[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 4451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01578]


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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Public Meeting on the Proposed Heeia Site for a National 
Estuarine Research Reserve in Hawaii

AGENCY: The Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Public meeting notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Planning, Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program 
and the University of Hawaii with the support of the Estuarine Reserves 
Division of the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), 
National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, will hold a public 
meeting for the purpose of receiving comments on the preliminary 
recommendation that the Heeia estuary be proposed for designation as a 
National Estuarine Research Reserve in Hawaii.

DATES: The meeting will be held on February 27, 2014 at 5:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at Governor Samuel Wilder King 
Intermediate School Dining Room, 46-155 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe, HI 
96744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This will be the second public meeting held 
regarding the State's preliminary recommendation that the Heeia estuary 
in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, be proposed for designation as a National 
Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). A previous meeting was held on 
January 9, 2014. These meetings are held in compliance with NOAA 
regulations at 15 CFR Part 921 for the selection, designation and 
management of NERRs.
    The views of interested persons and organizations on the proposed 
site recommendation are solicited, and may be expressed to the State of 
Hawaii orally during the meeting and/or in written statements to the 
Office of Planning, Coastal Zone Management Program, Attn: NERRS, P.O. 
Box 2359, Honolulu, HI 96804. An informational presentation on the 
Heeia Estuary and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System 
(NERRS) is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. All comments received at the meeting 
will be considered in a formal nomination by the state to NOAA. All 
comments provided to NOAA will be shared with the State of Hawaii as 
part of the site selection process.
    The NERRS is a federal-state partnership that is administered by 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The system 
protects more than 1.3 million acres of estuarine habitat for long-term 
research, monitoring, education and stewardship throughout the coastal 
United States. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, 
as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1451-1466 each reserve is managed by a lead state 
agency or university, with input from local partners. NOAA provides 
funding and national programmatic guidance.
    The NERR site selection effort is a culmination of several years of 
local, grassroots support for a Hawaii NERR. The recommendation of the 
Heeia site follows a public solicitation and site proposal evaluation 
process. Federal, state, and county agency representatives and 
estuarine experts evaluated site proposals and recommended to the State 
that Heeia be considered as the preferred site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Erica H. Seiden, Acting Chief, 
NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, NOAA, 1305 East West 
Highway, N/ORM2, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Phone: 301-563-1172. Please 
email comments to: [email protected] by March 7, 2014.
    Persons with disabilities please contact Leo Asuncion at the Office 
of Planning, Coastal Zone Management Program by February 18, 2014 to 
make arrangements. Phone: 808-587-2846.

    Dated: January 17, 2014.
Christopher C. Cartwright,
Associate Assistant Administrator for Management and CFO/CAO, Ocean 
Services and Coastal Zone Management.
[FR Doc. 2014-01578 Filed 1-27-14; 8:45 am]
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