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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102866-102867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30026]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Request for Information; Data for Marine Spatial Studies Related 
to Transmission Planning in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama

AGENCY: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) National Centers for 
Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), hereafter NOAA, in partnership with the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Department of Energy 
(DOE) Grid Deployment Office (GDO) and the National Renewable Energy 
Laboratory (NREL), is working to build on existing spatial planning 
capacity in the United States (U.S.) Gulf of Mexico region. Through 
this Request for Information, NOAA is seeking public input to identify 
coastal and marine spatial data or other critical information to inform 
spatial analyses for transmission planning in state and Federal waters 
off Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The input we receive 
from the data development workshop meeting, as well as the responses to 
the items listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document, will be used to inform potential coastal and ocean 
development activities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region, such as 
renewable energy development.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to provide input in response to 
this Request for Information through January 24, 2025. Late-filed input 
will be considered to the extent practicable.
    Verbal input will be accepted during a public meeting to be held at 
the InterContinental Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 14-15, 
2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to provide input using one of 
the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit electronic written public 
comments via the Federal e- Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NOS-2024-0138 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NOAA will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
     Verbal submission: NOAA will accept verbal input at a data 
development workshop. The meeting will be held at the InterContinental 
Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 from 8 
a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) and Wednesday, January 15, 
2025 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST. There will be a registration window 
from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. CST each day before the start of the meeting. 
Advanced registration is required for the meeting by completing the 
registration form at https://forms.gle/BmTDiD5zV3ZuXHuN8 or by 
providing an RSVP to Joshua Chastain at [email protected]. The 
registration deadline is Friday, January 3, 2025.
    Reports of meeting results will also be published and made 
available to the public in the weeks following the meeting. If you are 
unable to provide electronic written comments or participate in the 
meeting, please contact Joshua Chastain at [email protected] or 
(843) 267-5641 for alternative submission methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Morris, NOAA NCCOS, at 
[email protected] or (252) 666-7433.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    NOAA is an agency of the United States Federal Government that 
works to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and 
resources. NOAA works to make fisheries sustainable and productive, 
provide safe seafood to consumers, conserve threatened and endangered 
species and other protected resources, and maintain healthy ecosystems. 
NOAA has jurisdiction and responsibility for its trust marine resources 
in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region as well as significant interest in 
supporting the resilience of coastal and marine-dependent communities 
and promoting equity and environmental justice. For these reasons, it 
is important for NOAA to invest in research that informs marine spatial 
studies in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region, including socioeconomic 
research that ensures meaningful participation of local communities and 
supports equitable processes for planning and siting of new and 
existing marine industries and conservation areas.
    NOAA has been engaged with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 
(BOEM) to support siting and environmental review for offshore wind 
energy areas in U.S. Federal waters (https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy) to ensure protection of trust resources in any offshore 
development activities.

II. Purpose of This Request for Information

    The purpose of this Request for Information is to promote data 
development to inform coastal and marine spatial studies related to 
transmission planning in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, 
with an emphasis on data needs for offshore wind and transmission 
planning. In addition to input received from the public through the 
electronic and verbal submissions, NOAA aims to inform the public about 
its coastal and ocean planning processes and capabilities, discuss the 
current data available for each ocean sector (e.g., national security, 
fisheries, industry, metocean, natural, cultural, and social 
resources), and gather ideas for other data sources. NOAA hopes to come 
out of the meetings with a strengthened relationship with the public 
and a list of best available data and data gaps.

III. Specific Information Requested To Inform Marine Spatial Studies 
Related to Transmission Planning in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and 
Alabama

    Through this Request for Information, NOAA seeks written public 
input to inform coastal and marine spatial studies related to 
transmission planning in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region. NOAA is 
particularly interested in

[[Page 102867]]

receiving input concerning the items listed below. Responses to this 
Request for Information are voluntary, and respondents need not reply 
to items listed. When providing input, please specify if you are 
providing general feedback on marine spatial studies and/or if you are 
responding to one of the specific item number(s) below:
    1. Specific datasets related to ocean sectors, natural resources, 
and/or human activities you recommend NOAA use in coastal and marine 
spatial studies.
    Major concerns you have related to use of any specific datasets 
that may be used in coastal and marine spatial studies.
    2. Major concerns you have related to gaps in scientific knowledge 
or data that could impact coastal and marine spatial planning efforts.
    3. Specific data or information you recommend NOAA or other 
partners collect, if it is not currently available or has not been 
previously collected.
    4. Ways in which NOAA can better engage and collaborate with the 
public and local communities to promote economic, social, and 
ecological resilience as well as protect trust resources.
    5. Ways in which NOAA can build upon existing capacity and 
resources for regional ocean spatial planning.

Sean Corson,
Director, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-30026 Filed 12-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P
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