Notice2022-08629
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the NMFS Saltonstall-Kennedy Research and Development Program
Primary source
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Published
April 22, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NOAA announces the availability of its Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) which analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the implementation of projects that foster the promotion, marketing, research, and development of U.S. Fisheries and their associated fishing sectors, as consistent with NOAA's Saltonstall-Kennedy Research and Development Program (S-K Program). The focus of this action is on activities and projects under the S-K Program, which interfaces with numerous programs within NOAA, and it is NOAA's intention that this PEIS may also cover those activities and projects implemented by other NOAA programs and offices that are consistent with the scope of the S-K Program. This notice of availability (NOA) of the Draft PEIS invites interested parties to provide comments on the proposed project, its potential to affect the human environment, and means for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating those effects.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 78 (Friday, April 22, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 78 (Friday, April 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24131-24132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08629]
[[Page 24131]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the NMFS
Saltonstall-Kennedy Research and Development Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; announcement of public meetings;
request for written comments.
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SUMMARY: NOAA announces the availability of its Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) which analyzes the potential
environmental impacts of the implementation of projects that foster the
promotion, marketing, research, and development of U.S. Fisheries and
their associated fishing sectors, as consistent with NOAA's
Saltonstall-Kennedy Research and Development Program (S-K Program). The
focus of this action is on activities and projects under the S-K
Program, which interfaces with numerous programs within NOAA, and it is
NOAA's intention that this PEIS may also cover those activities and
projects implemented by other NOAA programs and offices that are
consistent with the scope of the S-K Program. This notice of
availability (NOA) of the Draft PEIS invites interested parties to
provide comments on the proposed project, its potential to affect the
human environment, and means for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating
those effects.
DATES: Written comments on this Draft PEIS must be received no later
than June 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0045, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter NOAA-NMFS-2022-0045 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
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 NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Comments will also be accepted at public meetings during the Draft
PEIS comment period. The webinar and telephone information for the
public meetings is provided below in the Draft PEIS Process section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cliff Cosgrove, Saltonstall-Kennedy
Program Manager, telephone: (301-427-8736); <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#06686b607528756d2876636f75466869676728616970"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c7a9aaa1b4e9b4ace9b7a2aeb487a9a8a6a6e9a0a8b1">[email protected]</span></a>; or
visit the S-K Program website: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/content/saltonstall-kennedy-research-and-development-program">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/content/saltonstall-kennedy-research-and-development-program</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Project Scope
The purpose of this PEIS is to identify and evaluate the general
impacts, issues and concerns related to the implementation of the types
of projects that are consistent with the scope of the S-K Program. The
S-K Program funds projects that address the needs of fishing
communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining
sustainable fisheries (where the term ``fisheries'' includes commercial
wild capture, recreational fishing, cultural and subsistence fishing,
and marine aquaculture), and increase other opportunities to keep
working waterfronts viable. The PEIS will be used to support site- and
project-specific NEPA reviews, as necessary. The PEIS addresses all of
the priorities, and their associated project types, that the S-K
Program has funded since 2010, which cover the range of priorities and
project types that fall under the S-K Program. The affected environment
associated with the proposed action includes all marine, estuarine, and
coastal habitats in the United States and territories. It also includes
freshwater interior habitats that influence or affect rivers, streams,
and creeks affecting marine or estuarine waters, or that support
migratory fish populations. It may also include adjacent or continuous
habitats in Canada or Mexico that support living coastal and marine
resources under NOAA trusteeship.
To ensure consideration of input from interested parties in each
region, NOAA will conduct three public meetings for the Draft PEIS.
Each meeting will be focused on a region or combination of regions
based on time zone proximity. More information about each meeting,
including meeting dates and times, can be found in the Draft PEIS
Process section below.
Background
In 1954, the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act (15 U.S.C. 713c-3) was passed
to address the needs of U.S. fisheries and their related fishing
sectors, and thereby established the S-K Program. The Saltonstall-
Kennedy Act states that The Secretary shall make grants to assist
persons in carrying out research and development projects addressed to
any aspect of United States fisheries, including, but not limited to,
harvesting, processing, marketing, and associated infrastructures.
The S-K Program provides funding to projects that benefit fishing
communities through the promotion, marketing, research, and development
of U.S. fisheries and their associated fishing sectors. Since its
inception, grants have been provided to fishers, individuals, private
businesses, fishing organizations, universities, states, research
institutes, non-governmental organizations, and others.
The S-K Program is composed of a competitive grant program and a
national program. Grants and cooperative agreements are provided under
both programs and can occur in any of NMFS' five fisheries regions. The
national program is designed to fund needed fishery industry projects
that are not addressed through the competitive grants program. Funding
for the S-K Program is determined through annual congressional
appropriations. Historically, the S-K Program has had a diverse set of
priorities, selecting between two and seven projects each year for
funding. While the primary priority has been projects that meet the
purpose of promotion, development, and marketing (PDM) of the U.S.
fisheries and their associated fishing sectors, and NMFS anticipates
that will continue to be the primary priority, priorities can change
annually and additional priorities can be chosen.
For more information about the S-K Program, please use the link
provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above.
