[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 202 (Friday, October 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61787-61788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24788]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Federal Consistency Appeal by the Northeast Massachusetts 
Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of appeal.

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SUMMARY: This announcement provides notice that the Northeast 
Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District (the 
District) has filed an administrative appeal with the U.S. Department 
of Commerce (the Department), asking that the Department override an 
objection by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management 
(Massachusetts). Massachusetts objects to the District's proposed Open 
Marsh Water Management (OMWM) program.

ADDRESSES: Materials from the appeal record will be available at the 
NOAA Office of General Counsel for Ocean Services, 1305 East-West 
Highway, SSMC4, Room 6111, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, and on the 
following Web site: http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamon Bollock, Attorney-Advisor, NOAA 
Office of General Counsel for Ocean Services, at (301) 713-7393 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of Appeal

    On September 17, 2008, the District filed a notice of appeal with 
the Department, pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 
(CZMA), 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq., and implementing regulations found at 
15 CFR Part 930, Subpart H. The District appealed an objection by 
Massachusetts to the District's proposed OMWM program, which is a 
mosquito abatement practice that involves increasing access of 
predacious fish to mosquito breeding habitat by converting vegetated 
salt marsh areas into larger, deeper pools of standing water connected 
through a network of ditches.
    Under the CZMA, the Department may override Massachusetts's 
objection on grounds that the project is consistent with the objectives 
or purposes of the CZMA or otherwise necessary in the interest of 
national security. To make the determination that the proposed activity 
is ``consistent with the objectives or purposes of the CZMA,''

[[Page 61788]]

the Department must find that: (1) The proposed activity furthers the 
national interest as articulated in sections 302 or 303 of the CZMA, in 
a significant or substantial manner; (2) the adverse effects of the 
proposed activity do not outweigh its contribution to the national 
interest, when those effects are considered separately or cumulatively; 
and (3) no reasonable alternative is available that would permit the 
activity to be conducted in a manner consistent with enforceable 
policies of the applicable coastal management program. 15 CFR 930.121.

II. Opportunity for Federal Agency and Public Comment and Public 
Hearing

    Pursuant to NOAA regulations, 15 CFR 930.128, the public and 
interested Federal Agencies may submit any comment on this appeal from 
January 12 to February 11, 2009. All comments should be directed in 
writing to the NOAA Office of General Counsel for Ocean Services, 1305 
East-West Highway, SSMC4, Room 6111, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, or 
via e-mail to [email protected].
    Federal regulations also allow for a public hearing of this appeal, 
on the initiative of the Secretary of Commerce or upon written request. 
A request for public hearing must be filed with the Department within 
30 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register. Such requests should be directed, in writing, to the 
following address: Jamon Bollock, Attorney-Advisor, NOAA Office of 
General Counsel, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC4, Room 6111, Silver 
Spring, Maryland 20910.

III. Availability of Appeal Documents

    NOAA intends to provide the public with access to all publicly 
available materials and related documents comprising the appeal record 
during business hours at the NOAA Office of General Counsel for Ocean 
Services and on the following Web site: http://www.ogc.doc.gov/czma.htm.
    For additional information about this appeal, please contact Jamon 
Bollock, Attorney-Advisor, NOAA Office of General Counsel, at (301) 
713-7393 or [email protected].

    Dated: October 14, 2008.
Joel La Bissonniere,
Assistant General Counsel for Ocean Services, NOAA.
 [FR Doc. E8-24788 Filed 10-16-08; 8:45 am]
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