Notice of Intent to Conduct Scoping and to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary, 60634-60636 [2015-25510]
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60634
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 194 / Wednesday, October 7, 2015 / Notices
Result of 2013 EFP
During the 2013 season, a total of
3,500 horseshoe crabs were gathered
over a period of ten days, from the
Reserve for the manufacture of LAL.
After transportation to the laboratory,
the horseshoe crabs were inspected for
size, injuries, and responsiveness. The
injured horseshoe crabs numbered 272,
or 7.8% of the total, while 36, or 1.0%,
were noted as slow moving. In addition,
three horseshoe crabs were rejected due
to small size. Overall, 3,189 horseshoe
crabs were used (bled) in the
manufacture of LAL. Two hundred of
the bled horseshoe crabs were randomly
selected for activity, morphometric and
aging studies. The activity level was
categorized as ‘‘active’’ for 192 studied
animals and ‘‘extremely active’’ for
eight. Morphometric studies noted that
average inter-ocular distances, the
prosoma widths and the weights of
these 200 horseshoe crabs trended
toward the higher end of the range
established over the study period (2001–
2011). Of the 200 horseshoe crabs
examined in 2013, more than half (57%)
were categorized as medium aged
followed by young (37%). Older animals
numbered 10 or 5% which is much less
than the percentages reported in 2010
and 2011 and similar to the 2007 year.
The 200 studied horseshoe crabs and
325 additional bled horseshoe crabs
were tagged and released into the
Delaware Bay. To date, 116 live resightings have occurred from the release
of 5,463 horseshoe crabs collected from
the Reserve. The observed horseshoe
crabs were found 1 to 8 years after
release, primarily along the Delaware
Bay shores during their spawning
season.
Data collected under previous EFPs
were supplied to NMFS, the
Commission and the State of New
Jersey. There was no EFP issued for
2014.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Proposed 2015 EFP
Limuli Laboratories proposes to
conduct an exempted fishery operation
in 2015 using the same means, methods,
and seasons proposed/utilized during
the EFPs in 2001–2013. Limuli proposes
to annually continue to tag at least 15
percent of the bled horseshoe crabs as
they did in 2013. NMFS would require
that the following terms and conditions
be met for issuance of the EFP for 2015:
1. Limiting the number of horseshoe
crabs collected in the Reserve to no
more than 500 crabs per day and to a
total of no more than 10,000 crabs per
year;
2. Requiring collections to take place
over a total of approximately 20 days
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18:12 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 238001
during the months of July, August,
September, October, and November.
(Horseshoe crabs are readily available in
harvestable concentrations nearshore
earlier in the year, and offshore in the
Reserve from July through November.);
3. Requiring that a 51⁄2 inch (14.0 cm)
flounder net be used by the vessel to
collect the horseshoe crabs. This
condition would allow for continuation
of traditional harvest gear and adds to
the consistency in the way horseshoe
crabs are harvested for data collection;
4. Limiting trawl tow times to 30
minutes as a conservation measure to
protect sea turtles, which are expected
to be migrating through the area during
the collection period, and are vulnerable
to bottom trawling;
5. Requiring that the collected
horseshoe crabs be picked up from the
fishing vessels at docks in the Cape May
Area and transported to local
laboratories, bled for LAL, and released
alive the following morning into the
Lower Delaware Bay; and
6. Requiring that any turtle take be
reported to NMFS, Northeast Region,
Assistant Regional Administrator of
Protected Resources Division, within 24
hours of returning from the trip in
which the incidental take occurred.
As part of the terms and conditions of
the EFP, for all horseshoe crabs bled for
LAL, NMFS would require that the EFP
holder provide data annually on sex
ratio and daily harvest. Also, the EFP
holder would be required to examine at
least 200 horseshoe crabs annually for
morphometric data. Terms and
conditions may be added or amended
prior to the issuance of the EFP or on
an annual basis.
The proposed EFP would exempt two
commercial vessels from regulations at
50 CFR 697.7(e) and 697.23(f), which
prohibit the harvest and possession of
horseshoe crabs from the Reserve on a
vessel with a trawl or dredge gear
aboard.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 2, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–25540 Filed 10–6–15; 8:45 am]
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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
Mallows Bay—Potomac River National
Marine Sanctuary
Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct
scoping, hold public scoping meetings
and to prepare a draft environmental
impact statement and management plan.
