[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35757-35758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14221]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary; Announcement 
of Public Meetings; Request for Public Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of availability and public meetings; Request for public 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has 
prepared a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) that considers 
three alternatives for the proposed designation of a national marine 
sanctuary to manage a nationally significant collection of shipwrecks 
and other underwater cultural resources in New York's eastern Lake 
Ontario and the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. NOAA 
also prepared a draft management plan that describes the proposed 
goals, objectives, and strategies for managing the proposed sanctuary. 
NOAA is soliciting public comment on the DEIS and draft management 
plan.

DATES: NOAA will consider all comments received by September 10, 2021. 
NOAA will conduct public meetings on the following dates:
    (1) Date: August 18, 2021, Location: Lake Ontario Event and 
Conference Center, Address: 26 East First Street, Oswego, NY 13126, 
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT. A virtual meeting platform may 
substitute if public safety concerns remain to prevent the spread of 
COVID-19.
    (2) Date: August 19, 2021, Location: Clayton Opera House, Address: 
405 Riverside Drive, Clayton, NY 13624, Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 
EDT. A virtual meeting platform may substitute if public safety 
concerns remain to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
    (3) Date: August 24, 2021, Location: virtual meeting, Time: 2:30 
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT
    (4) Date: August 26, 2021, Location: virtual meeting, Time: 6:30 
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EDT

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by the following method:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov and search 
for ``NOAA-NOS-2021-0050'', 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, 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).
    Copies of the DEIS can be downloaded or viewed on the internet at 
www.regulations.gov (search for docket NOAA-NOS-2021-0050) or at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/. Copies can also be obtained by 
contacting Ellen Brody (in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this notice).

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA; 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) 
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), through NOAA, 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 NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS). The 
primary objective of the NMSA is to protect the sanctuary system's 
biological and cultural resources, such as coral reefs, marine animals, 
historic shipwrecks, other historic structures, and archaeological 
sites.
    In the DEIS, NOAA's proposed action is to designate a national 
marine sanctuary in New York's eastern Lake Ontario and the Thousand 
Islands region of the St. Lawrence River to manage a nationally 
significant collection of shipwrecks and other

[[Page 35758]]

underwater cultural resources. This area would include up to 1,786 
square miles of lake waters and bottomlands adjacent to Jefferson, 
Wayne, Oswego, Cayuga, and St. Lawrence counties in the state of New 
York. The proposed area contains 64 known shipwrecks and one aircraft 
representing events spanning more than 200 years of our nation's 
history. Based on historical records, an additional 20 shipwrecks and 
three aircraft may be located there. NOAA proposes to designate the 
area as a national marine sanctuary to protect these significant 
underwater cultural resources through a regulatory and non-regulatory 
framework; document, further locate, and monitor these resources; 
provide interpretation of their cultural, historical, and educational 
value to the public; promote responsible use of these resources for 
their recreational value; and promote recreation, tourism, and economic 
development opportunities in the region. NOAA would co-manage the 
sanctuary with the state of New York.
    On January 17, 2017, pursuant to section 304 of the NMSA and the 
sanctuary nomination process (79 FR 33851), leaders of four counties 
(Oswego, Jefferson, Cayuga, and Wayne) and the City of Oswego, with 
support from Governor Andrew Cuomo, submitted a nomination asking NOAA 
to consider designating a national marine sanctuary in eastern Lake 
Ontario waters to protect, and increase awareness of, a nationally 
significant collection of shipwrecks. NOAA accepted the nomination 
March 21, 2017 and initiated the sanctuary designation process by 
issuing a Notice of Intent on April 17, 2019 to conduct scoping and 
prepare a DEIS (84 FR 16004). Scoping included a 105-day public period 
during which NOAA solicited public comments related to the scale and 
scope of the proposed sanctuary. In addition, NOAA hosted four public 
meetings in June 2019 and accepted comments through a web-based portal 
and by traditional mail until July 31, 2019. During the scoping period, 
82 individuals provided written input. About 165 people attended the 
four scoping meetings, with 28 people providing oral comments. In 
February 2020, NOAA established a Sanctuary Advisory Council to bring 
members of the local community together to provide advice to NOAA and 
serve as a liaison with the nominating community throughout the 
designation process.

II. NOAA's Proposed Action

    In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the NMSA (16 U.S.C. 1434), NOAA has prepared a 
DEIS that considers three alternatives for the proposed national marine 
sanctuary. This DEIS analyzes and summarizes the environmental 
consequences of the proposed action and alternatives. The alternatives 
include proposed sanctuary boundaries, proposed regulatory concepts, 
and a draft sanctuary management plan to support the management and 
protection of sanctuary resources. NOAA has not selected a preferred 
alternative. In accordance with section 304(a) of the NMSA, the DEIS 
also serves as a resource assessment that documents present and 
potential uses of the area. The draft management plan outlines a series 
of goals and strategies in the areas of research and monitoring, 
education and outreach, tourism and economic development, sanctuary 
resource protection, and sanctuary operations.
    NOAA is seeking public comment on the DEIS and draft management 
plan, which are available at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario 
or may be obtained by contacting the individual listed under the 
heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. While members of the public 
can comment on any aspect of the DEIS and draft management plan, NOAA 
requests specific comment on: Whether NOAA should move forward with the 
No Action Alternative, Alternative 1, or Alternative 2 for the rest of 
the designation process; the regulatory concepts NOAA proposes to use 
to create regulations for the sanctuary in the next phase of the 
process; the proposed goals, strategies, and activities for managing 
the sanctuary that are outlined in the draft management plan; and ideas 
for a sanctuary name that reflects the special significance of the 
area.
    In addition, as part of its compliance with Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f), and its 
implementing regulations (36 CFR 800), NOAA is seeking public comment 
under 800.14(b)(2)(ii) of the National Historic Preservation Act to 
inform its development of a Programmatic Agreement with the state of 
New York to provide a process for consideration of future undertakings 
that may result from management of the proposed sanctuary, associated 
field operations, and other routine activities, if the sanctuary is 
designated. Following public comment on the DEIS and draft management 
plan, NOAA will prepare and release for public comment draft 
regulations for the proposed sanctuary. At that time, a detailed 
discussion of the regulatory text will be included in the notice of 
proposed rulemaking and published in the Federal Register for public 
comment.

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

Rebecca R. Holyoke,
Acting Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2021-14221 Filed 7-6-21; 8:45 am]
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