[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16004-16006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07678]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping and To Prepare a DEIS for the 
Proposed Great Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct scoping, hold public scoping 
meetings, and prepare a draft environmental impact statement and draft 
management plan for the proposed designation of a national marine 
sanctuary.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 304(a) of the National Marine 
Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA), and based on the area's qualities 
and boundaries described in the community-based nomination submitted to 
NOAA on January 17, 2017 (https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations), NOAA 
is initiating a process to consider designating a portion of eastern 
Lake Ontario in New York as a national marine sanctuary. The 
designation process, as required by the NMSA, will be conducted 
concurrently with a public process under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). This notice also informs the public that NOAA will 
coordinate its responsibilities under section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) with its ongoing NEPA process, 
including the use of NEPA documents and public meetings to also meet 
the requirements of section 106. The public scoping process is intended 
to solicit information and comments on the scope and significance of 
issues to be addressed in an environmental analysis under NEPA that are 
related to designating this area as a national marine sanctuary. The 
results of this scoping process will assist NOAA in moving forward with 
the designation process and in formulating alternatives for the draft 
environmental impact statement and proposed regulations, including 
developing national marine sanctuary boundaries. It will also inform 
the initiation of any consultations with federal, state, or local 
agencies, tribes, and other interested parties, as appropriate.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 31, 2019. Public 
scoping meetings will be held as detailed below:

(1) Sterling, NY
    Date: June 10, 2019
    Location: Fair Haven Fire Hall
    Address: 14447 Fair Haven Rd., Sterling, NY 13156
    Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
(2) Lyons, NY
    Date: June 11, 2019
    Location: Emergency Operations Center
    Address: 7376 Route 31, Lyons, NY 14489
    Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
(3) Oswego, NY
    Date: June 12, 2019
    Location: Lake Ontario Conference Center
    Address: 26 East 1st St., Oswego, NY 13126
    Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
(4) Watertown, New York (Jefferson County)
    Date: June 13, 2019
    Location: Jefferson Community College
    Address: 1220 Coffeen St., Jules Center, Room 6-002, Watertown, NY 
13601
    Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any one of the following 
methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov 
and search for ``NOAA-NOS-2019-0032'', or go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2019-0032 and click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
    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 generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (for example, name,

[[Page 16005]]

address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the commenter will be 
publicly accessible. NOAA will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' 
in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brody, Great Lakes Regional 
Coordinator, 4840 S State Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48108-9719, or call 734-
741-2270, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The NMSA authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to 
designate and protect as national marine sanctuaries areas of the 
marine environment that are of special national significance due to 
their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, 
cultural, archeological, educational, or esthetic qualities. Day-to-day 
management of national marine sanctuaries has been delegated by the 
Secretary to ONMS. The primary objective of the NMSA is to protect the 
resources of the sanctuary system.
    The area being considered for designation as a national marine 
sanctuary is a region in eastern Lake Ontario that includes 
approximately 1,700 square miles of lake waters and bottomlands 
adjacent to Jefferson, Wayne, Oswego, and Cayuga counties in the State 
of New York. The area is adjacent to approximately 200 miles of United 
States shoreline and extends north to the mid-lake international border 
with Canada. The area features a diverse collection of historic 
shipwrecks dating back to the 1700s, as well as a historic aircraft.
    Eastern Lake Ontario represents a diverse array of important events 
in our nation's history, including military conflicts, maritime 
innovation, and American expansion to the west. The eastern corridor is 
one of the most historically significant regions in the Great Lakes and 
the country. Lake Ontario has dominated maritime trade and 
transportation for centuries, beginning with the canoes and boats of 
early indigenous peoples. During the colonial period, Lake Ontario was 
a strategic theater of conflict among European powers and the young 
American republic. Military actions occurred in the region during the 
French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Later, 
this region was critical to the development of the American West and 
the nation's industrial core.
    Vessels that historically plied Lake Ontario's waters often met 
with treacherous conditions, which resulted in numerous shipwrecks. The 
lake's cold, fresh water has preserved these wrecks, making these 
``submerged museums'' ripe for protection, study, and interpretation. 
The area contains 21 known shipwrecks, 47 additional reported vessel 
losses, several reported aircraft losses, numerous other historic 
maritime-related features, and is adjacent to communities that have 
embraced their centuries-long relationship with Lake Ontario. The 
collection also includes HMS Ontario, the oldest confirmed shipwreck 
and the only fully intact British warship to have ever been found in 
the Great Lakes; at least one submerged shipwreck that has been listed, 
and several evaluated for listing, on the National Register of Historic 
Places; and a 19th Century Great Lakes cargo vessel that is recognized 
as the only New York State Submerged Cultural Preserve and Dive Site in 
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

