Finding of No Significant Impact and Final Environmental Assessment for the Funding, Procurement, and Operation of NOAA Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, 45148-45149 [2023-14951]
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45148
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 134 / Friday, July 14, 2023 / Notices
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In the past, new research priorities
were developed and reviewed by the
Council’s four stock assessment plan
teams, the Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC), and ultimately the
Council, with public input provided at
those plan team, SSC, and Council
meetings. Going forward, the Council
would like receive input and
suggestions from the public early in the
process of developing new research
priorities and is now soliciting input
from the public through this request for
information (RFI).
Opportunities for the public to
suggest research priorities will occur
through October 31, 2023, using either
the online submission form or the
‘‘Comment Now’’ option available on
the Council’s eAgenda meeting portal at
‘‘Request for Information: Research
Priorities Triennial Review.’’ Initial
reviews of the submissions will begin in
early November 2023 and are expected
to continue through early 2024. The
document, ‘‘Proposed Process for
Development of NPFMC Research
Priorities,’’ https://meetings.npfmc.org/
CommentReview/
DownloadFile?p=fb8df4b1-60d4-47e8afbf-cf20690b1d93.pdf
&fileName=Research%20
Priorities%20Process.pdf, includes
additional information regarding the
process for research priority
development.
The most recent Council research
priorities from the April 2021 Research
Priorities Triennial Review can be found
here: https://tinyurl.com/April-2021Research-Priorities.
Council research priority terms and
category definitions (critical ongoing
monitoring, urgent, important, or
strategic) can be found here: https://
tinyurl.com/terms-and-categorydefinitions.
Request for Information
The scope of public comments is not
limited, but questions that may be
considered include:
1. Description of suggested research
priority for the Council to consider;
2. Description of the fisheries
management concern addressed by the
suggested research priority;
3. Category of the suggested research
priority: critical ongoing monitoring,
urgent, important, or strategic;
4. General subject area of suggested
research priority: Bering Sea groundfish;
Gulf of Alaska groundfish; crab; scallop;
halibut; ecosystem related; habitat; local
knowledge, traditional knowledge,
subsistence; marine birds; marine
mammals; bycatch; electronic
monitoring; management or policy; or
other;
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5. Geographical (ecosystem) area that
best fits suggested research priority:
Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, Gulf of
Alaska, or Arctic; and,
6. Approximate timeline of the
suggested research priority.
All new research priority
recommendations must be submitted by
October 31, 2023, to be considered
during this upcoming triennial review.
In addition to submitting research
priority ideas as part of this request for
information, the public will have the
opportunity to provide comments to
subject area Plan Teams and a subgroup
of the Council’s SSC. These advisory
bodies will meet, tentatively between
November 2023 and January 2024, to
provide the SSC input on prioritizing
specific research needs. Additional
opportunities to provide comment on
prioritization will occur at the February
2024 SSC meeting and at the April 2024
SSC and Council meetings; however, no
new research priority submissions will
be accepted during the Plan Team, SSC,
and Council meetings. During the April
2024 SSC meeting, a priority list
combined across subject areas,
consisting of 8 to 12 research priorities,
will be developed to present to the
Council for the Council’s consideration.
Once the review is final, the Council
will submit its research priorities to the
Secretary of Commerce (NOAA) and the
AFSC for their consideration in
developing research priorities and
budgets for the Alaska Region (16 U.S.C.
1852(h)(7)(C)).
Public Comment
Responses to this request are
voluntary. Respondents need not reply
to all questions. All responses are part
of the public record and will be posted
on a public website. Therefore,
confidential business information,
copyrighted information, or personally
identifiable information (e.g., name,
address) should not be submitted in
response to this request. NOAA and the
Council will not pay for any information
or administrative costs that you may
incur in responding to this RFI, or for
the use of any information contained in
the response. The documents and
information submitted in response to
this RFI become the property of the U.S.
Government and will not be returned.
Dated: July 10, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–14924 Filed 7–13–23; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Finding of No Significant Impact and
Final Environmental Assessment for
the Funding, Procurement, and
Operation of NOAA Small Uncrewed
Aircraft Systems
Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research (OAR), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of
Commerce (DOC).
ACTION: Notice of issuance and
availability.
