The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is one step closer to establishing a proposed National Marine Sanctuary along New York State’s eastern Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River.
On January 19th, NOAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that includes draft provisions for establishing the site, including a sanctuary boundary, regulations and terms of designation.
To that end, NOAA is inviting the public to comment on the proposed rule for consideration as the agency prepares final regulations in the last phase of the sanctuary designation process.
NOAA has scheduled three public, in-person meetings on February 28th, March 1st and March 2nd in various towns and cities along Lake Ontario as well as a virtual public meeting on March 8th.
The public comment period is open until March 20th, 2023.
You can read the draft rule here and find out how to register for the public and virtual meetings here.
