[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 58 (Monday, March 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16325-16326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06343]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No: 200918-0249]
RIN 0648-BJ52
Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the
Threatened Indo-Pacific Corals, Extension of Public Comment Period
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are extending the public comment period by 60 days
for our proposed rule to designate critical habitat for seven
threatened corals in U.S. waters in the Indo-Pacific (Acropora
globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora retusa, Acropora speciosa,
Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata)
under the Endangered Species Act. The end of the public comment period
is extended from March 27, 2021, to May 26, 2021.
DATES: The public comment period is extended by 60 days to May 26,
2021. Comments must be received by May 26, 2021, as specified under
ADDRESSES. Comments received after this date may not be accepted.
ADDRESSES: You may submit public comments in writing by any of the
following methods. Comments must be received by May 26, 2021:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0131 click the ``Comment Now'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Lance Smith, Protected Resources Division, NMFS,
Pacific Islands Regional Office, NOAA Inouye Regional Center, 1845 Wasp
Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the previously
described methods to ensure that we receive, document, and consider
them. 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. All comments received are a part of the public record and
will generally 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.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required
fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Smith, NMFS Pacific Islands
Region, [email protected] or 808-725-5131.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 27, 2020, NMFS proposed to
designate critical habitat for seven Indo-Pacific corals listed as
threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) within U.S. waters in
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American
Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA). The seven species are
Acropora globiceps, A. jacquelineae, A. retusa, A. speciosa, Euphyllia
paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata. Proposed
coral critical habitat consists of substrate and water column habitat
characteristics essential for the reproduction, recruitment, growth,
and maturation of the listed corals.
Proposed critical habitat consists of 17 separate units, each of
which contains all ESA-listed corals that occur there: There are four
units in American Samoa (Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, Ta`u, Rose Atoll); seven
in CNMI (Rota, Aguijan, Tinian, Saipan, Anatahan, Pagan, and Maug
Islands); five in the PRIA (Howland, Palmyra, Kingman, Johnston, and
Jarvis Islands); and one unit encompassing all proposed designations in
Guam. Between one and six listed corals occur in each unit. The
following areas are either ineligible for proposed critical habitat, or
excluded because of national security impacts: A complex of overlapping
Navy Surface Danger Zones off of Ritidian Point in Guam, other parts of
Guam, parts of Tinian, a group of six Navy anchorage berths on Garapan
Bank in Saipan, all of Farallon de Medinilla, and all of Wake Atoll.
Critical habitat protections apply only to Federal actions under
Section 7 of the ESA; activities that are not funded, authorized, or
carried out by a Federal agency are not subject to these protections.
The proposed rule and other materials prepared in support of this
action, including maps showing the proposed critical habitat, are
available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/proposed-rule-designate-critical-habitat-threatened-indo-pacific-corals.
The original public comment period for this proposed rule was
scheduled to close on January 26, 2021. In response to public input, we
extended the public comment period by 30 days to February 25, 2021, and
held two online public hearings on January 19 and January 21, 2021. At
the public hearings, we received several requests to again extend the
public comment period, to allow the public to adequately review the
extensive supporting materials for the proposed rule in order to
formulate public comments. Similarly, on January 26, 2021, we received
a letter from the Governors of CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa
requesting extension
[[Page 16326]]
of the public comment period for the same reason. In response, we
extended the public comment period by another 30 days to March 27,
2021.
On March 12, 2021, we received a letter from the Directors of the
American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands and
Natural Resources, and Guam Department of Agriculture requesting
additional time for public comments to provide the Territories and NMFS
time to gather the best available scientific information on the listed
corals to inform the final coral critical habitat rule. In response, we
are extending the public comment period by another 60 days, and are
accepting public comments for the proposed rule through May 26, 2021.
Public comments can be submitted as described under ADDRESSES.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
Dated: March 23, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-06343 Filed 3-26-21; 8:45 am]
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