II. Need for Action

    On January 17, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo, acting on behalf of the 
State of New York and the Counties of Jefferson, Wayne, Cayuga, and 
Oswego submitted a nomination to NOAA through the Sanctuary Nomination 
Process (SNP) (79 FR 33851), asking NOAA to consider designating an 
area in eastern Lake Ontario waters as a national marine sanctuary. The 
nomination asks NOAA to supplement and complement work by the State of 
New York to enhance protection of this collection of nationally 
significant shipwrecks and other underwater cultural resources (e.g., 
aircraft, inundated prehistoric sites) in the face of evolving and 
expanding human use. The nomination also identifies opportunities for 
NOAA to expand upon existing local, county, and state efforts to study, 
interpret, and manage the area's unique submerged cultural resources. 
The nomination does not propose that the sanctuary regulate fishing, 
water quality, or other natural resource attributes of the area.
    NOAA is initiating the process to designate this area as a national 
marine sanctuary based on the information included in the nomination. 
NOAA's review of the nomination against the criteria and considerations 
of the SNP indicated strong merit in proposing this area as a national 
marine sanctuary to protect cultural resources. The nomination was 
endorsed by a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals at 
local, state, regional, and national levels including elected 
officials, businesses, a federally recognized tribe, recreational 
users, conservation groups, fishing associations, tourism companies, 
museums, historical societies, and education groups. NOAA completed its 
review of the nomination on March 21, 2017 and added the area to the 
inventory of nominations that are eligible for designation. NOAA 
encourages the public to review the full nomination at https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/.
    NOAA's goal in considering the designation is to protect, research, 
interpret, and improve public access to shipwrecks and other maritime 
heritage resources. Designation under the NMSA would allow NOAA to 
complement the State of New York's efforts to preserve this collection 
of nationally significant historic shipwrecks and other underwater 
cultural resources. Through a research and monitoring program, NOAA 
could use its assets to further locate, document, and monitor these 
significant cultural resources. Establishing a national marine 
sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario could also expand education and 
outreach to interpret sanctuary resources for the public, as well as 
promote the responsible use of sanctuary resources. Furthermore, a 
sanctuary has the potential to increase tourism and economic 
opportunities in local coastal communities.

III. Process

    The process for designating the Lake Ontario area as a national 
marine sanctuary includes the following stages:
    1. Public Scoping Process-- Information collection and 
characterization, including the consideration of public comments 
received during scoping;
    2. Preparation of documents-- Preparation and release of draft 
designation documents, including: A draft environmental impact 
statement (DEIS), prepared pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), that identifies boundary alternatives; a draft 
management plan (DMP); and a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to 
define proposed sanctuary regulations. Draft documents would be used to 
initiate consultations with federal, state, or local agencies, tribes 
and other interested parties, as appropriate;
    3. Public review and comment on the DEIS, DMP, and NPRM;
    4. Preparation and release of a final environmental impact 
statement, final management plan, including a response to public 
comments, with a final rule and regulations, if appropriate.
    5. The designation and regulations shall take effect after the end 
of a review

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period of forty-five days of a continuous session of Congress. During 
this same period, the Governor of the state in whose waters the 
sanctuary is partially or entirely located has the opportunity to 
concurrently review the designation.
    With this notice, NOAA is initiating a public scoping process to 
gather information from individuals, organizations, and government 
agencies on the designation of the Great Lake Ontario area as a 
national marine sanctuary based on the community-based nomination of 
January 2017, especially:
    (a) The spatial extent of the proposed sanctuary;
    (b) the location, nature, and value of the resources that would be 
protected by a sanctuary;
    (c) the management plan framework most appropriate to the resources 
in the area;
    (d) the potential socioeconomic, cultural, and biological impacts 
of designation;
    (e) threats to underwater cultural resources within the proposed 
sanctuary; and
    (f) potential names for the new sanctuary.

IV. Consultation Under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act

    This notice confirms that NOAA will fulfill its responsibility 
under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) 
through the ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a) including 
the use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder meetings to meet 
the section 106 requirements. The NHPA specifically applies to any 
agency undertaking that may affect historic properties. Pursuant to 36 
CFR 800.16(1)(1), historic properties includes: ``any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure or object included in, or 
eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places 
maintained by the Secretary of the Interior. The term includes 
artifacts, records, and remains that are related to and located within 
such properties. The term includes properties of traditional religious 
and cultural importance to an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization and that meet the National Register criteria.''
    In fulfilling its responsibility under the NHPA and NEPA, NOAA 
intends to identify consulting parties; identify historic properties 
and assess the effects of the undertaking on such properties; initiate 
formal consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, the 
Advisory Council of Historic Preservation, federally-recognized tribes, 
and other consulting parties; involve the public in accordance with 
NOAA's NEPA procedures, and develop in consultation with identified 
consulting parties alternatives and proposed measures that might avoid, 
minimize or mitigate any adverse effects on historic properties and 
describe them in any environmental assessment or draft environmental 
impact statement.

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

    Dated: April 12, 2019.
John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2019-07678 Filed 4-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P