's Advisory Commission (CAC) comprised of 15
members representing local governments, tribes, users, ports, and
environmentalists, and two facilitators. The statements instructed NOAA
to act as ``technical advisors'' to the CAC and to include
recommendations from the CAC in any decision document regarding the
Northwest Straits.
The CAC initiated meetings in May 1997, and completed a final
report in August 1998. In reaching a consensus on how best to address
protection in the region, the CAC recommended the creation of a
federally-funded regional, voluntary program for the seven counties
adjacent to the waters of the Northwest Straits. The CAC did not
recommend that a National Marine Sanctuary be established or considered
further and explicitly proposed that no new regulatory authority be
created or introduced.
III. Action
In consideration of the designation guidance in the 1996 NMSA
reauthorization; the direction from Senator Murray and Representative
Metcalf that NOAA consider recommendations put forward by local
committees or commissions; the CAC's failure to recommend designation
or further consideration of a national marine sanctuary for the
Northwest Straits; the CAC's recommendation that no new regulatory
authority be introduced for management and protection of the resources
of the Northwest Straits at this time; and limited agency personnel and
budgetary resources (which the NMSP has determined are necessary to
devote to existing rather than new sites at this time), NOAA is
withdrawing the site from Active Candidate status. Further
consideration of the Northwest Straits for designation as a National
Marine Sanctuary is discontinued.
NOAA will publish a final report of fundings and recommendations to
provide a tool to assist ongoing or new efforts for marine resource
protection in the Northwest Straits. The report and additional
materials and information about the Northwest Straits will be
maintained at the NOAA Seattle Regional Library located at 7600 Sand
Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington. In addition, the Northwest Straits
web site will include a downloadable version of the final report, and
links to other relevant information. The web site address is http://
www.nwsnms.noaa.gov/ and will be on-line in October 1999.
(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.429 Marine Sanctuary
Program)
Dated: September 10, 1999.
Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone
Management.
[FR Doc. 99-24093 Filed 9-14-99; 8:45 am]
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