Notice of Intent To Conduct Public Scoping and Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Five Early Winter Steelhead Hatchery Programs in Puget Sound, 41011-41012 [2015-17156]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 134 / Tuesday, July 14, 2015 / Notices
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to NMFS Alaska Region, Patsy
A. Bearden, at patsy.bearden@noaa.gov
or call (907) 586–7008.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This request is for extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
Amendment 80 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area allocates several
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area non-pollock trawl
groundfish fisheries among fishing
sectors, established a limited access
privilege program, and facilitated the
formation of harvesting cooperatives in
the non-American Fisheries Act (nonAFA) trawl catcher/processor sector.
The Amendment 80 Fishery
Management Plan applies retention
standards on an aggregate basis to all
activities of a cooperative, allowing
participants within the cooperative to
coordinate fishing and retention
practices across the cooperative to meet
the retention requirements.
III. Data
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Dated: July 9, 2015.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
Information may be submitted online
at https://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov
or submitted as an attachment to email
to RAM.Alaska@noaa.gov. Applications
are ‘‘fillable’’ on the computer screen at
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/
sustainablefisheries/amds/80/
default.htm#apps, then downloaded,
printed, faxed or mailed to NMFS.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0565.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
information collection).
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; business or other for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
37.
Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours
each for Application for Amend 80 QS;
Application for Amend 80 Cooperative
and CQ Permit; Application for Amend
80 limited access fishery; Application to
transfer Amend 80 QS; Application for
Amendment 80 Vessel Replacement and
Application for inter-cooperative
transfer Amend 80 CQ; 25 hours for
Amend 80 cooperative report; 4 hours
for Amend 80 appeals letter; 30 minutes
for Flatfish Exchange Application.
19:09 Jul 13, 2015
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
[FR Doc. 2015–17194 Filed 7–13–15; 8:45 am]
II. Method of Collection
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 204.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $544 in recordkeeping/reporting
costs.
Jkt 235001
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XE039
Notice of Intent To Conduct Public
Scoping and Prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement for Five Early Winter
Steelhead Hatchery Programs in Puget
Sound
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement;
request for comments; notice of public
workshops.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this
notice announces that NMFS intends to
obtain information necessary to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for five Hatchery and Genetic
Management Plans (HGMPs) for early
winter steelhead hatchery programs
jointly submitted by the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife
(WDFW), with the Jamestown S’Klallam
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
41011
Tribe, the Lummi Nation, the Nooksack
Tribe, the Stillaguamish Tribes, and the
Tulalip Tribes (referred to as the comanagers) for NMFS’s evaluation and
determination under Limit 6 of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) 4(d) Rule
for threatened salmon and steelhead.
The HGMPs specify the propagation of
early-returning (‘‘early’’) winter
steelhead in the Dungeness, Nooksack,
Stillaguamish, Skykomish, and
Snoqualmie River watersheds in
Washington State.
NMFS provides this notice to advise
other agencies and the public of its
plans to analyze effects related to the
action, and obtain suggestions and
information that may be useful to the
scope of issues and alternatives to
include in the EIS. Two public
workshops will be held in July 2015 for
this action.
DATES: Written or electronic scoping
comments must be received at the
appropriate address or email mailbox
(see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m.
Pacific Time August 13, 2015. The
public workshops will be held between
July 20, 2015 and July 22, 2015 (see
PUBLIC WORKSHOPS).
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be
sent by any of the following methods:
• Email to the following address:
EWShatcheriesEIS.wcr@noaa.gov with
the following identifier in the subject
line: Early Winter Steelhead Hatcheries
EIS.
• Mail or hand-deliver to NMFS
Sustainable Fisheries Division, 510
Desmond Drive SE., Suite 103, Lacey,
WA 98503.
• Fax to (360) 753–9517.
Comments received will be available for
public inspection, by appointment,
during normal business hours at the
above address. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Leider, NMFS, by phone at (360)
753–4650, or email to steve.leider@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ESA-Listed Species Covered in This
Notice
Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss):
threatened, naturally and artificially
produced in Puget Sound.
