National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration January 7, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to the Northeast Gateway[supreg] Energy BridgeTM, L.P. (Northeast Gateway or NEG) and Algonquin Gas Transmission, L.L.C. (Algonquin) to take, by harassment, small numbers of 14 species of marine mammals incidental to operating, maintaining, and repairing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) port and the Algonquin Pipeline Lateral (Pipeline Lateral) facilities by NEG and Algonquin, in Massachusetts Bay, from December 23, 2015, through December 22, 2016.

The National Ocean Service (NOS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes this notice to announce town hall-style webinars to promote discussion between federal representatives and stakeholders on topics related to harmful algal blooms (HABs) and hypoxia occurring in the Great Lakes region. These webinars are being conducted in accordance with the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2014 (HABHRCA), which directs federal agencies to advance the understanding of HAB and hypoxia events, and to respond to, detect, predict, control, and mitigate these events to the greatest extent possible. Through these webinars, the Interagency Working Group on HABHRCA (IWG-HABHRCA) seeks to engage a wide range of stakeholders in the Great lakes region, including scientists, resource managers, agricultural producers, commercial and recreational fishermen, other industry interests, international and non-profit organizations, and the interested public.