[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47299-47300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18207]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Surveying 
and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data 
Acquisition, Extension of Public Comment Period

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

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
National Ocean Service (NOS) is extending the public comment period by 
90 days for the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(PEIS) for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal 
and Marine Data Acquisition. The end of the public comment period is 
extended from August 24, 2021 to November 22, 2021.

DATES: The public comment period is extended by 90 days to November 22, 
2021. Comments must be received by November 22, 2021, as specified 
under ADDRESSES. Comments received after this date may not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: The Draft PEIS can be viewed or downloaded from the NOS 
website at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/environmental-compliance/surveying-mapping.html. Written comments on NOS's Draft PEIS 
may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NOS-2021-0055 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
     Mail: Please direct written comments to DOC/NOAA/NOS 
Environmental Compliance Coordinator, SSMC4-Station 13612, 1305 East 
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
     Email: [email protected].
     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 (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender 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: Giannina DiMaio, DOC/NOAA/NOS, 
Environmental Compliance Coordinator, SSMC4-Station 13612, 1305 East 
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Phone: 240-533-0918; or Email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 25, 2021, NOS published a Notice of 
Availability of a Draft PEIS for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. 
Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition. 86 FR 33663 (June 25, 
2021). The Draft PEIS was prepared in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), to analyze the 
potential environmental impacts associated with NOS's recurring data 
collection projects to characterize submerged features (e.g., habitat, 
bathymetry, marine debris). The ``action area'' for these projects 
encompasses United States (U.S.) rivers, states' offshore waters, the 
U.S. territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the U.S. Exclusive Economic 
Zone (U.S. EEZ), and coastal and riparian lands. As a part of the 
Proposed Action, NOS may use active acoustic equipment such as sub-
bottom profilers, single beam and multibeam echo sounders, side-scan 
sonars, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. The Draft PEIS analyzes 
NOS data collection projects for a time period of six years. Please 
refer to the original Notice of Availability for additional summary 
information.

[[Page 47300]]

    The original public comment period for the Draft PEIS was scheduled 
to close on August 24, 2021. In response to written and verbal requests 
from members of the public including representatives of the Alaska 
whaling community, NOS is extending the public comment period by 90 
days to November 22, 2021. The comment period extension will ensure 
adequate time for review of the Draft PEIS by all interested parties 
and will accommodate the Alaskan subsistence hunting and fishing 
community which is particularly busy during the start of the fall 
whaling season from August to October. NOS recognizes that Alaskan 
communities have valuable regional expertise in oceanography, marine 
mammals and other resources, and the subsistence patterns and needs of 
their community.
    NOS invites affected government agencies, non-governmental 
organizations, tribes and tribal organizations, and interested members 
of the public to participate in the Draft PEIS process and provide 
comments on the structure, contents, and analysis in the Draft PEIS. 
Please visit the project web page for additional information regarding 
the program: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/environmental-compliance/surveying-mapping.html.
    Authority: The preparation of the Draft PEIS was conducted in 
accordance with the requirements of NEPA, the Council on Environmental 
Quality's Regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq. (1978)), other applicable 
regulations, and NOAA's policies and procedures for compliance with 
those regulations. While the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA were 
revised as of November 14, 2020 (85 FR 43304, Jul. 16, 2020), NOS 
prepared this Draft PEIS using the 1978 CEQ regulations because this 
environmental review began on December 19, 2016, when NOS published a 
Notice of Intent to conduct scoping and prepare a Draft Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment. Written comments must be received on or 
before November 22, 2021.

Nicole R. LeBoeuf,
Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-18207 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
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