[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 169 (Friday, September 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49519-49520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18874]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Public Hearings and Availability of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Management Plan for the 
Proposed Designation of the Connecticut National Estuarine Research 
Reserve

AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management (OCM), National Ocean Service 
(NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; public hearings.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Coastal Zone 
Management Act, as amended (CZMA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management is announcing a 45-
day public comment period and will hold public hearings for the purpose 
of receiving comments on the draft management plan (DMP) and draft 
environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed designation of 
the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve (CT NERR). The DMP 
addresses research, monitoring, education, and stewardship, as well as 
cultural resource needs for the proposed CT NERR, and the DEIS analyzes 
alternatives to the proposed action along with their potential 
environmental impacts.

DATES: NOAA is accepting written public comments on the adequacy of the 
DMP and DEIS for the proposed designation of the CT NERR through 5 p.m. 
(EST), October 18, 2021. In addition, NOAA will accept oral or written 
public comments on the adequacy of the DMP and DEIS for the proposed 
designation of the CT NERR during public hearings held from 2:30 to 4 
p.m. and 7:30 to 9 p.m. (EST) on October 7, 2021, online via WebEx and 
by phone. For more information about the public hearings, please visit: 
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Coastal-Resources/NERR/NERR-Home-Page. All 
relevant comments received at the October 7, 2021, public hearings and 
during the 45-day public comment period ending at 5 p.m. (EST), October 
18, 2021, will be considered in the preparation of the Final Management 
Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed 
designation of the CT NERR.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any one of the 
following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov 
and enter NOAA-NOS-2020-0089 in the search box. Click on the 
``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach 
your comments. Written comments provided electronically must be 
submitted no later than 5 p.m. (EST) October 18, 2021.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Erica Seiden, Stewardship 
Division (N/OCM6), Office for Coastal Management, NOS, NOAA, 1305 East-
West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; ATTN: CT NERR. Written 
comments submitted by mail must be postmarked by October 18, 2021.
    The October 7, 2021, public hearings will be conducted online via 
WebEx and by phone. Online participants should go to the following 
University of Connecticut website to get instructions for participating 
in and attending the public hearings: https://uconnvtc.webex.com/meet/ctnerr. Hearing documents will be available on the Connecticut 
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's CT NERR website: 
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Coastal-Resources/NERR/NERR-Home-Page, as 
well as on the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov (enter 
NOAA-NOS-2020-0089 in the search box). You may also participate in the 
hearings by phone, by using the toll-free number +1 415-655-0002 and 
the attendee access code 120 996 1055.
    Instructions: All relevant comments received are part of the public 
record and will be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov 
with no changes. All personally identifiable information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the commenter will be 
publicly accessible and maintained by NOAA as part of the public 
record. NOAA will accept anonymous comments. To submit an anonymous 
comment, on the eRulemaking portal, enter ``N/A'' in the required 
fields if you wish to remain anonymous. If you would like to provide an 
anonymous comment during the public hearings, type your comment into 
the question box and (1) direct your message only to the moderator by 
selecting that person's name; and (2) state at the top of your comment 
that you would like to remain anonymous. Multimedia submissions (e.g., 
audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The 
written comment is considered the official comment and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to

[[Page 49520]]

make. NOAA will generally not consider comments, or comment contents, 
located outside of the primary submission sites or addresses (i.e., 
those posted on the web, cloud, or other file-sharing system). Please 
note, the public hearings will not be audio or video recorded.
    Closed captioning will be provided for those who attend the public 
hearings online via WebEx: https://uconnvtc.webex.com/meet/ctnerr.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica Seiden, Stewardship Division (N/
OCM6), Office for Coastal Management, NOS, NOAA, 1305 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; ATTN: CT NERR; phone: (240) 
533-0781; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The National Estuarine Research Reserve 
System (NERRS) is a federal-state partnership administered by NOAA. The 
NERRS protects more than 1.3 million acres of estuarine habitat for 
long-term research, monitoring, education, and stewardship throughout 
the coastal United States. Established by the CZMA, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), each reserve is managed by a lead state agency or 
university, with input from local partners. NOAA provides funding and 
national programmatic guidance to the NERRS.
    NOAA received the State of Connecticut's nomination of the proposed 
Connecticut NERR site on January 3, 2019. NOAA evaluated the nomination 
package and found that the proposed site met the reserve system 
requirements for designation. (See 16 U.S.C. 1461(b).) Accordingly, 
NOAA informed the State of Connecticut on September 27, 2019, that it 
was accepting the nomination and that the next step would be to prepare 
a DEIS and DMP. (See 15 CFR 921.13.)
    The National Environmental Policy Act's (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) require agencies to 
provide public notice of the availability of environmental documents, 
including environmental impact statements (40 CFR 1506.6). Similarly, 
the CZMA's implementing regulations for the NERRS require NOAA to 
provide notice in the Federal Register of the availability of the DEIS 
and the associated public hearing(s) (15 CFR 921.13). This notice is 
part of NOAA's action to comply with these requirements.
    The CT NERR DEIS considers the human and environmental consequences 
of designating the nominated site, plus four alternative sites: (1) The 
Connecticut River site; (2) the Lower Connecticut River site; (3) the 
revised nominated site; and (4) the no action alternative. The DMP sets 
a course for operating the proposed CT NERR should it be designated, 
and includes plans for administration, research, education, facilities, 
and management of the proposed site. (See 15 CFR 921.13.)
    For more detailed information on the site selection process and the 
proposed site, see the Connecticut Department of Energy and 
Environmental Protection's Connecticut National Estuarine Research 
Reserve website: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Coastal-Resources/NERR/NERR-Home-Page.

Keelin Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-18874 Filed 9-2-21; 8:45 am]
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