Evaluation of State Coastal Management Programs and National Estuarine Research Reserves, 6577-6578 [E9-2676]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6577-6578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2676]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Evaluation of State Coastal Management Programs and National 
Estuarine Research Reserves

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office 
of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Evaluate and Notice of Availability of 
Final Findings.

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SUMMARY: The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management 
(OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the 
Mississippi Coastal Management Program and the San Francisco Bay 
Conservation and Development Commission and the California State 
Coastal Conservancy components of the California Coastal Management 
Program.
    The Coastal Zone Management Program evaluations will be conducted 
pursuant to section 312 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as 
amended (CZMA) and regulations at 15 CFR Part 923, Subpart L. The CZMA 
requires continuing review of the performance of states with respect to 
coastal program implementation. Evaluation of Coastal Management 
Programs requires findings concerning the extent to which a state has 
met the national objectives, adhered to its Coastal Management Program 
document approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the 
terms of financial assistance awards funded under the CZMA.
    Each evaluation will include a site visit, consideration of public 
comments, and consultations with interested Federal, state, and local 
agencies and members of the public. A public meeting will be held as 
part of the site visit. Notice is hereby given of the dates of the site 
visits for the listed evaluations, and the dates, local times, and 
locations of the public meetings during the site visits.
    Dates and Times: The joint San Francisco Bay Conservation and 
Development Commission and California State Coastal Conservancy 
evaluation site visit will be held March

[[Page 6578]]

9-13, 2009. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public 
meeting will be held on Monday, March 9, 2009, at 5 p.m. at the San 
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, McAteer-Petris 
Conference Room, 50 California Street, Suite 2600, San Francisco, 
California.
    The Mississippi Coastal Management Program evaluation site visit 
will be held March 16-20, 2009. One public meeting will be held during 
the week. The public meeting will be held on Monday, March 16, 2009, at 
6 p.m., at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, 1141 Bayview 
Avenue, Biloxi, Mississippi.

ADDRESSES: Copies of states' most recent performance reports, as well 
as OCRM's evaluation notification and supplemental information request 
letters to the states, are available upon request from OCRM. Written 
comments from interested parties regarding these Programs are 
encouraged and will be accepted until 15 days after the last public 
meeting held for a Program. Please direct written comments to Kate 
Barba, Chief, National Policy and Evaluation Division, Office of Ocean 
and Coastal Resource Management, NOS/NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 10th 
Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. When the evaluation is 
completed, OCRM will place a notice in the Federal Register announcing 
the availability of the Final Evaluation Findings.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given of the availability 
of the final evaluation findings for the South Carolina and Virgin 
Islands Coastal Management Programs (CMPs) and the Jacques Cousteau 
(NJ) and Grand Bay (MS) National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs). 
Sections 312 and 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 
as amended, require a continuing review of the performance of coastal 
states with respect to approval of CMPs and the operation and 
management of NERRs.
    The Jacques Cousteau and Grand Bay NERRs were found to be adhering 
to programmatic requirements of the NERR System. The State of South 
Carolina was found to be implementing and enforcing its federally 
approved coastal management program, addressing the national coastal 
management objectives identified in CZMA Section 303(2)(A)-(K), and 
adhering to the programmatic terms of their financial assistance 
awards. The evaluation of the Virgin Islands Coastal Management Program 
focused solely on staffing issues, and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin 
Islands was found to continue to have difficulty attracting, hiring, 
and retaining well-qualified staff in sufficient numbers, thus 
hampering effective implementation of the program.
    Copies of these final evaluation findings may be obtained upon 
written request from: Kate Barba, Chief, National Policy and Evaluation 
Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, NOS/NOAA, 
1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland 
20910, or Kate.Barba@noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Barba, Chief, National Policy and 
Evaluation Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, 
NOS/NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, 
Maryland 20910, (301) 563-1182.

Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 11.419 Coastal Zone Management 
Program Administration

    Dated: January 22, 2009.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National 
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-2676 Filed 2-9-09; 8:45 am]
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