Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 237 / Friday, December 10, 2004 / Notices 71779

Contract Activity: GSA, Southwest Supply 

Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

Product/NSN: Gloves, Chemical Protective, 

8415–01–509–2898, 8415–01–509–2902, 

8415–01–509–2904, 8415–01–509–2905, 

8415–01–509–2916.

Product/NSN: Socks, Chemical Protective, 

8415–01–509–2875, 8415–01–509–2877, 

8415–01–509–2879, 8415–01–509–2882, 

8415–01–509–2883. 

NPA: Industrial Opportunities, Inc., Marble, 

North Carolina. 

Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center 

Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania. 

Services

Service Type/Location: Base Supply Center, 

Fort Eustis, Virginia. 

NPA: Virginia Industries for the Blind, 

Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Contracting Activity: Army Contracting 

Agency/NRCC Installation Division, Fort 

Eustis, VA. 

Service Type/Location: Food Service and 

Food Service Attendant, 131st Fighter 

Wing, Air National Guard Unit—Lambert 

Air Base, St. Louis, Missouri.

NPA: Challenge Unlimited, Inc., Alton, 

Illinois. 

Contracting Activity: Missouri Air National 

Guard, Bridgeton, Missouri. 

Service Type/Location: Housekeeping 

Services, Camp Edwards Billeting, Camp 

Edwards, Massachusetts.

NPA: Nauset, Inc., Hyannis, Massachusetts. 

Contracting Activity: Massachusetts Army 

National Guard, Camp Edwards, 

Massachusetts.

Deletion 

On March 26, 2004, the Committee for 

Purchase From People Who Are Blind 

or Severely Disabled published notice 

(69 FR 15787) of proposed deletion to 

the Procurement List. After 

consideration of the relevant matter 

presented, the Committee has 

determined that the service listed below 

is no longer suitable for procurement by 

the Federal Government under 41 U.S.C. 

46–48c and 41 CFR 51–2.4. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

I certify that the following action will 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The major factors considered for this 

certification were: 

1. The action may result in additional 

reporting, recordkeeping or other 

compliance requirements for small 

entities. 

2. The action may result in 

authorizing small entities to furnish the 

service to the Government. 

3. There are no known regulatory 

alternatives which would accomplish 

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in 

connection with the service deleted 

from the Procurement List. 

End of Certification 

Accordingly, the following service is 

deleted from the Procurement List:

Service 

Service Type/Location: Janitorial/Custodial, 

U.S. Army Reserve Center (Midland), 

Midland, Texas. 

NPA: None currently authorized. 

Contracting Activity: Department of the 

Army.

Sheryl D. Kennerly, 

Director, Information Management.

[FR Doc. 04–27156 Filed 12–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6353–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board 

[Docket 56–2004] 

Foreign-Trade Zone 259—International 

Falls, MN; Application for Subzone 

Status, Arctic Cat, Inc. (All-Terrain 

Vehicle Engines and Snowmobiles) 

Thief River Falls, MN 

An application has been submitted to 

the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the 

Board) by the Koochiching Economic 

Development Authority, grantee of FTZ 

259, requesting special-purpose subzone 

status for the all-terrain vehicle engine 

and snowmobile manufacturing 

facilities of Arctic Cat, Inc. (ACI), 

located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. 

The application was submitted pursuant 

to the provisions of the Foreign-Trade 

Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a–

81u), and the regulations of the Board 

(15 CFR part 400). It was formally filed 

on December 3, 2004. 

The proposed subzone would be 

comprised of four separate sites: Site 1

(77 acres/517,000 sq.ft., manufacturing 

plant)—601 Brooks Avenue, Thief River 

Falls (Pennington County), Minnesota; 

Site 2 (3 acres/60,000 sq. ft., 

manufacturing plant)—817 Lowell 

Drive, Thief River Falls, located 

immediately to the south of Site 1; Site 

3 (60 acres, company test track)—

Greenwood Street West between County 

Route 75 and State Route 32, located 

across Greenwood Street to the south of 

Site 2; and, Site 4 (20,000 sq.ft., 

warehouse)—‘‘Hartz Warehouse’’, 120 

Arnold Avenue South, located about 

1,000 feet to the east of Site 1. The 

facilities (1,200 employees) are used to 

manufacture all-terrain vehicles (ATV) 