Proposed Action, Purpose, and Need
The proposed Federal action is to fund projects that are consistent
with the scope of the S-K Program. The purpose of the proposed action
is threefold: (1) Address the needs of fishing communities, consistent
with NOAA's mandate through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act; (2) ensure
that NOAA continues to meet the intent and requirements of the
Saltonstall-Kennedy Act; and (3) assist NOAA in meeting its
[[Page 24132]]
mission, ``To understand and predict changes in climate, weather,
oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with
others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and
resources.'' The Proposed Action is needed to implement the S-K Act and
funding program to build and maintain sustainable fisheries, optimize
economic benefits, and increase other opportunities to keep working
waterfronts viable.
Types of projects funded by the S-K Program include, but are not
limited to, (1) seafood promotion and marketing; (2) research and
monitoring; (3) gear testing, bycatch reduction, and processing
studies; (4) aquaculture; (5) socioeconomic research; and (6) outreach,
education, and planning.
Alternatives
The Draft PEIS considers two alternatives: (1) A No Action
Alternative, and (2) the proposed action, which NOAA is referring to as
the Promotion, Marketing, Research and Development Alternative
(Preferred Alternative). Under the No Action Alternative, the S-K
Program would not fund projects that address the needs of fishing
communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining
sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working
waterfronts viable. The No Action Alternative serves as a baseline
against which the impacts of the Preferred Alternative are compared.
Implementation of the Preferred Alternative would allow for the funding
of actions through federal financial assistance for all possible types
of projects that meet the intent of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act and the
needs of U.S. fishing communities, consistent with the scope of the S-K
Program. This alternative would provide the S-K Program with
flexibility in choosing priorities each year while also considering the
funding environment.
Draft PEIS Process
This notice initiates a public comment period for the Draft PEIS.
Please review the information in this notice and additional information
about the S-K Program, located on the NOAA S-K Program website (see the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above). NOAA is particularly
interested in receiving comments regarding biological, cultural, or
ecological issues that the analysis should address. We also encourage
comments that assist us in further delineating the proposed project,
its potential to affect the human environment, means for avoiding,
minimizing, or mitigating those effects, and other issues of public
concern. To promote informed decision-making, we especially encourage
commenters to submit any scientific data, studies, or research that you
feel is relevant to the analysis.
To facilitate the public and agency involvement in the PEIS
process, NOAA will hold three virtual public meetings during the 45-day
Draft PEIS public comment period. The meetings will be virtual in
format. The meetings will solicit input from the public and interested
public agencies regarding the environmental impacts analyzed in the
Draft PEIS. Three virtual public meetings (in webinar format only) will
be held in each of three regions, as follows:
<bullet> Eastern and Gulf of Mexico Region (includes Atlantic States,
Gulf of Mexico States, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico)--May 3,
2022
[cir] 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT)
[cir] 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
<bullet> Western Region (includes Pacific States, Idaho, Alaska)--May
4, 2022
[cir] 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
[cir] 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time (AKDT)
<bullet> Western Pacific Region (includes Hawaii and Pacific
Territories)--May 5, 2022
[cir] May 5, 2022, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard
Time (HST)
[cir] May 6, 2022, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Chamorro Standard Time
(CHST)
Use the webinar links and dial-in information below to join each of
the public scoping meetings:
<bullet> Eastern and Gulf of Mexico Region:
[cir] Webinar Link: <a href="https://kearnsandwest.webex.com/kearnsandwest/j.php?MTID=ma03971dfae8c6b633729b0999b548449">https://kearnsandwest.webex.com/kearnsandwest/j.php?MTID=ma03971dfae8c6b633729b0999b548449</a>
[cir] Access Code: 2498 400 6694
[cir] Dial-in Information: 1-844-621-3956 (US Toll Free) +1-415-
655-0001 (US Toll)
<bullet> Western Region:
[cir] Webinar Link: <a href="https://kearnsandwest.webex.com/kearnsandwest/j.php?MTID=m27121be3b23b64dd86e686176c472cc2">https://kearnsandwest.webex.com/kearnsandwest/j.php?MTID=m27121be3b23b64dd86e686176c472cc2</a>
[cir] Access Code: 2496 674 8493
[cir] Dial-in Information: 1-844-621-3956 (US Toll Free) +1-415-
655-0001 (US Toll)
<bullet> Western Pacific Region:
[cir] Webinar Link: <a href="https://kearnsandwest.webex.com/kearnsandwest/j.php?MTID=m96385ca30659a7d4df14ea3d29379680">https://kearnsandwest.webex.com/kearnsandwest/j.php?MTID=m96385ca30659a7d4df14ea3d29379680</a>
[cir] Access Code: 2487 332 4826
[cir] Dial-in Information: 1-844-621-3956 (US Toll Free) +1-415-
655-0001 (US Toll)
Participants are encouraged to download the Webex Meetings app
ahead of the meetings, using this link: <a href="https://www.webex.com/downloads.html">https://www.webex.com/downloads.html</a>. Then use the meeting link above to join a public
meeting at the appropriate time. You may also participate by phone
toll-free by calling 1-844-621-3956 (US Toll Free) or +1-415-655-0001
(US Toll), then entering the Access Code above when prompted.
After the comment period closes, NOAA will review and consider all
comments received during the comment period and any other relevant
information when developing the Final PEIS. Upon completion of the
Final PEIS, a document announcing its availability will be published in
the Federal Register.
Authority: This PEIS is being prepared under the authority of, and
in accordance with, the requirements of NEPA, implementing regulations
published by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500-1508),
other applicable regulations, and NOAA's policies and procedures for
compliance with those regulations.
Dated: April 18, 2022.
Daniel A. Namur,
Director of the NMFS Financial Assistance Division, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-08629 Filed 4-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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