AGENCY:

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of Intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement and hold public scoping meetings; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the State of Hawai’i, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), is initiating the process to consider designating marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as a national marine sanctuary. Per the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), NOAA will prepare a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the sanctuary designation process to evaluate potential environmental effects of this action. NOAA will also coordinate its responsibility under the National Historic Preservation Act with the NEPA process. NOAA is initiating the public scoping process to invite comments on the scope and significance of issues to be addressed in the environmental impact statement that are 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, including preparation and release of draft designation documents, and formulating alternatives for the DEIS.

DATES:

Comments must be received by NOAA on or before January 31, 2022. NOAA will host virtual public scoping meetings and will allow for comments in both English and Hawaiian (‘Ōlelo Hawai’i) at the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 6 p.m. HST
• Saturday, December 11, 2021, 12 p.m. HST
• Tuesday, December 14, 2021, 6 p.m. HST
• Thursday, December 16, 2021, 3 p.m. HST

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments on this notice by any of the following methods:

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter “NOAA-NOS-2021-0114” in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

Mail: Send any hard copy public comments by mail to: PMNM-Sanctuary Designation, NOAA/ONMS, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.

Public Scoping Meetings: Provide oral comments during virtual public scoping meetings, as described under DATES . Webinar registration details and additional information about how to participate in these public scoping meetings is available at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/​papahanaumokuakea/​.

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. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (for example: name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 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:

Athline Clark, (808) 725-5800, Athline.Clark@noaa.gov, NOAA Superintendent Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and Start Printed Page 64905 UNESCO World Heritage Site, address: 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg 176, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96818

Click here for complete FR Notice.