[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 210 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58741-58742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28766]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-591); 
Administrative Boundary Modification to the Coastal Barrier Resources 
System

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior, through the Fish and Wildlife 
Service, has completed modifications to the boundary of North Key Largo 
Unit FL-35 of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (System). This 
modification corrects an error that occurred in 1992 when the 
Department of the Interior revised the unit boundary in response to a 
State request under Section 4(c) of the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act 
to add property to the System. The purpose of this notice is to inform 
the public about the filing, distribution, and availability of maps 
reflecting the new boundary for Unit FL-35.

DATES: The boundary revision for this unit becomes effective 
immediately upon publication of this notice on October 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the revised map for this System unit are available 
for purchase from the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information 
Center, P.O. Box 25286, Denver, Colorado 80225. Official maps can be 
viewed at the Fish and Wildlife Service offices listed in the 
Supplementary Information section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Steve Glomb, Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Division of Habitat Conservation, (703) 358-2201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier 
Resources Act CBRA), 16 U.S.C. 3503(a), as amended by Section 3 of the 
Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 (CBIA), Pub. L. 101-591, 104 
Stat. 2931, established the Coastal Barrier Resources System as 
consisting of coastal barriers and other areas located on the coasts of 
the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes that are 
identified and depicted on certain maps entitled ``Coastal Barrier 
Resources System'' and dated October 24, 1990. These areas constitute 
the Coastal Barrier Resources System and are subject to the limitations 
outlined in the CBRA. These maps are in the official custody of the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    Section 4 of the CBIA defined the Department's responsibilities 
regarding the System maps for the period immediately following the 1990 
enactment of the CBIA. Under Section 4(a), these responsibilities 
included preparing and distributing copies of the maps. Using the 
original maps submitted to the Department by the Congress, the 
Department reproduced these maps for distribution. Notification of the 
filing, distribution, and availability of the maps entitled ``Coastal 
Barrier Resources System,'' dated October 24, 1990, was published in 
the Federal Register on June 6, 1991 (56 FR 26304-26312). Under Section 
4(b), State and local governments could recommend minor and technical 
modifications to clarify boundaries of units of the System.
    Under Section 4(c) of the CBIA, States were provided the authority 
to elect to add to the System lands owned or held by the State. This 
option was available for 18 months after enactment of the CBIA. Under 
Section 4(e)(1)(B)(ii), the Service was required to revise the maps of 
the System to reflect each election of

[[Page 58742]]

a State to add land to the System pursuant to Section 4(c).
    On November 26, 1991, the State of Florida contacted the Service 
regarding the addition of several properties to the System, including a 
portion of Ocean Reef community that the State planned to purchase 
under its Conservation and Recreational Lands Program. The boundary for 
North Key Largo Unit FL-35, as originally established under the CBIA, 
excluded all of the Ocean Reef community from the System. Based on the 
State's representation that it intended to purchase the property, the 
Service added the Ocean Reef parcel to Unit FL-35 of the System, as 
described in the Service response to the State dated April 24, 1992 and 
the Federal Register notice published November 15, 1993 (58 FR 60288-
60301).
    The State subsequently decided against the purchase of the Ocean 
Reef parcel. If the State had not based its request for a boundary 
change for this unit on its plan to purchase the property, the Service 
would not have revised the boundary, and the original CBIA boundary for 
Unit FL-35 as approved by Congress would still be in effect. As a 
result of the State's decision not to purchase the property, the 
Service mistakenly added private property to the System, which is 
beyond the scope of its authority under Section 4(e) of the CBIA.
    The Service stresses that it is not re-opening the process under 
Section 4(c) of the CBIA that allowed States to elect, within 18 months 
of enactment of the CBIA, to add State-owned property to the System. 
This boundary modification of Unit FL-35 instead corrects an error made 
earlier in the administrative process. This modification will return 
the boundary for North Key Largo Unit FL-35 to its original October 24, 
1990, location for that portion of the unit in the vicinity of the 
Ocean Reef Harbor Course South development.
    Copies of the revised System map for this unit are currently being 
printed. Upon completion of printing, copies of the map will be filed 
with the House of Representatives Committee on Resources and the 
Committee on Banking and Financial Services, and the Senate Committee 
on Environment and Public Works. Copies will also be distributed to the 
Chief Executive Officer (or representative) of each appropriate 
Federal, State, or local agency having jurisdiction over the area in 
which the modified unit is located. Copies of the map are also 
available for inspection at the following Service headquarters, 
regional, and field offices:
Washington Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Habitat Conservation, 4401 
N. Fairfax Drive Room 400, Arlington, Virginia 22203, (703) 358-2201.
Regional Office
Region 4, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Blvd., Atlanta, 
Georgia 30345, (404) 679-7125.
Field Office
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1360 U.S. Highway 1, 
#5, Vero Beach, FL 32961, (561) 562-3909.

    Dated: October 14, 1997.
John G. Rogers,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 97-28766 Filed 10-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M