[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35737-35739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13111]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Sites Added to the Inventory of Possible Areas for 
Designation as New National Marine Sanctuaries

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

ACTION: Notice of sites added to the Sanctuary Nomination Process 
inventory of possible areas for designation as new national marine 
sanctuaries.

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SUMMARY: On June 13, 2014, NOAA published a final rule re-establishing 
the Sanctuary Nomination Process (SNP) which allows communities to 
submit nominations to NOAA for consideration as new national marine 
sanctuaries. The rule included the final review process, national 
significance criteria, and management considerations that NOAA uses to 
evaluate community nominations for inclusion in the inventory of areas 
that could be considered for designation as national marine 
sanctuaries. The rule also states that NOAA will publish a Federal 
Register notice when areas have been added to the inventory. This 
notice announces that NOAA has added four sanctuary nominations to the 
SNP inventory between June 2014 and April 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Annie Sawabini, NOAA Office of 
National Marine Sanctuaries, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring MD 
20910.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) 
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to identify and designate as 
national marine sanctuaries areas of the marine environment, including 
the Great Lakes, which are of special national significance; to manage 
these areas as the National Marine Sanctuary System; and to provide for 
the comprehensive and coordinated conservation and management of these 
areas and the activities affecting them in a manner which complements 
existing regulatory authorities. Section 303 of the NMSA provides 
national marine sanctuary designation standards and factors required in 
determining whether an area qualifies for consideration as a potential 
national marine sanctuary, and section 304 establishes procedures for 
national marine sanctuary designation and implementation. Regulations 
implementing the NMSA and each national marine sanctuary are codified 
in Part 922 of Title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    On June 28, 2013, NOAA issued a proposed rule to re-establish the 
Sanctuary Nomination Process (SNP) and requested public comment on the 
proposed amendments to ONMS regulations (78 FR 38848). On June 13, 
2014, NOAA issued a final rule addressing the nearly 18,000 comments 
NOAA received on the proposed rule, and finalized the national 
significance criteria, management considerations,

[[Page 35738]]

and process to nominate areas of the marine and Great Lakes 
environments for potential addition to the inventory of areas that may 
be considered for future designation as a national marine sanctuary (79 
FR 33851).
    As described in that rule, the final step of the SNP is the 
addition of specific areas to the inventory. Nominations that the ONMS 
Director deems to have successfully completed the reviews for 
sufficiency, national significance, and management considerations are 
added to an inventory of areas NOAA could consider for national marine 
sanctuary designation. For these nominations, NOAA sends a letter of 
notification to the nominator, and publishes a Federal Register notice 
when areas have been added to the inventory on a periodic basis. The 
inventory and notification letters are also posted on the ONMS Web site 
(http://www.nominate.noaa.gov). If NOAA takes no designation action on 
a nomination in the inventory, the nomination expires after five years 
from the time it is accepted to the inventory.
    NOAA is not designating any new national marine sanctuaries with 
this action. Any designations resulting from the nomination process 
would be conducted by NOAA as a separate process as directed by the 
NMSA, Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. Subchapter II), and 
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.  4321 et seq.). NOAA 
follows all standards and requirements identified in the NMSA when it 
considers a nomination for designation.

II. Sanctuary Nominations Added to the Inventory

    The following nominations have successfully completed the SNP 
review process and have been added to the inventory of possible areas 
for designation as new national marine sanctuaries:

1. Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary Nomination

    The nomination for NOAA to consider the Mallows Bay area of the 
Potomac River as a new national marine sanctuary was submitted on 
September 16, 2014. The nomination was added to the inventory of 
successful nominations on January 12, 2015.
    The Mallows Bay area of the tidal Potomac River nominated as a 
national marine sanctuary is an area 40 miles south of Washington, DC 
off the Nanjemoy Peninsula of Charles County, MD. The nominated area 
includes approximately 14 square miles of Maryland state waters. The 
designation of a national marine sanctuary would focus on conserving 
the collection of maritime heritage resources (shipwrecks) in the area 
as well as expand the opportunities for public access, recreation, 
tourism, research, and education. More information can be found in the 
nomination: http://www.nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/nomination_maryland_mallows_bay_potomac_river.pdf.

2. Lake Michigan--Wisconsin National Marine Sanctuary Nomination

    The nomination for NOAA to consider a Lake Michigan-Wisconsin 
national marine sanctuary was submitted on December 2, 2014. The 
nomination was added to the inventory of successful nominations on 
February 5, 2015.
    The area nominated as a national marine sanctuary is a region that 
includes 875 square miles of Wisconsin's Lake Michigan waters and 
bottomlands adjacent to Manitowoc, Sheboygan, and Ozaukee counties and 
the cities of Port Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Two Rivers. It 
includes 80 miles of shoreline and extends 9 to 14 miles from the 
shoreline. The area contains an extraordinary collection of submerged 
maritime heritage resources (shipwrecks) as demonstrated by the listing 
of 15 shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places. The area 
includes 39 known shipwrecks, 123 reported vessel losses, numerous 
other historic maritime-related features, and is adjacent to 
communities that have embraced their centuries-long relationship with 
Lake Michigan. More information can be found in the nomination: http://www.nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/nomination_lake_michigan_wisconsin.pdf.

3. Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Nomination

    The nomination for NOAA to consider the Chumash Heritage area off 
the central coast of California as a national marine sanctuary was 
submitted on July 17, 2015. The nomination was added to the inventory 
of successful nominations on October 5, 2015.
    The area proposed for the national marine sanctuary stretches from 
the southern border of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 
Cambria along approximately 140 miles of coastline to Gaviota Creek in 
Santa Barbara. The area includes both state waters of California and 
federal waters. The proposed boundary extends westward 60 to 80 miles 
to include the submerged Santa Lucia Bank, Arguello Canyon and 
Rodriguez Seamount. The area is characterized by converging 
oceanographic currents and persistent upwelling, creating highly 
productive conditions centered at the prominent ecological transition 
zone Point Conception. These combined features--high productivity and 
the ecological transition zone--mean many invertebrate, fish and algal 
species begin or end their natural ranges within the proposed 
sanctuary, thereby creating high biodiversity. The area's productive 
ecosystem also supports high densities of numerous marine mammal and 
bird species. Numerous cultural heritage resources are found throughout 
the proposed area, including more than 40 shipwrecks, as well as areas 
culturally significant to Native Americans, such as Point Conception, 
referred to as the Western Gate by the Chumash, and possibly submerged 
ancient villages on the continental shelf. More information can be 
found in the nomination: http://www.nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/nomination_chumash_heritage_071715.pdf.

4. Lake Erie Quadrangle National Marine Sanctuary Nomination

    The nomination for NOAA to consider the Pennsylvania waters in Lake 
Erie for an area known as the Lake Erie Quadrangle as a national marine 
sanctuary was submitted on December 31, 2015. The nomination was added 
to the inventory of successful nominations on February 22, 2016.
    The nominated site encompasses approximately 759 square miles of 
Pennsylvania state waters, and includes an estimated 196 shipwrecks. In 
addition to the historical significance of the shipwrecks themselves, 
this area has other nationally significant qualities. The area played 
an integral role in our nation's history during the War of 1812. The 
port of Erie, PA was a key shipbuilding port from the late 1700s 
through the early 20th century. It was the location where Commodore 
Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet was constructed for one of the most 
significant battles of the 1812 war. In addition, prior to the Civil 
War, Pennsylvania's Lake Erie waters housed the nation's largest fleet 
of steamboats, and were a major hub on the Underground Railroad. More 
information can be found in the nomination: http://www.nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/lake-erie-proposal.pdf.

III. Active National Marine Sanctuary Designations

    While the addition of a nomination to the inventory does not 
designate any

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new national marine sanctuaries, two (2) of the successful nominations 
in the list above have subsequently been selected for designation by 
NOAA, and have begun the designation processes as outlined in the NMSA 
including NEPA analysis. The notice of intent to conduct scoping and 
begin the designation process for the Proposed Mallows Bay-Potomac 
River National Marine Sanctuary was announced in the Federal Register 
on October 7, 2015 (80 FR 60634). The notice of intent to conduct 
scoping and begin the designation process for the Proposed Wisconsin-
Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary was announced in the Federal 
Register on October 7, 2015 (80 FR 60631).

IV. Classification

A. National Environmental Policy Act
    NOAA has concluded that this action will not have a significant 
effect, individually or cumulatively, on the human environment, because 
this action is not creating or designating any new national marine 
sanctuaries. Therefore, this action is categorically excluded from the 
requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental 
impact statement in accordance with Section 6.03c.3(i) of NOAA 
Administrative Order 216-6. Specifically, this action is a notice of an 
administrative and legal nature. Should NOAA decide to designate a 
national marine sanctuary, and in cases where NOAA has decided to begin 
active designation as a national marine sanctuary, each individual 
national marine sanctuary designation will be subject to case-by-case 
analysis, as required under NEPA and as outlined in section 
304(a)(2)(A) of the NMSA.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
    Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., unless that collection of information displays a currently valid 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Nominations for 
national marine sanctuaries discussed in this notice involve a 
collection-of-information requirement subject to the requirements of 
the PRA. OMB has approved this collection-of-information requirement 
under OMB control number 0648-0682.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.

    Dated: May 23, 2016.
John Armor,
Acting Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2016-13111 Filed 6-2-16; 8:45 am]
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