The National Oceanic Ocean and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is hosting a public in-person meeting on Wednesday, June 21 to discusses Erie County's shoreline being designated as a National Marine Sanctuary. 

The meeting will be held at the Erie County Public Library from 6:30 - 8 p.m. 

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis says he is open to the idea of designating Erie County's shoreline as a National Oceanic Ocean and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary. 

However, the County Executive insists public input is critical in determine whether and how to designate the area as a sanctuary. 

"To me, my concern is making sure that this is a good investment for the long-term economic future of our community. It's not saying that it couldn't be, but there's got to be limits. There's got to be a public input process and due diligence that takes place."

NOAA said it is looking to appoint local members to the official designation committee to vet the process. 

"There could be economic benefits, but there could also be impacts if regulations were to affect our ability to draw water, or a business owners' ability to conduct business, or property owners along the shoreline being limited by big government, so I just think we need to make sure we are doing this responsibly and to make sure we aren't selling future generations up the lake with a marine sanctuary."

Those interested and willing to serve can submit their resume to the County Executive via the Appointed Service Portal on the County's website. 

"We just need to do our due diligence and continue to investigate, continue to have the conversations and make sure we are doing the responsible thing."

The Davis Administration is encourages the public to attend NOAA's in person meeting Wednesday night at the Erie County Public Library.