Notice2022-11954
Notice of Alaĝum Kanuux Site Added to the Inventory of Areas for Possible Designation as National Marine Sanctuaries
Primary source
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Published
June 8, 2022
Effective
June 8, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
On June 13, 2014, NOAA published a final rule establishing the Sanctuary Nomination Process, allowing communities to submit nominations to NOAA for consideration as new national marine sanctuaries. The rule included the final review process, national significance criteria, and management considerations that NOAA uses to evaluate new national marine sanctuary nominations for inclusion in the inventory of areas that could be considered for designation as national marine sanctuaries. The rule also states that NOAA will publish a Federal Register notice when areas have been added to the inventory of successful nominations. This notice announces that NOAA added the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) sanctuary nomination to the inventory.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 110 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34851-34853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11954]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux Site Added to the Inventory of
Areas for Possible Designation as National Marine Sanctuaries
AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On June 13, 2014, NOAA published a final rule establishing the
Sanctuary Nomination Process, allowing communities to submit
nominations to NOAA for consideration as new national marine
sanctuaries. The rule included the final review process, national
significance criteria, and management considerations that NOAA uses to
evaluate new national marine sanctuary nominations for inclusion in the
inventory of areas that could be considered for designation as national
marine sanctuaries. The rule also states that NOAA will publish a
Federal Register notice when areas have been added to the inventory of
successful nominations. This notice announces that NOAA added the
Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) sanctuary nomination to the
inventory.
DATES: This notice is effective on June 8, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Kristina Kekuewa, Pacific Islands Regional Director, NOAA
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Honolulu,
Hawaii 96818, and at <a href="https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/">https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Kekuewa, Pacific Islands
Regional Director, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c2a9b0abb1b6abaca3eca9a7a9b7a7b5a382acada3a3eca5adb4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cca7bea5bfb8a5a2ade2a7a9a7b9a9bbad8ca2a3adade2aba3ba">[email protected]</span></a>, or at 808-725-5252.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.)
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to identify and designate as
national marine sanctuaries areas of the marine environment, including
the Great Lakes, which are of special national significance; to manage
these areas as the National Marine Sanctuary System; and to provide for
the comprehensive and coordinated conservation and management of these
areas and the activities affecting them in a manner which complements
existing regulatory
[[Page 34852]]
authorities. Section 303 of the NMSA, 16 U.S.C. 1433, provides national
marine sanctuary designation standards and factors required in
determining whether an area qualifies for consideration as a potential
national marine sanctuary, and section 304, 16 U.S.C. 1434, establishes
procedures for national marine sanctuary designation and
implementation. Regulations implementing the NMSA and each national
marine sanctuary are codified in part 922 of title 15 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
On June 13, 2014, NOAA issued a final rule that established the
Sanctuary Nomination Process and finalized the national significance
criteria and management considerations it will use to review new
national marine sanctuary nominations (79 FR 33851). If NOAA determines
a nomination adequately meets the final criteria and considerations, it
may place that nomination in an inventory of areas to consider for
designation as a national marine sanctuary. NOAA also stated that it
would send a letter of notification to the nominator and publish a
Federal Register notice identifying areas that have been added to the
inventory of successful nominations. This notice documents that NOAA is
adding the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) nomination to the
inventory.
NOAA is not designating any new national marine sanctuaries with
this action. Any proposed designations resulting from the nomination
process would be conducted by NOAA as a separate process under the
NMSA, Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. subchapter II), National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and other applicable
authorities.
II. Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux Sanctuary Nomination Added to the Inventory
The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) Tribal Government, a
federally recognized tribe,\1\ submitted an initial nomination for
Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux (Heart of the Ocean) for consideration as a
national marine sanctuary on December 17, 2021. The original nomination
identified an estimated 52,920 mi\2\ (39,961 nm\2\) area in the Bering
Sea encompassed by a 100 nm circular boundary around the two inhabited
islands of St. Paul and St. George off the coast of Alaska for possible
sanctuary designation. The nominated area excluded a quarter-mile
buffer zone around the St. George and St. Paul Harbors and all
shoreside and submerged industrial facilities on both islands. After
further communication with the community of St. George Island, the
ACSPI Tribal Government submitted a revised nomination on April 14,
2022, that removed the initial proposed boundaries and any implied
commitments of St. George Island (i.e., City of St. George and the St.