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha):
threatened, naturally and artificially
produced in Puget Sound.
E:\FR\FM\14JYN1.SGM
14JYN1
41012
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 134 / Tuesday, July 14, 2015 / Notices
Chum salmon (O. keta): threatened,
naturally and artificially produced Hood
Canal summer-run.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus):
threatened Puget Sound/Washington
Coast.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Background
On March 26, 2015 (80 FR 15985),
NMFS announced the availability of a
draft Environmental Assessment (EA)
pursuant to NEPA (42 U.S.C. et seq.), for
three HGMPs for early-returning (early
winter) steelhead hatchery programs in
the Dungeness, Nooksack, and
Stillaguamish River basins, submitted to
NMFS by the co-managers. A 30-day
public comment period was extended to
May 4, 2015 for a total comment period
of 37 days (80 FR 22973, April 24,
2015). NMFS received and considered
comments on the EA and, has
subsequently decided to prepare an EIS
to evaluate effects on the human
environment of the three early winter
steelhead hatchery programs in the
Dungeness, Nooksack, and
Stillaguamish River watersheds in
Washington State. In the EIS, NMFS
will also evaluate three additional early
winter steelhead HGMPs for hatchery
programs in the Skykomish and
Snoqualmie Rivers in the Snohomish
River watershed in Puget Sound. All of
the programs would release early winter
steelhead that are not included as part
of the ESA-listed Puget Sound Steelhead
Distinct Population Segment, and that
are not native to the watersheds in
which they would be released.
NEPA requires Federal agencies to
conduct environmental analyses of
proposed actions to determine if the
actions may affect the human
environment. NMFS’s action of
evaluating the co-managers’ HGMPs,
pursuant to the limitation on take
prohibitions for actions conducted
under Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule for
salmon and steelhead promulgated
under the ESA, is a major Federal action
subject to environmental review under
NEPA. Therefore, NMFS is seeking
public input on the scope of the
required NEPA analysis, including the
range of reasonable alternatives,
recommendations for relevant analysis
methods, and information associated
with impacts of the alternatives to the
resources listed below or other relevant
resources.
NMFS will perform an environmental
review of the HGMPs and prepare an
EIS that will identify potentially
significant direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts on the following
resources identified to have a potential
for effect from the proposed action:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:09 Jul 13, 2015
Jkt 235001
• Listed and Non-listed Species and
their habitats
• Water Quantity
• Socioeconomics
• Environmental Justice
• Cumulative Impacts
NMFS will rigorously explore and
objectively evaluate a full range of
reasonable alternatives in the EIS,
including the proposed action
(implementation of the co-managers’
HGMPs) and a no-action alternative.
Additional alternatives could include
the following: (1) A decrease in artificial
production of 50 percent, and (2) a
change in program type from isolated
(i.e., producing hatchery-origin fish that
are intended to be reproductively
segregated and different from the
natural-origin population) to integrated
(i.e., producing hatchery-origin fish that
are intended to be similar to and part of
the natural-origin population) programs
that would use native steelhead for
broodstock.
For all potentially significant impacts,
the EIS will identify measures to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate the impacts,
where feasible, to a level below
significance.
Request for Comments
NMFS provides this notice to: (1)
Advise other agencies and the public of
its plans to analyze effects related to the
action, and (2) obtain suggestions and
information that may be useful to the
scope of issues and the full range of
alternatives to include in the EIS. In
addition to considering comments
received in response to this notice in
developing an EIS, relevant comments
received on the 2015 draft EA for three
early winter steelhead hatchery
programs (80 FR 15985, March 26,
2015), and on the 2014 draft EIS for
Puget Sound salmon and steelhead
hatcheries (80 FR 15986, March 26,
2015) will also be considered in
developing the EIS.
NMFS invites comment from all
interested parties to ensure that the full
range of issues related to the early
winter steelhead HGMPs is identified.
Comments should be as specific as
possible.
