National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would permanently remove the 7-day delay in effectiveness when closing the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery as a result of reaching interaction limits for sea turtles. This action would allow immediate closure of the fishery, and would enhance protection of sea turtles.

Notice is hereby given that Harold M. Brundage, Environmental Research and Consulting Inc., PMB 781, 873 East Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348, has requested a modification to scientific research Permit No. 1486.

Notice is hereby given that Michael Hastings, University of Maine, 5717 Corbett Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS or sanctuary) is seeking applicants for the following vacant seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council (council): At-Large (two seats), Agriculture, Business/Industry, Commercial Fishing, Recreational Fishing, Recreation, Research, and Conservation. Applicants are chosen based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by the sanctuary. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve 3-year terms, pursuant to the council's Charter.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold a working meeting, which is open to the public.

Notice is hereby given that the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (Dr. Richard Merrick, Principal Investigator), 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct scientific research on and import/export specimens collected from marine mammals.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Controlled Access Committee in Charleston, SC.

NMFS has received requests from ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) and from Union Oil Company of California (UOCC) for authorizations to take small numbers of five marine mammal species incidental to seismic operations in portions of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue authorizations to CPAI and UOCC to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these species between approximately mid-March and mid-June, 2007.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Recreational Advisory Panel (Panel) in January, 2007 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

Notice is hereby given that a document entitled ``Final Regional Restoration Plan for Region 2'' is available to the public. This document has been prepared by the state and federal natural resource trustee agencies (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI); Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO); and Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality (LDEQ); Natural Resources (LDNR); and Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF)) to address natural resource injuries resulting from discharges of oil in Region 2 of the State of Louisiana. The Final Regional Restoration Plan for Region 2 is the first of nine regional plans being prepared under the statewide Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program developed by NOAA, DOI, and the State of Louisiana. For Further Information Contact: Requests for copies of the ``Final Regional Restoration Plan for Region 2'' or for further information, request or contact Tony Penn, Southeast Branch Chief, NOAA/Assessment and Restoration Division, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC 4, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone number 301-713-3038 x197; fax number 301-713-4387; e-mail address: Tony.Penn@noaa.gov. Or contact Charles Armbruster, RRP Program Manager, Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, 150 Third Street, Suite 405, Baton Rouge, LA 70801; phone number 225-219-5800; fax number 225-219-5802; e-mail address: Charles.Armbruster@losco.state.la.us. When submitting a request, please indicate whether you would like the document on compact disk, a hardcopy, or the Internet address to download an electronic copy. Supplementary Information: Louisiana's economy is based, in part, on the state's vast natural resources. Both renewable (hunting, fishing, forest products) and nonrenewable (cultural, oil, natural gas) resources are important, and the industries associated with each have coexisted for years. Although Louisiana's oil and gas industry tries to avoid adverse impacts on renewable natural resources, injuries do occur as a result of oil spill incidents. The impact of these incidents on fish, wildlife, and the environment can be significant and adversely affect the industries and communities depending on natural resources for commerce and recreation. Federal and Louisiana natural resource trustees have developed a statewide Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program (RRP Program) to assist them in carrying out their Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) responsibilities for discharges or substantial threats of discharges of oil. Goals of the statewide Louisiana RRP Program are to: (1) Expedite and reduce the cost of the NRDA process; (2) Provide for consistency and predictability by describing in detail the NRDA process, thereby increasing understanding of the process by the public and industry; and (3) Increase restoration of lost trust resources and services injured by oil spills. The Louisiana RRP Program identifies the statewide program structure, decision-making process, and criteria that are used to select the restoration project(s) that may be implemented to restore the trust resources and services injured by an oil spill. The Louisiana RRP Program divides the state into nine regions. For each region, a Regional Restoration Plan (RRP) will be developed that identifies: the affected environment and resources; potentially injured trust resources and services; appropriate restoration types for each of the potentially injured resources and services; and available restoration projects that have been identified to date. The Final RRP for Region 2 covers an area of southeast Louisiana, including all or part of the following parishes: Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist. The natural resource trustees (NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR, LDWF) are designated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 2706(c), Executive Order 12777, and the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600 and 300.605. Pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 30:2460, the State of Louisiana Oil Spill Contingency Plan (September 1995) describes the state trust resources to include the following: Vegetated wetlands, surface waters, ground waters, air, soil, wildlife, aquatic life, and the appropriate habitats on which they depend. DOI has been designated as trustee for the natural resources that it manages or controls. Examples of those resources are described in the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600(b)(2) and (3), and include the following and their supporting ecosystems: migratory birds, anadromous fish, endangered species and marine mammals, federally owned minerals, certain federally managed water resources, and natural resources located on, over, or under land administered by DOI. NOAA's trust resources include, but are not limited to: commercial and recreational fish species, anadromous and catadromous fish species, marshes and other coastal habitats, marine mammals, and endangered and threatened marine species. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.56, the natural resource trustees are authorized to develop regional restoration plans as part of the Oil Pollution Act's mandate for the trustees to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of natural resources and services injured by oil spill incidents and to compensate for interim losses of such resources and services. The Administrative Record (AR) for the statewide RRP Program and RRP for Region 2 is being maintained at: (1) NOAA Assessment and Restoration Division, SSMC 4, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3281; (2) Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Suite 405, 150 Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801; and (3) https://www.losco.state.la.us/admin/RRP/RRPprogramview.asp. The AR includes documents that the trustees relied upon during the development of the Final RRP for Region 2. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.23 & 990.56, the trustees sought public involvement in developing the Final RRP for Region 2, through public review and comment of the documents contained in the AR, as well as through publication of the ``Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS)''.

This action reinstates a temporary final rule published on October 18, 2005. The regulations contained in the temporary rule, emergency action, published on October 18, 2005, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that were subsequently extended on December 28, 2005, and again on June 30, 2006, expire on December 31, 2006. This temporary rule extends the closure through June 30, 2007. The FDA has determined that current oceanographic conditions and alga sampling data suggests that the northern section of the Temporary Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) Closure Area remain closed to the harvest of bivalve molluscan shellfish and that the southern area remain closed to the harvest of whole or roe-on scallops. NMFS is publishing the regulatory text associated with this closure in this temporary emergency rule in order to ensure that current regulations accurately reflect the codified text that has been modified and extended numerous times so that the public is aware of the regulations being extended through June 30, 2007.

NMFS published a proposed rule on November 28, 2006, to amend regulations governing the U.S. Atlantic swordfish fishery that would provide a reasonable opportunity for U.S. vessels to more fully harvest the domestic U.S. North Atlantic swordfish quota. This notice announces the dates, locations, and times of seven public hearings to obtain public comment on the proposed rule. Comments received at these hearings will assist NMFS in selecting management measures to more fully utilize the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)-recommended U.S. North Atlantic swordfish quota in recognition of the improved stock status of North Atlantic swordfish. These public hearings will be combined with scoping meetings on potential shark management measures that require an amendment to the Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (HMS FMP). Notice of the shark scoping meetings is published today in a separate Federal Register document.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), Portland District for an authorization to take small numbers of Steller sea lions, California sea lions, and Pacific harbor seals, incidental to repair work on the South Jetty at the Mouth of the Columbia River (MCR) in Clatsop County, Oregon. As a result of this request, NMFS is proposing to issue a 1-year incidental take authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals by Level B harassment incidental to this activity. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on ACOE's application and NMFS' proposal to issue an authorization to ACOE to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these species of marine mammals for a period of 1 year.