Revisions of Boundaries for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve; Intent To Prepare Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Scoping Meetings

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In accordance with section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has initiated a review of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve (TBNMS or sanctuary) boundaries, to evaluate the opportunity and effects of expanding the sanctuary's boundary. The process required by NMSA will be conducted concurrently with a public process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This notice also informs the public that NOAA will coordinate its responsibilities under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470) with its ongoing NEPA process, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a) including the use of NEPA documents and public and stakeholder meetings to also meet the requirements of section 106. NOAA anticipates completion of the final environmental impact statement and concomitant documents will require approximately twelve months from the date of publication of this notice of intent.