Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2021 / Notices 1945 

enforcement of fisheries regulations and 

proposed changes. 

DATES: The Law Enforcement Advisory 

Panel will meet on February 1, 2021, 

from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The meeting will 

be held via webinar. 

ADDRESSES: 

Council address: South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N 

Charleston, SC 29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

Iverson, Public Information Officer, 

SAFMC; phone: (843) 571–4366 or toll 

free: (866) SAFMC–10; fax: (843) 769– 

4520; email: kim.iverson@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Law Enforcement Advisory Panel 

(AP) meeting is open to the public and 

will be available via webinar as it 

occurs. Registration is required. 

Webinar registration information, a 

public comment form, and other 

meeting materials will be posted to the 

Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/ 

safmc-meetings/current-advisory-panelmeetings/ as it becomes available. 

The meeting agenda includes updates 

on amendments under development and 

possible related changes to regulations, 

including modifications to the 

Wreckfish Individual Transferable 

Quota Program, management of dolphin 

and wahoo along the Atlantic coast, and 

possibly allowing rock shrimp trawling 

along the eastern edge of the northern 

extension of the Oculina Bank Habitat 

Area of Particular Concern, an area 

where the fishery operated historically. 

The AP will also discuss enforcement 

issues relative to for-hire electronic 

reporting and best fishing practices 

requirements. Additionally, the AP will 

make recommendations on possible 

changes to how the AP is structured and 

discuss other topics of interest to the 

Council. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Council office (see ADDRESSES) 5 days 

prior to the meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: January 6, 2021. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00276 Filed 1–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA785] 

Endangered Species; File No. 21516 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; Issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS has issued an Incidental Take 

Permit (ITP) (No. 21516) to Virginia 

Electric and Power Company, D.B.A. 

Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion) 

pursuant to the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) of 1973, as amended, for the 

incidental take of Atlantic sturgeon 

(Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) 

associated with the otherwise lawful 

operation of the Dominion Chesterfield 

Power Station (CPS) in Chesterfield, VA. 

The permit is issued for a duration of 5 

years. 

ADDRESSES: The incidental take permit, 

final Environmental Assessment (EA), 

and other related documents are 

available on the NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-permit-virginia-electricand-power-company-dba-dominionvirginia-power. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Crocker, (978) 282–8480 or email, 

Julie.Crocker@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 

of the ESA and Federal regulations 

prohibits the ‘‘taking’’ of a species listed 

as endangered or threatened. The ESA 

defines ‘‘take’’ to mean harass, harm, 

pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 

capture, or collect, or to attempt to 

engage in any such conduct. NMFS may 

issue permits, under limited 

circumstances to take listed species 

when the takes are incidental to, and 

not the purpose of, otherwise lawful 

activities. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA 

provides for authorizing incidental take 

of listed species. The regulations for 

issuing incidental take permits for 

threatened and endangered species are 

promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307. 

Background 

The power-generating units at CPS 

utilize a once-through cooling water 

system that withdraws water from the 

James River, Virginia, through cooling 

water intake structures (CWIS). The 

openings of all the intake pipes 

associated with the CWISs are 

constantly submerged and aligned flush 

with and parallel to the river’s axis. 

In 2015, two Atlantic sturgeon larvae 

belonging to the Chesapeake Bay 

distinct population segment (DPS) of 

Atlantic sturgeon were found in 

entrainment samples collected at CPS. 

These were the first known takes of 

Atlantic sturgeon larvae at CPS despite 

previous entrainment sampling. 

Dominion anticipates that takes will 

occur in the future because it is required 

to conduct additional entrainment 

sampling to complete the Clean Water 

Act (CWA) 316(b) studies for the 

facility, and Dominion will continue to 

operate CPS for power generation, 

which requires withdrawing water 

through the CWIS. Dominion, therefore, 

applied for an ITP in accordance with 

the requirements under Section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. 

Dominion submitted a complete ITP 

application and habitat conservation 

plan (HCP) to us on April 10, 2017. We 

prepared a draft EA in accordance with 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), and published notice in the 

Federal Register announcing the 

availability of the EA, the ITP 

application and HCP for public 

comment (82 FR 37849; August 14, 

2017). We received 37 comments during 

the public comment period. Most of the 

comments requested that we not issue 

the permit to Dominion based on the 

need to protect sturgeon or until 

Dominion had submitted a better plan 

for minimizing and mitigating the 

impacts of the taking. In addition to 

these, Dominion provided comments in 

support of its application while 

Southern Environmental Law Center 

(SELC), on behalf of the James 

Riverkeeper Association, provided a 

report from a sturgeon expert 

questioning several aspects of the ITP 

application, including the amount of 

take anticipated and Atlantic sturgeon 

spawning success in the James River. 

