Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 6, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 60887 

error. This rule corrects that error by 

changing the reference of the GARRS, 

AK, WP to the GARRS, AK, Fix. This is 

an editorial change only to match the 

FAA’s NASR database information and 

does not alter the alignment of the 

affected T–230 route. 

Correction to Final Rule 

Accordingly, pursuant to the 

authority delegated to me, reference to 

the GARRS, AK, WP that is reflected in 

Docket No. FAA–2022–0216, as 

published in the Federal Register of 

July 17, 2023 (88 FR 45329), FR Doc. 

2023–15011, is corrected as follows: 

■ 1. In FR Doc. 2023–15011, appearing 

on page 45330 correct the table for T– 

230 St. Paul Island, AK (SPY) to King 

Salmon, AK (AKN) to read: 

T–230 St. Paul Island, AK (SPY) to King Salmon, AK (AKN) [Amended] 

St. Paul Island, AK (SPY) NDB/DME (Lat. 57°09′25.20′′ N, long. 170°13′58.77′′ W) 

GARRS, AK Fix (Lat. 58°19′05.80′′ N, long. 161°20′31.74′′ W) 

Salmon, AK (AKN) VORTAC (Lat. 58°43′28.97′′ N, long. 156°45′08.45′′ W) 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 30, 

2023. 

Karen Chiodini, 

Acting Manager, Airspace Rules and 

Regulations. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19095 Filed 9–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 922 

[Docket No. 230829–0205] 

RIN 0648–BM58 

Florida Keys National Marine 

Sanctuary: Establishment of 

Temporary Special Use Area for Coral 

Nursery 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Final temporary rule; emergency 

action. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 

issuing a final temporary rule 

establishing a special use area which 

will prohibit all entry except for 

restoration activities under a valid 

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries 

(ONMS) permit, continuous transit 

without interruption, and for law 

enforcement purposes into a 0.07 square 

mile area approximately five miles 

southeast of the community of 

Tavernier, on the island of Key Largo, 

within Federal waters of the Florida 

Keys National Marine Sanctuary 

(FKNMS) from September 6, 2023 to 

November 6, 2023. This temporary rule 

is necessary to prevent or minimize 

destruction of, loss of, or injury to 

sanctuary resources, specifically to 

facilitate restoration activities to 

improve or repair living habitats 

through protecting coral nursery stock at 

this site from potential impacts caused 

by anchor damage and/or fishing gear. 

This temporary special use area will 

expire within 60 days unless it is 

extended an additional 60 days. 

DATES: This final temporary rule is 

effective September 6, 2023 through 

November 6, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Sarah Fangman, 

Superintendent, Florida Keys National 

Marine Sanctuary, 33 East Quay Road, 

Key West, FL 33040, 305–360–2713 

phone, or by email at sarah.fangman@

noaa.gov. 

Additional background materials can 

be found on the FKNMS website at 

https://floridakeys.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Fangman, Superintendent, 

Florida Keys National Marine 

Sanctuary, 33 East Quay Road, Key 

West, FL 33040, 305–360–2713 phone, 

or by email at sarah.fangman@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA is 

by this final rule creating a temporary 

special use area for the purpose of coral 

restoration located approximately five 

miles southeast of the community of 

Tavernier, on the island of Key Largo, 

within Federal waters of FKNMS. 

Section 15 CFR 922.164(e) of the 

FKNMS regulations allows the ONMS 

Director to set aside discrete areas of the 

Sanctuary as special use areas in order 

to provide for, among other uses, the 

restoration of degraded or otherwise 

injured sanctuary resources (15 CFR 

922.164(e)(1)(i)). A special use area shall 

be no larger than the size the ONMS 

Director deems reasonably necessary to 

accomplish the applicable objective. No 

person may enter a special use area 

except to conduct restoration activities 

under a valid ONMS permit, for 

continuous transit without interruption, 

or for law enforcement purposes. 

Activities that are currently allowed in 

the area, including fishing, will be 

prohibited. 

This temporary special use area is 

established to limit the potential for 

physical impact to a coral nursery that 

are being temporarily relocated to 

deeper waters to protect the nursery 

corals from heat stress caused by the 

current on-going marine heat wave. 

Creation of this temporary special use 

area will limit the potential for physical 

impact to this sensitive coral nursery 

stock from anchoring, unintentional 

fouling of fishing gear, and bottom 

tending fishing gear including traps. 

