[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13095-13096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5310]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA986


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for NOAA 
Restoration Center Programmatic Coastal Habitat Restoration Activities

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement of public scoping; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 and in compliance with the implementing regulations issued by the 
Council on Environmental Quality and procedures issued by NOAA 
Administrative Order 216-6, NOAA is providing notice of its intent to 
develop a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to 
evaluate the potential environmental impacts of different ranges of 
coastal and marine habitat restoration project types conducted and 
supported by the NOAA Restoration Center.

DATES: Interested parties should provide written comments by May 31, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties that wish to send questions, comments or 
requests for information may send an email to the following address: 
[email protected].
    Interested parties that wish to send questions, comments or 
requests for information through regular mail may use the following 
mailing address: NOAA Restoration Center (F/HC3), ATTN: Restoration 
PEIS Scoping, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    The NOAA Restoration Center Web site that contains information and 
updates relevant to this PEIS can be found at: http://www.restoration.noaa.gov/environmentalcompliance

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Barry at 301-427-8653 or via the 
following email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NOAA Restoration Center is the only 
office within NOAA solely devoted to restoring the nation's coastal, 
marine, and migratory fish habitat. Recognizing that the most 
successful environmental restoration projects are supported and 
implemented at the community-level, the Restoration Center creates and 
builds partnerships on local, regional and national scales to carry out 
habitat restoration projects within the coastal United States, Great 
Lakes region, and territories. Restoration projects use a number of 
priority habitat restoration approaches to positively impact fishery 
production. Most notably these approaches include, but are not limited 
to, opening rivers, reconnecting coastal wetlands, restoring corals, 
rebuilding shellfish populations, land and easement acquisition, 
erosion reduction, public outreach, restoration research, or a 
combination of these project types. The Restoration Center provides 
financial and technical assistance for implementing habitat restoration 
projects to partners primarily on a competitive basis through a number 
of programs and funding opportunities administered by the Restoration 
Center. These include the Community-based Restoration Program (CRP), 
the Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP), the 
Coastal Wetland Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) 
Program, and the Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program (GLHRP).
    In 2002 the NOAA Restoration Center released the ``NOAA Fisheries' 
Implementation Plan for the Community-based Restoration Program'' to 
document environmental compliance processes and procedures for the CRP. 
In 2006, the NOAA Restoration Center released a Supplemental 
Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) to update and further 
refine the environmental impact evaluation process for the CRP. Since 
that time, the Restoration Center has increased the scope and scale of 
the individual projects implemented by the CRP, as well as other 
Restoration Center programs. Therefore, the environmental impact 
analysis process under NEPA that uses the 2002 implementation plan and 
2006 SPEA needs to be revised.
    Accordingly, NOAA is providing notice of its intent to develop a 
PEIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of proposed 
coastal and marine habitat restoration activities that the NOAA 
Restoration Center may conduct and support through its funding programs 
and restoration partners. These activities include: (1) Technical 
Assistance (includes planning, permitting, monitoring, research and 
outreach); (2) Riverine/Riparian/Associated Uplands Restoration 
(includes channel, bank and floodplain, buffer area and watershed 
revegetation); (3) Inter-tidal Restoration (includes saltmarsh and 
oyster restoration); (4) Sub-tidal Restoration (includes submerged 
aquatic vegetation and coral restoration); and (5) Land and Water 
Acquisition. Possible alternatives NOAA will explore during the scoping 
process include the following:
     Alternative 1 (preferred): NOAA proposes to support a 
comprehensive range of restoration activities through a wide variety of 
project types. Under this alternative, the Restoration Center would 
carry out Activities 1-5 (Technical Assistance, Riverine/Riparian/
Associated Uplands Restoration, Sub-tidal Restoration, Inter-tidal 
Restoration, and Land and Water Acquisition). This alternative enables 
the Restoration Center to implement its programs and work toward its 
mission with the greatest efficiency and impact.
     Alternative 2: Under this alternative NOAA would support a 
more limited range of project types, limited to Activities 1-4 
(Technical Assistance, Riverine/Riparian/Associated Uplands 
Restoration, Sub-tidal Restoration, and Inter-tidal Restoration). This 
alternative, while not preferred, enables the Restoration Center to 
maintain a high level of efficiency and impact in implementing its 
programs. However, the exclusion of land and easement acquisition would 
steer program priorities toward on-the-ground restoration activities 
and technical support.
     Alternative 3: Under this alternative NOAA would support a 
very limited range of project types, limited to Activity 1 (Technical 
Assistance). This alternative, while not preferred, enables the 
Restoration Center to support restoration activities conducted by 
partners.
    The publication date of this notice constitutes the start of the 
public scoping process under NEPA for the PEIS. Through public comment, 
the scoping process will help identify and determine the environmental 
issues that the PEIS will address. This notice provides information on 
how the public may participate. NOAA encourages all parties with an 
interest in or who are affected by habitat restoration activities to 
provide suggestions, comments and input on the alternatives, scope of

[[Page 13096]]

analysis and issues relevant to the activities presented in this 
notice. All interested parties who wish to provide comment may submit 
written comments to the NOAA Restoration Center electronically or by 
original hard copy to the address provided above. For more detailed 
background information, including program descriptions, restoration 
project types, and the aforementioned environmental assessment 
documents, please visit the NOAA Restoration Center Web site. NOAA will 
update the information on the Web site periodically throughout the 
public scoping process as needed.

Authority

    The authority for these actions include the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1891a), and the Fish 
and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661).

    Dated: February 28, 2012.
Brian Pawlak,
Acting Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-5310 Filed 3-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P