Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 23, 2021 / Notices 10941 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA866] 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement for the NMFS SaltonstallKennedy Research and Development 

Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of intent; announcement 

of public scoping meetings; request for 

written comments. 

SUMMARY: NOAA announces its intent to 

prepare a Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (PEIS) for the 

implementation of projects that foster 

the promotion, marketing, research, and 

development of U.S. Fisheries and their 

associated fishing sectors, as consistent 

with NOAA’s Saltonstall-Kennedy 

Research and Development Program (S– 

K Program). The focus of this action will 

be activities and projects under the S– 

K Program, which interfaces with 

numerous programs within NOAA, and 

it is NOAA’s intention that this PEIS 

may also cover those activities and 

projects implemented by other NOAA 

programs and offices that are consistent 

with the scope of the S–K Program. The 

S–K Program funds projects that address 

the needs of fishing communities, 

optimize economic benefits by building 

and maintaining sustainable fisheries 

(where the term ‘‘fisheries’’ includes 

commercial wild capture, recreational 

fishing, cultural and subsistence fishing, 

and marine aquaculture), and increase 

other opportunities to keep working 

waterfronts viable. This notice of intent 

(NOI) to prepare a PEIS initiates the 

public scoping process and invites 

interested parties to provide comments 

on the proposed project, its potential to 

affect the human environment, means 

for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating 

those effects, the preliminary range of 

alternatives, and any additional 

reasonable alternatives that should be 

considered. 

DATES: Written comments on this 

scoping process must be received no 

later than March 25, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on 

this scoping notice by Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://

www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAANMFS-2021-0012. Click the ‘‘Comment 

Now!’’ icon, complete the required 

fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

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 NOAA. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on 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. NOAA will 

accept anonymous comments (enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). 

Comments will also be accepted at 

public scoping meetings. The webinar 

and telephone information for the 

public scoping meetings is provided 

below in the Scoping Process section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cliff 

Cosgrove, Saltonstall-Kennedy Program 

Manager, telephone: (301–427–8736); 

nmfs.sk.peis@noaa.gov; or visit the S–K 

Program website: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/content/ 

saltonstall-kennedy-research-anddevelopment-program. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

required by the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), the PEIS will 

analyze the environmental impacts of 

implementing each of the alternatives, if 

carried forward for full review following 

public scoping, by assessing the effects 

of each alternative on the human 

environment. 

Project Scope 

The purpose of this PEIS is to identify 

and evaluate the general impacts, issues 

and concerns related to the 

implementation of the types of projects 

that are consistent with the scope of the 

S–K Program. The PEIS will be used to 

support site- and project-specific NEPA 

reviews, as necessary. The PEIS will 

address all of the priorities, and their 

associated project types, that the S–K 

Program has funded to date, which 

cover the range of priorities and project 

types that fall under the S–K Program. 

The affected environment associated 

with the proposed action includes all 

coastal, estuarine, and marine habitats 

in the United States and its territories. 

It also includes inland habitats that 

influence or affect rivers, streams, and 

creeks affecting marine or estuarine 

waters, or that support migratory fish 

populations. It may also include 

adjacent or continuous habitats in 

Canada or Mexico that support living 

coastal and marine resources under 

NOAA trusteeship. 

To ensure consideration of input from 

interested parties in each region, NOAA 

will conduct three public scoping 

meetings. Each meeting will be focused 

on a region or combination of regions 

based on time zone proximity. More 

information about each meeting, 

including meeting dates and times, can 

be found in the Scoping Process section 

below. 

Background 

In 1954, the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act 

(15 U.S.C. 713c–3) was passed to 

address the needs of U.S. fisheries and 

their associated fishing sectors, and 

thereby established the S–K Program. 

The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act states that 

The Secretary shall make grants to assist 

persons in carrying out research and 

development projects addressed to any 

aspect of United States fisheries, 

including, but not limited to, harvesting, 

processing, marketing, and associated 

infrastructures. 

The S–K Program provides funding to 

projects that benefit fishing 

communities through the promotion, 

marketing, research, and development, 

of U.S. fisheries and their associated 

fishing sectors. Since its inception, 

grants have been provided to fishers, 

individuals, private businesses, fishing 

organizations, universities, states, 

research institutes, non-governmental 

organizations, and others. 

The S–K Program is composed of a 

competitive grant program and a 

national program. Grants and 

cooperative agreements are provided 

under both programs and can occur in 

any of NMFS’s five fisheries regions. 

The national program is designed to 

fund needed fishery industry projects 

that are not addressed through the 

competitive grants program. Funding for 

the S–K Program is determined through 

annual congressional appropriations. 

Historically, the S–K Program has had a 

diverse set of priorities, selecting 

between two and seven projects each 

year for funding. The primary priority 

has been projects that meet the purpose 

of promotion, development, and 

marketing (PDM) of U.S. fisheries and 

their associated fishing sectors, and 

NMFS anticipates that will continue to 

be the primary priority, but priorities 

can change annually and additional 

priorities can be chosen. 

For more information about the S–K 

Program, please use the link provided in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section above. 

Proposed Action, Purpose, and Need 

The proposed Federal action is to 

fund projects that are consistent with 

the scope of the S–K Program. The 

10942 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 23, 2021 / Notices 

purpose of the proposed action is 

threefold: (1) Address the needs of 

fishing communities, consistent with 

NOAA’s mandate through the 

Saltonstall-Kennedy Act; (2) ensure 

NOAA continues to meet the 

requirements of the Saltonstall-Kennedy 

Act; and (3) assist NOAA in meeting its 

mission, ‘‘To understand and predict 

changes in climate, weather, oceans, 

and coasts, to share that knowledge and 

information with others, and to 

conserve and manage coastal and 

marine ecosystems and resources’’. The 

Proposed Action is needed to address 

the needs of fishing communities by 

building and maintaining sustainable 

fisheries, optimizing economic benefits, 

and increasing other opportunities to 

keep working waterfronts viable. 

