This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

53161 

Vol. 73, No. 179 

Monday, September 15, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 922 

Initiation of Review of Management 

Plan/Regulations of the Olympic Coast 

National Marine Sanctuary; Intent To 

Prepare Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement and Management Plan; 

Scoping Meetings 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Initiation of Review of 

Management Plan/Regulations; Intent to 

Prepare Environmental Impact 

Statement; Scoping Meetings. 

SUMMARY: Olympic Coast National 

Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS or 

sanctuary) was designated in May 1994. 

It spans 3,310 square miles of marine 

waters off the rugged Olympic 

Peninsula coast, covering much of the 

continental shelf and the heads of 

several major submarine canyons. The 

present management plan was written 

as part of the sanctuary designation 

process and published in the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement in 

1993. In accordance with Section 304(e) 

of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 

as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et 

seq.), the Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) is initiating a 

review of the OCNMS management 

plan, to evaluate substantive progress 

toward implementing the goals for the 

Sanctuary, and to make revisions to the 

plan and regulations as necessary to 

fulfill the purposes and policies of the 

NMSA. NOAA will conduct public 

scoping meetings to gather information 

and other comments from individuals, 

organizations, tribes, and government 

agencies on the scope, types and 

significance of issues related to the 

Sanctuary’s management plan and 

regulations. The scoping meetings are 

scheduled as detailed below. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before November 14, 

2008. 

Scoping meetings will be held on: 

(1) September 29, 6–9 p.m., Peninsula 

College Longhouse, South Campus, 

Port Angeles, WA. 

(2) September 30, 6–9 p.m., Makah 

Marina Conference Center, Bayview Ave, Neah Bay, WA. 

(3) October 1, 6–9 p.m., A-Ka-Lat 

Center, La Push Road, La Push, WA. 

(4) October 2, 6–9 p.m., Ocean Shores 

Convention Center, 120 W Chance a 

La Mer, NW., Ocean Shores, WA. 

(5) October 3, 6–9 p.m., Westport 

Maritime Museum, 2201 Westhaven 

Drive, Westport, WA. 

(6) October 4, 2–5 p.m., Governor Hotel, 

Washington Room, 621 S. Capitol 

Way, Olympia, WA. 

(7) October 5, 7–10 p.m., Seattle 

Aquarium, Pier 59, 1483 Alaskan 

Way, Seattle, WA. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

sent to the Olympic Coast National 

Marine Sanctuary (Management Plan 

Review), 115 Railroad Ave. East, Suite 

301, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or faxed 

to (360) 457–8496. Electronic comments 

may be sent to 

ocnmsmanagementplan@noaa.gov. 

Comments will be available for public 

review at the street address mentioned 

above. All comments received are a part 

of the public record. All Personal 

Identifying Information (for example, 

name, address, etc.) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NOAA will accept 

anonymous comments. Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, Wordperfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

George Galasso, 360.457.6622 Ext. 12, 

ocnmsmanagementplan@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed revised management plan will 

likely involve changes to existing 

policies of the Sanctuary in order to 

address contemporary issues and 

challenges, and to better protect and 

manage the Sanctuary’s resources and 

qualities. The review process is 

composed of four major stages: (1) 

Information collection and 

characterization; (2) preparation and 

release of a draft management plan/ 

environmental impact statement, and 

any proposed amendments to the 

regulations; (3) public review and 

comment; (4) preparation and release of 

a final management plan/environmental 

impact statement, and any final 

amendments to the regulations. In the 

event that the potential impacts of new 

actions described in the management 

plan do not warrant the need for an 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

NOAA will publish the appropriate 

environmental analysis and notify the 

public. NOAA anticipates completion of 

the revised management plan and 

concomitant documents will require 

approximately thirty-six months. 

Preliminary Priority Topics 

NOAA, in consultation with the 

Intergovernmental Policy Council (State 

of Washington and the Coastal Treaty 

Tribes who have jurisdiction of 

resources within the sanctuary), has 

prepared a list of preliminary priority 

topics. This list represents our best 

professional judgment of the most 

important issues NOAA should consider 

in preparation of a new OCNMS 

management plan. We are interested in 

the public’s comments on these topics, 

as well as any other topics of interest to 

the public or other agencies. It is 

important to note that this list does not 

preclude or in any way limit the 

consideration of additional topics raised 

through public comment, governmentto-government consultations, and 

discussions with partner agencies. 

Improved Partnerships—Recent 

initiatives for regional ocean 

management, including the formation of 

the Olympic Coast Intergovernmental 

Policy Council (IPC), the Washington 

Ocean Action Plan and the West Coast 

Governors Agreement on Ocean Health, 

provide the sanctuary with new 

opportunities to strengthen 

partnerships, particularly with the four 

coastal treaty tribes and the state of 

Washington in their role as 

governments. The sanctuary will work 

in active partnership to provide a more 

transparent, cooperative and 

coordinated management structure of 

Olympic Coast marine resources within 

tribal, state and federal jurisdictions. 


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53162 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 179 / Monday, September 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

Characterization and Monitoring— 

There is a need to develop an 

understanding of baseline conditions of 

marine resources within the sanctuary, 

ecosystem functions, and status and 

trends of biological and socioeconomic 

resources to effectively inform 

management. OCNMS, in conjunction 

with IPC and other entities, will work to 

resolve these needs. 