Written comments concerning the
proposed action and the environmental
review should be directed to NMFS as
described above (see ADDRESSES). All
comments and materials received,
including names and addresses, will
become part of the administrative record
and may be released to the public.
Public Workshops
Two public workshops will be offered
to assist in gathering information on
development of the EIS. Those
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
workshops will be held as follows;
further information regarding the
workshops may be found at https://
www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/
hatcheries/salmon_and_steelhead_
hatcheries.html.
Monday, July 20, 2015
6 to 8 p.m., Skagit Public Utilities
District, Aqua Room, 1415 Freeway
Drive, Mt Vernon, Washington
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
6 to 8 p.m., Lynnwood Convention
Center, 3711 196th St SW.,
Lynnwood, Washington
Authority
The environmental review of the early
winter steelhead HGMPS will be
conducted in accordance with
requirements of the NEPA of 1969 as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NEPA
Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),
other appropriate Federal laws and
regulations, and policies and procedures
of NMFS for compliance with those
regulations. This notice is being
furnished in accordance with 40 CFR
1501.7 to obtain suggestions and
information from other agencies and the
public on the scope of issues and
alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.
Dated: July 8, 2015.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office
of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–17156 Filed 7–13–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RIN 0648–XE046]
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council’s (Council)
Atlantic Bluefish Advisory Panel will
hold a public meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held on July
28, 2015, from 10 a.m. until noon.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held
via webinar with a telephone-only
connection option. Details on webinar
registration and telephone-only
connection details are available at:
https://www.mafmc.org.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\14JYN1.SGM
14JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 134 (Tuesday, July 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41011-41012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17156]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE039
Notice of Intent To Conduct Public Scoping and Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for Five Early Winter Steelhead Hatchery
Programs in Puget Sound
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement;
request for comments; notice of public workshops.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this
notice announces that NMFS intends to obtain information necessary to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for five Hatchery and
Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) for early winter steelhead hatchery
programs jointly submitted by the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW), with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, the Lummi Nation,
the Nooksack Tribe, the Stillaguamish Tribes, and the Tulalip Tribes
(referred to as the co-managers) for NMFS's evaluation and
determination under Limit 6 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 4(d)
Rule for threatened salmon and steelhead. The HGMPs specify the
propagation of early-returning (``early'') winter steelhead in the
Dungeness, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Skykomish, and Snoqualmie River
watersheds in Washington State.
NMFS provides this notice to advise other agencies and the public
of its plans to analyze effects related to the action, and obtain
suggestions and information that may be useful to the scope of issues
and alternatives to include in the EIS. Two public workshops will be
held in July 2015 for this action.
DATES: Written or electronic scoping comments must be received at the
appropriate address or email mailbox (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5
p.m. Pacific Time August 13, 2015. The public workshops will be held
between July 20, 2015 and July 22, 2015 (see PUBLIC WORKSHOPS).
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent by any of the following
methods:
Email to the following address:
EWShatcheriesEIS.wcr@noaa.gov with the following identifier in the
subject line: Early Winter Steelhead Hatcheries EIS.
Mail or hand-deliver to NMFS Sustainable Fisheries
Division, 510 Desmond Drive SE., Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503.
Fax to (360) 753-9517.
Comments received will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours at the above address. All
Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, address, etc.)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Leider, NMFS, by phone at (360)
753-4650, or email to steve.leider@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice
Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss): threatened, naturally and
artificially produced in Puget Sound.
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): threatened, naturally and
artificially produced in Puget Sound.
[[Page 41012]]
Chum salmon (O. keta): threatened, naturally and artificially
produced Hood Canal summer-run.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus): threatened Puget Sound/
Washington Coast.