AGENCY:
In accordance with section
304(a) of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA)
(16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) and based on the
resources and boundaries described in
the community-based nomination
submitted to NOAA on September 16,
2014 (nominate.noaa.gov/nominations)
NOAA is initiating a process to consider
designating Mallows Bay-Potomac River
as a national marine sanctuary. The
designation process, as required by the
NMSA, will be conducted concurrently
with a public process under the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This
notice also informs the public that
NOAA will coordinate its
responsibilities under section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470) with its ongoing
NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR
800.8(a), including the use of NEPA
documents and public and stakeholder
meetings to also meet the requirements
of section 106. The public scoping
process is intended to solicit
information and comments on the range
of issues and the significant issues to be
analyzed in depth in an environmental
impact statement related to designating
this area as a national marine sanctuary.
The results of this scoping process will
assist NOAA in moving forward with
the designation process and in
formulating alternatives for the draft
environmental impact statement and
proposed regulations, including
developing sanctuary boundaries. It will
also inform the initiation of any
consultations with federal, state, or local
agencies and other interested parties, as
appropriate.
DATES: Comments must be received by
January 15, 2016. Public scoping
meetings will be held as detailed below:
(1) La Plata, MD
Date: November 4, 2015
SUMMARY:
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07OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 194 / Wednesday, October 7, 2015 / Notices
Location: Charles County Government
Building Auditorium
Address: 200 Baltimore Street, La
Plata, MD
Time: 6:30–9:00 p.m.
(2) Annapolis, MD
Date: November 10, 2015
Location: Annapolis Maritime
Museum
Address: 723 Second Street,
Annapolis, MD
Time: 6:30–9:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted by any one of the following
methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to
https://www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-20150111, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Paul Orlando, Regional
Coordinator, Northeast and Great Lakes
Region, 410 Severn Ave, Suite 207–A,
Annapolis MD 21403.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered by NOAA. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (for example, name,
address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive
information submitted voluntarily
submitted by the commenter will be
publicly accessible. NOAA will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul
Orlando, Regional Coordinator,
Northeast and Great Lakes Region, (240)
460–1978, paul.orlando@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
I. Background
The NMSA authorizes the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) to designate and
protect as national marine sanctuaries
areas of the marine environment that are
of special national significance due to
their conservation, recreational,
ecological, historical, scientific,
cultural, archeological, educational, or
esthetic qualities. Day-to-day
management of national marine
sanctuaries has been delegated by the
Secretary to ONMS. The primary
objective of the NMSA is to protect the
biological and cultural resources of the
sanctuary system, such as coral reefs,
marine animals, historical shipwrecks,
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historic structures, and archaeological
sites.
The Mallows Bay area of the tidal
Potomac River being considered for
designation as a national marine
sanctuary is an area 40 miles south of
Washington, DC off the Nanjemoy
Peninsula of Charles County, MD. The
area includes submerged lands along the
Potomac River that begin at the mean
high tide water mark off Sandy Point
and extend westward to the low water
line just east of the Maryland-Virginia
border near Clifton Point, VA. From
there, the area extends southward
following the Maryland-Virginia border
to Brent’s Point, VA. It then extends
northeast to Smith Point, MD and
follows the low water mark north along
the Maryland shoreline back to Sandy
Point. This area includes the waters of
Wades Bay, Blue Banks, Mallows Bay,
Liverpool Cove and the Mallows Bay
‘‘Burning Basin’’ as far east as the egress
for Marlow Creek into the basin itself.
This is an area of national significance
featuring unique historical,
archaeological, cultural, ecological, and
esthetic resources and qualities, which
offer opportunities for conservation,
education, recreation, and research. Its
maritime landscape is home to a diverse
collection of historic shipwrecks from
the Revolutionary War through the
present, totaling nearly 200 known
vessels including the remains of the
largest ‘‘Ghost Fleet’’ of World War I,
wooden steamships built for the U.S.
Emergency Fleet.
