Proposed Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 922

[Docket No. 970404078-7078-01]

RIN 0648-AE41

Proposed Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

AGENCY: Santuaries and Reserves Division (SRD), Office of Ocean and

Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS),

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of

Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Extension of comment period; notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's

Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD) issued a proposed rule on June

23, 1997 (62 FR 33768) to designate an approximately 808 square-mile

area of Great Lakes waters on Lake Huron, Michigan, over and

surrounding Thunder Bay, and the submerged lands thereunder, off the

northeastern coast of the State of Michigan as a National Marine

Sanctuary. The public comment period on this proposal was to close on

September 22, 1997. Representatives of a variety of interests in the

communities adjoining the proposal area are forming a group to work

with NOAA and the State of Michigan on completion of the sanctuary

designation process. Those communities have requested additional time

to review the proposal and to develop recommendations for NOAA and the

State. Thus, this notice extends the comment period to October 31,

1997.

In compliance with section 304(a)(3) of the National Marine

Sanctuaries Act (Pub. L. 104-283), NOAA will also conduct public

hearings in Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle Counties, Michigan, to

receive the views of interested parties on the proposed designation and

on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan (DEIS/MP)

for the Proposed Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The views

expressed at these hearings, as well as written comments received on

the DEIS/MP, will be considered by NOAA and the State of Michigan in

determining whether to proceed with preparation of the Final

Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan.

Copies of the DEIS/MP are available at the following regional

distribution points, or upon request to the Sanctuaries and Reserves

Division (SRD):

Presque Isle County Clerk's Office, Presque Isle County Building, 151

East Huron, Rogers City, MI 49779, (517) 734-3288

Alpena County Clerk's Office, Alpena County Courthouse, 729 West

Chisholm Street, Alpena, MI 49707

Alcona County Clerk's Office, Alcona County Building, 106 Fifth Street,

Harrisville, MI 48740

DATES: Comments on the DEIS/MP must be received by October 31, 1997.

The public hearings will be held on the following dates, at the

following locations: September 8, 1997, at 7:00 p.m. at the Court Room,

Alcona County Building, 106 Fifth Street, Harrisville, MI; September 9,

1997, at 7:00 p.m. at the Granum Theater, Alpena

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Community College, 666 Johnson Street, Ctr. #107, Alpena, MI; and

September 10, 1997, at 7:00 p.m. at the Circuit Court Room, Presque

Isle County Building, 151 East Huron, Rogers City, MI. All interested

persons are invited to attend.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Stephanie R. Thornton,

Chief, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, 1305 East West Highway, SSMC4, 11th Floor,

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Comments will be available for public

inspection at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Brubeck at (616) 526-8434 or

Sherrard Foster at (301) 713-3137, ext. 151. (Federal Domestic

Assistance Catalog Number 11.429 Marine Sanctuary Program.)

Dated: July 17, 1997.

Nancy Foster,

Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management.

[FR Doc. 97-19356 Filed 7-22-97; 8:45 am]

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