Billing Code:  3510-08-M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Proposed MFS Globenet, 
Inc. Monterey Bay Fiber Optic Cable Installation Project within 
the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS).

AGENCY:  Marine Sanctuaries Division (MSD), Office of Ocean and 
Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department 
of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION:  Notice of intent; request for comments.

SUMMARY:  NOAA announces its intention to prepare an EIS in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for 
the authorization of the proposed installation of a fiber optic 
cable through Monterey Bay, California within the MBNMS.  The 
action to be evaluated by this EIS is the proposal to install a 
submarine fiber optic telecommunications cable from New Zealand to 
Hawaii to California, with a focus on that part of the ocean route 
within the boundaries of the MBNMS and the terrestrial route 
within Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

The EIS will be prepared in cooperation with the County of Santa 
Cruz, which issued a Notice of Preparation on March 29, 1999, 
regarding its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Report 
(EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  
The EIS prepared under this notice will be combined with the EIR 
and a joint EIR/EIS will be published.

DATES:  Written comments on the intent to prepare an EIS and the 
scope of the EIS will be accepted on or before September 22, 1999.  
A public scoping meeting to inform interested parties of the proposed 
action and to receive public comments on the scope of the EIS is 
scheduled as follows:

September 1, 1999,  7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Moss Landing Chamber of Commerce
8045 Moss Landing Road
Moss Landing, California

ADDRESS:  Written comments on the scope of the EIS, suggested 
alternatives and potential impacts should be sent to William 
Douros, Responsible Program Manager, Monterey Bay National Marine 
Sanctuary, 299 Foam Street, Monterey, California 93940.  Comments 
may be submitted by FAX at (831) 647-4250.  Comments received will 
be available for public inspection at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Douros, Responsible 
Program Manager, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 299 Foam 
Street, Monterey, California 93940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Proposed Action
The proposed action would involve the authorization of 
installation of approximately 58.5 miles of submarine cable within 
the boundaries of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as 
part of a larger project for a cable that would link New Zealand 
to Hawaii and the continental United States.  Sanctuary 
regulations at 15 C.F.R. Part 922, Subpart M, require 
authorization by the Sanctuary for installation and continued 
operation of the proposed cable within the MBNMS.  The applicant 
(MFS Globenet, Inc. and Worldcom Network Services, Inc.) 
anticipates the cable would operate for a minimum of 25 years.  
The scope of the EIS will address the offshore area from shore to 
the seaward boundary of the MBNMS.

The seaward component of the project includes the seaward portions 
of two directionally bored conduits (approximately 950 meters out 
to sea to a water depth of 15 meters) and one two-inch wide 
submarine cable extending westward from one of the conduits to 
deep ocean.  The offshore cable would extend along the submarine 
ridge ("Smooth Ridge") to the western boundary of the MBNMS (and 
then onward to New Zealand via Hawaii).

The applicant proposes to bury the cable to a depth of one meter 
out to a water depth of 2,000 meters, where feasible and where 
sensitive areas are not prohibitive.  In general, the cable would 
be laid directly onto the ocean floor at ocean depths greater than 
2,000 meters, where the potential for conflict with other marine 
uses is likely to be minimal.

Two cable burial methods are proposed.  Where feasible, an 
underwater plow deployed from the cable ship would cut a narrow 
trench for the cable and bury the cable.  In sensitive areas or 
areas where the plow cannot operate safely, the cable would be 
laid directly on the sea floor and buried using a post lay jetting 
system in which a remotely operated vehicle with high-volume, low-
pressure water jets would jet the cable into the sediment. This 
system would liquefy the substrate directly beneath the cable, 
causing the cable to sink into the substrate.

The applicant proposes to land the cable onshore in Santa Cruz 
County at the Monterey Bay Academy approximately two miles south 
of La Selva Beach.  A cable landing facility would be located at 
the Monterey Bay Academy and the cable would continue onshore 
buried for 8.7 miles to a cable equipment building to be located 
within the unincorporated community of Pajaro.  The cable would be 
connected to the existing network facilities at the cable 
termination station.

II. Alternatives

Pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, 
the EIR/EIS will evaluate the No Action Alternative and 
alternative routes for placement and landing of the fiber optic 
cable.  Six preliminary alternatives to the proposed action have 
been developed based on initial discussions with state and local 
agencies, as well as the local commercial fishing industry.  
Additional alternatives to the proposed action may be developed as 
part of the public scoping phase for inclusion in the Draft 
EIR/EIS.  The possible alternatives include:

No Action Alternative - Under the No Action Alternative, MFS 
Globenet would not construct the proposed fiber optic cable.