AGENCY:
NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems
Research Transition Office (UxSRTO) in
OAR announces the issuance and
availability of a finding of no significant
impact (FONSI) and a Final
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the
Funding, Procurement, and Operation of
NOAA Small Uncrewed Aircraft
Systems (UAS). The environmental
review process led us to conclude that
the proposed action will not have a
significant effect on the human
environment. Therefore, an
environmental impact statement will
not be prepared.
ADDRESSES: The Final EA and FONSI
are available online at https://
orta.research.noaa.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2023/06/PEA-for-NOAA-SmallUAS-and-FONSI-Signed-May-2023.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bryan Cole, Director, NOAA Uncrewed
Systems Research Transition Office
Email: bryan.cole@noaa.gov or (831)
601–2107.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A draft of
the EA was published in the Federal
Register (88 FR 9872) for a 30-day
comment period, from February 15,
2023 to March 17, 2023. No comments
were received. The proposed action
analyzed in the EA is the funding,
procurement, and operation of small
UAS platforms in any environment for
which NOAA has a mission and
potential need for UAS resources to
help meet related mission objectives.
For purposes of the assessment, the
use of the term ‘‘small UAS’’ follows
suit with the Federal Aviation
Administration’s (FAA) definition of
‘‘small unmanned aircraft’’ (14 CFR
107.3), which weigh ‘‘less than 55
pounds on takeoff, including everything
that is on board or otherwise attached to
the aircraft’’. The geographic scope of
the action area includes the airspace
ranging from just above the surface (for
launch and recovery), extending upward
to an operational altitude of
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 134 / Friday, July 14, 2023 / Notices
approximately 400 ft above ground level
(AGL) for a majority of applications, but
may also include operational altitudes
up to as high as 100,000 ft mean sea
level (MSL) for a few others.
The analysis in the EA is at a
programmatic level, and it evaluates the
potential environmental consequences
from a broad perspective (i.e., multiple
types of small UAS platforms used to
supplement, enhance, or replace a
variety of existing methods of data
collection). The EA specifies procedures
for confirming that the impacts of sitespecific actions considered pursuant to
the proposed action are consistent with
predictions for the proposed action.
In all applicable scenarios reviewed,
the proposed action would yield no
more than negligible impacts to any
specific resource, and would not result
in significant impacts overall.
The EA and FONSI were prepared in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and Council on Environmental
Quality implementing regulations (40
CFR parts 1500–1508), as well as
NOAA’s procedures for compliance
with NEPA as specified in the
Companion Manual to NOAA
Administrative Order 216–6A.
David Holst,
Chief Financial Officer/Administrative
Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023–14951 Filed 7–13–23; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XD031]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to City of Cordova
Harbor Rebuild Project, Cordova,
Alaska
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental
harassment authorizations; request for
comments on proposed authorizations
and possible renewal.
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AGENCY:
NMFS has received a request
from the City of Cordova (Cordova) for
authorization to take marine mammals
incidental to the pile driving and
removal activities over two years
associated with the Cordova Harbor
SUMMARY:
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rebuild project in Cordova, Alaska.
Pursuant to the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is
requesting comments on its proposal to
issue two incidental harassment
authorizations (IHAs) to incidentally
take marine mammals during the
specified activities. NMFS is also
requesting comments on possible onetime, one-year renewals for each IHA
that could be issued under certain
circumstances and if all requirements
are met, as described in Request for
Public Comments at the end of this
notice. NMFS will consider public
comments prior to making any final
decision on the issuance of the
requested MMPA authorizations and
agency responses will be summarized in
the final notice of our decision.
DATES: Comments and information must
be received no later than August 14,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief,
Permits and Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, National
Marine Fisheries Service and should be
submitted via email to
ITP.wachtendonk@noaa.gov. Electronic
copies of the application and supporting
documents, as well as a list of the
references cited in this document, may
be obtained online at:
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities. In case of problems accessing
these documents, please call the contact
listed above.
