Department of Commerce December 16, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the ``Services'' or ``we''), add a definition of ``habitat'' to our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This rulemaking responds to Supreme Court case law regarding the designation of critical habitat and provides transparency, clarity, and consistency for stakeholders.

NMFS has received a request from the Carnival Corporation & PLC (Carnival) for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of five species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction associated with the Port of Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project in Port of Long Beach, California. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The initial IHA was effective from November 19, 2019, through November 18, 2020. Carnival has requested re-issuance with new effective dates of December 10, 2020 through December 9, 2021. The scope of the activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is, therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.

On December 7, 2020, a NAFTA Binational Panel issued its Final Decision in the matter of Ammonium Sulphate from the United States of America (Determination on Remand). The Binational Panel remanded the Secretaria de Economia's (Economia) Determination on Remand and ordered Economia to issue a redetermination within 90 days.

Notice is hereby given that the Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce approves the revised management plan for the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. In accordance with applicable Federal regulations, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Coastal Management revised the reserve's management plan, which replaces the plan previously approved in 2009.