[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34851-34853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11954]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux Site Added to the Inventory of 
Areas for Possible Designation as National Marine Sanctuaries

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On June 13, 2014, NOAA published a final rule establishing the 
Sanctuary Nomination Process, allowing communities to submit 
nominations to NOAA for consideration as new national marine 
sanctuaries. The rule included the final review process, national 
significance criteria, and management considerations that NOAA uses to 
evaluate new national marine sanctuary nominations for inclusion in the 
inventory of areas that could be considered for designation as national 
marine sanctuaries. The rule also states that NOAA will publish a 
Federal Register notice when areas have been added to the inventory of 
successful nominations. This notice announces that NOAA added the 
Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) sanctuary nomination to the 
inventory.

DATES: This notice is effective on June 8, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Kristina Kekuewa, Pacific Islands Regional Director, NOAA 
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Honolulu, 
Hawaii 96818, and at https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Kekuewa, Pacific Islands 
Regional Director, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 
[email protected], or at 808-725-5252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) 
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to identify and designate as 
national marine sanctuaries areas of the marine environment, including 
the Great Lakes, which are of special national significance; to manage 
these areas as the National Marine Sanctuary System; and to provide for 
the comprehensive and coordinated conservation and management of these 
areas and the activities affecting them in a manner which complements 
existing regulatory

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authorities. Section 303 of the NMSA, 16 U.S.C. 1433, provides national 
marine sanctuary designation standards and factors required in 
determining whether an area qualifies for consideration as a potential 
national marine sanctuary, and section 304, 16 U.S.C. 1434, establishes 
procedures for national marine sanctuary designation and 
implementation. Regulations implementing the NMSA and each national 
marine sanctuary are codified in part 922 of title 15 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations.
    On June 13, 2014, NOAA issued a final rule that established the 
Sanctuary Nomination Process and finalized the national significance 
criteria and management considerations it will use to review new 
national marine sanctuary nominations (79 FR 33851). If NOAA determines 
a nomination adequately meets the final criteria and considerations, it 
may place that nomination in an inventory of areas to consider for 
designation as a national marine sanctuary. NOAA also stated that it 
would send a letter of notification to the nominator and publish a 
Federal Register notice identifying areas that have been added to the 
inventory of successful nominations. This notice documents that NOAA is 
adding the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) nomination to the 
inventory.
    NOAA is not designating any new national marine sanctuaries with 
this action. Any proposed designations resulting from the nomination 
process would be conducted by NOAA as a separate process under the 
NMSA, Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. subchapter II), National 
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and other applicable 
authorities.

II. Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux Sanctuary Nomination Added to the Inventory

