Contact: Scott Smullen/NMFS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-2370 1/30/95
Ralph W. Alewine/ARPA
(703) 696-2290
The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold two public hearings in Hawaii to receive comments on the Kauai Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) Project and associated Marine Mammal Research Program, the agencies announced today.
Prepared jointly by NMFS and ARPA, the draft environmental impact statement addresses environmental concerns and potential effects of the proposed activity, and has been available to the public since Jan. 6. Copies of the statement may be requested by calling Marilyn Cox of the University of California, San Diego, at (619) 534-3860.
Additionally, NMFS and ARPA have extended the federal public comment period for the Kauai draft environmental impact statement from Feb. 20 to March 9, 1995, to coincide with the close of the public comment period under the state of Hawaii's Environmental Policy Act. Notice of this extension will be published in the Federal Register on Feb. 3.
The Hawaii hearings will take place on Feb. 9, 6:00 p.m., at the War Memorial Convention Hall, 4191 Hardy Street, Lihue, Kauai; and on Feb. 10, 6:00 p.m., at the Mabel Smythe Building, 510 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu. For more information concerning the hearings, contact Eugene Nitta of the NMFS Honolulu laboratory at (808) 973-2987.
Comments on the draft environmental impact statement should be mailed to: Advanced Research Projects Agency, c/o Mr. Clayton H. Spikes, Marine Acoustics, Inc., 4 Crystal Park, Suite 901, Arlington, VA 22202. A copy should be provided to Mr. Roy Schaefer, Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii, P.O. Box 621, Honolulu, HI 96809.
The ATOC Project is a proposed proof-of-concept study funded by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. Long-term ocean climate changes would be measured by using acoustic sound paths in the deep sea as a means of precise synoptic temperature data collection.
The associated Marine Mammal Research Program involves extensive research on the potential effects of low frequency sound on marine animals, particularly marine mammals and sea turtles.
In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and Endangered Species Act of 1973, an application for a scientific research permit has been submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Because of potential environmental concerns, the draft environmental impact statement has been prepared.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is an environmental arm of the Commerce Departmentþs National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Advanced Research Projects Agency is the central research arm of the Defense Department.