[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 162 (Thursday, August 21, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44427-44428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22172]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 922

[Docket No. 970626156-7156-01]
RIN 0648-AK01


Operation of Motorized Personal Watercraft in the Gulf of the 
Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

AGENCY: Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD), Office of Ocean and 
Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of 
Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice of inquiry; request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 
Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD) is soliciting any information 
from interested parties that would assist in evaluating the operation 
of motorized personal watercraft (e.g., jet skis, wet bikes, surf jets, 
etc.), also referred to as ``thrill craft,'' in the area of the Gulf of 
the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS or Sanctuary). This 
information will be used by NOAA in assessing the present and potential 
use and impacts of motorized personal watercraft in the Sanctuary and 
the need, if any, for appropriate regulation to protect Sanctuary 
resources or reduce user conflict in the Sanctuary.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 6, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Ed Ueber, Gulf of the Farallones 
National Marine Sanctuary, Fort Mason, Building #201, San Francisco, 
California, 94123, or Elizabeth Moore, Sanctuaries and Reserves 
Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1305 East 
West Highway, SSMC4, N/ORM2, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910. Comments 
will be available for public inspection at the same addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ed Ueber at (415) 561-6622 or 
Elizabeth Moore at (301) 713-3141 ext. 170.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In recognition of the national significance 
of the unique marine environment centered around the Farallon Islands, 
California, the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS 
or Sanctuary) was designated in January 1981. Final regulations to 
implement that designation (15 CFR Part 922 Subpart H) were issued on 
January 26, 1981. The GFNMS regulations at 15 CFR 922.82 prohibit a 
relatively narrow range of activities and thus makes it unlawful for 
any person to conduct them or cause them to be conducted. Operation of 
motorized personal watercraft (e.g., jet skis, wet bikes, surf jets, 
etc.), also referred to as ``thrill craft,'' in the Sanctuary is 
currently neither directly regulated nor prohibited by Sanctuary 
regulations, although it is within NOAA's purview to do so.
    SRD received a petition on April 18, 1996, from the Environmental 
Action Committee of West Marin, California (EAC) to ban the use of 
motorized personal watercraft in the GFNMS. EAC believes that ``the use 
of motorized personal watercraft . . . is completely incompatible with 
the existence of a marine sanctuary,'' and gives such reasons as the 
danger of such craft to biological resources, and users of the 
Sanctuary. SRD has also received 195 letters from members of the public 
in response to media publicity about the petition. Sixty-four percent 
are against any regulation of motorized personal watercraft, with the 
majority of these letters from owners of motorized personal watercraft. 
Thirty-three percent of the letters support a ban; of these, nine were 
from environmental organizations, two were from civic groups, and two 
were from kayaking groups. Three percent of the letters expressed no 
clear position.

[[Page 44428]]

    SRD has been reviewing the petition and obtaining information from 
various sources in order to determine the present and potential use and 
impacts of motorized personal watercraft in the Sanctuary. In order to 
facilitate the review of the petition, SRD is seeking the following 
information: (1) The number of motorized personal watercraft being 
operated in the Sanctuary; (2) possible future trends in such numbers; 
(3) the customary launching areas for motorized personal watercraft in 
or near the Sanctuary; (4) the areas of use of motorized personal 
watercraft activity in the Sanctuary, including areas of concentrated 
use; (5) the periods (e.g., time of year) of use of motorized personal 
watercraft in the Sanctuary, including periods of high incidence of 
use; (6) studies or technical articles concerning the impacts of 
motorized personal watercraft on marine resources and other users; (7) 
first person or documented accounts of impacts of motorized personal 
watercraft on marine resources and other users; and (8) any other 
information or other comments that may be pertinent to this issue.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 922

    Administrative practice and procedure, Coastal zone, Education, 
Environmental protection, Marine resources, Natural resources, 
Penalties, Recreation and recreation areas, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Research.

    Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.429. Marine Sanctuary 
Program.

    Dated: August 14, 1997.
Nancy Foster,
Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management.
[FR Doc. 97-22172 Filed 8-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M