Background
On March 26, 2015 (80 FR 15985), NMFS announced the availability of
a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to NEPA (42 U.S.C. et
seq.), for three HGMPs for early-returning (early winter) steelhead
hatchery programs in the Dungeness, Nooksack, and Stillaguamish River
basins, submitted to NMFS by the co-managers. A 30-day public comment
period was extended to May 4, 2015 for a total comment period of 37
days (80 FR 22973, April 24, 2015). NMFS received and considered
comments on the EA and, has subsequently decided to prepare an EIS to
evaluate effects on the human environment of the three early winter
steelhead hatchery programs in the Dungeness, Nooksack, and
Stillaguamish River watersheds in Washington State. In the EIS, NMFS
will also evaluate three additional early winter steelhead HGMPs for
hatchery programs in the Skykomish and Snoqualmie Rivers in the
Snohomish River watershed in Puget Sound. All of the programs would
release early winter steelhead that are not included as part of the
ESA-listed Puget Sound Steelhead Distinct Population Segment, and that
are not native to the watersheds in which they would be released.
NEPA requires Federal agencies to conduct environmental analyses of
proposed actions to determine if the actions may affect the human
environment. NMFS's action of evaluating the co-managers' HGMPs,
pursuant to the limitation on take prohibitions for actions conducted
under Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead promulgated
under the ESA, is a major Federal action subject to environmental
review under NEPA. Therefore, NMFS is seeking public input on the scope
of the required NEPA analysis, including the range of reasonable
alternatives, recommendations for relevant analysis methods, and
information associated with impacts of the alternatives to the
resources listed below or other relevant resources.
NMFS will perform an environmental review of the HGMPs and prepare
an EIS that will identify potentially significant direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts on the following resources identified to have a
potential for effect from the proposed action:
Listed and Non-listed Species and their habitats
Water Quantity
Socioeconomics
Environmental Justice
Cumulative Impacts
NMFS will rigorously explore and objectively evaluate a full range
of reasonable alternatives in the EIS, including the proposed action
(implementation of the co-managers' HGMPs) and a no-action alternative.
Additional alternatives could include the following: (1) A decrease in
artificial production of 50 percent, and (2) a change in program type
from isolated (i.e., producing hatchery-origin fish that are intended
to be reproductively segregated and different from the natural-origin
population) to integrated (i.e., producing hatchery-origin fish that
are intended to be similar to and part of the natural-origin
population) programs that would use native steelhead for broodstock.
For all potentially significant impacts, the EIS will identify
measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts, where feasible,
to a level below significance.
Request for Comments
NMFS provides this notice to: (1) Advise other agencies and the
public of its plans to analyze effects related to the action, and (2)
obtain suggestions and information that may be useful to the scope of
issues and the full range of alternatives to include in the EIS. In
addition to considering comments received in response to this notice in
developing an EIS, relevant comments received on the 2015 draft EA for
three early winter steelhead hatchery programs (80 FR 15985, March 26,
2015), and on the 2014 draft EIS for Puget Sound salmon and steelhead
hatcheries (80 FR 15986, March 26, 2015) will also be considered in
developing the EIS.
NMFS invites comment from all interested parties to ensure that the
full range of issues related to the early winter steelhead HGMPs is
identified. Comments should be as specific as possible.
Written comments concerning the proposed action and the
environmental review should be directed to NMFS as described above (see
ADDRESSES). All comments and materials received, including names and
addresses, will become part of the administrative record and may be
released to the public.
Public Workshops
Two public workshops will be offered to assist in gathering
information on development of the EIS. Those workshops will be held as
follows; further information regarding the workshops may be found at
https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/hatcheries/salmon_and_steelhead_hatcheries.html.
Monday, July 20, 2015
6 to 8 p.m., Skagit Public Utilities District, Aqua Room, 1415 Freeway
Drive, Mt Vernon, Washington
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
6 to 8 p.m., Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th St SW., Lynnwood,
Washington
Authority
The environmental review of the early winter steelhead HGMPS will
be conducted in accordance with requirements of the NEPA of 1969 as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NEPA Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, and policies and
procedures of NMFS for compliance with those regulations. This notice
is being furnished in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 to obtain
suggestions and information from other agencies and the public on the
scope of issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.
Dated: July 8, 2015.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-17156 Filed 7-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
