71674 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Notices 

conditions and the status and behavior 

of focal animal groups prior to and 

following each launch. Behavioral 

responses were similar to those 

observed during previously monitored 

launches. The authorized level of take 

was not exceeded, and no evidence of 

injury or mortality was observed during 

or immediately succeeding the launches 

for the monitored pinniped species. 

Comments and Responses 

A request for public comment on the 

revised monitoring plan and proposed 

authorization was published on 

September 24, 2010 (75 FR 58365), at 

the recommendation of the Commission. 

During the 30-day public comment 

period, NMFS received comments from 

the Commission and one private citizen. 

The comment from the private citizen 

opposed the issuance of an 

authorization without any specific 

substantiation for why such an 

authorization should not be issued. For 

the reasons set forth in this notice and 

the associated rulemaking (74 FR 26580, 

June 2, 2009), NMFS believes issuance 

of an authorization is appropriate. 

Following are the comments from the 

Commission and NMFS’ responses: 

Comment 1: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS initiate such a 

rulemaking or provide adequate 

justification to support a determination 

that rulemaking is not required to 

amend section 216.155 of the 

regulations to authorize the Navy to 

discontinue monitoring the potential 

effects of launches on Northern elephant 

seals. 

Response: NMFS has determined that 

a rulemaking is not required to amend 

section 216.155 of the regulations to 

authorize the Navy to discontinue 

monitoring the potential effects of 

launches on Northern elephant seals. 

Part (b) of this section states that ‘‘The 

National Marine Fisheries Service must 

be informed immediately of any changes 

or deletions to any portions of the 

proposed monitoring plan submitted, in 

accordance with the Letter of 

Authorization.’’ The Navy made NMFS 

aware of such changes. Furthermore, the 

regulatory text does not require 

monitoring of all species present at SNI. 

The visual land-based and acoustic 

monitoring requirements in 50 CFR 

216.155 state that three haul-out sites 

will be observed using autonomous 

digital video cameras and acoustic 

equipment; this requirement remains in 

effect under the revised LOA. Visual 

land-based monitoring will actually be 

enhanced under this LOA through the 

use of FLIR thermal imaging cameras 

during nighttime launches. 

Comment 2: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS clarify the 

intent of 50 CFR 216.158(a)(1) of its 

regulations and explain why it does not 

believe that the Navy should be held to 

the commitment that there would be no 

substantial modifications to the 

monitoring program to be carried out 

during the 12 months covered by the 

previous 2010 LOA. 

Response: NMFS has determined that 

the Navy’s modifications to their 

monitoring program for launch activities 

at SNI are not substantial. The Navy will 

continue to report on the same number 

of monitoring locations as have been 

authorized in previous LOAs. The Navy 

will no longer target Northern elephant 

seals; however, this species may still be 

observed if it overlaps with other 

pinnipeds at the designated monitoring 

locations. This implementation of 

adaptive management will allow the 

Navy to focus their monitoring and 

research on other more responsive 

pinniped species at SNI. 

Comment 3: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS provide the 

Commission and the public with the 

information necessary to evaluate the 

conclusion that there has been no 

displacement of pinnipeds from 

rookeries and haul-out sites in the areas 

potentially affected by launch activities. 

Response: Based on unpublished 

NMFS survey data from 2000 to 2005, 

there has been an overall 107 percent 

increase in Northern elephant seal pups 

in locations directly within or adjacent 

to the Navy’s anticipated launch 

azimuths. The area with the highest 

increase of non-pups between 2000 and 

2005 also took place in locations 

directly within or adjacent to the Navy’s 

anticipated launch azimuths. In 

contrast, other areas of SNI’s perimeter 

show an overall decrease in both 

Northern elephant seal pups and nonpups, with the greatest observed change 

being a decrease of 1,616 Northern 

elephant seals near the southeast region 

of the island. 

Comment 4: The Commission 

recommends that NMFS develop and 

implement a monitoring strategy 

designed to determine whether there are 

gaps in the available information for 

assessing possible long-term effects and, 

if so, to what extent the cumulative 

effects of repeated launch activities 

might be displacing pinnipeds. 

Response: NMFS has determined that 

the Navy’s current monitoring strategy 

is sufficient to determine if there are any 

long-term effects to pinnipeds from 

launch activities at SNI. NMFS 

biologists have been monitoring 

pinnipeds on SNI since 2000 and will 

continue to do so under this LOA. 

Authorization 

The Navy complied with the 

requirements of the previous 2010 LOA 

and NMFS has determined that there 

was no evidence of pinniped injuries or 

fatalities related to the June and July 

2010 vehicle launches from SNI. The 

Navy’s activities fell within the scope of 

the activities analyzed in the 2009 rule, 

and the observed take did not exceed 

that authorized in the previous 2010 

LOA. NMFS has determined that this 

action would continue to have a 

negligible impact on the affected species 

or stocks of marine mammals on SNI, 

and there are no subsistence uses of 

these three pinniped species in 

California waters. Accordingly, NMFS 

has issued a revised LOA to the Navy 

authorizing the take of three marine 

mammal species, by harassment, 

incidental to missile launch activities 

from SNI. The revised LOA will expire 

one year from the date of issuance and 

the Navy has agreed to operate under 

their annual authorized take numbers 

for the extended period of June 2010 

through November 2011. 

Dated: November 18, 2010. 

James H. Lecky, 

Deputy Director, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–29656 Filed 11–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting Notice 

TIME AND DATE: Wednesday, December 

1, 2010; 10 a.m.–11 a.m. 

PLACE: Hearing Room 420, Bethesda 

Towers, 4330 East West Highway, 

Bethesda, Maryland. 

STATUS: Closed to the Public. 

Matter To Be Considered: 

Compliance Status Report 

The Commission staff will brief the 

Commission on the status of compliance 

matters. 

For a recorded message containing the 

latest agenda information, call (301) 

504–7948. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Todd A. Stevenson, Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, 4330 East West 

Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 

504–7923. 

Dated: November 19, 2010. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–29830 Filed 11–22–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

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