Courtesy of NAA:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published today a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed development of a commercial-scale finfish aquaculture facility to be located in Federal waters off the coast of southern California. The proposed facility would require two Federal permits: A Section 402 Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, and a Section 10 Rivers and Harbor Act (RHA) permit, over which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), respectively, have authority.
The EPA and USACE will act as cooperating agencies for purposes of this EIS. This NOI initiates the public scoping process for the EIS during which time interested parties are invited to provide comments on the proposed project, its potential to effect the human environment, means for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating those effects, the preliminary reasonable range of alternatives, and any additional reasonable alternatives that should be considered.
DATES:
Written comments on the scope of the analysis to be considered in the draft EIS must be submitted no later than October 26, 2020.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments by using the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Click on https://beta.regulations.gov/document/NOAA-NMFS-2020-0117-0001.
PUBLIC MEETINGS:
Two public meetings (in webinar format) are scheduled for October 14, 2020 at 3 p.m.–5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time and October 16, 2020 at 1 p.m.– 3 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
The webinar link for October 14 and 16, 2020, is https://bit.ly/34sj1UT. You may also participate by phone toll-free at 844–621–3956 with access code: 146 738 1449.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Leathery, National NEPA Coordinator, NMFS; phone: 301–427– 8013; email: poa.eis@noaa.gov; or visit a website dedicated to this effort: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/aquaculture/pacific-oceanaquafarms-environmental-impactstatement.
Recent Comments