[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20131-20132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07056]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping and To Prepare a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Atchafalaya National 
Estuarine Research Reserve

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement and hold public scoping meetings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management 
Act of 1972, as amended, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, NOAA and the State of Louisiana (the State) intend to 
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Draft 
Management Plan (DMP) for the proposed Atchafalaya National Estuarine 
Research Reserve (NERR). NOAA and the State

[[Page 20132]]

also announce two public scoping meetings to solicit comments on 
significant issues related to the development of a DEIS for the 
proposed Atchafalaya NERR.

DATES: An in-person meeting will be held on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 
5 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT). A virtual meeting will be held on 
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 12 p.m. CDT. Written comments provided 
electronically must be submitted no later than Monday, May 15, 2023; 
written comments submitted by mail must be postmarked by Monday, May 
15, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting on Thursday, April 20, 2023 will 
be conducted at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium; 728 Myrtle 
Street, Morgan City, Louisiana 70380 at 5 p.m. CDT. This meeting will 
be in-person only and not broadcast. The public scoping meeting on 
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 will be held virtually at the following link: 
https://www.youtube.com/@louisianacpra5300/streams at 12 p.m. CDT. 
Participants will be able to provide written comments during the 
virtual meeting. Meeting documents will be available on the Coastal 
Protection and Restoration Authority's NERR website: https://coastal.la.gov/our-work/key-initiatives/atchafalaya-national-estuarine-research-reserve/, as well as on the Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2023-0050. Written comments 
may be submitted by:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2023-0050, click the ``Comment 
Now!'' button, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your 
comments. Written comments must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, May 15, 2023.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Kristin Ransom, 
Stewardship Division, Office for Coastal Management, NOS, NOAA, 1021 
Balch Boulevard, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, 39529; ATTN: 
Atchafalaya NERR. Comments must be postmarked no later than Monday, May 
15, 2023.
    Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record 
and will be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2023-0050 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; on the 
eRulemaking Portal, enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous. If you would like to submit an anonymous comment 
during the in-person meeting, a comment box along with paper and 
writing implements will be provided. Multimedia submissions (i.e., 
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 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 that no public comments will be 
audio or video recorded by NOAA or the State.
    Closed captioning will be provided for those who attend the virtual 
public meeting through the meeting link: https://www.youtube.com/@louisianacpra5300/streams.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Ransom, Stewardship Division, 
Office for Coastal Management, NOS, NOAA, 1021 Balch Boulevard, Stennis 
Space Center, Mississippi, 39529; ATTN: LA NERR. Phone: 601-568-1091-; 
or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with Section 315 of the 
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, and its implementing 
regulations (15 CFR part 921), and the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended, and its implementing regulations (40 CFR part 
1500), NOAA and the State intend to prepare a DEIS for the proposed 
Atchafalaya NERR. Early in the development of the DEIS, NOAA and the 
State are required to hold a scoping meeting to solicit public and 
government comments on significant issues related to this proposed 
action. (15 CFR 921.13(c)).
    NOAA received the State's nomination of the proposed site on June 
29, 2022. NOAA evaluated the nomination package and found that the 
proposed site met the NERR System requirements. NOAA informed the State 
on March 22, 2023 that it was accepting the nomination and that the 
next step would be to prepare a DEIS and DMP. The DEIS will assess the 
potential impact of designating the State's recommended site as a 
National Estuarine Research Reserve site, and identify boundary 
alternatives. The DMP will set a course for operating the Atchafalaya 
NERR if approved and will include plans for administration, research, 
education, and facilities of the proposed site. (See 15 CFR 921.13.)
    The proposed site consists of the following State-owned properties: 
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, Attakapas Island Wildlife Management 
Area, Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area, and Marsh Island 
Wildlife Refuge; public trust waters including portions of the 
Atchafalaya River, Atchafalaya Bay, East and West Cote Blanche Bays, 
and Vermilion Bay.
    The proposed site resulted from a comprehensive evaluation process 
that sought the views of the public, affected landowners, and other 
interested parties. The state held informal, widely-publicized town 
hall meetings statewide in February 2022 to describe the NERR system, 
explain the rationale for establishing a reserve in Louisiana, and 
outline a process for selecting and nominating a site to NOAA. The 
state assembled a Site Development Committee composed of State agency 
representatives, academia, non-governmental organizations, members of 
the public, and federal agencies. The team conducted preliminary 
screening, detailed screening, and scoring of potential sites that led 
to the preferred site. The State and NOAA held public hearings on 
November 2 and 3, 2022 to solicit comments on the proposed site. For 
more detailed information on the site selection process and the 
proposed site, see the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration 
Authority's NERR website: https://coastal.la.gov/our-work/key-initiatives/atchafalaya-national-estuarine-research-reserve/.

Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420, (Coastal Zone 
Management) Research Reserves.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1461.

Keelin Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-07056 Filed 4-4-23; 8:45 am]
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