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Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed Rule Limiting Discharges From Vessels in Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.


[Federal Register: November 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 224)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 65483]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21no07-21]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15 CFR Part 922

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for a Proposed Rule Limiting Discharges From Vessels
in Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuaries

AGENCY: National Marine Sanctuary Program, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary Program
(NMSP) is preparing a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(SDEIS) to supplement and/or replace information contained in the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Joint Management Plan
Review, the management plan review for the Cordell Bank, Gulf of the
Farallones, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries. The SDEIS
will analyze revisions to the proposed action that would in effect
prohibit the following discharges within the sanctuaries: All sewage
from vessels 300 gross registered tons (GRT) or more with the capacity
to hold sewage while within the sanctuary; and, in the Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary, all graywater from vessels 300 GRT or more
with the capacity to hold graywater while within the sanctuary.

DATES: Because the NMSP has previously requested (64 FR 31528 and 71 FR
29096) and received extensive information from the public on issues to
be addressed in the SDEIS, and because the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) do not require additional scoping for this SDEIS
process (40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4)), the NMSP is not asking for further
public scoping information and comment at this time. Upon release of
the SDEIS the NMSP will provide a 45-day public review/comment period.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the 2006 DEIS are available at NOAA offices
located at 1 Bear Valley Rd., Point Reyes Station, CA; West Crissy
Field on the Presidio, 991 Marine Drive, San Francisco, CA, 299 Foam
Street, Monterey, California, and on the Web at 
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/jointplan/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Morton at (301) 713-7264 or 
sean.morton@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) has proposed draft revised management plans,
revised designation documents, and revised regulations for the Cordell
Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS), Gulf of the Farallones National
Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS), and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
(MBNMS). The proposed regulations would revise and provide greater
clarity to existing regulations. In particular, NOAA proposed changes
to prohibitions regarding ``discharge and deposit'' in the MBNMS, and
prohibiting discharging or depositing most matter from cruise ships.
    On May 11, 2007 NOAA received a request from the California State
Water Resources Control Board to prohibit discharges from certain
vessels in national marine sanctuaries offshore California. In
addition, on August 10, 2007, the California Coastal Commission voted
to concur with the consistency finding the JMPR actions are consistent
with the policies of the California Coastal Management Program, on the
condition that NOAA revise the proposed discharge and deposit
regulation to prohibit vessels of 300 gross registered tons (GRT) or
more from discharging sewage or graywater into the waters of the
sanctuaries. After reviewing public comments on the proposed
regulations, considering the California Coastal Commission's federal
consistency review (per the Coastal Zone Management Act; 16 U.S.C. 1451
et seq.), and further analyzing vessel discharge issues, NOAA decided
to revise the CBNMS, GFNMS, and MBNMS proposed discharge regulations to
prohibit discharges of all sewage from vessels 300 gross registered
tons (GRT) or more with the capacity to hold sewage while within the
sanctuary; and in the MBNMS limit the exception for graywater
discharges to vessels less than 300 GRT and vessels 300 GRT or more
without the capacity to hold graywater while within the MBNMS. The
revised proposed regulations will include prohibitions satisfying the
request from the State of California for the CBNMS, GFNMS, and MBNMS.
    The SDEIS, in conjunction with the concomitant supplemental
proposed rule, will evaluate the revised proposed action and provide
the public with an opportunity for additional review and comment.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.

    Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.429 Marine
Sanctuary Program.

    Dated: November 15, 2007.
Elizabeth R. Scheffler,
Associate Assistant Administrator for Management, Ocean Services and
Coastal Zone Management.
[FR Doc. E7-22710 Filed 11-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P

 
 

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