    The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) Tribal Government, a 
federally recognized tribe,\1\ submitted an initial nomination for 
Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) for consideration as a 
national marine sanctuary on December 17, 2021. The original nomination 
identified an estimated 52,920 mi\2\ (39,961 nm\2\) area in the Bering 
Sea encompassed by a 100 nm circular boundary around the two inhabited 
islands of St. Paul and St. George off the coast of Alaska for possible 
sanctuary designation. The nominated area excluded a quarter-mile 
buffer zone around the St. George and St. Paul Harbors and all 
shoreside and submerged industrial facilities on both islands. After 
further communication with the community of St. George Island, the 
ACSPI Tribal Government submitted a revised nomination on April 14, 
2022, that removed the initial proposed boundaries and any implied 
commitments of St. George Island (i.e., City of St. George and the St. 
George Traditional Council) to encourage future community input on the 
ideal boundaries and co-management arrangements during any potential 
sanctuary designation process. In the revised nomination, the 
nominators proposed utilizing Indigenous knowledge and empirical 
science to assess numerous biological, ecological, and physical 
features of the Pribilof Islands marine ecosystem (e.g., oceanographic 
features, foraging and migratory dynamics of seabirds and marine 
mammals, and population dynamics) and working with co-managing partners 
and advisors to determine appropriate sanctuary boundaries should ONMS 
move forward with sanctuary designation. The revised nomination 
proposes excluding buffer zones around harbors and all shoreside and 
submerged industrial facilities from any future proposed boundary.
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    \1\ The Department of the Interior includes Saint Paul Island 
and Saint George Island on the list of Federally Recognized Alaska 
Native Villages/Tribes Within the State of Alaska. Indian Entities 
Recognized by and Eligible to Receive Services from the United 
States Bureau of Indian Affairs, 87 FR 4636, 4641 (January 28, 
2022). The Department of the Interior list further notes, ``Pribilof 
Islands Aleut Communities of St. Paul & St. George Islands (Saint 
George Island and Saint Paul Island)--is not included in the 
official count of 574 federally recognized Tribes but is recognized 
as an entity authorized to act on behalf of Saint George Island and 
Saint Paul Island).'' Id.
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    The ACSPI Tribal Government nominated the area for consideration as 
a national marine sanctuary to protect nationally significant 
biological and cultural resources in the area. The area's ecosystem 
supports globally significant populations of marine mammals, seabirds, 
and fish, including various ecological and cultural keystone species 
such as northern fur seals and Steller sea lions. The oceanographic 
features of the area results in a highly productive zone that supports 
representative biogeographic assemblages of biodiversity and 
maintenance of critical habitat for foraging and for important life 
stages of many threatened and endangered species, as well as species 
considered to be keystone, foundation, or focal.
    The nomination also describes the importance of the Pribilof 
Islands and surrounding waters to the history and heritage of the 
Unangan (Aleut) communities. In addition to being ecologically 
significant, the biological resources in the nominated area are vital 
for the subsistence of the Unangan people and are integral to their 
belief systems and identities. The ACSPI Tribal Government's nomination 
proposes a management framework for the area that would include a 
formal co-management agreement between State, Federal, and Tribal 
governments, as well as emphasize Indigenous-led marine stewardship. 
More information can be found in the nomination at https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/.
    Based on information included in the nomination, including the 
comment letters submitted with the nomination, as well as internal 
analysis of relevant information about the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux 
proposal, NOAA has determined that the nomination is responsive to the 
national significance criteria and management considerations and added 
it to the inventory of successful nominations. This notice serves to 
inform the public of this decision to add the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux 
nomination to the inventory.
    Prior to moving forward with a proposed sanctuary designation, ONMS 
would work with the ACSPI Tribal Government, the St. George Traditional 
Council, the City of St. George, Alaska Native corporations, the State 
of Alaska, Federal agencies, and other organizations to further 
consider the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux nomination. In carrying out further 
coordination with respect to any proposed designation, as applicable, 
NOAA would fulfill its responsibilities under Executive Order 13175, 
``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments,'' and 
NOAA implementing policy and procedures. Executive Order 13175 requires 
Federal agencies to establish procedures for meaningful consultation 
and coordination with Tribal officials in the development of Federal 
policies that have Tribal implications. Under these policies and 
procedures, NOAA offers affected federally recognized Tribes 
government-to-government consultation at the earliest practicable time 
it can reasonably anticipate that a proposed policy or initiative may 
have tribal implications.

III. Classification

A. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    NOAA has concluded that this action will not have a significant 
effect, individually or cumulatively, on the human environment, because 
this action is a notice of an administrative and legal nature and does 
not designate any new national marine sanctuaries. NOAA has further 
determined that this action is not connected to a larger action, and

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does not involve extraordinary circumstances precluding the use of a 
categorical exclusion. Therefore, this action is categorically excluded 
from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or 
environmental impact statement, in accordance with NOAA Administrative 
Order 216-6A Environmental Review Procedures, and the NOAA NEPA 
Companion Manual. As defined in the NOAA NEPA Companion Manual, 
Appendix E, categorical exclusion category G7, the proposed action is a 
notice of administrative and legal nature and for which any 
environmental effects are too broad and speculative to lend themselves 
to meaningful analysis at this time and will be subject later to the 
NEPA process, as applicable. Should NOAA decide to propose the 
designation of a national marine sanctuary, each individual national 
marine sanctuary designation process will be subject to case-by-case 
analysis, as required under NEPA and as outlined in section 
304(a)(2)(A) of the NMSA.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., unless that collection of information displays a currently valid 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Nominations for 
national marine sanctuaries discussed in this notice involve a 
collection-of-information requirement subject to the requirements of 
the PRA. OMB has approved this collection-of-information requirement 
under OMB control number 0648-0682.
    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. 2022-11954 Filed 6-7-22; 8:45 am]
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