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[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77731-77732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28367]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 121404C]

Endangered Species; File No. 1508

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Duke Power Company (Mr. Gene 
Vaughan, Principal Investigator), 13339 Hagers Ferry Rd., Huntersville, 
NC 28078, has applied in due form for a permit for scientific research 
on shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum).

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
January 27, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following 
office(s):
    Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 
20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)427-2521; and,
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702-2432; phone (727)570-5301; fax (727)570-5320.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this 
application should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and 
Education Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 
East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 
individuals requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons 
why a hearing on the particular request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)427-2521, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.
    Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for 
providing email comments is [email protected]. Include

[[Page 77732]]

in the subject line of the e-mail comment the following document 
identifier: File No. 1508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Jefferies or Carrie Hubard, 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the 
authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking, 
importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 
222-226).
    As part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 2008 
relicensing of Duke Power's Catawba-Wateree Hydropower Project, various 
environmental studies will be conducted in the years prior to comply 
with the Electric Consumer's Protection Act of 1986. One particular 
study would determine the use of the Wateree River and a section of the 
Congaree River near Columbia, SC as spawning grounds by certain 
diadromous fish species including shortnose sturgeon. Duke Power 
Company seeks authorization to sample shortnose sturgeon in the Wateree 
and Congaree Rivers in South Carolina. Annually, up to 10 fish would be 
captured via gill nets, trap nets, and electrofishing; measured; 
weighed; scanned for PIT tags; and subsequently released. This research 
would be conducted for five years from issuance of the permit.

    Dated: December 21, 2004.
Jennifer Skidmore,
Acting, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-28367 Filed 12-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
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