Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2004 / Notices 62719

million over a period of 10 years. An 

additional 5-year period was established 

to possibly make additional claims. 

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee 

Council was established to manage the 

funds obtained from the civil settlement 

of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The 

Trustee Council is composed of three 

State of Alaska trustees (Attorney 

General; Commissioner, Department of 

Environmental Conservation; and 

Commissioner, Department of Fish and 

Game) and three Federal representatives 

appointed by the Federal Trustees 

(Secretary, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture; the Administrator of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; and the Secretary, U.S. 

Department of the Interior). 

The Public Advisory Committee was 

created pursuant to Paragraph V.A.4 of 

the Memorandum of Agreement and 

Consent Decree entered into by the 

United States of America and the State 

of Alaska on August 27, 1991 and 

approved by the United States District 

Court for the District of Alaska in 

settlement of United States of America

v. State of Alaska, Civil Action No. 

A91–081 CV. The Public Advisory 

Committee was originally chartered as 

the Public Advisory Group by the 

Secretary of the Interior on October 23, 

1992, and functions solely as an 

advisory body, and in compliance with 

the provisions of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 

App.). 

The Public Advisory Committee was 

established to advise the Trustee 

Council, and began functioning in 

October 1992. The Public Advisory 

Committee consists of 20 members 

representing the following principal 

interests: sport hunting and fishing, 

conservation and environmental, 

public-at-large, recreation users, 

commercial tourism, local government, 

science/technical, subsistence, 

commercial fishing, aquaculture and 

mariculture, marine transportation, 

regional monitoring programs, tribal 

government, and Native landowners. 

Members are appointed to serve a 2-year 

term. 

To carry out its advisory role, the 

Public Advisory Committee makes 

recommendations to, and advises, the 

Trustee Council in Alaska on the 

following matters: 

All decisions related to injury 

assessment, restoration activities, or 

other use of natural resource damage 

recovery monies obtained by the 

governments, including all decisions 

regarding: 

a. Planning, evaluation and allocation 

of available funds; 

b. Planning, evaluation and conduct 

of injury assessment and restoration 

activities; 

c. Planning, evaluation and conduct 

of long-term monitoring and research 

activities; and 

d. Coordination of a, b, and c. 

Trustee Council intentions regarding 

the importance of obtaining a diversity 

of viewpoints is stated in the Public 

Advisory Committee Background and 

Guidelines: ‘‘The Trustee Council 

intends that the Public Advisory 

Committee be established as an 

important component of the Council’s 

public involvement process.’’ The 

Council continues, stating their desire 

that ‘‘* * * a wide spectrum of views 

and interest are available for the Council 

to consider as it evaluates, develops, 

and implements restoration activities. It 

is the Council’s intent that the diversity 

of interests and views held by the Public 

Advisory Committee members 

contribute to wide ranging discussions 

that will be of benefit to the Trustee 

Council.’’

In order to ensure that a broad range 

of public viewpoints continues to be 

available to the Trustee Council, and in 

keeping with the settlement agreement, 

the continuation of the Public Advisory 

Committee for another two-year period 

is recommended. 

Certification 

I hereby certify that the renewal of the 

Charter of the Public Advisory 

Committee, an advisory committee to 

make recommendations to and advise 

the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee 

Council mandated by the settlement of 

United States of America v. State of 

Alaska, No. A91–081 CV, and is in 

accordance with the comprehensive 

Environmental Response, Compensation 

and Liability Act of 1980, as amended 

and supplemented.

Dated: October 12, 2004. 

Gale A. Norton, 

Secretary of the Interior.

[FR Doc. 04–23990 Filed 10–26–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–RG–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Information Collection Renewal 

Submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act; OMB 

Control Number 1018–0066; Marine 

Mammal Marking, Tagging, and 

Reporting Certificates, 50 CFR 18.23(f)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice, request for comments.

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service, have submitted the collection 

of information described below to OMB 

for approval under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To 

obtain copies of specific information 

collection requirements, related forms, 

and explanatory materials, contact our 

Information Collection Clearance Officer 

at the address or phone number listed 

below.

DATES: You must submit comments on 

or before November 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and 

suggestions on this information 

collection renewal to the Desk Officer 

for the Department of the Interior at 

OMB–OIRA at (202) 395–6566 (fax) or 

OIRA–DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov (e-mail). 

Please provide a copy of your comments 

to Hope Grey, Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS 222–ARLSQ, 4401 N. 

Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 

(mail); (703) 358–2269 (fax); or 

hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request a copy of the information 

collection request, related forms, or 

explanatory information, contact Hope 

Grey by phone at (703) 358–2482 or by 

e-mail at hope_grey@fws.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have 

submitted a request to OMB to renew 

approval of information collection 

requirements for forms R7–50, R7–51, 

and R7–52 (Marine Mammal Marking, 

Tagging, and Reporting Certificates). 

Currently, we have approval from OMB 

to collect information under OMB 

control number 1018–0066. This 

approval expires on October 31, 2004. 

We may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

person is not required to respond to, a 

collection of information unless we 

display a currently valid OMB control 

number. OMB regulations at 5 CFR 

1320, which implement provisions of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that 

interested members of the public and 

affected agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). Following our submittal, 

OMB has up to 60 days to approve or 

disapprove our information collection 

request; however, their response may be 

given as early as 30 days after our 

submittal. Therefore, to ensure your 

comments receive consideration, send 

your comments and suggestions to OMB 

by the date listed in the DATES section 

near the beginning of this notice. 

