This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

75229 

Vol. 88, No. 211 

Thursday, November 2, 2023 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 922 

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: Notification of extension of 

temporary special use area. 

SUMMARY: On September 6, 2023, the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) issued a final 

temporary rule establishing a special 

use area of 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, through November 

6, 2023. This document extends the 

temporary special use area an additional 

60 days. The special use area prohibits 

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 from November 

6, 2023, to January 5, 2024. This 

temporary extension 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 extension is 

necessary to protect the corals in the 

temporary special use area until all of 

the corals are moved back to the original 

in-shore permitted nursery site. This 

temporary special use area will expire 

within 120 days from the date it was 

established. 

DATES: The effective period for the 

temporary rule published September 6, 

2023, at 88 FR 60887, is extended. This 

extension of the final temporary rule is 

effective November 6, 2023, through 

January 5, 2024. 

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: On 

September 6, 2023, NOAA issued a final 

rule (RIN 0648–BM58) 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, for 60 days, with the 

possibility of extending an additional 

60-days following public notice. 88 FR 

60887 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, are 

prohibited. 

This temporary special use area was 

established to limit the potential for 

physical impact to a coral nursery that 

was temporarily relocated to deeper 

waters to protect the nursery corals from 

heat stress caused by the current ongoing marine heat wave. Creation of this 

temporary special use area limits 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 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. 

The original rule established this special 

area for 60 days, until November 6, 

2023, with the possibility of one 60-day 

extension. NOAA has determined a 60- 

day extension is necessary to protect the 

corals in the temporary special use area 

until all of the corals are moved back to 

the original in-shore permitted nursery 

site. 

NOAA will continue to 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 an additional notification to 

vessels, via notice to mariners, to 

remain in continuous transit through 

this temporary area through January 5, 

2024. 

Justification for Emergency Action and 

Extension 

The establishment of the temporary 

special use area was 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 notification is for 

one 60-day extension to complete the 

relocation of the corals from this offshore temporary special use area back to 

the original in-shore permitted nursery 

site. 

The final temporary rule was 

necessitated by the current ongoing 

marine heat wave that was impacting 

and likely killing coral reefs in the 

Florida Keys at an unprecedented rate 

and scale. These conditions became 

unsustainable for coral reef ecosystems, 

and the coral nursery stock is most at 

risk because these are located in 

shallow, nearshore protected 

environments that heat up much more 

than offshore locations. There are 


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75230 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

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 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. 

During the initial 60-day period of 

this emergency rule, NOAA and 

restoration partners identified deep 

water locations to temporarily relocate 

coral nursery stock. These deep water 

locations had 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, were 

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 extension of NOAA’s emergency 

action maintains the offshore temporary 

special use area to continue to limit the 

potential for physical impact to this 

sensitive coral nursery stock while it is 

being fully relocated back to the original 

inshore permitted nursery site. These 

sensitive corals are being grown to 

support critical sanctuary restoration 

efforts and could be impacted from 

anchoring, unintentional fouling of 

fishing gear, and bottom tending fishing 

gear including traps. The protections 

afforded by maintaining 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, a 60-day 

extension of this special use area is 

necessary to prevent or minimize the 

destruction of, loss of, or injury to 

Sanctuary resources. 

Emergency Measures 

The 60-day extension of this final 

temporary rule continues the 

applicability of 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 was created and to be 

effective for 60 days from September 6, 

2023, until November 6, 2023. This 

action extends the temporary special 

use area for an additional 60 days, until 

January 5, 2024. 

The coordinates for this temporary 

special use area are included in 

appendix VI to subpart P of part 922 and 

in the September 6, 2023, Federal 

Register rule (88 FR 60887). 

Location and Boundary 

Effective from September 6, 2023, 

through January 5, 2024, 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 coordinates in 

appendix VI to subpart P of part 922 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. Administrative Procedure Act 

In the final temporary rule, 88 FR 

60887, the Assistant Administrator of 

the National Ocean Service, NOAA, 

found good cause to waive notice and 

public comment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B) and make the rule 

immediately effective under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3), as it would be impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest to 

delay taking the emergency measure to 

protect corals that were being relocated 

due to heat stress to deeper, cooler 

waters. The final temporary rule 

authorized one 60-day extension of the 

special use area, which we hereby 

invoke in this document. 

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

Nicole R. LeBoeuf, 

Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services 

and Coastal Zone Management, National 

Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24194 Filed 11–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

24 CFR Part 891 

[Docket No. FR–6385–F–01] 

RIN 2502–AJ71 

Section 202 Direct Loan Technical 

Amendments 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing 

Commissioner, Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule implements 

technical amendments to HUD’s 

program regulations governing Section 

202 Direct Loans for Housing for the 

Elderly and Persons with Disabilities 

(‘‘Section 202 Direct Loan’’), including 

the Section 202 Projects for the Elderly 

or Handicapped—Section 8 Assistance 

(‘‘202/8’’) and the Section 202 

Assistance for Nonelderly Handicapped 

Families and Individuals—Section 162 

Assistance (‘‘202/162’’) programs. The 

amendments are necessary to conform 

the Section 202 Direct Loan program 

regulations with HUD’s final rule 

implementing sections 102, 103, and 

104 of the Housing Opportunity 

Through Modernization Act of 2016 

(HOTMA). This final rule also corrects 

outdated cross references in the Section 

202 Direct Loan program regulations 

and updates the list of protected classes 

applicable to affirmative marketing 

requirements for the Section 202/8 and 

Section 202/162 programs. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Lavorel, Director, Program 

Administration Office, Office of Asset 

Management and Portfolio Oversight, 

Office of Multifamily Housing, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 

6180, Washington, DC 20410–0500, 


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