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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5814-5815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01163]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Notice of Availability of Final Guidance on Designation of New 
Regional Ocean Partnerships

AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of final guidance regarding the 
designation of new regional ocean partnerships.

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SUMMARY: Under the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA), coastal States (including Puerto Rico, the 
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, and 
American Samoa), Indian Tribes (as defined in the final guidance), and 
other entities may form new partnerships and apply to NOAA (as 
delegated) for designation as a regional ocean partnership (ROP). ROPs 
coordinate the management of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. 
After inviting Tribal consultation and careful consideration of public 
comments, NOAA announces the final guidance on designating new ROPs 
under the NDAA.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final designation guidance document may be 
found on NOAA's Office for Coastal Management website at https://coast.noaa.gov/data/coasthome/funding/_pdf/rop-designation-guidance-final.pdf.
    A summary of comments received and NOAA's responses to the comments 
may be found at: https://coast.noaa.gov/data/coasthome/funding/_pdf/rop-designation-guidance-comments.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lott, Office for Coastal 
Management, NOS, NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland, 
20910; ATTN: Regional Ocean Partnership Designation Guidance. Phone: 
(202) 670-3826; or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ROPs are regional organizations voluntarily 
convened by coastal States and Indian Tribes, and designated by NOAA, 
as delegated, per the NDAA, to coordinate the management of ocean, 
coastal, and Great Lakes resources. These partnerships work in 
collaboration with other governments (including Tribal, Federal, and 
local) and stakeholders to address ocean and coastal issues of common 
concern in that region.

[[Page 5815]]

    There are four existing ROPs: the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, the 
Northeast Regional Ocean Council, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on 
the Ocean, and the West Coast Ocean Alliance. Section 10102(b)(3) of 
the NDAA, codified at 16 U.S.C. 1468(b)(3), designates these four 
entities as regional ocean partnerships; as such, the designation 
guidance and application process for new partnerships does not apply to 
them.
    The final designation guidance includes elements, specified in the 
NDAA, that must be included in an application for a new ROP; the manner 
in which the application must be submitted to NOAA; and funding 
eligibility for new ROPs. Applications for new ROPs must identify the 
members that will comprise the new ROP, identify the governing body of 
the new ROP, identify the purposes and functions of the new ROP, and be 
formally submitted by all state governors and Tribal government 
leaders.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1468.

Jeffrey L. Payne,
Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-01163 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P
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