[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2372-2373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00178]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 223

[Docket No. 201125-0320]
RIN 0648-BK00


Endangered and Threatened Species: Designation of Nonessential 
Experimental Population of Central Valley Spring-Run Chinook Salmon in 
the Upper Yuba River Upstream of Englebright Dam, CA; Extension of 
Public Comment Period

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce the extension of the public comment period 
on our December 11, 2020, 30-day proposal of a rule to designate and 
authorize the release of a nonessential experimental population (NEP) 
of Central Valley (CV) spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the upper Yuba 
River and its tributaries upstream of Englebright Dam, California, and 
establish take exceptions for the NEP for particular activities. A 
draft environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared on this proposed 
action and is available for comment. As part of that proposed action, 
we solicited comment on the proposed rule and EA over a 30-day period 
to end on January 11, 2021. Today, we update contact information, 
website addresses and extend the public comment period by 60 days to 
March 12, 2021. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, 
as they will be fully considered in the agency's proposed action.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of comments is extended from January 
11, 2021 until March 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2020-0139'' by any one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://beta.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2020-0139/document click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
    <bullet> Phone: (916) 930-3717; Fax: (916) 930-3629.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are part of the 
public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    You may access a copy of the draft EA and other supporting 
documents by visiting the NMFS website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/proposed-rule-authorize-reintroduction-central-valley-spring-run-chinook-salmon-upper-yuba.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Ambrose, by phone at (916) 
930-3717, or by mail at National Marine Fisheries Service, 650 Capitol 
Mall, Suite 5-100, Sacramento, CA 95814.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 11, 2020, we published a proposed rule to designate and 
authorize the release of a NEP of CV spring-run Chinook salmon under 
the ESA in the upper Yuba River and its tributaries upstream of 
Englebright Dam, California, and establish take exceptions for the NEP 
for particular activities. In that notice we also announced a 30-day 
public comment period and the availability of a draft EA.
    We received a request to extend the public comment period by 90 
days in order to provide the public with additional time to adequately 
comment on the proposed rule. We considered the request and concluded 
that a 60-day extension should allow sufficient time for responders to 
submit comments without significantly delaying finalization of the 
proposed rule. We are therefore extending the close of the public 
comment period from January 11, 2021, to March 12, 2021. In addition to 
extending the public comment period,

[[Page 2373]]

we have also updated contact information and our website address to 
review the proposed rule and supporting materials.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: January 5, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-00178 Filed 1-8-21; 4:15 pm]
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