Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Coral Reef Conservation Program, 43544-43545 [2020-15419]
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43544
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 138 / Friday, July 17, 2020 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[NOAA–NOS–2020–0104]
Notice of Availability of a Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for the Coral Reef
Conservation Program
Office for Coastal Management
(OCM), National Ocean Service (NOS),
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of
Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Office for Coastal Management has
prepared a final programmatic
environmental impact statement (PEIS)
in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA), for its Coral Reef
Conservation Program (CRCP), which is
managed by NOAA’s National Ocean
Service in Silver Spring, MD. The CRCP
is implemented in coastal areas and
marine waters of Florida, Puerto Rico,
U.S. Virgin Islands, Gulf of Mexico,
Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, American
Samoa, the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands,
and targeted international regions
including the wider Caribbean, the
Coral Triangle, the South Pacific, and
Micronesia.
SUMMARY:
Liz
Fairey, NMFS Office of Habitat
Conservation, NOAA Coral Reef
Conservation Program, 1315 East West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910,
liz.fairey@noaa.gov, 301-427-8632.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July
11, 2018, NOAA published a Notice of
Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to
prepare a PEIS for continued operation
of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation
Program (CRCP) (83 FR 32099). On
December 13, 2019, NOAA published a
draft PEIS for coral reef conservation
and restoration activities conducted by
the CRCP throughout parts of the United
States, including the coastal areas and
marine waters of Florida, Puerto Rico,
U.S. Virgin Islands, Gulf of Mexico,
Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, American
Samoa, and the U.S. Pacific Remote
Islands, and priority international areas
(i.e., the wider Caribbean, the Coral
Triangle, the South Pacific, and
Micronesia). The public comment
period for the draft PEIS ended on
January 27, 2020. Thirteen comments
were received and broken down into
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:12 Jul 16, 2020
Jkt 250001
components. The final PEIS responds to
components of the comments as
summarized in Appendix I and was
revised as appropriate. The final PEIS
assesses the direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts of
NOAA’s proposed action to continue
funding and otherwise conducting coral
reef conservation and restoration
activities through the CRCP’s existing
programmatic framework and related
procedures. The CRCP is implemented
in accordance with the requirements of
the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000
and Executive Order 13089. Projects
implemented or funded by NOAA vary
in terms of their size, complexity,
geographic location, and NOAA
involvement, and often benefit diverse
coral species, habitats, and ecosystem
types. The CRCP conducts research and
monitoring to gather data on the
existence and condition of coral reef
ecosystems to support conservation and
restoration efforts. NOAA implements
the CRCP across four of its line offices
(i.e., National Ocean Service, Office of
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research,
National Marine Fisheries Service, and
National Environmental Satellite, Data,
and Information Service) and in
coordination with other federal
agencies, state and local agencies,
private conservation organizations, and
research and academic institutions. A
significant amount of this support is
administered through grants and
cooperative agreements. CRCP activities
are prioritized based on available
funding and the responsiveness to the
priorities in its strategic plan, including
jurisdictional needs. The final PEIS
identifies and evaluates the general
environmental impacts, issues, and
concerns related to the comprehensive
management and implementation of the
CRCP, including potential mitigation.
NOAA anticipates that some
environmental effects will be caused by
site-specific, project-level activities
implementing the CRCP; therefore, the
final PEIS will be used to support tiered,
site-specific National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA),
reviews by narrowing the scope of
environmental impacts and facilitating
focused, project-level reviews. NOAA
also intends for this final PEIS to
establish a tiered environmental
decision-making framework that will
support efficient compliance with other
statutes protecting natural resources,
such as the Endangered Species Act
(ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection
Act, to the extent they apply. Since the
CRCP will use the final PEIS to conduct
tiered analyses, this document does not
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
evaluate the environmental impacts of
any project-level activities.
