[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29691-29692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-11738]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the Monterey Bay Aquarium 
Institute Application To Install a Cabled Observatory Within the 
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Notice of Scoping Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS; notice of public scoping 
meeting; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA announces its intention to prepare an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for the proposed Monterey Bay Aquarium 
Research Institute (MBARI) installation of an advanced cabled 
observatory on the seafloor within the Monterey Bay National Marine 
Sanctuary (MBNMS). The proposed scientific research project, known as 
the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS), is comprised of one 
science node on 51 kilometers (km) of submarine cable. The Federal 
action at issue would be the NMSP's issuance of a MBNMS permit to 
authorize the conduct of this activity.
    The EIS will be prepared in cooperation with the California State 
Lands Commission, which issued a Notice of Preparation on May 21, 2004, 
regarding its internet 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 scope of the EIS, suggested alternatives 
and potential impacts must be received on or before June 24, 2004. Two 
public scoping meetings to inform interested parties of the proposed 
action and to receive public comments on the scope of the EIS are 
scheduled as follows:
    Wednesday, June 9, 2004--4 p.m.
    Wednesday, June 9, 2004--6:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Deirdre Hall, Monterey Bay 
National Marine Sanctuary, 299 Foam Street, Monterey, CA 93940. 
Comments may be submitted by fax at (831) 647-4250 or by e-mail at: 
[email protected]. Comments received will be available for public 
inspection at the above address.
    Copies of the application materials may be obtained by writing to 
the above address, or by contacting Deirdre Hall at (831) 647-4207. For 
directions to the public scoping meeting, contact the MBNMS office at 
(831) 647-4201.
    The public meetings will be held at the Moss Landing Marine 
Laboratory, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William J. Douros, MBNMS 
Superintendent at (831) 647-4201 or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Proposed Action

    The proposed action is MBARI's installation of approximately 51 
kilometers of 28 mm wide submarine cable and a science node at the end 
of the cable, all within the boundaries of the MBNMS. The Federal 
action at issue would be the NMSP's issuance of a MBNMS permit to 
authorize the conduct of this activity. The cable route extends from 
Moss Landing (Monterey Bay, California) towards the northwest, to the 
north of the Monterey Canyon, and along the continental margin to the 
southeastern part of the Smooth Ridge. The applicant, Monterey Aquarium 
Research Institute (MBARI), proposes this scientific research project 
under the title of Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) cabled 
observatory.

Project Objectives

    The purpose of the MARS project is to design and install an 
advanced-technology cabled observatory that will provide power and 
high-bandwidth communications to instruments sited at critical areas of 
science interest in State and federal waters of Monterey Bay. The site 
chosen in Monterey Bay's Smooth Ridge will enable important science 
experiments and science observations to be undertaken, as well as serve 
as the test bed for a state-of-the-art regional scale cabled 
observatory (NEPTUNE), currently one component of the National Science 
Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative. NEPTUNE is a regional scale 
cabled observatory that the NSF plans to construct in 2006 off the 
coast of Washington. MARS will provide an advance opportunity to look 
at the operations, management, outreach activities, and costs involved 
with NEPTUNE on a smaller scale, and allow adjustments where necessary.
    Specific Project Objectives are to:
     Test aspects of the regional cabled observatory (NEPTUNE) 
technology, both for the initial design of the system and during the 
lifetime of the project.
     Test methods for education and outreach in partnership 
with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which enjoys a world-class reputation 
for its innovative programs in public education.
     Test deep-water remotely operated vehicle (ROV) procedures 
that will later be used for installing and servicing instruments on 
NEPTUNE.
     Serve as an instrument test bed to verify the performance 
of new instrumentation under development prior to being deployed on 
NEPTUNE.
     Provide power and high bandwidth real time communications 
to a broadband seismic observatory located on the west side of the San 
Gregorio fault line.
     Provide power and high bandwidth communications to 
instrumentation that will (a) allow long term in situ studies of 
chemosynthetic biological communities on Smooth Ridge, (b) be located 
in the active upper canyon enabling better understanding of canyon mass 
wasting events, (c) enable long term monitoring of spatial and temporal 
variability in parameters such as temperature and chlorophyll 
associated with phenomena such as El Ni[ntilde]o that can significantly 
affect fishery stocks, and (d) enable studies of carbon transport from 
the region of primary production in the upper ocean to benthic 
communities.

Need for Project Location

    MARS would be located in Monterey Bay offshore the MBARI facilities 
at Moss Landing, Monterey County, California. MBARI has indicated that 
Monterey Bay is needed because:
     Moss Landing is within easy year round access to deep 
water due to its location at the head of Monterey Canyon, and its mild 
climate. The MARS observatory must be located in deep water to test 
both the NEPTUNE technology and to develop the ROV procedures needed to 
operate deep-water cabled observatories.
     MBARI has two ships equipped with ROVs berthed at Moss 
Landing,

[[Page 29692]]

one of which is nearly always deployed as a day boat. These ROVs are 
the only ones located on the west coast of the U.S. operated by an 
oceanographic institute.
     One of MBARI's joint projects with the Monterey Bay 
Aquarium, Education, and Research: Testing Hypothesis (EARTH) provides 
wide public and educational benefits.
     Smooth Ridge is located on the west side of the San 
Gregorio fault line, critical for seismic studies, and is close to 
several well established chemosynthetic biological communities. It is 
also provides a location that is within easy reach of the active upper 
section on Monterey Canyon.

