NOAA NEPA Document Database

The Florida Coastal Access Project addresses a portion of the lost recreational use in Florida. Both the first phase, described the Phase V Early Restoration Plan, and the second phase, described in the Phase V.2 Restoration Plan, included acquisition and/or enhancement of recreational amenities at five coastal parcels in the Florida Panhandle. Funding for this phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project will come from funds not utilized in the previous phases.

The proposed funding for the draft restoration plan and projects is $15 million. Habitat restoration and management activities for the Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats projects would include prescribed fire and invasive species management, hydrologic restoration, and prescribed grazing. Proposed projects for Oysters include cultch deployment and the implementation of an oyster gardening program.

The preferred project alternative in the final plan will include the 6,900 square foot science center, an additional 6,900 square feet of outdoor program space, and a recreational fishing pier on the lake.

The WDFW and the Puget Sound treaty tribes jointly submitted five hatchery and genetic management plans for steelhead hatchery programs in Puget Sound, as resource management plans. These plans describe each hatchery program in detail, including fish life stages produced and potential measures to minimize risks of negative impacts that may affect listed fish. NMFS’s determination of whether the plans achieve the conservation standards of the ESA, as set forth in Limit 6 of 4(d) rules for listed salmon and steelhead, is the Federal action requiring NEPA compliance. The analysis within the EIS informs NMFS, hatchery operators, and the public about the current and anticipated direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of operating the five Puget Sound steelhead hatchery programs under the full range of alternatives.

SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TO THE PCMHAB PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: CHEMICAL CONTROL METHOD – NANOBUBBLE OZONE TECHNOLOGY

NMFS intends to issue a Letter of Authorization to Hilcorp and Eni to take marine mammals incidental to ice road and ice trail construction on North Slope, Alaska. Therefore, an NEPA analysis is required.

This Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) incorporates and builds on the PCMHAB PEA by analyzing the environmental effects of ozone as a chemical HABs control method. Ozone will be delivered to the environment through the use of nano-bubble ozone technology (NBOT). This method most closely relates to the hydrogen peroxide chemical method of control. The activities covered in this SEA include small scale field testing of the NBOT method within closed inland water systems (e.g., ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and dead-end canals) that are experiencing degraded environmental conditions from
ngoing HABs outbreaks. The exact geographic location,
oundary, duration of the field test, and size of each field test site identified by NOAA, will be determined on a project-site specific basis in coordination, as appropriate, with the relevant Federal and State agencies and other resource managers, as applicable. No field testing will occur in submerged aquatic vegetation, wetlands, coral reefs or other sensitive habitats. Closed systems may include enclosing part of a natural system for field testing. This SEA and FONSI do not cover NBOT field testing to suit other water safety/security needs such as treating drinking water, sterilization of water, wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater or runoff water treatment.

NMFS received application from Orsted Wind Power North American LLC (Orsted) requesting authorization for the take of marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys associated with offshore wind energy development site characterization in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Atlantic Ocean.

HGMPs for five hatchery programs in the Lake Washington, Puget Sound, jointly submitted by University of Washington, WDFW, and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to NMFS for review and approval under 4(d) limit 6 of the ESA. NMFS has authorized many hatchery programs in Puget Sound and on the West Coast, and has developed a consistent approach in analysis for these programs. Thus, effects are not highly uncertain and do not involve unique or unknown risks. The hatchery programs are the University of Washington Aquatic Research Facility Hatchery - Chinook salmon, University of Washington Aquatic Research Facility Hatchery coho, Issaquah Fall Chinook salmon Hatchery Program, Issaquah coho Hatchery Program, and Cedar River Sockeye Hatchery.
There are several ESA-listed species and their critical habitat that are expected to be affected by the proposed programs; Puget Sound Chinook salmon, Puget Sound steelhead, Hood Canal Summer Chum, Lake Ozette Sockeye, Eulachon, Green Sturgeon, Bocaccio, Yelloweye, and bull trout. Impacts on marine mammals are also anticipated because the program is changing prey abundance for marine mammals (especially SRKW and Pinnipeds) in Puget Sound. There are likely no unique characteristics of the geographic area and the action does not involve any new major construction or demolition. There will not be impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems such as deep coral ecosystems. The proposed hatchery releases may have a minor beneficial or adverse effect by being prey for or preying upon other species, including other fish species (i.e., listed rockfish), and piscivorous birds. In addition, returning hatchery-origin adults can provide marine-derived nutrients to the riparian habitat. While hatchery programs can be controversial, it is unlikely that the programs in this bundle will be because they are culturing species SRKW depend upon for prey, and are to support tribal and recreational fisheries.

