[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 29891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09827]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental 
Assessment for Funding Aquaculture Research and Development Projects 
and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce 
(DOC).

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final programmatic environmental 
assessment for funding aquaculture research and development projects 
and finding of no significant impact.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) is issuing this notice to inform 
the public of the availability of the final programmatic environmental 
assessment (PEA) to fund aquaculture research and development projects 
and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

ADDRESSES: The Final PEA and FONSI may be viewed or downloaded from the 
NOAA Sea Grant NEPA and Environmental Compliance web page: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/NEPA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Briggs, Scientific Program 
Manager, National Sea Grant Office (Phone Number: (302) 927-2351) 
(Email: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In preparing the Final PEA, OAR has 
considered 18 public comments received on the Draft PEA, which was 
published in the Federal Register (87 FR 68441) for a 30-day comment 
period, from November 15, 2022 to December 15, 2022.
    The Proposed Action analyzed in the Final PEA is to issue Federal 
financial assistance awards through existing programs within the OAR 
(Sea Grant, SBIR) and NMFS Office of Aquaculture (OAQ) for aquaculture 
research and development projects involving farmed and wild populations 
of aquatic organisms in permitted aquaculture facilities and sites, 
research laboratories, the Great Lakes and associated freshwater areas, 
and ocean and coastal environments within the Exclusive Economic Zone 
(EEZ) of the United States and its territories.
    The Final PEA incorporates, where appropriate, agency and public 
comments received on the Draft PEA, which was available for public 
review from November 15, 2022, to December 15, 2022. During the public 
comment period of the Draft PEA, NOAA received 18 comments. NOAA 
responses to the public comments are provided in appendix A of the 
Final PEA. All recommended changes incorporated as a result of comments 
received were to provide further clarification.
    The analysis in the Final PEA and FONSI concludes that none of the 
project types of the Proposed Action alternative have the potential for 
significant impacts. The Final PEA assesses the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative environmental impacts of issuing Federal financial 
assistance awards for aquaculture research and development projects 
that fall within the five project types: Outreach, Education, and 
Planning; Data Analysis and Social Science Research; Laboratory and 
Rearing Science and Research on Finfish and Shellfish; Field Research 
and Assessments; and Shellfish Aquaculture Restoration. However, the 
Final PEA does not predict the impacts of specific projects. Each 
financial award proposal would be evaluated using this Final PEA on a 
project-specific basis to determine if it falls within its scope of 
analysis and impacts. If a project does not fall within the scope of 
this Final PEA, a separate NEPA review will be conducted.
    This document has been prepared in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the 1978 Council on 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations 
[CFR] 1500-1508), and NOAA policy and procedures (NOAA Administrative 
Order 216-6A (NAO 216-6A) and its Companion Manual (CM)).

David Holst,
Chief Financial Officer/Administrative Officer, Office of Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-09827 Filed 5-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-KD-P