The ONMS Director has determined that 

the size of 0.07 square miles is no larger 

than the size reasonably necessary to 

protect the coral nursery stock from 

physical damage. NOAA will provide 

notice of the location of this area 

through sanctuary radio 

announcements, press releases, and 

with assistance from the U.S. Coast 

Guard and FKNMS staff. NOAA has 

requested that the U.S. Coast Guard give 

notification to vessels, via notice to 

mariners, to remain in continuous 

transit through this temporary area. 

Justification for Emergency Action 

This action is taken in accordance 

with 15 CFR 922.165 of the FKNMS 

regulations (62 FR 32154, June 12, 

1997). Section 922.165 provides that, 

where necessary to prevent or minimize 

the destruction of, loss of, or injury to 

a Sanctuary resource, any and all 

activities are subject to immediate 

temporary regulation, including 

prohibition, for up to 60 days, with one 

60-day extension. This final temporary 

rule is necessitated by the current 

ongoing marine heat wave that is 

impacting and likely killing coral reefs 

in the Florida Keys at an unprecedented 

rate and scale. South Florida sea 

temperatures as reported by NOAA are 

35°C, which is the warmest on record. 

These conditions became unsustainable 

for coral reef ecosystems in July and 

expert forecasts suggest that extreme 

ocean temperatures will likely persist 

until at least October 2023. At most risk 

are the coral nursery stock because these 

are located in shallow, nearshore 

protected environments that heat up 

much more than offshore locations. 

There are currently 14 active coral 

nursery sites throughout the Florida 

Keys. These nursery sites are 

strategically located in close proximity 

to the sites where the nursery coral will 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
60888 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 6, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

be outplanted to promote coral 

restoration. Active coral restoration in 

the Florida Keys is necessary to 

facilitate coral restoration, as in the last 

40 years, healthy coral cover in the 

Florida Keys reefs has declined by more 

than 90 percent. 

In the face of the current marine heat 

wave, four of these nursery sites have 

already sustained mortality of 80–90% 

and the others are now showing 

increased signs of stress and bleaching. 

While some of the coral nursery stock 

from these sites is being relocated to 

land facilities, the capacity of these 

land-based systems is not adequate to 

hold the bulk of the biomass. NOAA 

and restoration partners have identified 

deep water locations that currently have 

temperatures below the bleaching 

threshold, are not exposed to 

deleterious levels of Ultraviolet (UV) 

radiation and experience substantial 

water movement, all conditions more 

conducive to coral survival. A portion of 

the most valuable corals, including 

representative colonies of each species 

of boulder and branching corals, 

samples of elkhorn coral, staghorn coral, 

star corals (Orbicella spp.), pillar corals 

and cactus coral listed under the 

Endangered Species Act, as well as 

multiple representative genotypes of 

these corals to ensure we protect the 

genetic diversity of these species, are 

being relocated to deeper water sites 

within FKNMS Federal waters. 

Temperature meters at these deep sites 

have consistently shown readings below 

the bleaching threshold of 30.5°C. 

This emergency action establishes a 

new temporary special use area to limit 

the potential for physical impact to this 

sensitive coral nursery stock that is 

being grown to support critical 

sanctuary restoration efforts. Physical 

impact could result from anchoring, 

unintentional fouling of fishing gear, 

and bottom tending fishing gear 

including traps. The protections 

afforded by establishing this special use 

area need to be in place to avoid further 

damage to these sensitive nursery corals 

that have already experienced impact 

from heat stress. As such, immediate 

establishment of this special use area is 

necessary to prevent or minimize the 

destruction of, loss of, or injury to 

Sanctuary resources. 

Emergency Measures 

This final temporary rule establishes 

one special use area, approximately 0.07 

square miles in size, into which all 

entry will be prohibited except for 

conducting restoration activities under a 

valid ONMS permit, continuous transit 

without interruption, and law 

enforcement purposes. This special use 

area will be effective for 60 days after 

publication of this final rule, and could 

be extended an additional 60 days. If the 

special use area is extended another 60 

days, NOAA would publish another 

document in the Federal Register. 

The coordinates for this temporary 

special use area are included below. 

Location and Boundary 

Effective immediately, all entry 

except for conducting restoration 

activities under a valid ONMS permit, 

continuous transit without interruption, 

and law enforcement purposes is 

prohibited within this temporary special 

use area which is approximately five 

miles southeast of the community of 

Tavernier, on the island of Key Largo. 

The boundary for the special use area 

begins at Point 1 in the amended 

appendix and continues to each 

subsequent point in numerical order 

ending at Point 5. (Coordinates are 

unprojected (Geographic) and based on 

the North American Datum of 1983). 

