Notice of Availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service has prepared a final programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with NOS' recurring data collection projects to characterize submerged features (e.g., habitat, bathymetry, marine debris). The "action area" for these projects encompasses the United States (U.S.) territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ), U.S. rivers, States' offshore waters, and coastal and riparian lands. As part of the Proposed Action, NOS may use active acoustic equipment such as sub-bottom profilers, single beam and multibeam echo sounders, side-scan sonars, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. The Final PEIS analyzes NOS data collection projects for a time period of five years. In preparing the Final PEIS, NOS has considered public comments received on the Draft PEIS, which was published in June 2021.