Alternative 1 Route - This alternative route follows along the 
northern edge of Soquel and Cabrillo canyons to minimize potential 
conflicts with commercial fishing.  A re-route of the transition 
between inner shelf and smooth ridge between 120-400 meter depth 
contours also minimizes impacts to hard-bottom benthic habitat.  
The route would traverse approximately 62.4 miles of the MBNMS.  
The onshore landing area would be the same as the proposed action.

Alternative 2 Route - The cable would be routed up the length of 
Monterey Canyon and through Soquel Canyon for a distance of 75.5 
miles across the MBNMS.  This alternative is intended to reduce 
potential impacts to commercial trawl fishing.  The onshore 
landing area would be the same as the proposed action.

Alternative 3 Route - This alternative considers a combined 
landing at a beach proposed by another cable project proponent.  
Fiber optic cables would generally follow the proposed action 
route, but would land at La Selva Beach instead of Monterey Bay 
Academy.

Alternative 4 Route - The cable would generally follow the ridge 
of A–o Nuevo Canyon and would traverse approximately 47.3 miles of 
the MBNMS.  The landing site would be located at Davenport Beach, 
just south of El Jarro Point.  This alternative reduces linear 
encroachment into MBNMS and reduces encroachment onto the 
continental shelf.

Alternative 5 Route -  The offshore segment of the cable would be 
routed across a narrower section of the MBNMS (compared to the 
proposed action) and along the northern rim of Ascension Canyon to 
Davenport Beach, just south of El Jarro Point (same landing as 
Alternative 4).  The route would traverse approximately 35.8 miles 
of the MBNMS.  This alternative would reduce linear encroachment 
into the Sanctuary.

Alternative 6 Route - The cable would be constructed outside the 
boundaries of the MBNMS to avoid impacts to Sanctuary resources.  
The nearshore cable route and landing site would be consolidated 
with the applicant's other proposed cable landings in Morro Bay, 
California.

III. Summary of Environmental Issues

The installation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning and 
removal of the cable pose potentially significant impacts upon 
Sanctuary resources and qualities.  The EIR/EIS will address 
onshore and offshore environmental effects of cable construction, 
operation, maintenance and repair, and removal.  Potential onshore 
impacts have been identified in the separate Notice of 
Preparation, issued by the County of Santa Cruz, as the EIR lead 
agency.  Specific offshore environmental issues that have been 
identified for analysis in the EIR/EIS include:

--   Effects on commercial and recreational fisheries and fisheries 
operations, including construction interference with fishing 
activities, potential loss of catch, and potential accidents 
(e.g., fishing net entanglement); 
--   Trenching effects (e.g., sediment plume, benthic disruption, and 
siltation) on the water column, marine water quality, and flora 
and fauna;
--   Effects on kelp beds, benthic communities, rocky hard-bottom 
communities, plankton, fish, marine birds, marine mammals, and 
marine turtles from construction disturbances and/or release of 
contaminants, including boats anchoring, increased turbidity, 
sediment contamination, boat and construction-related noise, and 
introduction of exotic species from foreign vessels;
--   Potential for bentonite spills and spill effects on water 
quality and aquatic habitats and species;
--   Potential entanglements by cetaceans (whales) including sperm 
whales where the cable is exposed and gray whales that feed on 
the ocean bottom;
--   "Strumming" (lateral movement of the cable along the seafloor 
due to ocean currents) impacts on the marine environment;
--   Geologic hazards and physical effects on the cable (e.g., 
submarine landslides and erosion);
--   Electromagnetic field effects on marine species;
--   Impacts on submerged cultural resources;
--   Direct or indirect effects on sensitive species and habitats;
--   Cable installation vessel interference with commercial and 
recreational vessel navigation; and
--   Short-term air quality effects from construction equipment, 
vehicle, and vessel emissions.

IV. Future Public Involvement

Additional opportunities for public review will be provided when 
the Draft EIR/EIS is completed.  A notice of availability of the 
Draft EIR/EIS will be published in the Federal Register.  In 
addition, release of the Draft EIR/EIS for public comment and 
public meetings on the Draft EIR/EIS will be announced in the 
local news media, as the dates are established.  According to the 
current schedule, which is subject to change, the Draft EIR/EIS is 
expected to be released in December 1999.

V. Special Accommodations

The public scoping meeting is physically accessible to people with 
disabilities.  Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Scott Kathey at the Monterey 
Bay National Marine Sanctuary, (831) 647-4251, at least five days 
prior to the meeting date.

AUTHORITY:  16 U.S.C. Section 1431 et seq.
(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.429 
Marine Sanctuary Program)




___________________________________		_____________
Ted Lillestolen							Date
Deputy Assistant Administrator
Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management