Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Public Comment for a Proposed Boundary Expansion for the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, 57702-57703 [2019-23466]

Download as PDF 57702 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 208 / Monday, October 28, 2019 / Notices telephone: (302) 674–2331; website: www.mafmc.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, telephone: (302) 526–5255. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this meeting is for the EOP Committee to review and provide feedback on an updated draft summer flounder conceptual model, supporting data availability and draft management questions. The development of the summer flounder conceptual model is part of the Council’s Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) decision framework and considers the high priority risk factors affecting summer flounder and its fisheries. The EOP Committee reviewed an earlier draft model in September 2019 and provided a number of recommendations for the technical workgroup to consider and address in a revised model. The EOP Committee will review these updates and develop recommendations for full Council consideration at the December 2019 Council meeting. A detailed agenda and background documents will be made available on the Council’s website (www.mafmc.org) prior to the meeting. Special Accommodations The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, (302) 526–5251, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: October 23, 2019. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2019–23447 Filed 10–25–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Public Comment for a Proposed Boundary Expansion for the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of proposed boundary expansion and availability of a draft AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:58 Oct 25, 2019 Jkt 250001 environmental assessment; request for comments. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is considering a request to amend the boundary of the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (Elkhorn Slough NERR or the Reserve) and is soliciting comments from the public on the proposed boundary expansion. The public is also invited to comment on the draft environmental assessment for the proposed boundary expansion. Any person wishing to comment on the proposed boundary expansion or the environmental assessment may submit comments as described under ADDRESSES below. DATES: Written comments must be received at the appropriate address (see ADDRESSES) on or before November 27, 2019. ADDRESSES: The draft environmental assessment can be downloaded or viewed at coast.noaa.gov/czm/ compliance/. The document is also available by sending a written request to the point of contact identified below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION). You may submit comments by any of the following methods: Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments by email to Elaine.Vaudreuil@noaa.gov. Mail: Submit written comments to Elaine Vaudreuil, Office for Coastal Management, NOAA Ocean Service, 1305 East-West Hwy., N/OCM, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Comments submitted by any other method or after the comment period may not be considered. All comments are a part of the public record and may be publicly accessible. Any personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) submitted voluntarily by the sender may also be accessible. NOAA will accept anonymous comments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elaine Vaudreuil of NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, by email at Elaine.Vaudreuil@noaa.gov, phone at 240–533–0821, or mail at: 1305 EastWest Hwy., N/OCM, Silver Spring, MD 20910 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: I. Background The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as lead agency for managing the Elkhorn Slough NERR, has requested approval to expand the geographic boundary of the Reserve by adding nine new parcels to and removing a 13.98-acre area from the existing approved boundary. Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(a), NOAA may require PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 public notice, including notice in the Federal Register and an opportunity for public comment before approving a boundary or management plan change. In addition, boundary changes involving the acquisition of properties not listed in the reserve’s original management plan or final environmental impact statement (EIS) require public notice and the opportunity for comment. Five of the new parcels were included in the reserve’s original EIS (1979). However, since four of the new parcels were not evaluated in the original EIS, NOAA has developed an environmental assessment to analyze the potential effects of the requested change to the Reserve boundary and is publishing notice of the availability of this assessment for public review and comment on the proposed boundary expansion and associated environmental assessment. II. NOAA Proposed Action and Alternatives NOAA is releasing a draft environmental assessment, prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500–1508). NOAA’s proposed action is to approve a change in the management boundary of the Elkhorn Slough NERR to add nine parcels (totaling 313.753 acres) acquired since 2007 and remove one 13.98-acre parcel from the approved boundary. The draft environmental assessment identifies and assesses potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed boundary expansion, and identifies a preferred alternative and a no action alternative. The preferred alternative would add five parcels identified for future acquisition at the time of the reserve’s designation in 1979, along with four additional parcels. It would also remove from the current Reserve boundary a 13.98-acre area containing a non-conforming use, which would result in a net increase in size of 299.773 acres. NOAA anticipates that the preferred alternative would (1) provide additional buffer around the reserve’s core areas, (2) enable the reserve to manage the significant habitats on those properties, and where possible, restore habitats for the benefit of key species in the Elkhorn Slough watershed, and (3) expand research and education activities to the adjacent Moro Cojo Slough within the reserve’s watershed. Therefore, NOAA prefers the