[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18169-18170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8945]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 922


Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Interim Policy and Permit 
Guidance for Submarine Cable Projects

AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice; Request for public comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NOAA is proposing interim policy and permit guidance for 
submarine cable projects proposed in national marine sanctuaries. This 
action identifies the criteria the ONMS will use to ensure that 
applications to install and maintain submarine cables in sanctuaries 
are reviewed consistently and in a manner that adheres to the National 
Marine Sanctuaries Act and ONMS regulations (15 CFR part 922).

DATES: Comments on the interim policy and permit guidance for submarine 
cable projects will be accepted if received on or before May 21, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

[[Page 18170]]

     Federal e Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit electronic comments via the Federal e Rulemaking Portal rather 
than by e-mail;
     Mail: Debra Malek, NOAA, Office of National Marine 
Sanctuaries, 1305 East-West Highway, (N/NMS2), 11th Floor, Silver 
Spring, Maryland 20910.
    Copies of the interim policy and permit guidance for submarine 
cable projects may be viewed and downloaded at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/.
    Paperwork burden: Submit written comments regarding the burden-hour 
estimates or other aspects of the information collection requirements 
contained in this proposed rule by e-mail to Diana Hynek at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Malek, (301) 713-3125, ext. 262.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) manages a 
system of thirteen national marine sanctuaries (NMSs or sanctuaries) 
that protect special, nationally significant areas of the marine 
environment under the authority of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act 
(NMSA; 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). The ONMS, along with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service and the State of Hawaii, also manages the 
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act. 
Sanctuaries and the monument protect a variety of marine habitats and 
cultural resources including coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass 
beds, deep-sea canyons, kelp beds, marine mammal feeding and breeding 
grounds, and historic shipwrecks and other submerged cultural 
resources.
    In the late 1990s, the ONMS received applications to install and 
maintain telecommunication submarine cables through the Olympic Coast 
National Marine Sanctuary and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary. Experience gained through the consideration and issuance of 
permits for those projects highlighted the need for more clarity on how 
such projects would be handled in the future.
    The Department of Commerce convened a workshop in February 2000 
with representatives from the telecommunications and fishing 
industries, environmental and conservation organizations, and state 
agencies. A white paper with key issues and guiding principles was 
distributed prior to, and discussed at, the workshop. The proposed 
guiding principles included: Analysis of habitat types appropriate or 
inappropriate for cable laying, analysis of individual sanctuary 
regulations, and parameters for evaluating proposals for cable 
installations.
    In August 2000, NOAA published an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPR) on Installing and Maintaining Commercial Submarine 
Cables in National Marine Sanctuaries in the Federal Register (65 FR 
51264, Aug. 23, 2000). A second ANPR was published in November 2000 at 
the request of the industry for additional time to comment (65 FR 
70537, Nov. 24, 2000). The ANPR requested comments on both the guiding 
principles contained in the white paper and on the issues raised at the 
workshop.
    Specifically, the ANPR requested comments on:
     Whether changes to existing ONMS regulations or some form 
of policy guidance was necessary to clarify NOAA's decision-making 
process regarding the installation and maintenance of commercial 
submarine cables within NMSs;
     If changes or additional guidance were appropriate, what 
those changes or guidance should contain; and
     Whether there were comments on the proposed principles on 
the installation of commercial submarine cables with the marine and 
coastal environment.
    The ONMS received 36 comments from the telecommunications industry, 
the Department of Defense, the environmental community, State 
government, and various interested individuals.
    General comments on the ANPR included the following:
     The telecommunications industry believed that existing 
regulations are adequate in NMSs.
     The environmental community urged NOAA to prohibit cables 
within NMSs, and to develop stringent permit application criteria, 
including removal of out-of-service cables.
     The industry and the environmental community did not a 
support a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PETS) or the 
concept of approving projects in the planning stage.
     The environmental community supported the idea of cable 
corridors while the industry opposed it.
     The industry wanted improved consultation between NOAA and 
other cable permitting authorities, such as the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, the Federal Communications Commission, etc., and more 
specific, user-friendly criteria for permit applications.
    These comments, in addition to direct experience related to cables 
installed in sanctuaries, were factors that led to NOAA's decision not 
to pursue rulemaking at this time, but, rather to develop and issue 
interim permit guidelines. The ONMS believes that cable permit 
guidelines will ensure that applications to install and maintain 
submarine cables in sanctuaries are reviewed consistently and in a 
manner that adheres to the NMSA and ONMS regulations (15 CFR part 922).

John Dunnigan,
Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management.
[FR Doc. E9-8945 Filed 4-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-NK-M