Title 15

SECTION 923.83

923.83 Program change materials.

§ 923.83 Program change materials.

(a) All program changes submitted to NOAA shall be submitted in accordance with § 923.81. States shall use the Program Change website Form and Table to provide the following.

(1) A brief general overview description of the proposed program change(s) and a current version of the document(s) containing the program change (e.g., text of the revised statute, regulation, policy, map). The general overview description shall identify the law, regulation, policy, or other type of program provision contained in the program change submission.

(2) A brief summary of the changes of each authority or policy identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and how the management program as changed is different than the previously approved management program.

(3) Indicate which of one or more of the five management program approval areas under this part apply to the program change:

(i) Uses Subject to Management (subpart B);

(ii) Special Management Areas (subpart C);

(iii) Boundaries (subpart D);

(iv) Authorities and Organization (subpart E); or

(v) Coordination, Public Involvement and National Interest (subpart F).

(4) States shall use the Program Change Table provided by NOAA through the Program Change website to provide:

(i) The State legal citation for the policy (state code, public law number, state regulation, other official state format);

(ii) The title of the policy, section, or other descriptor;

(iii) Whether the change or policy is new, revised, or deleted;

(iv) The date the change was effective in the state;

(v) Identification of each enforceable policy submitted as part of the program change; and

(vi) The state enforceable mechanism citation that makes the policy enforceable under state law. The phrase “enforceable mechanism” means a state authority that makes an enforceable policy legally binding under state law, as described in this subpart and § 930.11(h) of this subchapter. Examples of an enforceable mechanism include state statutes, regulations, permitting programs, local government ordinances or court decisions. If an enforceable mechanism is changed so that an enforceable policy is no longer legally binding under state law, then the enforceable policy shall be submitted as a program change with a new underlying state enforceable mechanism; otherwise the policy is no longer enforceable for purposes of state CZMA Federal consistency reviews under part 930 of this subchapter.

(5) Changes or additions to the state's Federal consistency list or geographic location descriptions.

(i) For each new or revised listed Federal action, states shall describe the:

(A) Type of Federal action;

(B) Specific Federal statutory authority;

(D) Reasonably foreseeable effects to the uses and resources of the state's coastal zone (§ 923.84(d)).

(ii) For each new or revised geographic location description, states shall describe the:

(A) Geographic location description, using specific geographic boundaries;

(B) Listed Federal actions to be included within a geographic location description; and

(6) States shall describe any changes or additions to Necessary Data and Information approved by NOAA in accordance with § 930.58 of this subchapter and explain why such information is necessary in order for the state to commence its Federal consistency review period.

(7) The state shall indicate that the program change meets each of NOAA's decision criteria in § 923.84.

(8) The state shall describe whether and how the program change will impact the following:

(i) Resources or interests of any federally-recognized Indian Tribe.

(ii) Threatened or endangered species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA);

(iii) Historic properties designated under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA);

(iv) Essential fish habitat designated under the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA); and

(v) Marine mammals managed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

(9) The state shall identify the state's website where the public notices for the notification and submission requests are, or will be, located and where, if applicable, state documents related to the request may be viewed.

(10) The state shall submit to NOAA any substantive correspondence between the state and Federal agencies (not including NOAA's Office for Coastal Management) concerning the development of the changes that are the subject of the program change request.

(11) The state shall indicate if the program change was developed as a necessary action pursuant to section 312 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1458 - Review of performance) and, if so, shall briefly describe the necessary action.

(b) [Reserved]