proposed boundary expansion over the no action alternative. E:\FR\FM\28OCN1.SGM 28OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 208 / Monday, October 28, 2019 / Notices Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq. Keelin S. Kuipers, Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [FR Doc. 2019–23466 Filed 10–25–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–08–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XV117 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Public Meetings National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; public meetings. AGENCY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (MAFMC’s) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee and Bluefish Monitoring Committee will hold a public meeting. DATES: The two Monitoring Committees will hold back to back meetings on Wednesday, November 13 and Thursday, November 14, 2019. The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee meeting will be held from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, and on Thursday, November 14, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The Bluefish Monitoring Committee will meet from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 14, 2019. For agenda details, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. ADDRESSES: Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Baltimore Inner Harbor, 625 S President St., Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (410) 234–0065. Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674–2331; www.mafmc.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, telephone: (302) 526–5255. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee and the Bluefish Monitoring Committee will meet to develop recommendations for 2020 recreational management measures (i.e., possession limits, fish size limits, khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:58 Oct 25, 2019 Jkt 250001 and/or open and closed seasons) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. For summer flounder, the Monitoring Committee will consider the use of coastwide measures or conservation equivalency and associated management measures. For black sea bass, the Monitoring Committee will consider the use of federal waters measures or conservation equivalency and associated management measures. For scup and bluefish, the respective Monitoring Committees will consider federal waters management measures and may discuss approaches to state waters measures, which will likely be considered by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in early 2020. This will be an in-person meeting, but a listen-only webinar connection option will be available. Meeting materials will be posted to https://www.mafmc.org/council-events/ 2019/sfsbsb-mc-nov-13-14. Special Accommodations The meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to M. Jan Saunders at the Mid-Atlantic Council Office, (302) 526–5251, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Dated: October 23, 2019. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2019–23446 Filed 10–25–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XV114 Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of public meetings. AGENCY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) and its advisory entities will hold public meetings. DATES: The Pacific Council and its advisory entities will meet November 14–20, 2019. The Pacific Council meeting will begin on Friday, November 15, 2019 at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST), reconvening at 8 a.m. each day through Wednesday, November 20, SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 57703 2019. All meetings are open to the public, except a closed session will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., Friday, November 15 to address litigation and personnel matters. The Pacific Council will meet as late as necessary each day to complete its scheduled business. ADDRESSES: Meeting address: Meetings of the Pacific Council and its advisory entities will be held at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa Hotel, 3050 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA; telephone: (714) 540–7000. Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220. Instructions for attending the meeting via live stream broadcast are given under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chuck Tracy, Executive Director; telephone: (503) 820–2280 or (866) 806– 7204 toll-free; or access the Pacific Council website, https:// www.pcouncil.org for the current meeting location, proposed agenda, and meeting briefing materials. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The November 14–20, 2019 meeting of the Pacific Council will be streamed live on the internet. The broadcasts begin initially at 9 a.m. PST Friday, November 13, 2019 and continue at 8 a.m. daily through Wednesday, November 20, 2019. Broadcasts end when business for the day is complete. Only the audio portion and presentations displayed on the screen at the Pacific Council meeting will be broadcast. The audio portion is listen-only; you will be unable to speak to the Pacific Council via the broadcast. To access the meeting online, please use the following link: https://www.gotomeeting.com/online/ webinar/join-webinar and enter the November Webinar ID, 634–645–459, and your email address. You can attend the webinar online using a computer, tablet, or smart phone, using the GoToMeeting application. It is recommended that you use a computer headset to listen to the meeting, but you may use your telephone for the audioonly portion of the meeting. The audio portion may be attended using a telephone by dialing the toll number 1– 562–247–8422 (not a toll-free number), audio access code 532–691–006, and entering the audio pin shown after joining the webinar. The following items are on the Pacific Council agenda, but not necessarily in this order. Agenda items noted as ‘‘Final Action’’ refer to actions requiring the Council to transmit a proposed fishery E:\FR\FM\28OCN1.SGM 28OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 208 (Monday, October 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57702-57703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23466]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and 
Public Comment for a Proposed Boundary Expansion for the Elkhorn Slough 
National Estuarine Research Reserve

