40560 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 154 / Wednesday, August 12, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

[FR Doc. E9–18842 Filed 8–7– 09; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 218 

[Docket No. 0906101030–91038–01] 

RIN 0648–AX88 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Navy Training Activities 

Conducted within the Northwest 

Training Range Complex 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; proposed rule; 

extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: On July 13, 2009, the NMFS 

published its proposed regulations to 

govern the take marine mammals 

incidental to training activities 

conducted within the U.S. Navy’s 

Northwest Training Range Complex 

(NWTRC) for the period of February 

2010 through February 2015. The 

Federal Register notice indicated 

written comments were due by August 

12, 2009, allowing 30 days for public 

input. In response to a request from a 

public interest organization, NMFS is 

extending the public comment period 

by 7 days, to August 19, 2009. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

this action has been extended from 

August 12 to August 19, 2009. Written 

comments and information must be 

received no later than August 19, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by 0648–AX88, by any one of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov 

• Hand delivery or mailing of paper, 

disk, or CD-ROM comments should be 

addressed to Michael Payne, Chief, 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910–3225. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a 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.) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

Confidential Business Information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. 

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, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jolie 

Harrison, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 301–713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 

3, 2009, NMFS received a request from 

Friends of the Earth, a non-profit 

environmental advocacy organization, 

requesting a 30–day extension of the 

comment period on the NWTRC 

proposed rule. NMFS has considered 

this request along with the critical 

military readiness training needs of the 

Navy and the need for timely MMPA 

compliance and will provide an 

additional seven days for public 

comment. Further postponement of the 

MMPA authorization process and the 

establishment of the necessary 

protective measures would risk a delay 

in the Navy’s critical military readiness 

training. 

Moreover, the public has had 

numerous opportunities to comment on 

the Navy’s proposed action and 

potential environmental consequences 

through the National Environmental 

Policy Act process [Northwest Training 

Range Complex Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement/Overseas 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

December 2008 (DEIS)]. The activities 

and potential environmental effects 

described in NMFS’ NWTRC proposed 

rule are similar to, if not identical to, 

those considered in the Navy’s DEIS. In 

particular, the public comment period 

for the DEIS was extended twice, 

providing a total of 105 days for public 

review, and several public meetings 

were added. 

Background information concerning 

the proposed regulations can be found 

in the July 13, 2009 Federal Register 

notice (74 FR 33828), and is not 

repeated here. For additional 

information regarding the proposed 

regulations and the Navy’s associated 

Environmental Impact Statement, please 

visit NMFS’ website at: http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental.htm#applications 

Dated: August 6, 2009. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Division of Permits, Conservation, and 

Education, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–19334 Filed 8–11–09; 8:45 am] 

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