NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Apr. 26 on the agency’s initiation of a 5-year review for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. The review will assess the best scientific and commercial data available to determine whether the species should be delisted or reclassified.
Archive | February, 2021
NMFS Seeks Comments on Wind-related MMPA Authorizations
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Mar. 26 on its proposed authorization and potential 1-year renewal for Skipjack Offshore Energy, LLC to take 16 marine mammal species by Level B harassment incidental to marine site characterization high-resolution geophysical surveys offshore Delaware. The surveys would provide a baseline assessment of seabed, ecological, [...]
Comments Sought on Draft Western Pacific Monument Management Plan
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA have announced that they are seeking comments by Tuesday, May 25 on a draft Monument Management Plan and related Environmental Assessment for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument that addresses goals, objectives, and strategies for managing the monument through 2035. Established by Presidential Proclamation in Jan. 2009, the monument is comprised of [...]
Ocean Exploration Advisory Board to Hold Public Meeting
NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research today announced that the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board (Board) will hold a public virtual public meeting on Apr. 7-8. The meeting, which includes a 15-minute public comment period, includes discussion of topics including ocean exploration in the context of administration priorities, review of the competitive grants program, and Office of Ocean [...]
BOEM Cancels Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the decision to cancel Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257, which had been scheduled to take place on March 17, 2021. The lease sale would have offered ~80 million acres in federal waters off Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. In rescinding the Record of Decision that was announced in January, [...]
BOEM Issues Wave Energy Lease
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced its decision to issue the first lease for a wave energy research project in federal waters off the West Coast, calling the development “another step forward in achieving the Biden administration’s goals to address climate change and promote offshore renewable energy production.” The lease, issued to Oregon State University, covers [...]
BSEE Reopens Comment Period on Changes to Arctic Drilling Regulations
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that they are reopening the comment period through Friday, Apr. 9 on their proposal to revise 21 existing regulations and add 13 new regulations governing exploration drilling in U.S. Arctic waters. The previous comment period closed on Feb. 8. In announcing the reopening, [...]
NMFS Extends Comment Period on Caribbean Coral Critical Habitat
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service last month announced that it is providing an additional 30 days of public comment through Mar. 27 on its proposal to designate ~5,900 square miles of critical habitat for the following threatened Caribbean corals: Orbicella annularis, O. faveolata, O. franksi, Dendrogyra cylindrus, and Mycetophyllia ferox. The proposed critical habitat includes areas extending [...]
BOEM Names New Director
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that Amanda Lefton will serve as Director. Lefton’s background includes experience as First Assistant Secretary for Energy and the Environment for New York, Deputy Policy Director for The Nature Conservancy, Albany District Director for the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United, and legislative aide in the New York [...]
BOEM Withdraws Public Review of Proposed Cook Inlet Lease Sale
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the withdrawal of the public review period and virtual public hearings for proposed Cook Inlet oil and gas Lease Sale 258 that had previously been scheduled for Mar. 1 and throughout February, respectively. In announcing the decision, BOEM cited the Jan. 2021 Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at [...]