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed boundary expansion and availability of a 
draft environmental assessment; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 
considering a request to amend the boundary of the Elkhorn Slough 
National Estuarine Research Reserve (Elkhorn Slough NERR or the 
Reserve) and is soliciting comments from the public on the proposed 
boundary expansion. The public is also invited to comment on the draft 
environmental assessment for the proposed boundary expansion. Any 
person wishing to comment on the proposed boundary expansion or the 
environmental assessment may submit comments as described under 
ADDRESSES below.

DATES: Written comments must be received at the appropriate address 
(see ADDRESSES) on or before November 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The draft environmental assessment can be downloaded or 
viewed at coast.noaa.gov/czm/compliance/. The document is also 
available by sending a written request to the point of contact 
identified below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION).
    You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments by 
email to [email protected].
    Mail: Submit written comments to Elaine Vaudreuil, Office for 
Coastal Management, NOAA Ocean Service, 1305 East-West Hwy., N/OCM, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    Comments submitted by any other method or after the comment period 
may not be considered. All comments are a part of the public record and 
may be publicly accessible. Any personal identifying information (e.g., 
name, address) submitted voluntarily by the sender may also be 
accessible. NOAA will accept anonymous comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elaine Vaudreuil of NOAA's Office for 
Coastal Management, by email at [email protected], phone at 
240-533-0821, or mail at: 1305 East-West Hwy., N/OCM, Silver Spring, MD 
20910

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as lead agency for 
managing the Elkhorn Slough NERR, has requested approval to expand the 
geographic boundary of the Reserve by adding nine new parcels to and 
removing a 13.98-acre area from the existing approved boundary. 
Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(a), NOAA may require public notice, including 
notice in the Federal Register and an opportunity for public comment 
before approving a boundary or management plan change. In addition, 
boundary changes involving the acquisition of properties not listed in 
the reserve's original management plan or final environmental impact 
statement (EIS) require public notice and the opportunity for comment. 
Five of the new parcels were included in the reserve's original EIS 
(1979). However, since four of the new parcels were not evaluated in 
the original EIS, NOAA has developed an environmental assessment to 
analyze the potential effects of the requested change to the Reserve 
boundary and is publishing notice of the availability of this 
assessment for public review and comment on the proposed boundary 
expansion and associated environmental assessment.

II. NOAA Proposed Action and Alternatives

    NOAA is releasing a draft environmental assessment, prepared in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA 
(40 CFR 1500-1508). NOAA's proposed action is to approve a change in 
the management boundary of the Elkhorn Slough NERR to add nine parcels 
(totaling 313.753 acres) acquired since 2007 and remove one 13.98-acre 
parcel from the approved boundary.
    The draft environmental assessment identifies and assesses 
potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed boundary 
expansion, and identifies a preferred alternative and a no action 
alternative. The preferred alternative would add five parcels 
identified for future acquisition at the time of the reserve's 
designation in 1979, along with four additional parcels. It would also 
remove from the current Reserve boundary a 13.98-acre area containing a 
non-conforming use, which would result in a net increase in size of 
299.773 acres. NOAA anticipates that the preferred alternative would 
(1) provide additional buffer around the reserve's core areas, (2) 
enable the reserve to manage the significant habitats on those 
properties, and where possible, restore habitats for the benefit of key 
species in the Elkhorn Slough watershed, and (3) expand research and 
education activities to the adjacent Moro Cojo Slough within the 
reserve's watershed. Therefore, NOAA prefers the proposed boundary 
expansion over the no action alternative.


[[Page 57703]]


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

Keelin S. Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-23466 Filed 10-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.