NOAA NEPA Document Database

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) proposes to construct and operate an Ocean Mapping Center of Excellence (CoE) and a UNH Innovation Center, in UNH’s “The Edge” redevelopment area on the Durham campus in Strafford County, New Hampshire. UNH has been awarded United States (U.S.) Department of Commerce (DOC) federal grant funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service (NOS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to design and build these facilities. Since UNH is a non-federal entity, NOAA has initiated the environmental impact analysis for UNH’s Proposed Action that utilizes federal grant funds. Therefore, NOAA is the lead agency for this EA, and NIST is a cooperating agency.

This RP/EA tiers from the 2017 Final Portland Harbor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Restoration Plan. The proposed federal action addressed in this Draft Recreation RP/EA is the implementation of a restoration alternative to compensate the public for recreational service losses resulting from the release of hazardous substances and discharges of oil to the Portland Harbor Assessment Area. The Trustee Council is proposing to select Alternative 2, Community-led Project Implementation through a Grant Program, as the Preferred Alternative

The New England Fishery Management Council, in consultation with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, has prepared Framework Adjustment 69 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which includes a final environmental assessment that presents the range of alternatives to achieve the goals and objectives of the action. The proposed action focuses on setting specifications for certain groundfish stocks. The document describes the affected environment and valued ecosystem components and analyzes the impacts of the alternatives on both. It addresses the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and other applicable laws.

This DEIS is prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the environmental impacts associated with NMFS issuing an incidental take statement (ITS) under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that would exempt take of threatened or endangered ESA-listed species by participants in Southeast Alaska (SEAK) salmon fisheries that are subject to the 2019 Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST) Agreement. This DEIS also assesses the environmental impacts of NMFS funding grants to the State of Alaska (State) to monitor and manage the SEAK salmon fisheries and salmon stocks subject to the 2019 PST Agreement. If warranted, NMFS would issue an ITS, consistent with requirements of the ESA, as part of a consultation on two agency actions related to the 2019 PST Agreement, including the funding to the State. That consultation would conclude with the issuance of a biological opinion (BiOp) that evaluates the effects of those agency actions on ESA-listed species and critical habitat. This DEIS directly responds to a court order and analyzes the effects of the proposed issuance of an ITS for those two agency actions.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that analyzes proposed management measures to minimize chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch in the Bering Sea. The proposed measures would apply exclusively to participants in the Federal Bering Sea pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) fishery which operates in the Bering Sea sub-area of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fishery Management Plan area. The purpose of this action is to minimize chum salmon bycatch, but particularly the bycatch of Western Alaska origin chum salmon, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act, its National Standards, and other applicable law.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) proposes to expand the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) boundary, update sanctuary-wide regulations, modify and establish new marine zones, update marine zone specific regulations, and revise the sanctuary’s non-regulatory management plan.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the State of Hawai'i, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), is initiating the process to consider designating marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as a national marine sanctuary. Per the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), NOAA will prepare a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the sanctuary designation process to evaluate potential environmental effects of this action.

NMFS proposes to fund a prey increase program for Southern Resident Killer Whales. The proposed action is to produce additional hatchery Chinook salmon for release into the wild that will provide additional prey in marine waters for the whales. Other alternative uses for the funding are also analyzed. There are significant effects of the alternatives depending upon the resource analyzed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) West Coast Region is developing a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to analyze the potential impacts to the human environment that may occur should projects be proposed in one or more Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs), in federal waters of Southern California and to evaluate the impacts of siting aquaculture in those locations. The intent of this PEIS is to support long-term planning for offshore aquaculture. This PEIS considers a long-term planning effort that is not a regulatory or permitting action and does not propose to authorize or permit any specific aquaculture-related activities or propose to approve any individual aquaculture projects.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 126 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) and Amendment 114 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). If approved, Amendments 126/114 would implement an electronic monitoring (EM) program for pelagic trawl pollock catcher vessels and tender vessels delivering to shoreside processors and stationary floating processors in the Bering Sea (BS), Aleutian Islands (AI), and GOA. This proposed rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), Amendments 126/114, the BSAI FMP, and the GOA FMP.

The proposed action includes: Additional Modifications to the Domtar Plymouth Mill Cooling Water Intake System; Lighting Modifications at the Plymouth Facility; Waterfront Park Improvements; Warren Neck Property; and Floodplain Reconnection, Wetland Protection, and Fish Passage Improvements. The Preferred Alternatives collectively aim to enhance habitat conditions for Roanoke River fish, conserve bottomland hardwood forest wetland habitats, and provide recreation opportunities, such as angling, for the public. Collectively, the Preferred Alternatives will restore, enhance, create, or replace the equivalent natural resources and associated services injured by releases from the Mill.