Dominion revised sections of their 

ITP application and HCP and submitted 

those to us on October 16, 2019, in 

response to the comments received as 

well as in response to new information 

regarding dispersal of Atlantic sturgeon 

in the James River, the risk of 

impingement for adult Atlantic sturgeon 

at CPS, and the operation of the 

generating units at CPS. All other parts 

of the ITP application and HCP that 

Dominion submitted to us on April 10, 

2017, were incorporated by reference. 

We considered this application 

complete and published notice in the 

Federal Register of the revised 

application and HCP, and the 

availability of the draft revised EA for 

public comment (85 FR 36563; June 17, 

2020). The comment period ended on 

July 17, 2020. We received comments 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
1946 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2021 / Notices 

only from Dominion and the SELC, on 

behalf of the James Riverkeeper 

Association. Dominion provided several 

clarifying comments for statements in 

the draft EA. NMFS has addressed these 

comments in the EA. The SELC 

submitted comments supporting aspects 

of the HPC but contend that the HPC 

measures do not minimize and mitigate 

the impacts of the taking to the 

maximum extent practicable. Further, 

they contend that NMFS failed to 

consider a full range of reasonable 

alternatives and therefore, the EA fails 

to satisfy the requirements of NEPA. We 

reviewed and considered the 

information provided by Dominion, the 

expert opinion submitted by SELC with 

its comments, and other available 

information (e.g., published literature). 

We concluded that, based on the best 

information available, Dominion has 

demonstrated that implementing the 

HPC measures will minimize and 

mitigate the effects of the taking to the 

maximum extent practicable. Based on 

SELC’s comments, NMFS also reviewed 

its decision to reject a third alternative 

that, if selected as the preferred, would 

have meant issuing an ITP requiring 

Dominion to suspend cooling water 

intake at CPS from August through 

October each year, other than when 

Dominion was completing sampling for 

its CWA 316(b) studies. After 

considering the comments, we 

determined that SELC did not provide 

new information on this issue that 

would cause us to change our decision 

to reject this alternative. However, we 

did include more information in the 

final EA to explain why we rejected this 

alternative. 

Habitat Conservation Plan 

Section 10 of the ESA specifies that 

no permit may be issued unless an 

applicant submits an adequate 

conservation plan. The HCP prepared by 

Dominion describes measures to 

monitor, minimize, and mitigate the 

impacts of incidental takes of 

Atlantic sturgeon belonging to the 

Chesapeake Bay DPS. Dominion’s initial 

ITP application requested take of 

Atlantic sturgeon larvae that was 

expected to occur as a result of 

entrainment at CPS, and take of adult 

Atlantic sturgeon that was expected to 

occur as a result of impingement at CPS. 

Dominion’s HCP, therefore, addresses 

minimization, mitigation, and 

monitoring of the take of Atlantic 

sturgeon as a result of entrainment and 

impingement at CPS. 

During the application process, 

following an Atlantic sturgeon 

impingement event, Dominion repaired 

and replaced all of the CWIS intake 

guards. Grid openings of the guards 

were reduced to prevent the smallest 

adult Atlantic sturgeon in the James 

River from entering the intake structure. 

In addition, the intake opening for two 

of the intake units was expanded to 

reduce water velocity. Until recently, 

there was limited available information 

for swimming speed of Atlantic 

sturgeon (Hilton et al. 2016). Dominion, 

therefore, used swim speed of juvenile 

white and juvenile green sturgeon as a 

proxy and concluded that adult Atlantic 

sturgeon would not be overcome by the 

CPS intake velocities and would not be 

impinged. New information became 

available recently, and it demonstrates 

that the average swim speed for fall 

spawning Atlantic sturgeon migrating 

past CPS to and from the spawning 

grounds exceeds the CPS intake 

velocities (Balazik et al. 2020). 

Therefore, the best available 

information, which includes scientific 

data, supports that adult Atlantic 

sturgeon will not be impinged at CPS 

even when the fish are moving 

downriver after spawning. Based on this 

comparison, we agreed with Dominion’s 

conclusion that impingement of adult 

Atlantic sturgeon is not reasonably 

likely to occur in the future. These 

changes to the intake guards are part of 

the minimization measures of the HCP. 

