THE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is requesting written comments to facilitate its five-year review of the nomination for the Marianas Trench National Marine Sanctuary.
NOAA issued a notice in the Federal Register on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/21/2022-01151/review-of-nomination-for-mariana-trench-national-marine-sanctuary)
NOAA said it is not proposing to designate the Marianas Trench NMS with this action. “Instead, NOAA is seeking public comment on ONMS’ five-year review of the nomination for Marianas Trench NMS.”
NOAA added that it has provided the original nominating parties, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Friends of the Marianas Trench, an opportunity to share their views.
Following this information gathering and internal analysis, NOAA said it will make a final determination on whether or not the Mariana Trench NMS nomination will remain in the inventory for another five-year period.
NOAA said the nomination for Mariana Trench NMS was accepted to the national inventory on March 13, 2017, and is scheduled to expire on March 13, 2022.
The full nomination can be found at https://nominate.noaa.gov/nominations
NOAA said written comments must be received by Feb. 22, 2022. NOAA will conduct a virtual meeting on Feb. 12, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ChST (Guam/CNMI)/Feb. 11, 2022, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. HST (Hawai’i).
Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov
Submit electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal and search for Docket Number NOAA-NOS-2022-0005.
• Mail: Kristina Kekuewa, Pacific Islands Regional Director, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96818.
• Email: [email protected].
• Public Scoping Meeting: Provide oral comments during a virtual public scoping meeting. Webinar registration details and additional information about how to participate in the public scoping meeting is available at https://nominate.noaa.gov/5-year-review.html