George Traditional Council) to encourage future community input on the
ideal boundaries and co-management arrangements during any potential
sanctuary designation process. In the revised nomination, the
nominators proposed utilizing Indigenous knowledge and empirical
science to assess numerous biological, ecological, and physical
features of the Pribilof Islands marine ecosystem (e.g., oceanographic
features, foraging and migratory dynamics of seabirds and marine
mammals, and population dynamics) and working with co-managing partners
and advisors to determine appropriate sanctuary boundaries should ONMS
move forward with sanctuary designation. The revised nomination
proposes excluding buffer zones around harbors and all shoreside and
submerged industrial facilities from any future proposed boundary.
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\1\ The Department of the Interior includes Saint Paul Island
and Saint George Island on the list of Federally Recognized Alaska
Native Villages/Tribes Within the State of Alaska. Indian Entities
Recognized by and Eligible to Receive Services from the United
States Bureau of Indian Affairs, 87 FR 4636, 4641 (January 28,
2022). The Department of the Interior list further notes, ``Pribilof
Islands Aleut Communities of St. Paul & St. George Islands (Saint
George Island and Saint Paul Island)--is not included in the
official count of 574 federally recognized Tribes but is recognized
as an entity authorized to act on behalf of Saint George Island and
Saint Paul Island).'' Id.
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The ACSPI Tribal Government nominated the area for consideration as
a national marine sanctuary to protect nationally significant
biological and cultural resources in the area. The area's ecosystem
supports globally significant populations of marine mammals, seabirds,
and fish, including various ecological and cultural keystone species
such as northern fur seals and Steller sea lions. The oceanographic
features of the area results in a highly productive zone that supports
representative biogeographic assemblages of biodiversity and
maintenance of critical habitat for foraging and for important life
stages of many threatened and endangered species, as well as species
considered to be keystone, foundation, or focal.
The nomination also describes the importance of the Pribilof
Islands and surrounding waters to the history and heritage of the
Unangan (Aleut) communities. In addition to being ecologically
significant, the biological resources in the nominated area are vital
for the subsistence of the Unangan people and are integral to their
belief systems and identities. The ACSPI Tribal Government's nomination
proposes a management framework for the area that would include a
formal co-management agreement between State, Federal, and Tribal
governments, as well as emphasize Indigenous-led marine stewardship.
More information can be found in the nomination at <a href="https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/">https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations/</a>.
Based on information included in the nomination, including the
comment letters submitted with the nomination, as well as internal
analysis of relevant information about the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux
proposal, NOAA has determined that the nomination is responsive to the
national significance criteria and management considerations and added
it to the inventory of successful nominations. This notice serves to
inform the public of this decision to add the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux
nomination to the inventory.
Prior to moving forward with a proposed sanctuary designation, ONMS
would work with the ACSPI Tribal Government, the St. George Traditional
Council, the City of St. George, Alaska Native corporations, the State
of Alaska, Federal agencies, and other organizations to further
consider the Ala[gcirc]um Kanuux nomination. In carrying out further
coordination with respect to any proposed designation, as applicable,
NOAA would fulfill its responsibilities under Executive Order 13175,
``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments,'' and
NOAA implementing policy and procedures. Executive Order 13175 requires
Federal agencies to establish procedures for meaningful consultation
and coordination with Tribal officials in the development of Federal
policies that have Tribal implications. Under these policies and
procedures, NOAA offers affected federally recognized Tribes
government-to-government consultation at the earliest practicable time
it can reasonably anticipate that a proposed policy or initiative may
have tribal implications.
III. Classification
A. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NOAA has concluded that this action will not have a significant
effect, individually or cumulatively, on the human environment, because
this action is a notice of an administrative and legal nature and does
not designate any new national marine sanctuaries. NOAA has further
determined that this action is not connected to a larger action, and
[[Page 34853]]
does not involve extraordinary circumstances precluding the use of a
categorical exclusion. Therefore, this action is categorically excluded
from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement, in accordance with NOAA Administrative
Order 216-6A Environmental Review Procedures, and the NOAA NEPA
Companion Manual. As defined in the NOAA NEPA Companion Manual,
Appendix E, categorical exclusion category G7, the proposed action is a
notice of administrative and legal nature and for which any
environmental effects are too broad and speculative to lend themselves
to meaningful analysis at this time and will be subject later to the
NEPA process, as applicable. Should NOAA decide to propose the
designation of a national marine sanctuary, each individual national
marine sanctuary designation process will be subject to case-by-case
analysis, as required under NEPA and as outlined in section
304(a)(2)(A) of the NMSA.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq., unless that collection of information displays a currently valid
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Nominations for
national marine sanctuaries discussed in this notice involve a
collection-of-information requirement subject to the requirements of
the PRA. OMB has approved this collection-of-information requirement
under OMB control number 0648-0682.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.
John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-11954 Filed 6-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P
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