Penalties 

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1437(d)(1) and 

15 CFR 922.8(a), any person who 

violates this rule is subject to a civil 

penalty. The maximum civil monetary 

penalty authorized under the National 

Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) has 

been adjusted for inflation over time 

and is currently $210,161 per violation 

per day. See 15 CFR 6.3(f)(13). 

Furthermore, NMSA also authorizes a 

proceeding in rem against any vessel 

used in violation of this regulation. See 

16 U.S.C. 1437(d)(3). 

Classification 

A. National Marine Sanctuaries Act 

This action is issued pursuant to the 

National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1431 et seq. and implementing 

regulations at 15 CFR part 922. This 

action is being taken pursuant to the 

emergency provision of the Florida Keys 

National Marine Sanctuary regulations 

at 15 CFR 922.164(e) and 922.165. 

B. National Environmental Policy Act 

NOAA’s Policy and Procedures for 

Compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

Related Authorities (NOAA 

Administrative Order (NAO) 216–6A 

and Companion Manual for NAO 216– 

6A) provide that all NOAA major 

Federal actions be reviewed with 

respect to environmental consequences 

on the human environment. Based on 

the NAO and Companion Manual, 

NOAA examined the final temporary 

rule for its potential to impact the 

quality of the human environment and 

concluded that it is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an Environmental Assessment 

or Environmental Impact Statement in 

accordance with the NOAA Categorical 

Exclusion C1, as a habitat restoration 

action (see Appendix E of the NOAA 

NEPA Companion Manual). It qualifies 

for this categorical exclusion provided 

that such action: (1) transplants only 

organisms currently or formerly present 

at the site or in its immediate vicinity 

(if transplant is a component of the 

action); (2) does not require substantial 

placement of fill or dredging; (3) does 

not involve any removal of debris, 

excavation, or conditioning of soils 

unless such removal of debris, 

excavation, or conditioning of soils is 

geographically limited to the impact 

area such that site conditions will not 

impede or negatively alter natural 

processes, is in compliance with all 

permit and disposal requirements, and 

will not impact critical aquifers or 

recharge areas; and (4) does not involve 

an added risk of human or 

environmental exposure to toxic or 

hazardous substances, pathogens, or 

radioactive materials. In considering the 

list of extraordinary circumstances, 

NOAA determined that none would be 

triggered by the temporary emergency 

action. Therefore, NOAA concludes that 

this action will not result in significant 

effects to the human environment and is 

categorically excluded from the need for 

further NEPA review. 

C. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Impact 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that this 

emergency rule is not significant within 

the meaning of section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866. 

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This emergency rule is exempt from 

the procedures of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act because the rule will not 

include prior notice or an opportunity 

for public comment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553 or other law. Accordingly, no 

regulatory flexibility analysis is required 

and none has been prepared. 

E. Administrative Procedure Act 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), the 

Assistant Administrator of the National 

Ocean Service, NOAA, finds good cause 

to waive notice and public comment, as 

it would be impracticable and contrary 

to the public interest. Ongoing impacts 

from the current marine heat wave are 

resulting in immediate and large-scale 

impacts to the coral reef ecosystems in 

the Florida Keys with greatest risk to the 

most sensitive coral nursery stock 

located at several permitted sites 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 6, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 60889 

throughout the Florida Keys. Coral 

nursery sites are established throughout 

the Florida Keys and are essential in 

supporting coral restoration efforts due 

to the loss of healthy coral cover in the 

Florida Keys reefs that has declined by 

more than 90 percent in the last 40 

years. While some of the coral nursery 

stock is being relocated to land-based 

sites some coral nursery sites are being 

moved to offshore and deeper areas with 

cooler waters. It is possible that humans 

entering the waters of the offshore areas 

where these coral nursery stock are 

being relocated could inadvertently 

cause irreparable damage from 

anchoring and/or dropping or 

entangling fishing gear in the coral 

nursery structures. Establishment of a 

special use area will prohibit all entry 

except to conduct restoration activities 

under a valid ONMS permit, for 

continuous transit without interruption, 

and for law enforcement purposes. The 

protections afforded by establishing this 

special use area need to be in place to 

avoid further damage to these sensitive 

nursery corals that have already 

experienced impact from heat stress. As 

such, further damage to these sensitive 

nursery corals would occur if the 

prohibition implemented by this rule is 

delayed to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment. 

For the reasons outlined above, 

NOAA finds it impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest to provide 

prior notice and public comment on 

these emergency measures. For the same 

reasons, NOAA finds good cause to 

waive the delay in the effective date of 

this rule pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 922 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Coastal zone, Natural 

resources, Historic preservation, Marine 

protected areas, Marine resources, 

National marine sanctuaries, Recreation 

and recreation areas, Corals. 