The area’s archaeological and cultural
resources cover centuries of history
from the earliest American Indian
presence in the region circa 12,000 years
ago to the roles that this area played in
the Revolutionary, Civil and two World
Wars, as well as in successive regimes
of Potomac fishing industries. Its largely
undeveloped landscape and waterscape
have been identified as one of the most
ecologically valuable areas in Maryland,
providing important habitat for fish and
wildlife, including rare, threatened and
endangered species. NOAA encourages
the public to review the full nomination
at www.nominate.noaa.gov/
nominations.
II. Need for action
On September 16, 2014, pursuant to
Section 304 of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act and the Sanctuary
Nomination Process (79 FR 33851), a
coalition of community groups
submitted a nomination asking NOAA
to designate Mallows Bay-Potomac
River as a national marine sanctuary.
The nomination cited conservation
goals to protect and conserve the fragile
remains of the Nation’s cultural heritage
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
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60635
as well as the opportunities to expand
public access, recreation, tourism,
research, and education to the area.
The Maryland Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), Maryland Historical
Trust, Maryland Department of
Tourism, and Charles County, MD, have
worked together with community
partners to initiate additional
conservation and compatible public
access strategies in and around Mallows
Bay, consistent with numerous planning
and implementation documents. In
2010, DNR purchased a portion of land
adjacent to Mallows Bay and made it
available to Charles County to create
and manage Mallows Bay County Park,
the main launch point for access to the
historic shipwrecks. Pursuant to the
National Historic Preservation Act,
Maryland Historical Trust has
stewardship and oversight
responsibility for the shipwrecks, along
with hundreds of other historic sites
around the state. Maryland DNR
manages the waterbody and associated
ecosystem resources, including land
use, resource conservation and
extraction activities. The lands on either
side of Mallows Bay County Park are
held by the U.S. Department of Interior’s
Bureau of Land Management and a
private citizen.
DNR and the Mallows Bay Steering
Committee convened a committee to
discuss the concept of a national marine
sanctuary and ultimately to develop the
nomination that was submitted to
NOAA. The committee, which
represented a broad base of constituency
groups, employed a consensus-based
process to discuss a variety of issues,
considerations, and priorities leading up
to the nomination. The nomination was
endorsed by a diverse coalition of
organizations and individuals at local,
state, regional and national levels
including elected officials, businesses,
Native Americans, environmental,
recreation, conservation, fishing,
tourism, museums, historical societies,
and education groups. The nomination
identified opportunities for NOAA to
protect, study, interpret, and manage the
area’s unique resources, including by
building on existing local, county, and
State of Maryland efforts to manage the
area for the protection of shipwrecks.
NOAA is initiating the process to
designate this area as a national marine
sanctuary based on the nomination
submitted to the agency as part of the
Sanctuary Nomination Process (SNP).
NOAA’s review of the nomination
against the criteria and considerations of
the SNP, including the requirement for
broad-based community support
indicated strong merit in proposing this
area as a national marine sanctuary.
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60636
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 194 / Wednesday, October 7, 2015 / Notices
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
NOAA completed its review of the
nomination in accordance with the
Sanctuary Nomination Process and on
January 12, 2015 added the area to the
inventory of nominations that are
eligible for designation. Designation
under the NMSA would allow NOAA to
supplement and complement work by
the State of Maryland and other federal
agencies to protect this collection of
nationally significant shipwrecks.
III. Process
The process for designating Mallows
Bay-Potomac River as a national marine
sanctuary includes the following stages:
1. Public Scoping Process—
Information collection and
characterization, including the
consideration of public comments
received during scoping;
2. Preparation and release of draft
designation documents including a draft
environmental impact statement (DEIS)
that identifies boundary alternatives, a
draft management plan (DMP), as well
as a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) to define proposed sanctuary
regulations. Draft documents would be
used to initiate consultations with
federal, state, or local agencies and other
interested parties, as appropriate;
3. Public review and comment on the
DEIS, DMP, and NPRM;
4. Preparation and release of a final
environmental impact statement, final
management plan, including a response
to public comments, with a final rule
and regulations, if appropriate.
With this notice, NOAA is initiating
a public scoping process to:
1. Gather information and public
comments from individuals,
organizations, and government agencies
on the designation of Mallows Bay—
Potomac River as a national marine
sanctuary based on the communitybased nomination of September 2014,
especially: a) the spatial extent of the
proposed boundary; and b) the
resources that would be protected;
2. Help determine the scope and
significance of issues to be addressed in
the preparation of an environmental
analysis under NEPA including
socioeconomic impacts of designation,
effects of designation on cultural and
biological resources, and threats to
resources within the proposed area;
3. Help determine the proposed action
and possible alternatives pursuant to
NEPA and to conduct any appropriate
consultations.
