Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition, Extension of Public Comment Period, 47299-47300 [2021-18207]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 robot workcell end-users to detect degradation of process accuracy prior to it impacting product quality or operational productivity. There are numerous potential benefits to the participating MEP Center teams including: a. Acquisition of a research license of NIST’s PVS technology to practice the invention to explore its commercial feasibility b. Feedback on the deployment, integration, usage, and maintenance (as necessary) of the sensor within relevant operational environments to determine if/where/how to make the technology more viable for commercialization c. Identification of the use cases and scenarios that the sensor and test method can be reasonably deployed d. Acquire advanced knowledge of potential degradations to process accuracy prior to degradations negatively impacting product quality or operational productivity e. If the sensor became commercially available, this could lead to the development of services using the sensor to improve the operations and efficiency of small and medium manufacturers. Participation Process Eligibility will be determined by NIST based on the information provided by prospective participants in response to this notice on a first-come, first-serve basis. In accordance with the Consortium objectives, collaborators must be MEP Centers. Collaborator project teams must be entirely composed of MEP Centers or, if a project team includes non-MEP Center team members, the project team must be led by an MEP Center Collaborator. All participants will be required to sign the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for this Consortium, and each participant will be bound to the same terms and conditions in consideration of participation in the Consortium. Participants will not be required to contribute any funds or pay any fee. NIST will evaluate the submitted responses from prospective participants to determine eligibility to participate in this Consortium. Prospective participants should provide a Letter of Interest with the following information to NIST’s Consortium Manager: (1) A description of the MEP Center team’s technical experience in integrating robot workcells and/or sensor technology into manufacturing facilities. (2) A description of the manufacturing use cases and deployments of robotic workcells that the MEP Center team VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:43 Aug 23, 2021 Jkt 253001 would target for NIST test method and PVS deployment. (3) A description of services, if any, that the MEP Center team has provided in the domains of robotic manufacturing, predictive maintenance, or sensors. (4) List of interested MEP Center’s anticipated team members. Letter of interest must not include business proprietary information. NIST will not treat any information provided in response to this Notice as proprietary information. NIST will notify each organization of its eligibility. NIST does not guarantee participation in the Consortium to any organization submitting a Letter of interest. Alicia Chambers, NIST Executive Secretariat. [FR Doc. 2021–18129 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–13–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition, Extension of Public Comment Period National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC). ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period. AGENCY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS) is extending the public comment period by 90 days for the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition. The end of the public comment period is extended from August 24, 2021 to November 22, 2021. DATES: The public comment period is extended by 90 days to November 22, 2021. Comments must be received by November 22, 2021, as specified under ADDRESSES. Comments received after this date may not be accepted. ADDRESSES: The Draft PEIS can be viewed or downloaded from the NOS website at https:// oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/ environmental-compliance/surveyingmapping.html. Written comments on NOS’s Draft PEIS may be submitted by one of the following methods: • Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 47299 Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA–NOS–2021–0055 in the Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. • Mail: Please direct written comments to DOC/NOAA/NOS Environmental Compliance Coordinator, SSMC4-Station 13612, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. • Email: nosaa.ec@noaa.gov. • Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NOAA will accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ A’’ in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Giannina DiMaio, DOC/NOAA/NOS, Environmental Compliance Coordinator, SSMC4-Station 13612, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Phone: 240–533–0918; or Email nosaa.ec@noaa.gov. On June 25, 2021, NOS published a Notice of Availability of a Draft PEIS for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition. 86 FR 33663 (June 25, 2021). The Draft PEIS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with NOS’s recurring data collection projects to characterize submerged features (e.g., habitat, bathymetry, marine debris). The ‘‘action area’’ for these projects encompasses United States (U.S.) rivers, states’ offshore waters, the U.S. territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ), and coastal and riparian lands. As a part of the Proposed Action, NOS may use active acoustic equipment such as sub-bottom profilers, single beam and multibeam echo sounders, side-scan sonars, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. The Draft PEIS analyzes NOS data collection projects for a time period of six years. Please refer to the original Notice of Availability for additional summary information. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\24AUN1.SGM 24AUN1 47300 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 The original public comment period for the Draft PEIS was scheduled to close on August 24, 2021. In response to written and verbal requests from members of the public including representatives of the Alaska whaling community, NOS is extending the public comment period by 90 days to November 22, 2021. The comment period extension will ensure adequate time for review of the Draft PEIS by all interested parties and will accommodate the Alaskan subsistence hunting and fishing community which is particularly busy during the start of the fall whaling season from August to October. NOS recognizes that Alaskan communities have valuable regional expertise in oceanography, marine mammals and other resources, and the subsistence patterns and needs of their community. NOS invites affected government agencies, non-governmental organizations, tribes and tribal organizations, and interested members of the public to participate in the Draft PEIS process and provide comments on the structure, contents, and analysis in the Draft PEIS. Please visit the project web page for additional information regarding the program: https:// oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/ environmental-compliance/surveyingmapping.html. Authority: The preparation of the Draft PEIS was conducted in accordance with the requirements of NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality’s Regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq. (1978)), other applicable regulations, and NOAA’s policies and procedures for compliance with those regulations. While the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA were revised as of November 14, 2020 (85 FR 43304, Jul. 16, 2020), NOS prepared this Draft PEIS using the 1978 CEQ regulations because this environmental review began on December 19, 2016, when NOS published a Notice of Intent to conduct scoping and prepare a Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment. Written comments must be received on or before November 22, 2021. Nicole R. LeBoeuf, Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [FR Doc. 2021–18207 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:43 Aug 23, 2021 Jkt 253001 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Notice of Indirect Cost Rates Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). ACTION: Notice of indirect cost rates for the Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program for Fiscal Year 2019. AGENCY: Notice is hereby given to announce new indirect cost rates on the recovery of indirect costs for its component organizations involved in natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The indirect cost rates for this fiscal year and date of implementation are provided in this notice. More information on these rates and the Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (‘‘DARRP’’) policy can be found at the DARRP website at www.darrp.noaa.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact: LaTonya Burgess at (240) 533–0428, LaTonya.Burgess@noaa.gov SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: Background The mission of the DARRP is to restore natural resource injuries caused by releases of hazardous substances or oil under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (‘‘CERCLA’’) 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq., and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (‘‘OPA’’) 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., and to support restoration of physical injuries to National Marine Sanctuary resources under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (‘‘NMSA’’) 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq. The DARRP consists of three component organizations: The Office of Response and Restoration (‘‘ORR’’) within the National Ocean Service; the Restoration Center within the National Marine Fisheries Service; and the Office of the General Counsel Natural Resources Section (‘‘GCNRS’’). The DARRP conducts Natural Resource Damage Assessments (‘‘NRDAs’’) as a basis for recovering damages from responsible parties, and uses the funds recovered to restore injured natural resources. Consistent with federal accounting requirements, the DARRP is required to account for and report the full costs of its programs and activities. Further, the DARRP is authorized by law to recover PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 reasonable costs of damage assessment and restoration activities under CERCLA, OPA, and the NMSA. Within the constraints of these legal provisions and their regulatory applications, the DARRP has the discretion to develop indirect cost rates for its component organizations and formulate policies on the recovery of indirect cost rates subject to its requirements. The DARRP’s Indirect Cost Effort In December 1998, the DARRP hired the public accounting firm Rubino & McGeehin, Chartered (‘‘R&M’’) to: Evaluate the DARRP cost accounting system and allocation practices; recommend the appropriate indirect cost allocation methodology; and determine the indirect cost rates for the three organizations that comprise the DARRP. A Federal Register notice on R&M’s effort, their assessment of the DARRP’s cost accounting system and practice, and their determination regarding the most appropriate indirect cost methodology and rates for Fiscal Years (‘‘FYs’’) 1993 through 1999 was published on December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76611). R&M continued its assessment of DARRP’s indirect cost rate system and structure for FYs 2000 and 2001. A second federal notice specifying the DARRP indirect rates for FYs 2000 and 2001 was published on December 2, 2002 (67 FR 71537). In October 2002, DARRP hired the accounting firm of Cotton and Company LLP (‘‘Cotton’’) to review and certify DARRP costs incurred on cases for purposes of cost recovery and to develop indirect rates for FY 2002 and subsequent years. As in the prior years, Cotton concluded that the cost accounting system and allocation practices of the DARRP component organizations are consistent with federal accounting requirements. Consistent with R&M’s previous analyses, Cotton also determined that the most appropriate indirect allocation method continues to be the Direct Labor Cost Base for all three DARRP component organizations. The Direct Labor Cost Base is computed by allocating total indirect cost over the sum of direct labor dollars, plus the application of NOAA’s leave surcharge and benefits rates to direct labor. Direct labor costs for contractors from ERT, Inc. (‘‘ERT’’), Freestone Environmental Services, Inc. (‘‘Freestone’’), and Genwest Systems, Inc. (‘‘Genwest’’) were included in the direct labor base because Cotton determined that these costs have the same relationship to the indirect cost pool as NOAA direct labor costs. ERT, Freestone, and Genwest provided on- E:\FR\FM\24AUN1.SGM 24AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47299-47300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18207]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Surveying 
and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal and Marine Data 
Acquisition, Extension of Public Comment Period

AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
National Ocean Service (NOS) is extending the public comment period by 
90 days for the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(PEIS) for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. Waters for Coastal 
and Marine Data Acquisition. The end of the public comment period is 
extended from August 24, 2021 to November 22, 2021.

DATES: The public comment period is extended by 90 days to November 22, 
2021. Comments must be received by November 22, 2021, as specified 
under ADDRESSES. Comments received after this date may not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: The Draft PEIS can be viewed or downloaded from the NOS 
website at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/environmental-compliance/surveying-mapping.html. Written comments on NOS's Draft PEIS 
may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NOS-2021-0055 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
     Mail: Please direct written comments to DOC/NOAA/NOS 
Environmental Compliance Coordinator, SSMC4-Station 13612, 1305 East 
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
     Email: [email protected].
     Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any 
other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment 
period, may not be considered by NOAA. All comments received are a part 
of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NOAA will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Giannina DiMaio, DOC/NOAA/NOS, 
Environmental Compliance Coordinator, SSMC4-Station 13612, 1305 East 
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Phone: 240-533-0918; or Email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 25, 2021, NOS published a Notice of 
Availability of a Draft PEIS for Surveying and Mapping Projects in U.S. 
Waters for Coastal and Marine Data Acquisition. 86 FR 33663 (June 25, 
2021). The Draft PEIS was prepared in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), to analyze the 
potential environmental impacts associated with NOS's recurring data 
collection projects to characterize submerged features (e.g., habitat, 
bathymetry, marine debris). The ``action area'' for these projects 
encompasses United States (U.S.) rivers, states' offshore waters, the 
U.S. territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the U.S. Exclusive Economic 
Zone (U.S. EEZ), and coastal and riparian lands. As a part of the 
Proposed Action, NOS may use active acoustic equipment such as sub-
bottom profilers, single beam and multibeam echo sounders, side-scan 
sonars, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. The Draft PEIS analyzes 
NOS data collection projects for a time period of six years. Please 
refer to the original Notice of Availability for additional summary 
information.

[[Page 47300]]

    The original public comment period for the Draft PEIS was scheduled 
to close on August 24, 2021. In response to written and verbal requests 
from members of the public including representatives of the Alaska 
whaling community, NOS is extending the public comment period by 90 
days to November 22, 2021. The comment period extension will ensure 
adequate time for review of the Draft PEIS by all interested parties 
and will accommodate the Alaskan subsistence hunting and fishing 
community which is particularly busy during the start of the fall 
whaling season from August to October. NOS recognizes that Alaskan 
communities have valuable regional expertise in oceanography, marine 
mammals and other resources, and the subsistence patterns and needs of 
their community.
    NOS invites affected government agencies, non-governmental 
organizations, tribes and tribal organizations, and interested members 
of the public to participate in the Draft PEIS process and provide 
comments on the structure, contents, and analysis in the Draft PEIS. 
Please visit the project web page for additional information regarding 
the program: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/about/environmental-compliance/surveying-mapping.html.
    Authority: The preparation of the Draft PEIS was conducted in 
accordance with the requirements of NEPA, the Council on Environmental 
Quality's Regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq. (1978)), other applicable 
regulations, and NOAA's policies and procedures for compliance with 
those regulations. While the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA were 
revised as of November 14, 2020 (85 FR 43304, Jul. 16, 2020), NOS 
prepared this Draft PEIS using the 1978 CEQ regulations because this 
environmental review began on December 19, 2016, when NOS published a 
Notice of Intent to conduct scoping and prepare a Draft Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment. Written comments must be received on or 
before November 22, 2021.

Nicole R. LeBoeuf,
Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-18207 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.