Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
AGENCY:
Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION:
Notice of public comment.
SUMMARY:
On behalf of the Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee of the Ocean Policy Committee co-chaired by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council and the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Exploration and Characterization (IWG-OEC) request public input from all interested parties on the development of the “Strategic Priorities for Ocean Exploration and Characterization in the Pacific Islands within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and Outer Continental Shelf” (Pacific Islands Priorities Report). The public input provided in response to this notice will inform the IWG-OEC and federal subject matter experts in identifying strategic priorities and data needs for ocean exploration and characterization in the U.S. Pacific Islands (State of Hawai’i and the U.S. Pacific Territories and Possessions) as they develop the Pacific Islands Priorities Report and ensure that this report is informed by and responsive to all sectors through sustained engagement and effective partnerships.
DATES:
Comments must be received by November 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Responses should be submitted via email to nomec.staff@noaa.gov.
Instructions: Response to this notice is voluntary. Include “Public Comment on Pacific Islands Priorities Report” in the subject line of the message. All submissions must be in English. Email attachments will only be accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats. Each individual or institution is requested to submit only one response.
Responses to this notice may be posted without change on a Federal website. All personal identifying information ( e.g., name, address, etc.), ( printed page 70172) confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will become publicly accessible. NOAA, therefore, requests that no business proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information be submitted in response to this notice. Anonymous comments will be accepted. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation or the use of any information contained in the response.
Documents referenced:
A copy of the previous Strategic Priorities for Ocean Exploration and Characterization of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone published in October 2022 may be downloaded or viewed at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/NOMEC_OEC_Priorities_Report.pdf.
A copy of the Report on the Workshop to Identify National Ocean Exploration Priorities in the Pacific may be downloaded or viewed at: https://col.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/2022-09/OceanExploration_PacificPriorities_WorkshopReport_NOV2020.pdf.
A copy of the NOMEC National Strategy may be downloaded or viewed at: https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/NOMECStrategy.pdf.
A copy of the current NOMEC Implementation Plan may be downloaded or viewed at: https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/210107-FINALNOMECImplementationPlan-Clean.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
IWG-OEC Co-chairs: Rachel Medley, NOAA, rachel.medley@noaa.gov, 301-789-3075; Dr. Amanda Demopoulos, U.S. Geological Survey, ademopoulos@usgs.gov, 352-264-3490; Mark Mueller, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, mark.mueller@boem.gov, 703-787-1089.