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible
for comments sent by any other method,
to any other address or individual, or
received after the end of the comment
period. Comments, including all
attachments, must not exceed a 25megabyte file size. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted online at
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities without change. All personal
identifying information (e.g., name,
address) 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:
Rachel Wachtendonk, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–
8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of
marine mammals, with certain
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45149
exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and
(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce
(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon
request, the incidental, but not
intentional, taking of small numbers of
marine mammals by U.S. citizens who
engage in a specified activity (other than
commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region if certain findings
are made and either regulations are
proposed or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a notice of a proposed IHA
is provided to the public for review.
Authorization for incidental takings
shall be granted if NMFS finds that the
taking will have a negligible impact on
the species or stock(s) and will not have
an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for
taking for subsistence uses (where
relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe
the permissible methods of taking and
other ‘‘means of effecting the least
practicable adverse impact’’ on the
affected species or stocks and their
habitat, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of
similar significance, and on the
availability of the species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses
(referred to in shorthand as
‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring
and reporting of the takings are set forth.
The definitions of all applicable MMPA
statutory terms cited above are included
in the relevant sections below.
National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
NOAA Administrative Order (NAO)
216–6A, NMFS must review our
proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an
IHA) with respect to potential impacts
on the human environment.
This action is consistent with
categories of activities identified in
Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHAs with no
anticipated serious injury or mortality)
of the Companion Manual for NOAA
Administrative Order 216–6A, which do
not individually or cumulatively have
the potential for significant impacts on
the quality of the human environment
and for which we have not identified
any extraordinary circumstances that
would preclude this categorical
exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has
preliminarily determined that the
issuance of the proposed IHA qualifies
to be categorically excluded from
further NEPA review.
We will review all comments
submitted in response to this notice
prior to concluding our NEPA process
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 134 (Friday, July 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45148-45149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14951]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Finding of No Significant Impact and Final Environmental
Assessment for the Funding, Procurement, and Operation of NOAA Small
Uncrewed Aircraft Systems
AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce
(DOC).
ACTION: Notice of issuance and availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NOAA's Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (UxSRTO) in
OAR announces the issuance and availability of a finding of no
significant impact (FONSI) and a Final Environmental Assessment (EA)
for the Funding, Procurement, and Operation of NOAA Small Uncrewed
Aircraft Systems (UAS). The environmental review process led us to
conclude that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on
the human environment. Therefore, an environmental impact statement
will not be prepared.
ADDRESSES: The Final EA and FONSI are available online at https://orta.research.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/PEA-for-NOAA-Small-UAS-and-FONSI-Signed-May-2023.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Cole, Director, NOAA Uncrewed
Systems Research Transition Office Email: [email protected] or (831)
601-2107.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A draft of the EA was published in the
Federal Register (88 FR 9872) for a 30-day comment period, from
February 15, 2023 to March 17, 2023. No comments were received. The
proposed action analyzed in the EA is the funding, procurement, and
operation of small UAS platforms in any environment for which NOAA has
a mission and potential need for UAS resources to help meet related
mission objectives.
For purposes of the assessment, the use of the term ``small UAS''
follows suit with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA)
definition of ``small unmanned aircraft'' (14 CFR 107.3), which weigh
``less than 55 pounds on takeoff, including everything that is on board
or otherwise attached to the aircraft''. The geographic scope of the
action area includes the airspace ranging from just above the surface
(for launch and recovery), extending upward to an operational altitude
of
[[Page 45149]]
approximately 400 ft above ground level (AGL) for a majority of
applications, but may also include operational altitudes up to as high
as 100,000 ft mean sea level (MSL) for a few others.
The analysis in the EA is at a programmatic level, and it evaluates
the potential environmental consequences from a broad perspective
(i.e., multiple types of small UAS platforms used to supplement,
enhance, or replace a variety of existing methods of data collection).
The EA specifies procedures for confirming that the impacts of site-
specific actions considered pursuant to the proposed action are
consistent with predictions for the proposed action.
In all applicable scenarios reviewed, the proposed action would
yield no more than negligible impacts to any specific resource, and
would not result in significant impacts overall.
The EA and FONSI were prepared in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and Council on Environmental Quality implementing regulations (40
CFR parts 1500-1508), as well as NOAA's procedures for compliance with
NEPA as specified in the Companion Manual to NOAA Administrative Order
216-6A.
David Holst,
Chief Financial Officer/Administrative Officer, Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-14951 Filed 7-13-23; 8:45 am]
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