IV. Consultation Under Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act
This notice confirms that NOAA will
fulfill its responsibility under section
106 of the National Historic
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18:12 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 238001
Preservation Act (NHPA) through the
ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36
CFR 800.8(a) including the use of NEPA
documents and public and stakeholder
meetings to meet the section 106
requirements. The NHPA specifically
applies to any agency undertaking that
may affect historic properties. Pursuant
to 36 CFR 800.16(1)(1), historic
properties includes: ‘‘any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure
or object included in, or eligible for
inclusion in, the National Register of
Historic Places maintained by the
Secretary of the Interior. The term
includes artifacts, records, and remains
that are related to and located within
such properties. The term includes
properties of traditional religious and
cultural importance to an Indian tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization and that
meet the National Register criteria.’’ In
fulfilling its responsibility under the
NHPA and NEPA, NOAA intends to
identify consulting parties; identify
historic properties and assess the effects
of the undertaking on such properties;
initiate formal consultation with the
State Historic Preservation Officer, the
Advisory Council of Historic
Preservation, and other consulting
parties; involve the public in
accordance with NOAA’s NEPA
procedures, and develop in consultation
with identified consulting parties
alternatives and proposed measures that
might avoid, minimize or mitigate any
adverse effects on historic properties
and describe them in any environmental
assessment or draft environmental
impact statement.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.
Dated: September 30, 2015.
John Armor,
Acting Director for the Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2015–25510 Filed 10–5–15; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XE069
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to the Kodiak
Ferry Terminal and Dock
Improvements Project
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
AGENCY:
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Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Notice; issuance of an incidental
harassment authorization.
ACTION:
In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, notification is hereby given
that we have issued an incidental
harassment authorization (IHA) to the
Alaska Department of Transportation
and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) to
incidentally harass four species of
marine mammals during activities
related to the reconstruction of the
existing ferry terminal at Pier 1 in
Kodiak, AK.
DATES: This authorization is effective
from September 30, 2015, through
September 29, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Pauline, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Availability
An electronic copy of DOT&PF’s
application and supporting documents,
as well as a list of the references cited
in this document, may be obtained by
visiting the Internet at:
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
incidental/construction.htm. In case of
problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed above (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the
MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct
the Secretary of Commerce to allow,
upon request, the incidental, but not
intentional, taking of small numbers of
marine mammals by U.S. citizens who
engage in a specified activity (other than
commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region if certain findings
are made and either regulations are
issued or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a notice of a proposed
authorization is provided to the public
for review.
Authorization for incidental takings
shall be granted if NMFS finds that the
taking will have a negligible impact on
the species or stock(s), will not have an
unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for
subsistence uses (where relevant), and if
the permissible methods of taking and
requirements pertaining to the
mitigation, monitoring and reporting of
such takings are set forth. NMFS has
defined ‘‘negligible impact’’ in 50 CFR
216.103 as ‘‘. . . an impact resulting
from the specified activity that cannot
be reasonably expected to, and is not
reasonably likely to, adversely affect the
species or stock through effects on
annual rates of recruitment or survival.’’
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 194 (Wednesday, October 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60634-60636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25510]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Mallows Bay--Potomac
River National Marine Sanctuary
AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct scoping, hold public scoping
meetings and to prepare a draft environmental impact statement and
management plan.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with section 304(a) of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) and based
on the resources and boundaries described in the community-based
nomination submitted to NOAA on September 16, 2014 (nominate.noaa.gov/nominations) NOAA is initiating a process to consider designating
Mallows Bay-Potomac River as a national marine sanctuary. The
designation process, as required by the NMSA, will be conducted
concurrently with a public process under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This notice also informs
the public that NOAA will coordinate its responsibilities under section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470)
with its ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a), including
the use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder meetings to also
meet the requirements of section 106. The public scoping process is
intended to solicit information and comments on the range of issues and
the significant issues to be analyzed in depth in an environmental
impact statement related to designating this area as a national marine
sanctuary. The results of this scoping process will assist NOAA in
moving forward with the designation process and in formulating
alternatives for the draft environmental impact statement and proposed
regulations, including developing sanctuary boundaries. It will also
inform the initiation of any consultations with federal, state, or
local agencies and other interested parties, as appropriate.
