[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7620-7621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3575]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of a Public Meeting Regarding a Permit Application To 
Construct an Artificial Reef Within the Florida Keys National Marine 
Sanctuary

AGENCY: National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP), National Ocean 
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA announces a public meeting and a request for public 
comments about its receipt of a permit application to construct an 
artificial reef within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 
(FKNMS) and of its intent to prepare an environmental analysis of the 
project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 
City of Key West has requested permission to sink the vessel USS Hoyt 
Vandenberg within the boundaries of the FKNMS for purposes of 
establishing an artificial reef. The NMSP is soliciting comments from 
the public regarding this proposal and to identify any associated 
issues.

DATES: A public meeting will be held at the Nancy Foster Center, Truman 
Annex, Key West, Florida from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, 
2004.
    Written comments must be received on or before March 19, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to Billy Causey, FKNMS Superintendent 
(Vandenberg Project Review), P.O. Box 500368, Marathon, Florida 33050.
    Copies of the application materials may be obtained by writing to 
the above address, or by contacting the individual listed in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Relevant information may also be 
downloaded from the NMSP Web site. at http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/library/library.html.
    For directions to the public meeting contact the individual listed 
in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Billy Causey, FKNMS Superintendent at 
(305) 743-2437 x26 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FKNMS Superintendent has received a 
proposal and permit application from the City of Key West, submitted by 
their agents Resource Control Corporation and Artificial Reefs of the 
Keys Inc., to place the USS Hoyt Vandenberg on the seafloor of the 
FKNMS for the purpose of establishing an artificial reef. The City of 
Key West and its agents are hereafter referred to as ``the applicant.''

Project Description

    The applicant proposes to place the USS Hoyt Vandenberg on a 
portion of the seafloor characterized by sand and rubble in 
approximately 140-feet of water south of Key West, Florida. The 
following coordinates denote the corners of the area within which the 
applicant proposes to establish the artificial reef:

(NE) Lat.--24 deg. 27.70' N; Lon.--81 deg. 44.15' W
(SE) Lat.--24 deg. 27.50' N; Lon.--81 deg. 44.15' W
(SW) Lat.--24 deg. 27.50' N; Lon.--81 deg. 44.35' W
(NW) Lat.--24 deg. 27.70' N; Lon.--81 deg. 44.35' W
    The USS Hoyt Vandenberg, a former troop transport, is approximately 
520-feet in length, with a 71-foot beam, and with a final vertical 
height of 100 feet. A stability analysis conducted for the applicant 
suggests the vessel will be stable in any orientation at the proposed 
depth during a 100-year storm event that would produce a wave height of 
33-feet.
    The United States Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection issued permits for the proposed project in 
April 2001 and August 2000, respectively. The vessel would be released 
from the James River Reserve Fleet, Eustis, Virginia, to the State of 
Florida before being turned over to the City of Key West.

National Environmental Policy Act Analyses

    The NMSP has made an initial determination that the issuance of a 
permit for this activity would not be categorically excluded from the 
requirement to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) pursuant to 
NEPA. Therefore, the NMSP will prepare an EA pursuant to NEPA, the CEQ 
implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508), and NOAA's 
implementing guidelines on NEPA codified in NOAA Administration Order 
216-6. However, if the EA process does not result in NMSP making a 
``finding of no significant impact,'' NMSP will

[[Page 7621]]

subsequently prepare an environmental impact statement.

Comments

    NMSP would like public comments on the following:
    1. Comments about the scope of issues that should be evaluated in a 
NEPA document concerning this proposal;
    2. Comments regarding the expected impacts of this artificial reef 
project on the marine environment of the FKNMS and the overall 
significance of those impact;
    3. Recommendations on mitigation measures and permit conditions 
that would eliminate or minimize any impacts of this project on the 
FKNMS or the environment generally should the permit be issued; and
    4. Recommendations for specific monitoring programs or plans that 
would allow the NMSP to know the benefits (or lack thereof) of the 
project to FKNMS management, the impacts of the project on FKNMS 
resources, and the stability of the vessel.

    Dated: February 12, 2004.
Jamison S. Hawkins,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-3575 Filed 2-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-NK-M