[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 61546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24577]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 922


Clarification of Procedures for the Sanctuary Nomination Process

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

ACTION: Notification.

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SUMMARY: The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is clarifying 
procedures for the Sanctuary Nomination Process (SNP) established in 
2014. Specifically, ONMS informs the public of how it intends to treat 
nominations that have been accepted to the inventory of sites for 
potential designation as national marine sanctuaries and have been on 
the inventory for five years.

DATES: The procedures for the Sanctuary Nomination Process set out in 
this document are effective on November 13, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Jessica Kondel, Policy and Planning Division Chief, 1305 
East-West Highway, 11th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; 240-533-
0647; [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Kondel, Policy and Planning 
Division Chief, 240-533-0647, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In 2014, NOAA issued a final rule re-establishing the process by 
which communities may submit nominations of areas of the marine and 
Great Lakes environment for NOAA to consider for designation as 
national marine sanctuaries (79 FR 33851). The final rule, which was 
promulgated at 15 CFR part 922, subpart B, describes the process for 
submitting nominations, known as the Sanctuary Nomination Process 
(SNP), describes the national significance criteria and management 
considerations that NOAA applies to evaluate nominations for inclusion 
in an inventory of areas that may be considered for future designation 
as national marine sanctuaries, and promulgates the regulations 
necessary for implementing the nomination process.
    The preamble to the final rule establishing the SNP states that: 
``[i]f NOAA takes no designation action on a nomination in the 
inventory, the nomination will expire after five years from the time it 
is accepted to the inventory.'' 79 FR 33851, 33855. In the preamble, 
NOAA also acknowledged that its implementation of the review process 
may evolve over time, in which case it would notify the public of any 
such process changes. See 79 FR 33851, 33855.
    The intent behind the five-year expiration policy was to ensure 
that the inventory contains nominations that remain relevant based on 
original conditions. As the inventory of sanctuary nominations matures, 
some of the nominations may reach the five-year mark from the time they 
were accepted to the inventory without NOAA initiating the designation 
process. If a nomination remains responsive to the SNP criteria and 
considerations described in the final rule after five years, NOAA 
believes it may be appropriate to allow it to remain on the inventory 
for another five years.
    To guide NOAA's determination of whether a nomination should remain 
on the inventory after five years, NOAA has identified a process by 
which the Agency will consider the continuing viability of nominations 
that are nearing the five-year expiration mark. With this document, 
NOAA is announcing that it intends to use the following process to 
evaluate a nomination as it approaches its five-year anniversary on the 
inventory:
    1. NOAA will send a letter to the original nominating individual/
party (``nominator'') at or around the four and a half-year mark of its 
time on the inventory to give the opportunity for the nominator to 
provide updates (such as more current nomination information as 
described in the 2014 final rule under ``Step 1: Nomination 
Development'' and ``Step 2: Nomination Submission'', and/or new letters 
of support if available).
    2. In addition to any response from the nominator, NOAA will update 
any relevant information on the nomination. Particular attention will 
be given to new public and agency/scientific information about the 
national significance of natural or cultural resources, as well as 
changes (increases or decreases) in the threats to the resources 
originally proposed for protection, and/or changes to the management 
frameworks in the area. In addition, NOAA will assess the level of 
community-based support for the nomination from a broad range of 
interests, and if that support has increased or decreased since the 
time of nomination. This information gathering on any or all of the 
national significance criteria and management considerations could take 
place through a public workshop or via a request by NOAA for written 
public comments.
    3. NOAA will review the updated nomination against the SNP national 
significance criteria and management considerations to assess if the 
nomination is still accurate and relevant.
    Following this public input and internal analysis, ONMS staff will 
provide the ONMS Director with a recommendation to maintain the 
nomination in the inventory, or remove it once the 5-year anniversary 
is reached. Whether removing or maintaining the nomination, NOAA would 
follow the same procedures for notifying the public as the ones 
followed when a nomination is submitted, including a letter to the 
nominator, a notice in the Federal Register, and posting information on 
``nominate.noaa.gov''.
    NOAA is not nominating or designating any new national marine 
sanctuaries with this action. Any designations resulting from the 
nomination process would be conducted by NOAA through a separate 
process, and within the public participation standards enacted by the 
National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) and the National Environmental 
Policy Act. NOAA will follow all standards and requirements identified 
in the NMSA and its implementing regulations when, in the future, it 
considers any nomination for designation.

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

John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2019-24577 Filed 11-12-19; 8:45 am]
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