Spill Prevention, Contingency 

Planning and Response—The risk from 

vessel traffic and other hazards remains 

a significant threat to marine resources. 

The potential for a catastrophic oil spill 

remains a primary concern and while 

advances in maritime safety have been 

made since the sanctuary was 

designated, better coordination is 

needed for response to these threats. Oil 

spills cause immediate and potentially 

long-term harm to marine resources as 

well as socioeconomic impacts to 

coastal communities. 

Climate Change—Climate change is 

widely acknowledged, yet there is 

considerable uncertainty about current 

and future consequences at local, 

ecosystem and oceanic scales. Increased 

coordination and cooperation among 

resource management agencies is 

required to improve planning, 

monitoring and adaptive management to 

address this phenomenon. 

Ocean Literacy—Enhancing the 

public’s awareness and appreciation of 

marine, socio-economic, and cultural 

resources is a cornerstone of the 

sanctuary’s mission. Recent regional 

initiatives offer opportunities for the 

sanctuary, in conjunction with IPC and 

other entities, to expand educational 

contributions and reach a larger 

audience. 

Marine Debris—Coastal marine debris 

is a persistent and poorly diagnosed 

problem within the sanctuary that 

negatively impacts natural and 

socioeconomic resources and qualities. 

Condition Report 

In preparation for management plan 

review, NOAA has produced an 

Olympic Coast National Marine 

Sanctuary 2008 Condition Report. The 

Condition Report provides a summary 

of resources in OCNMS, pressures on 

those resources, the current condition 

and trends, and management responses 

to the pressures that threaten the 

integrity of the marine environment. 

Specifically, the Condition Report 

includes information on the status and 

trends of water quality, habitat, living 

resources and maritime archaeological 

resources and the human activities that 

affect them. The report serves as a 

supporting document for the 

Management Plan Review Process, to 

inform constituents who desire to 

participate in that process. 

Additionally, the Olympic Coast 

Intergovernmental Policy Council (IPC) 

has requested that an IPC authored 

addendum be distributed with the 

Condition Report. The IPC is composed 

of the state of Washington, the Hoh, 

Makah, Quileute Indian Tribes and 

Quinault Indian Nation, and was formed 

to provide a forum for resource 

managers to exchange information, 

coordinate policies, and develop 

recommendations for resource 

management within the sanctuary. 

The Hoh, Makah, Quileute Indian 

Tribes and Quinault Indian Nation 

signed treaties with the U.S. government 

and exist as domestic sovereigns. Since 

the affirmation of treaty fishing rights in 

U.S. v. Washington, tribal, state and 

federal governments developed a unique 

management approach for fisheries in 

western Washington. This addendum 

explains this co-management approach, 

its underlying legal framework, and 

Washington Coastal Treaty Tribes’ 

historic and present use of marine 

resources. 

The condition report and the IPC 

addendum will be made available to the 

general public in advance of scoping 

meetings and on the Internet at: 

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/ 

condition/welcome.html. 

Scoping Comments 

Scoping meetings provide an 

opportunity to make direct comments to 

NOAA on the management of the 

sanctuary’s natural and cultural 

resources, including administrative 

programs. We encourage the public to 

participate and welcome any comments 

related to the sanctuary. In particular, 

we are interested in hearing about the 

public’s view on: 

• The sanctuary’s potential 

management priorities for the next five 

to ten years. 

• Effectiveness of the existing 

management plan in protecting 

sanctuary resources. 

• Sanctuary programs, activities and 

needs, including but not limited to 

resource protection programs, research 

and monitoring programs, education, 

volunteer, and outreach programs. 

• Implementation of regulations and 

permits. 

• Adequacy of existing boundaries to 

protect sanctuary resources. 

• Assessment of the existing 

operational and administrative 

framework (staffing, offices, vessels, 

etc.). 

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

(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 

Number 11.429 Marine Sanctuary Program). 

Dated: September 4, 2008. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director for the Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries. 

[FR Doc. E8–21489 Filed 9–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2008–0593–200818b; FRL– 

8714–6] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans Alabama: 

Volatile Organic Compounds and Open 

Burning 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing approval of 

revisions to the Alabama State 

Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted 

by the Alabama Department of 

Environmental Management on January 

8, 2008. The revisions include 

modifications to Alabama’s Volatile 

Organic Compounds and Control of 

Open Burning and Incineration 

regulations, found at Alabama 

Administrative Code Chapters 335–3–1 

and 335–3–3, respectively. This 

proposed action is being taken pursuant 

to section 110 of the Clean Air Act. 

This SIP revision also contains a letter 

addressing the requirements of section 

110(a)(2)(D)(i), which EPA will consider 

separately. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before October 15, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. ‘‘EPA–R04– 

OAR–2008–0593,’’ by one of the 

following methods: 

1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

2. E-mail: harder.stacy@epa.gov. 

3. Fax: 404–562–9019. 

4. Mail: ‘‘EPA–R04–OAR–2008– 

0593,’’ Regulatory Development Section, 

Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and 

Toxics Management Division, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 

Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. 

5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Ms. Stacy 

Harder, Regulatory Development 

Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, 

Pesticides and Toxics Management 

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, 

SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303–8960. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 


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