[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6577-6578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2676]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Evaluation of State Coastal Management Programs and National
Estuarine Research Reserves
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office
of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service,
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Evaluate and Notice of Availability of
Final Findings.
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SUMMARY: The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
(OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the
Mississippi Coastal Management Program and the San Francisco Bay
Conservation and Development Commission and the California State
Coastal Conservancy components of the California Coastal Management
Program.
The Coastal Zone Management Program evaluations will be conducted
pursuant to section 312 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as
amended (CZMA) and regulations at 15 CFR Part 923, Subpart L. The CZMA
requires continuing review of the performance of states with respect to
coastal program implementation. Evaluation of Coastal Management
Programs requires findings concerning the extent to which a state has
met the national objectives, adhered to its Coastal Management Program
document approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and adhered to the
terms of financial assistance awards funded under the CZMA.
Each evaluation will include a site visit, consideration of public
comments, and consultations with interested Federal, state, and local
agencies and members of the public. A public meeting will be held as
part of the site visit. Notice is hereby given of the dates of the site
visits for the listed evaluations, and the dates, local times, and
locations of the public meetings during the site visits.
Dates and Times: The joint San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission and California State Coastal Conservancy
evaluation site visit will be held March
[[Page 6578]]
9-13, 2009. One public meeting will be held during the week. The public
meeting will be held on Monday, March 9, 2009, at 5 p.m. at the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, McAteer-Petris
Conference Room, 50 California Street, Suite 2600, San Francisco,
California.
The Mississippi Coastal Management Program evaluation site visit
will be held March 16-20, 2009. One public meeting will be held during
the week. The public meeting will be held on Monday, March 16, 2009, at
6 p.m., at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, 1141 Bayview
Avenue, Biloxi, Mississippi.
ADDRESSES: Copies of states' most recent performance reports, as well
as OCRM's evaluation notification and supplemental information request
letters to the states, are available upon request from OCRM. Written
comments from interested parties regarding these Programs are
encouraged and will be accepted until 15 days after the last public
meeting held for a Program. Please direct written comments to Kate
Barba, Chief, National Policy and Evaluation Division, Office of Ocean
and Coastal Resource Management, NOS/NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 10th
Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. When the evaluation is
completed, OCRM will place a notice in the Federal Register announcing
the availability of the Final Evaluation Findings.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given of the availability
of the final evaluation findings for the South Carolina and Virgin
Islands Coastal Management Programs (CMPs) and the Jacques Cousteau
(NJ) and Grand Bay (MS) National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs).
Sections 312 and 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA),
as amended, require a continuing review of the performance of coastal
states with respect to approval of CMPs and the operation and
management of NERRs.
The Jacques Cousteau and Grand Bay NERRs were found to be adhering
to programmatic requirements of the NERR System. The State of South
Carolina was found to be implementing and enforcing its federally
approved coastal management program, addressing the national coastal
management objectives identified in CZMA Section 303(2)(A)-(K), and
adhering to the programmatic terms of their financial assistance
awards. The evaluation of the Virgin Islands Coastal Management Program
focused solely on staffing issues, and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin
Islands was found to continue to have difficulty attracting, hiring,
and retaining well-qualified staff in sufficient numbers, thus
hampering effective implementation of the program.
Copies of these final evaluation findings may be obtained upon
written request from: Kate Barba, Chief, National Policy and Evaluation
Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, NOS/NOAA,
1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring, Maryland
20910, or [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Barba, Chief, National Policy and
Evaluation Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management,
NOS/NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 10th Floor, N/ORM7, Silver Spring,
Maryland 20910, (301) 563-1182.
Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 11.419 Coastal Zone Management
Program Administration
Dated: January 22, 2009.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-2676 Filed 2-9-09; 8:45 am]
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