and snowmobiles, assemble ATV 

engines, and to distribute U.S. and 

foreign-made ATVs, snowmobiles, 

related parts and branded accessories 

for export and the U.S. market. The 

manufacturing process at the facilities 

involves machining, painting, assembly, 

and testing. ACI proposes to assemble 

ATV engines and snowmobiles under 

FTZ procedures. The facilities can 

produce between 30,000 to 65,000 

snowmobiles and 20,000 to 55,000 ATV 

engines annually, which are assembled 

from domestic and foreign-origin 

components. Components purchased 

from abroad (representing 

approximately 65% of total material 

cost) include: spark-ignition engines, 

articles of rubber (o-rings, seals, drive/

V-belts, hoses, dampers/plugs/covers), 

strips, roller chain, fasteners (screws, 

nuts, washers, bolts, clips, studs, pins), 

clamps, oil strainers, crankshafts, 

balancers, pistons, camshafts, cylinder 

heads, starter motors, remote starters, 

water pumps, oil pumps, valves, shafts 

(drive, counter, secondary), bushings, 

pulleys, universal joints, sprockets, 

transmissions, gears, gear drives, axles, 

hubs, flywheels, rotors, idlers, 

electronic control units, ignition coils, 

spark plugs, voltage regulators, resistors, 

fuses, capacitors, relays, circuit boards, 

circuit protectors/breakers, stators, 

diodes, generators, transformers, wiring 

harnesses, magnets, solenoids, sensors, 

A/C condensers, electrical terminals/

junction boxes/sockets, drive sheaves, 

parts of transmissions, clutches, CDI 

(capacitive discharge) units, bearings 

(ball, spherical, needle, tapered roller 

shaft; subject to ADD/CVD-must be 

admitted under privileged foreign 

status), articles of plastic (fittings, caps, 

decals, strips, sheets, knobs, seals, 

washer, o-rings, v-belts), tires, steel and 

alloy tube/pipe/wire/coil hooks, springs 

(leaf, helical), aluminum stampings, 

titanium tubes/bars/rods, locks, keys, 

hinges, castors, mountings, 

turbochargers, aluminum heat 

exchangers and parts, winches, 

batteries, lighting equipment, horns, 

alarms, block heaters, LCD screens, 

body stampings, bumpers, brake parts, 

shock absorbers, wheels, radiators, 

mufflers, steering parts, trailers, gauges, 

oxygen sensors, odometers, 

speedometers, meters, and thermostats 

(duty rate range: free—15.0%). FTZ 

procedures would exempt ACI from 

Customs duty payments on the foreign 

components used in export production. 

On its domestic sales and exports to 

NAFTA markets, the company would be 

able to choose the duty rates that apply 

to ATV engines and snowmobiles (duty 

free, 2.5%) for the foreign-sourced 

components noted above. The 

application indicates that subzone 

status would help improve the facilities’

international competitiveness. 

In accordance with the Board’s 

regulations, a member of the FTZ Staff 

71780 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 237 / Friday, December 10, 2004 / Notices 

has been designated examiner to 

investigate the application and report to 

the Board. 

Public comment on the application is 

invited from interested parties. 

Submissions (original and three copies) 

shall be addressed to the Board’s 

Executive Secretary at the following 

addresses: 

1. Submissions via Express/Package 

Delivery Services: Foreign-Trade Zones 

Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

Franklin Court Building—4100W, 1099 

14th Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20005; or, 

2. Submissions via the U.S. Postal 

Service: Foreign-Trade Zones Board, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, FCB–

4100W, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20230. 

The closing period for their receipt is 

February 8, 2005. Rebuttal comments in 

response to material submitted during 

the foregoing period may be submitted 

during the subsequent 15-day period (to 

February 23, 2005). 

A copy of the application will be 

available for public inspection at the 

Office of the Foreign-Trade Zones 

Board’s Executive Secretary at address 

No.1 listed above and at the Office of 

the Port Director, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection, 112 W. Stutsman 

Street, Pembina, North Dakota 58271.

Dated: December 3, 2004. 

Dennis Puccinelli, 

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–27183 Filed 12–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

[I.D. 110104A]

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Construction and 

Operation of Offshore Oil and Gas 

Facilities in the Beaufort Sea

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a letter of 

authorization.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, and 

implementing regulations, notice is 

hereby given that NMFS has issued a 

letter of authorization (LOA) to BP 

Exploration (Alaska), Inc. (BP) to take 

marine mammals incidental to the 

production of offshore oil and gas at the 

Northstar development in the Beaufort 

Sea off Alaska.

