[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 49160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12670]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of Draft Guidance on Designation of New 
Regional Ocean Partnerships

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft guidance regarding the 
designation of new regional ocean partnerships; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA), Coastal States (including Puerto Rico, the 
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, and 
American Samoa), federally-recognized Indian Tribes (including Alaska 
native villages), and other entities may form new partnerships and 
apply to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (as 
delegated) for designation as a regional ocean partnership. Regional 
ocean partnerships coordinate the management of ocean, coastal, and 
Great Lakes resources. NOAA invites public comment on draft guidance on 
designating new regional ocean partnerships under the NDAA.

DATES: Comments are due by July 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft designation guidance document may be 
found on www.regulations.gov (search for NOAA-NOS-2024-0066) and NOAA's 
Office for Coastal Management website at https://coast.noaa.gov/data/coasthome/funding/_pdf/bil-rop-designation-guidance.pdf. Comments may 
be submitted by:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov 
and enter NOAA-NOS-2024-0066 in the search box, then click the 
``comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach 
your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Joshua Lott, Office for 
Coastal Management, NOS, NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, 
Maryland 20910; ATTN: Regional Ocean Partnership Designation Guidance.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and generally will be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personally identifiable information (name, address, 
etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive 
information submitted voluntarily by the commenter will be publicly 
accessible. The Federal agencies will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields you wish to remain anonymous). 
Multimedia submissions (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. The 
Federal agencies will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). Comments that are not responsive 
or contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate 
language will not be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lott, Office for Coastal 
Management, NOS, NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 
20910; ATTN: Regional Ocean Partnership Designation Guidance. Phone: 
(202) 670-3826; or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regional ocean partnerships are regional 
organizations, voluntarily convened by coastal States and Indian Tribes 
and designated by NOAA (as delegated, per the NDAA) to coordinate the 
management of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. These 
partnerships work in collaboration with other governments (including 
Tribal, Federal, and local) and stakeholders to address ocean and 
coastal issues of common concern in that region.
    There are four existing regional ocean partnerships: the Gulf of 
Mexico Alliance, the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, the Mid-Atlantic 
Regional Council on the Ocean, and the West Coast Ocean Alliance. 
Section 10102(b)(3) of the NDAA, codified at 16 U.S.C. 1468(b)(3), 
designates these four entities as regional ocean partnerships; as such, 
this draft designation guidance and application process for new 
partnerships does not apply to them.
    This draft designation guidance has been developed to address the 
membership, organization, and required elements of new partnerships. 
NOAA proposes to include the following information in the guidance: 
introduction and background; instructions on submitting a new 
partnership application to NOAA; requirements for new regional ocean 
partnerships; and eligibility for funding as a partnership. 
Applications to NOAA for new regional ocean partnerships must identify: 
the members of the new partnership, the governing body of the new 
partnership, and the purposes and functions of the new partnership.
    The draft designation guidance document may be found on 
www.regulations.gov (search for NOAA-NOS-2024-0066) and NOAA's Office 
for Coastal Management website at https://coast.noaa.gov/data/coasthome/funding/_pdf/bil-rop-designation-guidance.pdf.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1468

Jeffrey L. Payne,
Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-12670 Filed 6-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P