[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48913-48914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20069]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Establishing an Advisory Council Pursuant to the National Marine 
Sanctuaries Act and Solicitation for Applications for the Proposed Lake 
Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council

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

ACTION: Notice of solicitation.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NOAA is establishing a national 
marine sanctuary advisory council for the proposed sanctuary in eastern 
Lake Ontario. The council will provide advice and recommendations to 
ONMS regarding the sanctuary's designation. ONMS is soliciting 
applications to fill seats on the Proposed Lake Ontario National Marine 
Sanctuary Advisory Council. This notice contains web page links and 
contact information for the Proposed Lake Ontario National Marine 
Sanctuary and application materials to apply for the newly established 
advisory council.

DATES: Applications for membership on the Proposed Lake Ontario 
Sanctuary Advisory Council need to be received by November 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: For further information contact: Ellen Brody, Great Lakes 
Regional Coordinator, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 4840 
South State Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48108, or call 734-741-2270, or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Section 315 of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 
U.S.C. 1445a) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish 
advisory councils to advise and make recommendations regarding the 
designation and management of national marine sanctuaries. ONMS is 
establishing a new sanctuary advisory council for the proposed national 
marine sanctuary in Lake Ontario to serve as a liaison with the local 
community and provide guidance and advice to ONMS regarding the 
designation. The advisory council for the proposed sanctuary in Lake 
Ontario was not established when ONMS published its annual announcement 
in May 2019 that was advertising to fill vacant seats on the other 14 
councils (84 FR 24758, May 29, 2019). Therefore, ONMS is adding the new 
advisory council to the list of sites with open vacancies and 
announcing that it is soliciting applications to fill the council's 
seats. Applications are due November 1, 2019.

II. Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS)

    ONMS serves as the trustee for a network of underwater parks 
encompassing more than 600,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes 
waters from Washington state to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huron 
to American Samoa. The network includes a system of 14 national marine 
sanctuaries and the Papah[amacr]naumoku[amacr]kea and Rose Atoll marine 
national monuments. National marine sanctuaries protect our nation's 
most vital coastal and marine natural and cultural resources, and 
through active research, management, and public engagement, sustain 
healthy environments that are the foundation for thriving communities 
and stable economies.
    One of the many ways ONMS ensures public participation in the 
designation and management of national marine sanctuaries is through 
the formation of advisory councils. Advisory councils are community-
based groups established to provide advice and recommendations to ONMS 
on issues including management and science, as well as to serve as 
liaisons between their constituents in the community and the site. 
Pursuant to Section 315(a) of the NMSA, advisory councils are exempt 
from the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Additional 
information on ONMS and its advisory councils can be found at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov.

III. Advisory Council Membership

    Under Section 315 of the NMSA, advisory council members may be 
appointed from among: (1) Persons employed by federal or state agencies 
with expertise in natural resources management; (2) members of relevant 
regional fishery management councils; and (3) representatives of local 
user groups, conservation and other public interest organizations, 
scientific organizations, educational organizations, or others 
interested in the protection and multiple use management of sanctuary 
resources (16 U.S.C. 1445 a(b)).
    The charter for each advisory council defines the number and type 
of seats and positions on the council. The advisory council charter for 
the proposed national marine sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario 
identifies the following initial, non-governmental voting seat types: 
Divers/dive clubs/shipwreck exploration; education; maritime history 
and interpretation; tourism; economic development; recreational 
fishing; recreational boating; shoreline property owner; and citizen-
at-large. Initially, the council will also have non-voting seats for 
government agencies. Input from federally recognized tribes will be 
received through direct government-to-government consultation, pursuant 
to NOAA's Policy on Government-to-Government Consultation with 
Federally Recognized Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations (NAO 
218-8, December 19, 2018).
    For each of the existing advisory councils, applicants are chosen 
based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the 
seat for

[[Page 48914]]

which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; views 
regarding the protection and management of marine or Great Lakes 
resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by 
the site. Council members and alternates for the Proposed Lake Ontario 
National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council serve three-year terms, as 
reflected in the signed charter.
    More information on advisory council membership and processes, and 
materials related to the purpose, policies, and operational 
requirements for advisory councils can be found in the charter for a 
particular advisory council (http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/management/ac/council_charters.html) and the National Marine Sanctuary Advisory 
Council Implementation Handbook (http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/management/ac/acref.html). For more information about the new advisory 
council for the proposed national marine sanctuary in Lake Ontario, 
including seat descriptions and application materials, please visit 
https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    ONMS has a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control 
number (0648-0397) for the collection of public information related to 
the processing of ONMS national marine sanctuary advisory council 
applications across the National Marine Sanctuary System. Establishing 
a sanctuary advisory council for the proposed sanctuary in Lake Ontario 
fits within the estimated reporting burden under that control number. 
See https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRASearch (Enter Control Number 
0648-0397). Therefore, ONMS will not request an update to the reporting 
burden certified for OMB control number 0648-0397.
    Send comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect 
of this data collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden, 
to: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1305 East West Highway, N/
NMS, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.
    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. The OMB control 
number is #0648-0397.

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

John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2019-20069 Filed 9-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P