The HCP also includes measures to 

mitigate for the anticipated take by 

entrainment of Atlantic sturgeon larvae 

at CPS and to provide information that 

can better inform additional measures to 

minimize take of the larvae. Dominion 

proposes to partner with Virginia 

Commonwealth University (VCU) which 

will provide Dominion access to VCU’s 

tracking data for acoustically-tagged 

sturgeon that move upriver of CPS to 

spawn. In addition, Dominion will 

contract with VCU to deploy and 

maintain additional, new receivers 

downstream of CPS to better inform 

when spawning Atlantic sturgeon are in 

the vicinity of CPS. The information 

acquired is expected to help inform 

when sturgeon larvae may be present in 

the vicinity of CPS. The information can 

be used by Dominion for timing its 

remaining sampling to complete the 

required CWA 316(b) studies (e.g., 

sampling at times when larvae are not 

likely to be near CPS). Knowing when 

spawning adults move past CPS or how 

long they are present in the vicinity of 

CPS will provide information necessary 

to better assess the risk of CPS 

operations (e.g., intake flows) and to 

develop site-specific management 

actions to minimize take (e.g., planning 

and implementing routine maintenance 

outages, when practicable, to coincide 

with peak spawning movements). 

Dominion is also proposing to 

implement a pilot study that tests a new 

approach for identifying and counting 

Atlantic sturgeon larvae at CPS. Since 

this is a pilot study, the goal is to 

determine whether the technique can 

reliably detect Atlantic sturgeon larvae 

and if the data are sufficient to 

determine abundance. It is unknown 

whether digital holography will prove 

successful for detecting Atlantic 

sturgeon larvae or other early life stages. 

However, there are currently no other 

successful methods for detecting these 

other than entrainment sampling. 

Therefore, the pilot study could provide 

new information, which would 

otherwise not be collected. If effective, 

this approach would provide 

information to inform minimization 

measures for Atlantic sturgeon larvae 

and will provide a new tool that has 

many beneficial applications for 

recovery of the Atlantic sturgeon DPS 

(e.g., abundance or distribution surveys 

of Atlantic sturgeon early life stages). 

The HPC must also address 

monitoring for take. Dominion’s 

monitoring protocol is focused on 

entrainment of Atlantic sturgeon larvae 

and, therefore, differs from their 

protocol to complete the CWA 316(b) 

studies. Dominion also revised their 

monitoring approach from the 2017 ITP 

application by increasing the frequency 

of sampling during the targeted months 

of September and October, when the fall 

spawning period for Atlantic sturgeon 

in the James River typically occurs, and 

for the full permit duration. Dominion 

is no longer proposing to monitor for 

entrainment of Atlantic sturgeon larvae 

in the spring since larvae from spring 

spawning would only occur downriver 

of CPS and, therefore, would not be 

susceptible to entrainment at CPS. 

Entrainment samples for monitoring 

take of Atlantic sturgeon will be sorted 

on site. Although free-floating Atlantic 

sturgeon eggs are generally considered 

non-viable, Dominion’s entrainment 

monitoring methodology includes 

sorting for and retaining any suspected 

Atlantic sturgeon eggs. All Atlantic 

sturgeon eggs and larvae will be 

appropriately preserved. As explained 

by Dominion in their August 31, 2018, 

letter to us, entrainment samples for 

monitoring will not be collected at all of 

the intake units because it is unsafe and 

impractical given discharge or the 

elevation of the intake units relative to 

the river. 

As described above, take of adult 

Atlantic sturgeon by impingement at the 

trash racks is not expected to occur 

because of the changes made to the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2021 / Notices 1947 

intake guards that would prevent the 

sturgeon from accessing the area where 

the trash racks are located. The HCP 

does, however, include monitoring of 

the trash racks for sturgeon. Dominion 

will continue to inspect trash rack 

debris at the water surface, and debris 

removed from the trash racks, for 

sturgeon. Dominion has sturgeon 

handling procedures in the event a 

living or dead sturgeon is found among 

the debris floating in the water or in the 

debris removed from the trash racks. 

Monitoring will not, however, occur at 

the intake guards because it is not 

feasible due to the turbidity of the river 

and the safety risk for personnel. 

We conducted intra-agency section 7 

consultation to ensure that issuing the 

permit would comply with the ESA. 

The Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 

Office (GARFO) Protected Resources 

Division issued a Biological Opinion on 

November 10, 2020, that considered the 

effects of the activities covered by this 

ITP as well as the effects to other ESAlisted species from the other activities 

reasonably expected to occur at CPS 

during the 5 year duration of the permit. 

