[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 226 (Friday, November 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72447-72449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25309]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for 
Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final programmatic environmental 
impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National 
Ocean Service has prepared a final programmatic environmental impact

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statement (PEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), to analyze the potential environmental 
impacts associated with NOS' recurring data collection projects to 
characterize submerged features (e.g., habitat, bathymetry, marine 
debris). The ``action area'' for these projects encompasses the United 
States (U.S.) territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the U.S. Exclusive 
Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ), U.S. rivers, States' offshore waters, and 
coastal and riparian lands. As 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 Final PEIS analyzes NOS data collection projects for a 
time period of five years. In preparing the Final PEIS, NOS has 
considered public comments received on the Draft PEIS, which was 
published in June 2021.

DATES: NOS will publish a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
after publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Notice 
of Availability for this Final PEIS in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Final PEIS can be viewed or downloaded from the NOS 
website at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/environmental-compliance/surveying-mapping.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Nunenkamp, Environmental 
Compliance Coordinator, National Ocean Service, SSMC4, 1305 East West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, [email protected], (302) 715-2405.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action analyzed in the Final 
PEIS is to continue NOS' surveying and mapping projects throughout the 
action area. The Final PEIS assesses the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative environmental impacts of a suite of surveying and mapping 
data collection activities.
    The Final PEIS responds to, and incorporates where appropriate, 
agency and public comments received on the Draft PEIS, which was 
available for public review from June 25, 2021 to November 22, 2021. 
During the public comment period for the Draft PEIS, NOS received 31 
comment submissions from 30 commenters via Regulations.gov and email. 
NOS responses to agency and public comments are provided in Appendix C 
of the Final PEIS.
    NOS updated the Draft PEIS to include additional mitigation 
measures designed to minimize the impacts of surveying and mapping 
activities on the human environment. Additional mitigation measures 
incorporated into the Final PEIS are expected to result in a reduction 
of adverse environmental impacts analyzed in the Draft PEIS.
    Due to the timing of the consultations and publication of the Final 
PEIS, the temporal scope of the Proposed Action has been reduced from 
six years (2022-2027) to five years (2023-2027). The annual numbers for 
project activities and project miles are expected to remain consistent 
with those estimated in the Draft PEIS; however, since the Final PEIS 
covers one less year than the Draft PEIS, the total estimated survey 
effort has decreased.
    NOS has incorporated additional data sources into the calculations 
of marine mammal density, and made technical corrections to the 
acoustic exposure estimates. These data have been updated for the Final 
PEIS.
    The Final PEIS evaluates three alternatives:
     Alternative A--No Action: Under Alternative A, NOS would 
continue to operate a variety of equipment and technologies to gather 
accurate and timely data on the nature and condition of the marine and 
coastal environment. This alternative reflects the technology, 
equipment, scope, and methods currently in use by NOS, at the level of 
effort reflecting NOS fiscal year 2019 funding levels. (NOS is using 
2019 as the baseline year for funding, as that was the last year of 
normal NOS operations prior to COVID-19 disruptions.)
     Alternative B: This alternative consists of Alternative A 
plus the more widespread adoption of new techniques and technologies 
(such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), microwave water level 
(MWWL) sensors, etc.) to more efficiently perform surveying, mapping, 
charting and related data gathering. Specific examples of adaptive 
methods and equipment that NOS programs are likely to adopt under 
Alternative B in the next five years include:
    [cir] Greater use of ROVs with echo sounder technologies;
    [cir] Greater use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and 
uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) with echo sounder technologies;
    [cir] Conversion of one or more existing 10-m (33 feet) crewed 
survey boats into USVs;
    [cir] Greater use of more efficient, wide-beam sonar systems 
(phase-differencing bathymetric systems) for nearshore hydrographic 
surveys;
    [cir] Increased field operations in the National Marine Sanctuary 
system with associated requirements for hydroacoustic charting, 
surveying, mapping and associated activities; and
    [cir] Installation, operation, and maintenance of additional water 
level stations including transitioning to mostly MWWL sensors and 
upgraded storm strengthening to make stations more climate resilient.
    Under Alternative B, all of the activities and equipment operation 
described in Alternative A would continue, many at a higher level of 
effort. The nature of these actions would not change, but the overall 
level of activity would be increased.
     Alternative C: Like Alternative B, Alternative C adopts 
new techniques and technologies to encourage greater program 
efficiencies regarding surveying, mapping, charting, and related data 
gathering activities. In addition, Alternative C would consist of NOS 
program implementation with an overall funding increase of 20 percent 
relative to Alternative B. Under Alternative C, all of the activities 
and equipment operation described in Alternative B would continue, many 
at a higher level of effort. The nature of these actions would not 
change, but the overall level of activity would be augmented.
    NOS has identified Alternative B as the preferred alternative, 
which fully addresses the purpose and need of the Proposed Action.
    NOS initiated consultations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act for Essential Fish Habitat, Endangered 
Species Act, and National Marine Sanctuaries Act following publication 
of the Draft PEIS. NOS has also completed Federal consistency 
determinations to comply with Section 307 of the Coastal Zone 
Management Act (CZMA) and has received concurrence responses from 
several States. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOS has 
submitted an application for a Letter of Authorization to the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, and an Incidental Take Regulation request to 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. NOS will initiate consultation 
under the National Historic Preservation Act prior to conducting 
individual projects that may affect cultural and historic properties.

Public Review

    We are not requesting public comments on the FEIS, but any written 
comments we receive will become part of the public record associated 
with this action. The entirety of the comment, including the name of 
the commenter, email address, attachments, and other supporting 
materials, will be publicly accessible. Sensitive personal information, 
such as account numbers or Social Security numbers, should not

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be included with the comment. Comments that are not responsive or that 
contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate language 
will not be considered.
    Authority: The preparation of the Final 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 September 14, 2020 (85 FR 43304, July 16, 2020), and 
further revised as of May 20, 2022 (87 FR 23453, April 20, 2022), NOS 
prepared this Final PEIS using the 1978 CEQ regulations because this 
environmental review began on December 19, 2016, when NOS published a 
Notice of Intent to prepare a NEPA document for its mapping program.

Nicole R. LeBoeuf,
Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management, 
National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-25309 Filed 11-23-22; 8:45 am]
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