Project Installation

    The proposed science node, located approximately 891 meters below 
the ocean surface, will provide eight science ports for oceanographic 
instruments. Extension cable can be plugged into any science port to 
provide power and communications up to 3.5 km away from the original 
node. By supplying both data links and electrical power, the network 
will allow real-time, continuous, and long-term monitoring of 
conditions beneath the surface of the bay.
    The applicant proposes to bury the cable along most of the route to 
a depth of one meter, where feasible, using a hydraulically operated 
plow that is towed by a cable installation vessel. The plow would cut a 
narrow trench for the cable and bury the cable. In areas where the 
cable cannot be buried with this method, the cable would be laid on the 
sea bottom and would be post lay buried by jetting, where feasible. 
Some portions of the cable would remain unburied due to potentially 
hard seafloor substrate and exposed rocks. In the nearshore area, the 
cable would be installed in an existing pipeline that extends from 153 
meters offshore to the proposed landing site located in Moss Landing 
and owned by Duke Energy.
    The applicant 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 end of the cable.

II. Summary of Environmental Issues

    MBNMS has made a determination that the issuance of a permit for 
this activity would require the preparation of an EIS pursuant to NEPA, 
the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing regulations (40 
CFR Parts 1500 through 1508), and NOAA's implementing guidelines on 
NEPA codified in NOAA Administrative Order 216-6.
    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, repair and removal.
    A preliminary listing of issues to be discussed in the EIS is 
provided below. Additional issues may be identified at the public 
scoping meeting and in written comments.
     Air Quality--short-term air quality effects from 
construction equipment, vehicle, and vessel emissions.
     Biological Resources--effects on benthic communities, 
rocky hard-bottom communities, plankton, fish, marine birds, marine 
mammals, and marine turtles from construction disturbances (e.g., cable 
laying, boat anchoring, increased turbidity), release of contaminants, 
or entanglement; direct or indirect effects on sensitive species and 
habitats.
     Commercial and Recreational Fishing--effects on fisheries 
and fisheries operations, including construction interference with 
fishing activities, potential loss of catch, potential accidents (e.g., 
fishing net entanglement), and long-term preemption of fishing grounds.
     Cultural Resources--potential for impacts on cultural 
resources that may be buried along the proposed cable route.
     Environmental Justice--potential to cause disproportionate 
effects on minority and/or low-income populations within the project 
impact area. Such populations may include, but not be limited to, those 
in the local fishing industry.
     Geology and Soils--geologic hazards and physical effects 
on the cable (e.g., submarine landslides and erosion).
     Marine Water Quality--trenching effects on the water 
column (e.g., sediment plume, benthic disruption, and siltation) or 
contamination from accidental spills.
     Noise--increased noise levels from construction and 
maintenance operations.
     Marine Vessel Traffic--cable installation vessel 
interference with commercial and recreational vessel navigation.
     Strumming--lateral movement of the cable along the 
seafloor, which may impact the marine environment.

III. Alternatives

    In addition to the applicant's proposed action, the EIS will, at a 
minimum, consider the following project alternatives:

     No Project/No-Action Alternative: The EIS will examine the 
impacts of not approving the proposed action.
     Alternative Offshore Locations: The EIS will consider 
alternative routing and landing locations in the vicinity of the 
project within Monterey Bay and in proximity to the MBARI facilities.
     Alternative Means of Obtaining Data: The EIS will examine 
the feasibility of utilizing buoys and other means to accomplish the 
project objectives.

IV. Comments

    MBNMS would like public comments on the following:
    1. Comments about the scope of issues that should be evaluated in 
the EIS concerning this proposal;
    2. Comments regarding the expected impacts of this project on the 
environment of the NBNMS and the overall significance of those impacts;
    3. Recommendations on mitigation measures and permit conditions 
that would eliminate or minimize the impacts of this project on the 
MBNMS or the environment generally should the permit be issued;
    4. Recommendations for specific monitoring programs or plans that 
would allow the MBNMS Superintendent to know the effectiveness of 
mitigation measures and conditions; and
    5. Comments on other alternatives or technologies that meet the 
research objectives.

V. Future Public Involvement

    Additional opportunities for public review will be provided when 
the Draft EIR/EIS is completed. A notice of availability (NOA) of the 
Draft EIR/EIS will be published in the Federal Register.

VI. Special Accommodations

    The scoping meeting is physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Deirdre Hall, at the MBNMS, (831) 
647-4207, at least five (5) days prior to the meeting date.

Richard W. Spinrad,
Assistant Administrator, Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-11738 Filed 5-24-04; 8:45 am]
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