Final EIS for Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is proposing to designate a national marine sanctuary to manage nationally significant resources off the coast of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, California. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 4321 et seq.) and the 2020 Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (85 Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) 43304, July 16, 2020), and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), 16 U.S.C. § 1431 et seq., NOAA has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS), which is separated into two volumes; the first considers alternatives for the proposed national marine sanctuary and identifies a Final Preferred Alternative, and the second contains the appendices.