DATES: Comments must be received by January 15, 2016. Public scoping
meetings will be held as detailed below:
(1) La Plata, MD
Date: November 4, 2015
[[Page 60635]]
Location: Charles County Government Building Auditorium
Address: 200 Baltimore Street, La Plata, MD
Time: 6:30-9:00 p.m.
(2) Annapolis, MD
Date: November 10, 2015
Location: Annapolis Maritime Museum
Address: 723 Second Street, Annapolis, MD
Time: 6:30-9:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any one of the following
methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2015-0111, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Paul Orlando, Regional Coordinator, Northeast and
Great Lakes Region, 410 Severn Ave, Suite 207-A, Annapolis MD 21403.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NOAA. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (for example, name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
submitted by the commenter will be publicly accessible. NOAA will
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you
wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Orlando, Regional Coordinator,
Northeast and Great Lakes Region, (240) 460-1978,
paul.orlando@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The NMSA authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to
designate and protect as national marine sanctuaries areas of the
marine environment that are of special national significance due to
their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific,
cultural, archeological, educational, or esthetic qualities. Day-to-day
management of national marine sanctuaries has been delegated by the
Secretary to ONMS. The primary objective of the NMSA is to protect the
biological and cultural resources of the sanctuary system, such as
coral reefs, marine animals, historical shipwrecks, historic
structures, and archaeological sites.
The Mallows Bay area of the tidal Potomac River being considered
for designation as a national marine sanctuary is an area 40 miles
south of Washington, DC off the Nanjemoy Peninsula of Charles County,
MD. The area includes submerged lands along the Potomac River that
begin at the mean high tide water mark off Sandy Point and extend
westward to the low water line just east of the Maryland-Virginia
border near Clifton Point, VA. From there, the area extends southward
following the Maryland-Virginia border to Brent's Point, VA. It then
extends northeast to Smith Point, MD and follows the low water mark
north along the Maryland shoreline back to Sandy Point. This area
includes the waters of Wades Bay, Blue Banks, Mallows Bay, Liverpool
Cove and the Mallows Bay ``Burning Basin'' as far east as the egress
for Marlow Creek into the basin itself.
This is an area of national significance featuring unique
historical, archaeological, cultural, ecological, and esthetic
resources and qualities, which offer opportunities for conservation,
education, recreation, and research. Its maritime landscape is home to
a diverse collection of historic shipwrecks from the Revolutionary War
through the present, totaling nearly 200 known vessels including the
remains of the largest ``Ghost Fleet'' of World War I, wooden
steamships built for the U.S. Emergency Fleet.
The area's archaeological and cultural resources cover centuries of
history from the earliest American Indian presence in the region circa
12,000 years ago to the roles that this area played in the
Revolutionary, Civil and two World Wars, as well as in successive
regimes of Potomac fishing industries. Its largely undeveloped
landscape and waterscape have been identified as one of the most
ecologically valuable areas in Maryland, providing important habitat
for fish and wildlife, including rare, threatened and endangered
species. NOAA encourages the public to review the full nomination at
www.nominate.noaa.gov/nominations.
II. Need for action
On September 16, 2014, pursuant to Section 304 of the National
Marine Sanctuaries Act and the Sanctuary Nomination Process (79 FR
33851), a coalition of community groups submitted a nomination asking
NOAA to designate Mallows Bay-Potomac River as a national marine
sanctuary. The nomination cited conservation goals to protect and
conserve the fragile remains of the Nation's cultural heritage as well
as the opportunities to expand public access, recreation, tourism,
research, and education to the area.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Maryland
Historical Trust, Maryland Department of Tourism, and Charles County,
MD, have worked together with community partners to initiate additional
conservation and compatible public access strategies in and around
Mallows Bay, consistent with numerous planning and implementation
documents. In 2010, DNR purchased a portion of land adjacent to Mallows
Bay and made it available to Charles County to create and manage
Mallows Bay County Park, the main launch point for access to the
historic shipwrecks. Pursuant to the National Historic Preservation
Act, Maryland Historical Trust has stewardship and oversight
responsibility for the shipwrecks, along with hundreds of other
historic sites around the state. Maryland DNR manages the waterbody and
associated ecosystem resources, including land use, resource
conservation and extraction activities. The lands on either side of
Mallows Bay County Park are held by the U.S. Department of Interior's
Bureau of Land Management and a private citizen.