On April 30, 2004, we published in 

the Federal Register (69 FR 23802) a 60-

62720 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2004 / Notices 

day notice of our intent to request 

renewal of information collection 

authority from OMB. In that notice, we 

solicited public comments for 60 days 

ending on June 29, 2004. We received 

two comments, both from the same 

individual, regarding this Federal 

Register notice. The comments 

expressed opposition to the collection of 

the information as described in the 

notice. Comments were based on the 

premise that the terminology is 

misleading and that the information 

provided to the Service is inaccurate. 

We note the concerns raised by this 

individual; however, we believe this 

collection of the information provides 

an important means to measure the legal 

subsistence harvest of polar bear, sea 

otter, and walrus and to improve the 

quality and quantity of harvest and 

biological data used in management 

decisions. In addition, we believe the 

information provided by the 

participants is accurate. 

In October 1988, pursuant to 

provisions of section 109(i) of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 

1361–1407), we implemented formal 

marking, tagging, and reporting 

regulations at 50 CFR 18.23(f) for Alaska 

Natives harvesting polar bear, northern 

sea otter, and Pacific walrus in Alaska. 

Under section 101(b) of the MMPA, 

Alaska Natives residing in Alaska and 

dwelling on the coast of the North 

Pacific or Arctic Ocean may harvest 

these species for subsistence or 

handicraft purposes. Section 109(i) of 

the MMPA authorized us, acting on 

behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to 

prescribe marking, tagging, and 

reporting regulations applicable to this 

Native subsistence and handicraft take.

Our regulations have enabled us to 

gather data on the Native subsistence 

and handicraft harvest and on the 

biology of polar bear, sea otter, and 

Pacific walrus in Alaska necessary to 

determine what effect such take is 

having on these populations. The 

regulations have also provided us with 

a means of monitoring the disposition of 

the harvest to ensure that any 

commercial use of products created 

from these species meets the criteria set 

forth in section 101(b) of the MMPA. 

The information that we propose to 

continue to collect from Alaska Natives 

will be used to improve our 

decisionmaking ability by substantially 

expanding the quality and quantity of 

harvest and biological data upon which 

we can base future management 

decisions. It will provide us with the 

ability to make inferences about the 

condition and general health of these 

populations. Without authority to 

collect this harvest information, our 

ability to measure the take of polar bear, 

sea otter, and walrus is inadequate. We 

believe that mandatory marking, 

tagging, and reporting is essential for us, 

in concert with Alaska Natives, to be 

able to improve the quality and quantity 

of harvest and biological data necessary 

to base future management decisions. It 

allows us to make rational, 

knowledgeable decisions regarding the 

Native harvest. 

We estimate that the annual burden 

associated with this request will be 639 

hours for each year of the 3-year period 

of OMB authorization. We calculated 

this estimated burden based on previous 

experience suggesting that Alaska 

Natives annually take about 2,556 polar 

bears, sea otter, and Pacific walrus for 

subsistence and handicraft purposes, 

and that 15 minutes will be needed to 

provide the required information for 

each animal taken. 

Title: Marine Mammal Marking, 

Tagging, and Reporting Certificates, 50 

CFR 18.23(f). 

OMB Control Number: 1018–0066. 

Form numbers: R7–50, R7–51, and 

R7–52. 

Frequency of collection: Occasional. 

Description of respondents:

Individuals and households. 

Total annual responses: 2,556. 

Total annual burden hours: 639 

hours. 

As with our 60-day notice, this notice 

invites your comments on: (1) Whether 

or not this collection of information is 

necessary for us to properly perform our 

functions, including whether or not this 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of our estimate of 

burden, including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions we use; 

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information we are 

proposing to collect; and (4) ways for us 

to minimize the burden of the collection 

of information on people who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology.

Dated: October 5, 2004. 

Hope Grey, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 04–23988 Filed 10–26–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force 

Meeting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance 

Species (ANS) Task Force. The meeting 

topics are identified in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

DATES: The Aquatic Nuisance Species 

Task Force will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 

5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 

and 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, 

November 17, 2004. Minutes of the 

meeting will be available for public 

inspection during regular business 

hours, Monday through Friday.

ADDRESSES: The Aquatic Nuisance 

Species Task Force meeting will be held 

at the Marriott Crystal Gateway, 1700 

Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 

22202. Phone (703) 920–3230. Minutes 

of the meeting will be maintained in the 

office of Chief, Division of 

Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Suite 322, 4401 North 

Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 

22203–1622.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Everett Wilson, Acting Executive 

Secretary, Aquatic Nuisance Species 

Task Force, at (703) 358–2148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 

I), this notice announces meetings of the 

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. 

The Task Force was established by the 

Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

Prevention and Control Act of 1990. 

Topics to be covered during the ANS 

Task Force meeting include: a 

discussion of the implementation of the 

ANSTF Strategic Plan; ANSTF 

Committee and Regional Panel reports; 

a presentation on the draft National 

Management Plan for the genus 

Caulerpa; and a presentation of a new 

public awareness campaign.

Dated: October 15, 2004. 

Mamie A. Parker, 

Co-Chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

Force, Assistant Director—Fisheries & Habitat 

Conservation.

[FR Doc. 04–23989 Filed 10–26–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–55–P