The proposed action is the "Aleutian Watch Program & Communication Upgrades” that provide upgrades to existing infrastructure and establish new programs that are above and beyond what is currently in place, including: communication upgrades by increasing capabilities; administrative staffing to research, develop, and maintain a database of foreign innocent passage vessels that transit the area; and establishing the Aleutian Watch Program, a 24-hour dedicated watch of the region.

The EIS will evaluate a range of alternative options for setting and managing red snapper catches at levels that end overfishing and support rebuilding objectives. NMFS will also explore management strategies that increase fishing opportunities for red snapper by transitioning the large number of dead recreational discards to landed catch. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council was notified of the overfishing status of red snapper on July 23, 2021, and to date, has not taken actions to end overfishing. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) also provides the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) authority to act if a Council fails to develop and submit to the Secretary, after a reasonable period of time, needed conservation and management measures for a species. The goal is to finalize the Secretarial Amendment and environmental impact statement, as well as implement regulations, before the recreational and commercial fishing seasons open in summer 2025.

The purpose of this Draft SPEA is to evaluate potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of changes in research that were not analyzed in the 2015 Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), 2020 Supplemental PEA (SPEA), or new research activities along the U.S. West Coast. Where necessary, updates to certain information on species, stock status, other components of the affected environment will be addressed. Beneficial and adverse impacts of the proposed action will be addressed, and aim to reach the conclusion of no significant impacts.

This Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review analyzes proposed management measures that would authorize the use of longline pot gear when directed fishing for Greenland turbot in the Bering Sea management subarea. The considered action alternatives would apply to holders of groundfish License Limitation Program licenses that are endorsed for non-trawl gear in the Bering Sea. An optional measure would exempt longline pots used in the directed fishery for Bering Sea Greenland turbot from the 9-inch maximum tunnel opening restriction. The purpose of the action is to provide the non-trawl sector with options to effectively prosecute the Bering Sea Greenland turbot fishery in the context of whale depredation on hook-and-line gear.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the body responsible for the interstate management of the American lobster fishery, recently approved Addendum XXIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster, which requires electronic tracking of vessels participating in the fishery, with state implementation beginning in 2023. In lay terms, this is similar to global positioning system (GPS) capabilities on a cellular/mobile telephone. These data are critical to improving stock assessments, informing discussions and management decisions related to protected species and marine spatial planning, and enhancing offshore enforcement. The Commission recommended that NOAA Fisheries implement complementary Federal regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, this would consider revising to regulations under 50 CFR 697.

As directed by the Executive Order 13921, “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” (May 7, 2020), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Region is developing a draft programmatic environmental impact statement (DPEIS), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to evaluate the potential adverse and beneficial impacts of identifying one or more Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in U.S. federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and the potential impacts associated with siting future commercial aquaculture operations in those locations. The intent of this DPEIS is to support long-term planning for offshore aquaculture in the Gulf. The identification of AOAs does not support a specific regulatory or permitting action and does not authorize or permit any specific aquaculture-related activities or individual aquaculture operations

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Skokomish Indian Tribe (SIT) (the applicants, also collectively referred to as the co-managers) jointly submitted seven hatchery genetic and management plans (HGMPs) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead hatchery programs they operate within the Skokomish River Basin in Washington State. The hatchery facilities supporting these programs are owned and operated by the co-managers, Tacoma Power (which is a division of Tacoma Public Utilities [TPU]), and Long Live the Kings (LLTK). The HGMPs describe seven hatchery programs that produce Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha), steelhead (O. mykiss), coho salmon (O. kisutch), chum salmon (O. keta), and sockeye salmon (O. nerka). This environmental assessment (EA) will evaluate the potential effects of approving these programs under Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule and alternatives.

Amendment 3 establishes minimum size limits and recreational bag limits for dolphinfish and wahoo in federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas/St. John. Specifically, Amendment 3 specifies a 24” fork length minimum size limit for dolphinfish and a 32” fork length minimum size limit for wahoo in federal waters. Additionally, Amendment 3 would establish the following recreational bag limits per person/per vessel, whichever is less, per day: 5/15 dolphinfish and 5/10 wahoo in federal waters around Puerto Rico and 10/32 dolphinfish and 2/10 wahoo in federal waters around St. Croix and St. Thomas/St. John. There are no known potential significant impacts or issues.

Modifications to U.S. East Coast gillnet, Atlantic mixed species trap/pot