NMFS is proposing to issue ESA section 10(a)(1)(A) and 10(a)(1)(B) permits and make a Section 4(d) limit 5 approval for steelhead and summer/fall and fall Chinook salmon hatchery programs in the Upper Columbia Basin, Washington. Adverse effects on UCR spring Chinook salmon (endangered) and steelhead (threatened) are anticipated, but are not likely to rise to the level of significance.

The RP/EA evaluates restoration alternatives for natural resource injuries incurred from historical releases of contaminants from the National Priorities List Superfund site known as the Koppers Site in Charleston, South Carolina. As a result of this evaluation, the Trustees selected the Drayton Hall Restoration Project and the Long Branch Creek Restoration Project as the selected restoration alternative.

NMFS is proposing regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 6 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, including the 2019-2021 fishery specifications and management measures. The specifications would set harvest limits and river herring/shad catch caps for the herring fishery for the 2019-2021 fishing years as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council. In addition, Framework 6 would update the overfished and overfishing definitions for the herring fishery, and suspend the carryover provision for unharvested catch for the 2020-2021 fishing years. The specifications and management measures are intended to meet conservation objectives while providing sustainable levels of access to the fishery. In addition, NMFS is using this action to update, clarify, and simplify specific herring regulations.

This Draft Environmental Assessment analyzes the potential environmental impacts of several alternatives that could increase the flexibility of and provide consistency between the swordfish retention limits for commercial swordfish fishermen fishing with similar gears within U.S. Atlantic and Caribbean waters; adjust shark retention limits and change regulatory procedures for commercial shark fishermen in the U.S. Caribbean; and increase administrative efficiencies by managing the swordfish fishery in two regions with one action as needed (i.e., inseason adjustment). The goal is to improve efficacy of management while also avoiding overharvests in these fisheries. Specifically, this action considers modifying the swordfish and shark retention limits and adding regulatory criteria for inseason adjustment of those swordfish and shark retention limits for certain permit holders. This proposed action would also streamline Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) regulations to align swordfish retention limits for commercial swordfish permits established for HMS Commercial Caribbean Small Boat permit holders under Amendment 4 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan with those established in Amendment 8 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan for Swordfish General Commercial permit holders and HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders.

The RP/EA evaluates restoration alternatives that compensate for natural resource injuries incurred from historical releases of contaminants from the National Priorities List Superfund site known as the Sheboygan River and Harbor Superfund Site (Sheboygan Site) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. As a result of this evaluation, the Trustees selected Alternative C, preservation projects at Willow Creek and Amsterdam Dunes.

The RP/EA evaluates restoration alternatives for natural resource injuries incurred from historical releases of contaminants from the National Priorities List Superfund site known as the St. Louis River Interlake/Duluth Tar (SLRIDT) Site in Duluth, Minnesota. As a result of this evaluation, the Trustees selected restoration projects in Kingsbury Bay, Kingsbury Creek and wild rice restoration within several locations of the St. Louis River estuary.

The RP/PEA evaluates restoration type alternatives that are to be implemented in the Upper Mobile-Tensaw River Delta with settlement funds from a natural resource damage assessment at the Ciba-Geigy NPL Site to compensate for natural resource injuries incurred as a result of the release of hazardous substances, including the pesticide DDT and other chemicals, at and from the Ciba-Geigy NPL Site in McIntosh, Alabama. As specific restoration projects are identified, they will be evaluated based on their consistency with the restoration type alternatives assessed in the RP/PEA. The RP/PEA identified two proposed restoration type alternatives: 1) Habitat Enhancement and Restoration on Newly Acquired Lands and 2) Habitat Enhancement and Restoration on State-Owned Lands.

The Final Supplemental EA (SEA) addresses alternatives and environmental consequences associated with three Readiness Category II shoreline and aquatic resource restoration projects— the Round Hill Salt Marsh Restoration Project; the Horseshoe Pond Dam-Weweantic River Restoration Project; and the Conservation Moorings Restoration Project.

NOAA, as the lead federal Trustee, proposes to compensate the public for interim losses to coral reef resources caused by the T/V PORT STEWART grounding by implementing an active coral propagation project. The environmental review process has led NOAA to conclude that these restoration actions will not have a significant adverse effect, individually or cumulatively, on the quality of the human environment.