The final PEIS analyzes three
program-level alternatives:
• No Action Alternative: This is the
agency’s preferred alternative. It
involves continued operation of the
CRCP based on minimizing the three
primary threats to coral reefs (i.e.,
fishing impacts, land-based sources of
pollution, and climate change) and
supporting research and possible
application of novel coral restoration
and intervention techniques to respond
rapidly to imminent threats, such as
increased bleaching and disease, to
corals and coral reef ecosystems. CRCP
operations would include monitoring,
research activities, watershed and coral
reef restoration, reduction of physical
impacts to coral reefs, outreach and
education, and program support. The
CRCP would continue to be
implemented using available
appropriations, across four NOAA line
offices, using a mix of internal and
external funding, across existing
geographic areas, and in collaboration
with similar partners. The CRCP would
continue to conduct program activities
with mandatory mitigation measures
developed in compliance with
applicable environmental laws such as
the ESA. For the purposes of this final
PEIS, it is assumed that the activities
would be conducted in the same
manner as they currently are.
• Alternative 1: This alternative
reflects the management of the CRCP to
address and minimize the three primary
threats listed above, but does not
include research and possible
application of restoration and
intervention techniques. The CRCP
would continue to be implemented
using available appropriations, across
four NOAA line offices, using a mix of
internal and external funding, across
existing geographic areas, and using
similar partners. The CRCP would
continue to conduct program activities
with mandatory mitigation measures
developed in compliance with
applicable environmental laws such as
the ESA.
• Alternative 2: This alternative
continues the management of the CRCP
to address and minimize the three
primary threats and support research
and possible application of novel coral
restoration and intervention techniques
to respond rapidly to imminent threats
(i.e., the No Action Alternative) plus the
implementation of discretionary
mitigation measures. The fundamental
difference between this alternative and
the other alternatives is that Alternative
2 identifies and implements a suite of
standard, discretionary conservation
E:\FR\FM\17JYN1.SGM
17JYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 138 / Friday, July 17, 2020 / Notices
and mitigation measures that would
supplement mandatory mitigation
measures required by statutes.
The fundamental distinction between
Alternative 1 and the No Action
Alternative is that the No Action
Alternative includes research and
potential application of novel
restoration and intervention techniques
as tools to respond to imminent threats
to corals. The final PEIS considers the
environmental effects of these various
intervention strategies.
Please visit the CRCP web page for
additional information regarding the
CRCP: https://coralreef.noaa.gov/.
This final PEIS is available for a 30day waiting period, ending on August
17, 2020.
Authority: The preparation of the final
PEIS for the CRCP was conducted in
accordance with the requirements of
NEPA, the Council on Environmental
Quality’s NEPA regulations (40 CFR
parts 1500–1508), other applicable
regulations, and NOAA’s policies and
procedures for compliance with those
regulations.
Keelin Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal
Management, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020–15419 Filed 7–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P
COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM
PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR
SEVERELY DISABLED
Procurement List; Additions and
Deletions
Committee for Purchase From
People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled.
ACTION: Additions to and deletions from
the Procurement List.
AGENCY:
This action adds products and
services to the Procurement List that
will be furnished by nonprofit agencies
employing persons who are blind or
have other severe disabilities, and
deletes products and services from the
Procurement List previously furnished
by such agencies.
DATES: Date added to and deleted from
the Procurement List: August 16, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase
From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled, 1401 S Clark Street, Suite 715,
Arlington, Virginia, 22202–4149.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael R. Jurkowski, Telephone: (703)
603–2117, Fax: (703) 603–0655, or email
CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:12 Jul 16, 2020
Jkt 250001
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Additions
On 5/15/2020 and 6/12/2020, the
Committee for Purchase From People
Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
published notice of proposed additions
to the Procurement List. This notice is
published pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 8503
(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3.
After consideration of the material
presented to it concerning capability of
qualified nonprofit agencies to provide
the products and services and impact of
the additions on the current or most
recent contractors, the Committee has
determined that the products and
services listed below are suitable for
procurement by the Federal Government
under 41 U.S.C. 8501–8506 and 41 CFR
51–2.4.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
I certify that the following action will
not have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The major factors considered for this
certification were:
1. The action will not result in any
additional reporting, recordkeeping or
other compliance requirements for small
entities other than the small
organizations that will furnish the
products and services to the
Government.
2. The action will result in
authorizing small entities to furnish the
products and services to the
Government.
3. There are no known regulatory
alternatives which would accomplish
the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 8501–8506) in
connection with the products and
services proposed for addition to the
Procurement List.