DATES: This LOA is effective from 

December 6, 2004, through May 25, 

2005.

ADDRESSES: A copy of BP’s letter, a list 

of monitoring reports, and/or the LOA 

may be obtained by writing to the Office 

of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910, or by telephoning one of the 

contacts listed here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth R. Hollingshead (301) 713–

2055, ext. 128, or Bradley Smith (907) 

271–5006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 

1361 et seq.) directs NMFS to allow, on 

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 by NMFS and regulations are 

issued. Under the MMPA, the term 

‘‘take’’ means to harass, hunt, capture, 

or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, 

capture or kill marine mammals.

Permission may be granted for periods 

up to 5 years if NMFS finds, after notice 

and opportunity for public comment, 

that the taking will have a negligible 

impact on the species or stock(s) of 

marine mammals, and will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) of 

marine mammals for subsistence uses. 

In addition, NMFS must prescribe 

regulations setting forth the permissible 

methods of taking and other means of 

effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact on the species and its habitat, 

and on the availability of the species for 

subsistence uses. The regulations also 

must include requirements pertaining to 

the monitoring and reporting of such 

taking. Regulations governing the taking 

of marine mammals incidental to 

construction and operation of the 

offshore oil and gas facility at Northstar 

in the Beaufort Sea were published and 

made effective on May 25, 2000 (65 FR 

34014), and remain in effect until May 

25, 2005. These regulations include 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements.

Summary of Request

On October 19, 2004, NMFS received 

a request from BP for a renewal of an 

LOA issued on September 18, 2000 (65 

FR 58265, September 28, 2000) and 

reissued on December 14, 2001 (66 FR 

65923, December 21, 2001), December 9, 

2002 (67 FR 77750, December 19, 2002) 

and December 4, 2003 (68 FR 68874, 

December 10, 2003) for the taking of 

marine mammals incidental to oil 

production operations at Northstar, 

under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the 

MMPA. This latest request (BP, 2004) 

contains information in compliance 

with 50 CFR 216.209, which updates 

information provided in BP’s original 

application for takings incidental to 

construction and operations at 

Northstar. The 2003/2004 LOA for the 

taking of marine mammals incidental to 

oil production at the Northstar facility 

will expire on December 3, 2004. This 

current LOA is effective through May 

25, 2005, when the implementing 

regulations expire. A request for LOAs 

after May 25, 2005 is the subject of a 

separate rulemaking action (see 69 FR 

56995, September 23, 2004).

Background

BP is currently producing crude oil 

from the Nortstar facility in the U.S. 

Beaufort Sea and is injecting the natural 

gas into the formations. Northstar 

includes a gravel island work surface to 

support the main facilities required for 

drilling and oil production, and two 

pipelines connecting the island to the 

existing infrastructure in Prudhoe Bay. 

One pipeline transports crude oil to 

shore, and the other transports natural 

gas to the island for field injection. Oil 

production began in late 2001 and is 

ongoing. Activities under the LOA will 

include: (1) winter ice-road 

construction, (2) winter ice road traffic, 

(3) Northstar oil production activities, 

(4) environmental compliance 

monitoring, and (5) helicopter, 

hovercraft, tugboat and barge 

transportation of personnel, equipment 

and supplies.

Impacts on marine mammals at the 

Northstar facility may occur through 

noise from tugs, barges, helicopters and 

hovercraft traffic, and drilling and other 

noise sources on the island facility. 

Impacts may also result if there is an oil 

spill resulting from production. While 

noise impacts on marine mammals will 

be low (activities on Northstar Island 

will make less noise than that from 

standard jack-up rigs, a concrete island 

drilling structure, or seismic activity), 

bowhead whales will likely hear the 

noise at distances up to 10 km (6.2 mi) 

from the island. In addition, there may 

be some harassment, injury, or mortality 

of ringed seals during winter ice-road 

construction. In 2000 (65 FR 58265, 

September 28, 2000) and 2001 (66 FR 

65923, December 21, 2001), NMFS 

estimated that noise impacts may result 

in Level B harassment of approximately 

765 bowheads (i.e., the LOA authorizes 

up to 765 bowheads annually, with a