PEIS for NOS Surveying and Mapping in U.S Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition

National Ocean Service (NOS) is preparing this Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with NOS’s recurring projects throughout United States (U.S.) coastal and marine waters to characterize underwater features (e.g., habitat, bathymetry, marine debris). Data obtained from these projects are used to produce many products, including charts and maps that are relied upon by mariners, scientists, shipping and fishing industries, and countless other users in the U.S. and beyond. Due to the geographic and temporal scope of the Proposed Action, comprehensive data modeling approach, and complexity of the analysis, NOS later determined that a PEIS, and not a PEA, would provide the agency and the public with the appropriate framework to understand the potential impacts to critical resources such as marine mammals and to provide input on the Proposed Action.