[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28827-28829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13308]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Review of National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National 
Monuments Designated or Expanded Since April 28, 2007; Notice of 
Opportunity for Public Comment

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

ACTION: Notice; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 13795--Implementing an America-
First Offshore Energy Strategy, signed on April 28, 2017, the 
Department of Commerce is conducting a review of all designations and 
expansions of National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments 
since April 28, 2007. The Secretary of Commerce will use the review to 
inform the preparation of a report under Executive Order 13795, Sec. 
4(b)(ii). This Notice identifies 11 National Marine Sanctuaries and 
Marine National Monuments subject to the review and invites comments to 
inform the review.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted no later than July 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket ID NOAA-NOS-
2017-0066 by one of the following methods:
     Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2017-0066, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: E.O. 13795 Review, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, Silver Spring Metro Campus Building 4 (SSMC4), Eleventh 
Floor, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NOAA. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. NOAA will accept 
anonymous comments (for electronic comments submitted through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal, enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Douros, 831-647-1920, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring Metro Campus 
Building 4 (SSMC4), Eleventh Floor, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910.

[[Page 28828]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 13795 of April 28, 2017 
directs the Secretary of Commerce to review National Marine Sanctuaries 
and Marine National Monuments designated or expanded since April 28, 
2007. Specifically, section 4(b)(i) of Executive Order 13795 directs 
the Secretary to conduct, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Defense, Secretary of the Interior, and Secretary of Homeland Security, 
a review to include:
    (A) An analysis of the acreage affected and an analysis of the 
budgetary impacts of the costs of managing each National Marine 
Sanctuary or Marine National Monument designation or expansion;
    (B) An analysis of the adequacy of any required Federal, State and 
tribal consultations conducted before the designations or expansions; 
and
    (C) The opportunity costs associated with potential energy and 
mineral exploration and production from the Outer Continental Shelf, in 
addition to any impacts on production in the adjacent region.
    The Secretary shall complete this review and, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior, prepare and 
submit a report on the results of the review to the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Council on 
Environmental Quality and the Assistant to the President for Economic 
Policy within 180 days (by October 25, 2017).
    Pursuant to Executive Order 13795, Sec. 4(b), the Department of 
Commerce's review of National Marine Sanctuary and Marine National 
Monument designations and expansions is limited to those designations 
or expansions listed in the table below.

                         National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments Under Review Pursuant to EO 13795, Sec. 4(b)
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               Name                      Location                 Action                     Date             Size in acres   Federal Register citation
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Channel Islands National Marine    California..........  Expansion..............  May 24, 2007.............           9,600  72 FR 29,208 (May 24,
 Sanctuary.                                                                                                                   2007).
Cordell Bank National Marine       California..........  Expansion..............  March 12, 2015...........         484,480  80 FR 13,078 (March 12,
 Sanctuary.                                                                                                                   2015).
Greater Farallones National        California..........  Expansion..............  March 12, 2015...........       1,288,320  80 FR 13,078 (March 12,
 Marine Sanctuary.                                                                                                            2015).
Marianas Trench Marine National    Commonwealth of the   Designation............  January 6, 2009..........      60,938,240  74 FR 1,557 (January 12,
 Monument.                          Northern Mariana                                                                          2009).
                                    Islands/Pacific
                                    Ocean.
Monterey Bay National Marine       California..........  Expansion..............  November 20, 2008........         496,000  73 FR 70,488 (November 20,
 Sanctuary.                                                                                                                   2008).
National Marine Sanctuary of       American Samoa......  Expansion..............  July 26, 2012............       8,691,840  77 FR 43,942 (July 26,
 American Samoa.                                                                                                              2012).
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts    Atlantic Ocean......  Designation............  September 15, 2016.......       3,114,320  81 FR 65,161 (September 21,
 Marine National Monument.                                                                                                    2016).
Pacific Remote Islands Marine      Pacific Ocean.......  Designation; Expansion.  January 6, 2009;               55,608,320  74 FR 1,565 (January 12,
 National Monument.                                                                September 25, 2014.                        2009); 79 FR 58,645
                                                                                                                              (September 29, 2014).
Papah[amacr]naumoku[amacr]kea      Hawaii..............  Expansion..............  August 26, 2016..........     283,379,840  81 FR 60,227 (August 31,
 Marine National Monument.                                                                                                    2016).
Rose Atoll Marine National         American Samoa......  Designation............  January 6, 2009..........       8,608,640  74 FR 1,577 (January 12,
 Monument 1.                                                                                                                  2009).
Thunder Bay National Marine        Michigan............  Expansion..............  September 5, 2014........       2,465,280  79 FR 52,960 (September 5,
 Sanctuary.                                                                                                                   2014).
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    The area of the original designations for the five listed National 
Marine Sanctuaries and Papah[amacr]naumoku[amacr]kea Marine National 
Monument are not subject to this review, rather only their respective 
expansion areas completed in the past 10 years.
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    \1\ All of Rose Atoll Marine National Monument is contained 
within National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa.
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    The Department of Commerce seeks public comments related to the 
application of factors in Sec. 4(b)(i)(A), (B) and (C), as stated in 
Executive Order 13795, to the National Marine Sanctuary expansions and 
designation and expansions of the Marine National Monuments indicated 
above.
    Under Executive Order 13792--Review of Designations Under the 
Antiquities Act (signed April 26, 2017), the Department of the Interior 
is conducting a review of National Monuments pursuant to a separate set 
of factors (See the Department of the Interior's Federal Register 
Notice--Review of Certain National Monuments Established Since 1996; 
Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment; 82 FR 22016, May 11, 2017). 
The Department of Commerce is collaborating with the Department of the 
Interior on this review for Marine National Monuments, in conjunction 
with Department of Commerce's review under Executive Order 13795. The 
Department of Commerce will receive a copy of and consider all public 
comments submitted during the Department of the Interior's public 
comment period for Executive Order 13792 for Marine National Monuments 
that are affected by Executive Orders 13792 and 13795.
    Accordingly, identical or substantively similar comments submitted 
as a part of the Department of the Interior's public comment period 
should not be re-submitted to the Department of Commerce in response to 
this Federal Register notice regarding

[[Page 28829]]

public comment on the factors under Executive Order 13795, Sec. 4(b).

    Authority: Executive Order 13795.

    Dated: June 20, 2017.
Nicole Le Boeuf,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Ocean Services and Coastal 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-13308 Filed 6-23-17; 8:45 am]
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