DNR and the Mallows Bay Steering Committee convened a committee to
discuss the concept of a national marine sanctuary and ultimately to
develop the nomination that was submitted to NOAA. The committee, which
represented a broad base of constituency groups, employed a consensus-
based process to discuss a variety of issues, considerations, and
priorities leading up to the nomination. The nomination was endorsed by
a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals at local, state,
regional and national levels including elected officials, businesses,
Native Americans, environmental, recreation, conservation, fishing,
tourism, museums, historical societies, and education groups. The
nomination identified opportunities for NOAA to protect, study,
interpret, and manage the area's unique resources, including by
building on existing local, county, and State of Maryland efforts to
manage the area for the protection of shipwrecks.
NOAA is initiating the process to designate this area as a national
marine sanctuary based on the nomination submitted to the agency as
part of the Sanctuary Nomination Process (SNP). NOAA's review of the
nomination against the criteria and considerations of the SNP,
including the requirement for broad-based community support indicated
strong merit in proposing this area as a national marine sanctuary.
[[Page 60636]]
NOAA completed its review of the nomination in accordance with the
Sanctuary Nomination Process and on January 12, 2015 added the area to
the inventory of nominations that are eligible for designation.
Designation under the NMSA would allow NOAA to supplement and
complement work by the State of Maryland and other federal agencies to
protect this collection of nationally significant shipwrecks.
III. Process
The process for designating Mallows Bay-Potomac River as a national
marine sanctuary includes the following stages:
1. Public Scoping Process--Information collection and
characterization, including the consideration of public comments
received during scoping;
2. Preparation and release of draft designation documents including
a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) that identifies boundary
alternatives, a draft management plan (DMP), as well as a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to define proposed sanctuary regulations.
Draft documents would be used to initiate consultations with federal,
state, or local agencies and other interested parties, as appropriate;
3. Public review and comment on the DEIS, DMP, and NPRM;
4. Preparation and release of a final environmental impact
statement, final management plan, including a response to public
comments, with a final rule and regulations, if appropriate.
With this notice, NOAA is initiating a public scoping process to:
1. Gather information and public comments from individuals,
organizations, and government agencies on the designation of Mallows
Bay--Potomac River as a national marine sanctuary based on the
community-based nomination of September 2014, especially: a) the
spatial extent of the proposed boundary; and b) the resources that
would be protected;
2. Help determine the scope and significance of issues to be
addressed in the preparation of an environmental analysis under NEPA
including socioeconomic impacts of designation, effects of designation
on cultural and biological resources, and threats to resources within
the proposed area;
3. Help determine the proposed action and possible alternatives
pursuant to NEPA and to conduct any appropriate consultations.
IV. Consultation Under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act
This notice confirms that NOAA will fulfill its responsibility
under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
through the ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a) including
the use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder meetings to meet
the section 106 requirements. The NHPA specifically applies to any
agency undertaking that may affect historic properties. Pursuant to 36
CFR 800.16(1)(1), historic properties includes: ``any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure or object included in, or
eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places
maintained by the Secretary of the Interior. The term includes
artifacts, records, and remains that are related to and located within
such properties. The term includes properties of traditional religious
and cultural importance to an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization and that meet the National Register criteria.'' In
fulfilling its responsibility under the NHPA and NEPA, NOAA intends to
identify consulting parties; identify historic properties and assess
the effects of the undertaking on such properties; initiate formal
consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory
Council of Historic Preservation, and other consulting parties; involve
the public in accordance with NOAA's NEPA procedures, and develop in
consultation with identified consulting parties alternatives and
proposed measures that might avoid, minimize or mitigate any adverse
effects on historic properties and describe them in any environmental
assessment or draft environmental impact statement.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.
Dated: September 30, 2015.
John Armor,
Acting Director for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
[FR Doc. 2015-25510 Filed 10-5-15; 11:15 am]
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