Those other activities include the 

discharge of heated effluent and other 

pollutants resulting from CPS 

operations, and the barge traffic that is 

associated with deliveries of materials 

to and from CPS. 

The Biological Opinion concluded 

that activities covered by this ITP (i.e., 

entrainment of larval Atlantic sturgeon 

during CPS operations and entrainment/ 

collection during required sampling) 

may adversely affect but are not likely 

to jeopardize the continued existence of 

the Chesapeake Bay DPS of Atlantic 

sturgeon. We also concluded that this 

action is not likely to adversely affect 

designated critical habitat for the DPS, 

or shortnose sturgeon, the Gulf of 

Maine, New York Bight, Carolina, and 

South Atlantic DPSs of Atlantic 

sturgeon, North Atlantic DPS green 

turtle, Kemp’s ridley turtle, leatherback 

turtle, and Northwest Atlantic Ocean 

DPS of loggerhead turtle. 

With respect to the other CPS 

activities and other ESA-listed species 

in the James River, the only activity that 

may affect other listed species is the 

shipment of materials to and from CPS 

by barge within the James River. In the 

Biological Opinion we concluded that 

the effects of those activities on 

shortnose sturgeon, the four other DPSs 

of Atlantic sturgeon, and leatherback, 

Kemp’s ridley, green, and loggerhead 

sea turtles would be insignificant or 

extremely unlikely to occur and that, 

therefore, this action was not likely to 

adversely affect any of these species. 

Dominion has not indicated any plans 

to conduct dredging or shoreline 

maintenance during the 5 year duration 

of the ITP. Therefore, effects to ESA 

listed species and critical habitat in the 

action area from dredging and shoreline 

maintenance activities are not 

reasonably certain to occur and do not 

meet the definition of ‘‘effects of the 

action.’’ As a result, these activities 

were not considered further in the 

consultation. If Dominion applied for 

any Federal permits or authorizations 

for any future dredging or shoreline 

maintenance, ESA section 7 

consultation would be necessary for any 

of those activities that may affect listed 

species or critical habitat. The full 

section 7 evaluation can be found in the 

Biological Opinion. 

Permit 21516 

NMFS authorizes the following lethal 

take for the Chesapeake Bay DPS of 

Atlantic sturgeon. 

Entrainment: up to 54,745 larvae, 

total, for the 5-year duration of the 

permit with an anticipated average 

annual take of 10,949 per year during 

normal operation of CPS, and 1 larvae 

over the 5-year duration of the permit 

during sampling to complete CWA 

section 316(b) sampling. 

Impingement: There is no authorized 

or anticipated incidental take by 

impingement based on the already 

implemented minimization measures. 

The first 3 years of monitoring data 

collected under the permit will be 

analyzed to verify the requested total 

annual incidental take. As data are 

gathered and analyzed through 

monitoring, NMFS may amend the 

permit to reflect any changes in the take 

estimate, if appropriate. 

The permit requires Dominion to 

prepare a report, due to NMFS within 

90 days of issuance of the ITP, which 

details how observed take of Atlantic 

sturgeon will be extrapolated to generate 

an accurate and reliable estimate of total 

annual take at the facility. Dominion 

must also submit reports of any 

observed take of Atlantic sturgeon to 

NMFS within seven days, and must 

prepare an annual report detailing all 

observed takes of Atlantic sturgeon at 

CPS. NMFS review of the annual report 

provides an opportunity to monitor the 

ongoing amount of take at CPS and 

detect any trends that may indicate a 

potential exceedance of the anticipated 

take before such an event occurs. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Issuing an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) 

permit constitutes a Federal action 

requiring NMFS to comply with NEPA 

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as implemented 

by 40 CFR parts 1500–1508 and NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6A, 

Compliance with the NEPA (2016). 

NMFS prepared an EA to consider a 

range of reasonable alternatives and 

fully evaluate the direct, indirect, and 

cumulative impacts likely to result from 

the authorization of this permit. NMFS 

found that issuing the ITP would have 

no significant impacts on the quality of 

the environment. 

Authority: This notice is provided 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations 

(40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: January 6, 2021. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00303 Filed 1–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; West Coast Region Vessel 

Monitoring System Requirement in the 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. Request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed, and continuing information 

collections, which helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. The purpose of this 

notice is to allow for 60 days of public 

comment preceding submission of the 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before March 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, 

at Adrienne.thomas@noaa.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 0648– 

0573 in the subject line of your 

comments. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 


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