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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 23, 2021 / Rules and Regulations section do not apply to any activity necessary to respond to an emergency threatening life, property or the environment . . . As such, NOAA
believes that anchoring to prevent unsafe conditions is covered under current sanctuary regulations.
21. Comment: NOAA received one comment expressing concern that if NOAA broadens the scope of the Wisconsin sanctuary beyond maritime heritage resources, this would negatively impact the ability of shippers to conduct ballast water exchange.
Response: NOAA is committed to ensuring that the creation of the sanctuary would support businesses and organizations that use the lake and surrounding ports. NOAA has not proposed any regulations prohibiting ballast water exchange in the sanctuary.
Also, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 Pub. L. 114120 prevents the Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from prohibiting ballast water exchange in national marine sanctuaries in the Great Lakes that protect maritime heritage resources.
Ballast water operations would continue as currently conducted. In terms of future changes to the sanctuarys scope beyond underwater cultural resources, such a change would require a public process similar to the original designation, thereby affording commercial interests and the public an opportunity to comment on how any change in the scope might affect ballast water exchange.
22. Comment: NOAA received several comments stating that the sanctuary would have a negative impact on shipping and could result in businesses being closed. The comments indicated that the proposed sanctuary, as a cultural asset, should not encumber critical commercial activity related to maritime transportation into Wisconsin ports and through Wisconsin waters.
Current legal navigational practices should continue to be allowed.
Response: NOAAs proposal does not include restrictions to shipping. The proposal excludes the ports, marinas, and harbors of Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, and Port Washington from the sanctuary boundaries to avoid any unintended consequences of sanctuary designation on those operations. In addition, NOAA is proposing to eliminate the federally authorized areas channels from the sanctuary.
23. Comment: Several commenters asked if the sanctuary designation gives NOAA the right to regulate commercial and recreational fishing. One comment indicated that federal regulations as a result of sanctuary designation should not affect the ability of commercial
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fishermen to conduct their fishing operations particularly in Zone 3.
Response: Sanctuary regulations and terms of designation are narrowly defined to protect underwater cultural resources, and under the current terms of designation for WSCNMS, NOAA
does not regulate commercial or recreational fishing activities. There are no restrictions on where fishing activities can occur or what gear fishermen can use, as long as the fishing activities do not injure underwater cultural resources. NOAA would need to amend the terms of designation through a public process in order to regulate commercial and recreational fishing. Through its ongoing lakebed mapping surveys, the sanctuary will work with commercial fishermen to identify and share shipwreck locations to help avoid net entanglements.
Definitions, Fines, Enforcement, and Scope of Regulations 24. Comment: NOAA received a comment indicating that the definition of sanctuary resource is too broad and could mean any debris e.g., beach glass, etc. along the beach and below the ordinary high water mark. This could lead to people being fined for gathering such items along the beach.
Response: NOAA is proposing the LWD as the sanctuarys landward boundary. Consequently, the area between the OHWM and the LWD i.e., most of the beach area is not included in the preferred alternative for the sanctuary. Under the preferred alternative, cultural resources found along the beach between the OHWM
and the LWD are not subject to the sanctuary regulations, but will remain subject to state regulation.
25. Comment: One commenter asked whether NOAA could impose legally enforceable restrictions on lake activities that are currently permissible by state authorities.
Response: No current state laws would be superseded by the proposed national marine sanctuary. The NMSA
gives NOAA the authority to manage national marine sanctuaries in a manner that complements existing regulatory authority 16 U.S.C. 1431b2. Prior to designation, Section 30461 of the NMSA provides the governor with authority to certify that the designation or terms thereof are unacceptable, and preclude the designation or terms thereof from taking effect in state waters 16 U.S.C. 143461. This feature of the NMSA ensures the harmony of federal and state regulations, as well as provides the states with final approval of the designation and its regulations.

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For example, one of the proposed Wisconsin sanctuary regulations, developed in consultation with the State of Wisconsin, is to prohibit anchoring at shipwreck sites. While there is no state prohibition on this activity, it is a violation of state law to damage shipwrecks, including damage from anchoring. To facilitate public access to shipwrecks and to eliminate the need for anchoring at these often fragile sites, NOAA would install moorings at these sites. In this way, the sanctuary strengthens and complements state regulations and facilitates public access through a combination of regulation and proactive resource protection measures.
26. Comment: NOAA received questions on who enforces sanctuary regulations, fines associated with violations of sanctuary regulations including how the fines are calculated, examples of fines, and what happens to the funds NOAA receives from violations.
Response: NOAA views law enforcement as just one aspect of a sanctuarys comprehensive resource management strategy. Developing a plan to facilitate voluntary compliance with sanctuary regulations is another element of proactive enforcement included in the proposed sanctuarys draft management plan.
NOAAs Office of Law Enforcement enforces all of NOAAs natural and cultural resource laws, while also working with the U.S. Coast Guard USCG to enforce sanctuary regulations in the Great Lakes.
Violations of federal sanctuary regulations are violations of the NMSA, a federal statute. Civil violations are governed under NOAAs civil procedure regulations found at 15 CFR part 904.
NOAAs Office of General Counsel assesses civil penalties in accordance with the nature, gravity, and circumstances of a violation. NOAA
assesses civil penalties through the issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of civil penalty NOVA.
NOAA General Counsel publishes its penalty policy online to provide notice to the public about how it calculates penalties in any given case and to provide information about a typical penalty for a given type of violation.
That information can be found at https www.gc.noaa.gov/documents/
Penalty-Policy-CLEAN-June242019.pdf.
Persons charged with civil violations are entitled to an opportunity for an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge ALJ, and may seek reconsideration of the ALJs ruling and appeal of the ALJ decision to the NOAA administrator. Persons may seek judicial review of the administrators
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