Nicole R. LeBoeuf, 

Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services 

and Coastal Zone Management, National 

Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

For the reasons set forth above, NOAA 

amends part 922, title 15 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations as follows: 

PART 922—NATIONAL MARINE 

SANCTUARY PROGRAM 

REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 922 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq. 

■ 2. In appendix VI to subpart P, add a 

temporary entry for ‘‘Tavernier’’ at the 

end to read as follows: 

Appendix VI to Subpart P of Part 922— 

Special-Use Areas Boundary 

Coordinates and Use Designations 

* * * * * 

Tavernier (Temporary) 

(Restoration Only)—[The coordinates are 

unprojected (Geographic) and based on the 

North American Datum of 1983. The 

boundary for the special use area begins at 

Point 1 and continues to each successive 

point in numerical order until ending at 

Point 5 as listed in the coordinate in the 

following table.] 

Point No. Latitude Longitude 

1 ................ 24.96934 ¥80.44378 

2 ................ 24.97076 ¥80.43955 

3 ................ 24.96765 ¥80.43759 

4 ................ 24.96612 ¥80.44186 

5 ................ 24.96934 ¥80.44378 

[FR Doc. 2023–19036 Filed 9–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

31 CFR Part 586 

Publication of Chinese MilitaryIndustrial Complex Sanctions 

Regulations Web General Licenses 1, 

1A, 1B, and 2 

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets 

Control, Treasury. 

ACTION: Publication of web general 

licenses. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) is publishing four 

general licenses (GLs) issued in the 

Chinese Military Industrial Complex 

program: GLs 1, 1A, 1B, and 2, each of 

which was previously made available 

on OFAC’s website. 

DATES: GL 1 was issued on January 8, 

2021. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

for additional relevant dates. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OFAC: Assistant Director for Licensing, 

202–622–2480; Assistant Director for 

Regulatory Affairs, 202–622–4855; or 

Assistant Director for Compliance, 202– 

622–2490. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Availability 

This document and additional 

information concerning OFAC are 

available on OFAC’s website: https://

ofac.treasury.gov. 

Background 

On January 8, 2021, OFAC issued GL 

1 to authorize certain transactions 

otherwise prohibited by Executive 

Order (E.O.) 13959 of November 12, 

2020, ‘‘Addressing the Threat From 

Securities Investments That Finance 

Communist Chinese Military 

Companies’’ (85 FR 73185, November 

17, 2020). Subsequently, OFAC issued 

two further iterations of GL 1, each of 

which authorized activities otherwise 

prohibited pursuant to E.O. 13959 as 

amended by E.O. 13974 of January 13, 

2021, ‘‘Amending Executive Order 

13959—Addressing the Threat From 

Securities Investments That Finance 

Communist Chinese Military 

Companies’’ (86 FR 4875, January 19, 

2021): on January 26, 2021, OFAC 

issued GL 1A, which superseded GL 1; 

and on May 18, 2021, OFAC issued GL 

1B, which superseded GL 1A. Each of 

these GLs is now expired. On January 

14, 2021, OFAC issued GL 2 to 

authorize certain transactions otherwise 

prohibited by E.O. 13959, as amended. 

Each GL was made available on OFAC’s 

website (https://ofac.treasury.gov) when 

it was issued. The text of these GLs is 

provided below. 

OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL 

Executive Order 13959 of November 12, 2020 

Addressing the Threat From Securities 

Investments That Finance Communist 

Chinese Military Companies 

GENERAL LICENSE NO. 1 

Authorizing Transactions Involving 

Securities of Certain Communist Chinese 

Military Companies 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of 

this general license, all transactions and 

activities prohibited by section 1(a)(i) of 

Executive Order (E.O.) 13959 involving 

publicly traded securities, or any securities 

that are derivative of, or are designed to 

provide investment exposure to such 

securities, of an entity whose name closely 

matches the name of a Communist Chinese 

military company identified in the Annex to 

E.O. 13959 but that has not been listed on the 

Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Non-SDN 

Communist Chinese Military Companies List, 

are authorized through 9:30 a.m. eastern 

standard time, January 28, 2021. 

(b) This general license does not authorize 

any transactions or activities otherwise 

prohibited by E.O. 13959, any other E.O. or 

statute, or any part of 31 CFR chapter V. 

Andrea Gacki, 

Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control. 

Dated: January 8, 2021. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1