81 FR 10595 - Notice of Availability of a Revised Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) Projects

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 40 (March 1, 2016)

NOAA is hereby requesting comments on the IOOS Revised Draft PEA.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10595-10596]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04484]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of a Revised Draft Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment (PEA) for U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing 
System (IOOS[supreg]) Projects

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA is hereby requesting comments on the IOOS Revised Draft 
PEA.

DATES: Dates and Times: The Revised Draft PEA is available for public 
review and comment through March 15, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The Revised Draft PEA is available online at 
www.ioos.noaa.gov/about/governance/environmental_compliance.html. If 
you wish to comment on the Revised Draft PEA, please send comments via 
email to Regina Evans at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina Evans, U.S. IOOS, Regions 
Budget & Policy Division, 1315 East West- Highway, SSMC3, 2nd Floor, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910; Phone 301-713-3290, ext. 110; Fax 301-713-
3281; Email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation 
System (ICOOS) Act of 2009 mandated the establishment of IOOS with NOAA 
as lead Federal agency. In April 2015, IOOS published a Notice of 
Availability for review and comment on a draft PEA of NOAA's IOOS 
Program observing activities regularly occurring in the environment as 
a direct result of cooperative agreements funded by this program. 
Technologies proposed for deployment and observational activities under 
IOOS are categorized into the following groups: Sensors and 
instrumentation; vessels (including personal watercraft) and sampling; 
AUVs, gliders, and drifters; moorings, marine stations, buoys, and 
fixed arrays; HF radar; sound navigation and ranging (sonar); and light 
detection and ranging (lidar). These observing activities support the 
core mission of IOOS: Systematic provision of readily accessible marine 
environmental data and data products in an interoperable, reliable, 
timely, and user-specified manner to end-users/customers to serve seven 
critical and expanding societal needs:
    1. Improve predictions of climate change and weather and their 
effects on coastal communities and the nation;
    2. Improve the safety and efficiency of maritime operations;
    3. More effectively mitigate the effects of natural hazards;
    4. Improve national and homeland security;
    5. Reduce public health risks;
    6. More effectively protect and restore healthy coastal ecosystems; 
and
    7. Enable the sustained use of ocean and coastal resources.

Since the close of the public comment period on the initial draft PEA, 
IOOS has revised the document and seeks comment on the Revised Draft 
PEA. The PEA was revised to include a new alternative and to designate 
it as the proposed action (preferred alternative). The Proposed Action 
included in the public review draft anticipated full buildout of the 
proposed observing system program. However, budget constraints have 
made full buildout unobtainable at this time. IOOS developed the new 
alternative and changed the Proposed Action to reflect consideration of 
actual funding levels. Although IOOS remains committed to developing 
full system capabilities, the timeline for reaching those goals has 
been extended. The revised draft PEA reflects the anticipated program 
actions consistent with historic and anticipated future budget 
authorizations.


[[Page 10596]]


    Statutory Authority: Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation 
System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601-3610).

Zdenka S. Willis,
Director, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System.
[FR Doc. 2016-04484 Filed 2-29-16; 8:45 am]
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