NOAA’s National Ocean Service today announced that it is extending the comment period through Monday, Nov. 22 on its draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (appendices accessible here) analyzing the potential impacts associated with NOAA’s recurring data collection projects to characterize submerged features in U.S. rivers and state and federal waters over the next six years.
While the original comment period was originally set to close on Aug. 24, NOAA said that it was extending the comment period in response to written and verbal requests from the public including the Alaska whaling community in order to ensure adequate time for review and to accommodate the Alaska subsistence hunting and fishing community.
The purpose of the proposed action is to gather accurate and timely data on the marine and coastal environment, with a need being to ensure safety at sea, economic well-being, and the efficient stewardship of public trust resources.