End of Certification
Accordingly, the following products
and services are added to the
Procurement List:
Products
NSN(s)—Product Name(s):
MR 11100—Server, Gravy and Sauce,
Includes Shipper 21100
MR11130—Carving Kit, Pumpkin, Assorted
Colors
Mandatory Source of Supply: Winston-Salem
Industries for the Blind, Inc., WinstonSalem, NC
Mandatory For:
Contracting Activity: Military Resale-Defense
Commissary Agency
NSN(s)—Product Name(s):
MR 1186—Broom Dustpan Combo
Mandatory Source of Supply: LC Industries,
Inc., Durham, NC
Mandatory For:
Contracting Activity: Military Resale-Defense
Commissary Agency
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
43545
Service
Service Type: Base Supply Center
Mandatory for: New Mexico National Guard,
Santa Fe, NM
Mandatory Source of Supply: Envision, Inc.,
Wichita, KS
Contracting Activity: DEPT OF THE ARMY,
W7NQ USPFO ACTIVITY NM ARNG
Deletions
On 6/12/2020, the Committee for
Purchase From People Who Are Blind
or Severely Disabled published notice of
proposed deletions from the
Procurement List. This notice is
published pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 8503
(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3.
After consideration of the relevant
matter presented, the Committee has
determined that the products and
services listed below are no longer
suitable for procurement by the Federal
Government under 41 U.S.C. 8501–8506
and 41 CFR 51–2.4.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
I certify that the following action will
not have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The major factors considered for this
certification were:
1. The action will not result in
additional reporting, recordkeeping or
other compliance requirements for small
entities.
2. The action may result in
authorizing small entities to furnish the
products and services to the
Government.
3. There are no known regulatory
alternatives which would accomplish
the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 8501–8506) in
connection with the products and
services deleted from the Procurement
List.
End of Certification
Accordingly, the following products
and services are deleted from the
Procurement List:
Products
NSN(s)—Product Name(s):
8415–01–043–4036—Drawers, Flyers,
Aramid, Navy, Ankle Length, Natural,
XS
8415–00–467–4075—Drawers, Flyers,
Aramid, Navy, Ankle Length, Natural,
Small
8415–00–467–4076—Drawers, Flyers,
Aramid, Navy, Ankle Length, Natural,
Medium
8415–00–467–4078—Drawers, Flyers,
Aramid, Navy, Ankle Length, Natural,
Large
8415–00–467–4100—Drawers, Flyers,
Aramid, Navy, Ankle Length, Natural, X
Large
Mandatory Source of Supply: Peckham
Vocational Industries, Inc., Lansing, MI
Contracting Activity: DLA TROOP SUPPORT,
E:\FR\FM\17JYN1.SGM
17JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 138 (Friday, July 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43544-43545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15419]
[[Page 43544]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[NOAA-NOS-2020-0104]
Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement for the Coral Reef Conservation Program
AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management (OCM), National Ocean Service
(NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Office for Coastal Management has prepared a final programmatic
environmental impact statement (PEIS) in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), for its Coral Reef
Conservation Program (CRCP), which is managed by NOAA's National Ocean
Service in Silver Spring, MD. The CRCP is implemented in coastal areas
and marine waters of Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Gulf of
Mexico, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
American Samoa, the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands, and targeted
international regions including the wider Caribbean, the Coral
Triangle, the South Pacific, and Micronesia.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz Fairey, NMFS Office of Habitat
Conservation, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, 1315 East West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, [email protected], 301-427-8632.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 11, 2018, NOAA published a Notice
of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare a PEIS for continued
operation of NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) (83 FR
32099). On December 13, 2019, NOAA published a draft PEIS for coral
reef conservation and restoration activities conducted by the CRCP
throughout parts of the United States, including the coastal areas and
marine waters of Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Gulf of
Mexico, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
American Samoa, and the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands, and priority
international areas (i.e., the wider Caribbean, the Coral Triangle, the
South Pacific, and Micronesia). The public comment period for the draft
PEIS ended on January 27, 2020. Thirteen comments were received and
broken down into components. The final PEIS responds to components of
the comments as summarized in Appendix I and was revised as
appropriate. The final PEIS assesses the direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts of NOAA's proposed action to continue
funding and otherwise conducting coral reef conservation and
restoration activities through the CRCP's existing programmatic
framework and related procedures. The CRCP is implemented in accordance
