[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64190-64191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24998]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Review of Nomination for St. George Unangan Heritage National 
Marine Sanctuary

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

ACTION: Notice; request for written comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is requesting 
written comments to facilitate ONMS' review of the nomination for St. 
George Unangan Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) at the five-
year interval. In particular, NOAA is requesting relevant information 
as it pertains to its 11 evaluation criteria for inclusion in the 
inventory. In this five-year review, NOAA will pay particular attention 
to any new information about the significance of the area's natural or 
cultural resources, changes to any threats to these resources, and any 
updates to the management framework of the area. NOAA has provided the 
original nominating party, the City of St. George, an opportunity to 
share its views on these same questions. Following this information 
gathering and internal analysis, NOAA will make a final determination 
on whether or not the St. George Unangan Heritage NMS nomination will 
remain in the inventory for another five year period.

DATES: Written comments must be received by December 17, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal and 
search for Docket Number NOAA-NOS-2021-0094.
     Mail: Paul E. Michel, Regional Policy Coordinator, NOAA 
Sanctuaries West Coast Region, 99 Pacific Street, Bldg. 100F, Monterey, 
CA 93940.
     Email: [email protected].
     Phone: 831-241-4217.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public 
record. All personal identifying information (for example, name and 
address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. NOAA will accept 
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Michel, Regional Policy 
Coordinator, NOAA Sanctuaries West Coast Region, 99 Pacific Street, 
Bldg. 100F, Monterey, CA 93940, or at [email protected], or 831-241-
4217.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 64191]]

Background Information

    In 2014, NOAA issued a final rule establishing the sanctuary 
nomination process (SNP), which details how communities may submit 
nominations to NOAA for consideration of national marine sanctuary 
designation (79 FR 33851). NOAA moves successful nominations to an 
inventory of areas that could be considered for national marine 
sanctuary designation. The final rule establishing the SNP included a 
five-year limit on any nomination added to the inventory that NOAA does 
not advance for designation.
    In November 2019, NOAA issued a Federal Register notice (84 FR 
61546) to clarify procedures for evaluating and updating a nomination 
as it approaches the five-year mark on the inventory of areas that 
could be considered for national marine sanctuary designation. This 
notice explained that if a nomination remains responsive to the 
evaluation criteria for inclusion on the inventory, it may be 
appropriate to allow the nomination to remain on the inventory for 
another five years. The notice also established a process for NOAA to 
consider the continuing viability of nominations nearing the five-year 
expiration mark.
    The nomination for St. George Unangan Heritage NMS was accepted to 
the national inventory on January 27, 2017, and is therefore scheduled 
to expire on January 27, 2022. The full nomination can be found at 
https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/.
    NOAA is not proposing to designate the St. George Unangan Heritage 
NMS with this action. Instead, NOAA is seeking public comment on ONMS' 
five-year review of the nomination for St. George Unangan Heritage NMS. 
Accordingly, written comments submitted as part of this request should 
not focus on whether NOAA should initiate the designation process for a 
St. George Unangan Heritage NMS. Rather, comments should address the 
relevance of the nomination towards NOAA's 11 evaluation criteria and 
any new information NOAA should consider about the nominated area 
(these criteria are detailed at https://nominate.noaa.gov/guide.html). 
Comments that do not pertain to the evaluation criteria, or present new 
information on the St. George Unangan Heritage NMS nomination, will not 
be considered in NOAA's decision on whether to retain this nomination 
in the inventory.
    Whether removing or maintaining the nomination for St. George 
Unangan Heritage NMS, NOAA would follow the same procedure for 
notifying the public as was followed when the nomination was submitted, 
including a letter to the nominator, a notice in the Federal Register, 
and posting information on ``nominate.noaa.gov''.

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

John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-24998 Filed 11-16-21; 8:45 am]
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