Types of projects funded by the S–K 

Program include, but are not limited to, 

promotion and marketing; aquaculture; 

gear testing; bycatch reduction 

engineering; research and monitoring; 

stock assessments; data collection; 

socioeconomic research; climate change; 

and workshops and conferences. 

Alternatives 

NOAA is preliminarily preparing to 

analyze two program-level alternatives: 

(1) A No Action Alternative, and (2) the 

proposed action, which NOAA is 

referring to as the Promotion, Marketing, 

Research and Development Alternative. 

Under the No Action Alternative, the S– 

K Program would not fund projects that 

address the needs of fishing 

communities, optimize economic 

benefits by building and maintaining 

sustainable fisheries, and increase other 

opportunities to keep working 

waterfronts viable. Although the No 

Action Alternative would not meet the 

purpose and need, it serves as a baseline 

against which the impacts of the 

Promotion, Marketing, Research and 

Development Alternative will be 

compared and contrasted. 

Implementation of the Promotion, 

Marketing, Research and Development 

Alternative, will allow for funding 

actions through federal financial 

assistance for all possible types of 

projects that meet the needs of U.S. 

fishing communities, consistent with 

the scope of the S–K Program. This 

alternative would provide the S–K 

Program with flexibility in choosing 

priorities each year while also 

considering the funding environment. 

We invite public comments on the 

proposed scope of the alternatives and 

are particularly interested in comments 

regarding potential additional 

alternatives. 

Scoping Process 

This notice initiates a public scoping 

period for the PEIS. Please review the 

information in this notice and 

additional information about the S–K 

Program, located on the NOAA S–K 

Program website (see the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section above). 

NOAA is particularly interested in 

receiving comments regarding 

biological, cultural, or ecological issues 

that the analysis should address. We 

also encourage comments that assist us 

in further delineating the proposed 

project, its potential to affect the human 

environment, means for avoiding, 

minimizing, or mitigating those effects, 

the preliminary range of alternatives, 

any additional reasonable alternatives 

that should be considered, and other 

issues of public concern. To promote 

informed decision-making, we 

especially encourage commenters to 

submit any scientific data, studies, or 

research that you feel is relevant to the 

analysis. 

To facilitate the public and agency 

involvement in the PEIS process, NOAA 

will hold three public-scoping meetings 

during the scoping period. The meetings 

will be virtual in format. The scoping 

meetings will solicit input from the 

public and interested public agencies 

regarding the scope of environmental 

impacts to be addressed in the draft 

PEIS. Three virtual public scoping 

meetings (in webinar format only) will 

be held in each of three regions, as 

follows: 

• Eastern and Gulf of Mexico Region 

(includes Atlantic States, Gulf of 

Mexico States, U.S. Virgin Islands, 

and Puerto Rico)—March 9, 2021 

Æ 12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Central 

Standard Time (CST) 

Æ 1:00 p.m.– 4:00 p.m. Eastern 

Standard Time (EST) 

• Western Region (includes Pacific 

States, Idaho, Alaska)—March 10, 

2021 

Æ 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Pacific 

Standard Time (PST) 

Æ 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Alaska 

Standard Time (AKST) 

• Western Pacific Region (includes 

Hawaii and Pacific Territories)— 

March 11, 2021, March 12, 2021 

Æ March 11, 2021, 2:00 p.m.–5:00 

p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard 

Time (HST) 

Æ March 12, 2021, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 

p.m. Chamorro Standard Time 

(CHST) 

Use the webinar link and dial-in 

information below to join one of the 

public scoping meetings: 

Webinar Link: https://

kearnsandwest.webex.com/meet/ 

webexalias3 

Access Code: 146 622 5582 

Dial-in Information: 1–844–621–3956 

(U.S. Toll Free) | +1–415–655–0001 

(U.S. Toll) 

Participants are encouraged to 

download the Webex Meetings app 

ahead of the meetings, using this link: 

https://www.webex.com/ 

downloads.html. Then use the meeting 

link above to join a public scoping 

meeting at the appropriate time. You 

may also participate by phone toll-free 

by calling 1–844–621–3956, then 

entering the Access Code above when 

prompted. 

After the comment period closes, 

NOAA will review and consider all 

comments received during the comment 

period and any other relevant 

information when developing the draft 

PEIS. Upon completion of the draft 

PEIS, a document announcing its 

availability and an opportunity to 

comment will be published in the 

Federal Register. 

Authority: This PEIS will be prepared 

under the authority of, and in accordance 

with, the requirements of NEPA, 

implementing regulations published by the 

Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 

1500–1508), other applicable regulations, and 

NOAA’s policies and procedures for 

compliance with those regulations. 

Dated: February 16, 2021. 

Daniel A. Namur, 

Director of the NMFS Financial Assistance 

Division, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03626 Filed 2–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

Notice of Waiver of the Referral 

Requirement for TRICARE Prime 

Enrollees, Not Including Active Duty 

Service Members (ADSMs), So They 

May Receive COVID–19 Vaccines From 

Any TRICARE-Authorized Non-Network 

Provider Without Incurring Point-ofService Charges Where Applicable 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Notice of waiver. 

SUMMARY: This notice is to advise 

TRICARE Prime enrollees, not including 

ADSMs, of a waiver to the referral 

requirement so they may receive 

COVID–19 vaccines, a clinical 

preventive service, from any TRICARE 

authorized non-network provider