with the requirements of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and
Executive Order 13089. Projects implemented or funded by NOAA vary in
terms of their size, complexity, geographic location, and NOAA
involvement, and often benefit diverse coral species, habitats, and
ecosystem types. The CRCP conducts research and monitoring to gather
data on the existence and condition of coral reef ecosystems to support
conservation and restoration efforts. NOAA implements the CRCP across
four of its line offices (i.e., National Ocean Service, Office of
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Marine Fisheries Service,
and National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service)
and in coordination with other federal agencies, state and local
agencies, private conservation organizations, and research and academic
institutions. A significant amount of this support is administered
through grants and cooperative agreements. CRCP activities are
prioritized based on available funding and the responsiveness to the
priorities in its strategic plan, including jurisdictional needs. The
final PEIS identifies and evaluates the general environmental impacts,
issues, and concerns related to the comprehensive management and
implementation of the CRCP, including potential mitigation. NOAA
anticipates that some environmental effects will be caused by site-
specific, project-level activities implementing the CRCP; therefore,
the final PEIS will be used to support tiered, site-specific National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), reviews by
narrowing the scope of environmental impacts and facilitating focused,
project-level reviews. NOAA also intends for this final PEIS to
establish a tiered environmental decision-making framework that will
support efficient compliance with other statutes protecting natural
resources, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal
Protection Act, to the extent they apply. Since the CRCP will use the
final PEIS to conduct tiered analyses, this document does not evaluate
the environmental impacts of any project-level activities.
The final PEIS analyzes three program-level alternatives:
No Action Alternative: This is the agency's preferred
alternative. It involves continued operation of the CRCP based on
minimizing the three primary threats to coral reefs (i.e., fishing
impacts, land-based sources of pollution, and climate change) and
supporting research and possible application of novel coral restoration
and intervention techniques to respond rapidly to imminent threats,
such as increased bleaching and disease, to corals and coral reef
ecosystems. CRCP operations would include monitoring, research
activities, watershed and coral reef restoration, reduction of physical
impacts to coral reefs, outreach and education, and program support.
The CRCP would continue to be implemented using available
appropriations, across four NOAA line offices, using a mix of internal
and external funding, across existing geographic areas, and in
collaboration with similar partners. The CRCP would continue to conduct
program activities with mandatory mitigation measures developed in
compliance with applicable environmental laws such as the ESA. For the
purposes of this final PEIS, it is assumed that the activities would be
conducted in the same manner as they currently are.
Alternative 1: This alternative reflects the management of
the CRCP to address and minimize the three primary threats listed
above, but does not include research and possible application of
restoration and intervention techniques. The CRCP would continue to be
implemented using available appropriations, across four NOAA line
offices, using a mix of internal and external funding, across existing
geographic areas, and using similar partners. The CRCP would continue
to conduct program activities with mandatory mitigation measures
developed in compliance with applicable environmental laws such as the
ESA.
Alternative 2: This alternative continues the management
of the CRCP to address and minimize the three primary threats and
support research and possible application of novel coral restoration
and intervention techniques to respond rapidly to imminent threats
(i.e., the No Action Alternative) plus the implementation of
discretionary mitigation measures. The fundamental difference between
this alternative and the other alternatives is that Alternative 2
identifies and implements a suite of standard, discretionary
conservation
[[Page 43545]]
and mitigation measures that would supplement mandatory mitigation
measures required by statutes.
The fundamental distinction between Alternative 1 and the No Action
Alternative is that the No Action Alternative includes research and
potential application of novel restoration and intervention techniques
as tools to respond to imminent threats to corals. The final PEIS
considers the environmental effects of these various intervention
strategies.
Please visit the CRCP web page for additional information regarding
the CRCP: https://coralreef.noaa.gov/.
This final PEIS is available for a 30-day waiting period, ending on
August 17, 2020.
Authority: The preparation of the final PEIS for the CRCP was
conducted in accordance with the requirements of NEPA, the Council on
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
other applicable regulations, and NOAA's policies and procedures for
compliance with those regulations.
Keelin Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-15419 Filed 7-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P
