Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary boundary expansion : final environmental impact statement

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries proposes to expand the boundary of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles and extend protection to 47 additional known historic shipwrecks of national significance. NOAA prepared this FEIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 USC 4321 et seq.) as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6, which describes NOAA policies, requirements, and procedures for implementing NEPA. The FEIS also fulfills the mandate of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA; 16 U.S.C. 1434(a)(4)), which requires that "terms of designation may be modified only by the same procedures by which the original designation is made."