40814 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 155 / Thursday, August 13, 2009 / Notices 

before this group for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Actions will 

be restricted to those issues specifically 

identified in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Council’s intent to take 

final action to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, at (978) 

465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the 

meeting date. 

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

Dated: August 7, 2009. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–19377 Filed 8–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) 

Marine Protected Areas Federal 

Advisory Committee; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, 

NOAA, Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a 

meeting of the Marine Protected Areas 

Federal Advisory Committee 

(Committee) in Anchorage. Alaska. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, from 9 

a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, September 

10, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, 

September 11, from 8:30 am. to 4:30 

p.m. These times and the agenda topics 

described below are subject to change. 

Refer to the Web page listed below for 

the most up-to-date meeting agenda. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Hilton Anchorage, 500 West Third 

Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lauren Wenzel, Designated Federal 

Officer, MPA FAC, National Marine 

Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West 

Highway. Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910. (Phone: 301–713–3100 x136. 

Fax: 301–713–3110); e-mail: 

lauren.wenzel@noaa.gov; or visit the 

National MPA Center Web site at 

http://www.mpa.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee, composed of external, 

knowledgeable representatives of 

stakeholder groups, was established by 

the Department of Commerce (DOC) to 

provide advice to the Secretaries of 

Commerce and the Interior on 

implementation of section 4 of 

Executive Order 13158 on MPAs. The 

meeting will be open to public 

participation from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

on Wednesday, September 9, 2009. and 

from 8:35 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, 

September 11, 2009. In general, each 

individual or group will be limited to a 

total time of five (5) minutes. If 

members of the public wish to submit 

written statements, they should be 

submitted to the Designated Federal 

Official by September 4, 2009. 

Matters To Be Considered: The 

Committee meeting will include two 

expert panel presentations, one on how 

the national system can contribute to 

ecological resilience in the face of 

climate change, and one, including 

invited management agencies and 

stakeholders, on marine protected areas 

in Alaska. The Scientific and Technical 

Subcommittee and the Review and 

Evaluation Subcommittee will meet to 

finalize recommendations, and will 

report back to the full MPA FAC for 

deliberations and action. The meeting 

also will include elections of a new 

MPA FAC Chair and Vice Chair. The 

agenda is subject to change. The latest 

version will be posted at http:// 

www.mpa.gov. 

Dated: August 3, 2009. 

David M. Kennedy, 

Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management. 

[FR Doc. E9–19286 Filed 8–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

National Estuarine Research Reserve 

System 

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, 

Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment 

Period for the Revised Management Plan 

for the Jacques Cousteau National 

Estuarine Research Reserve. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office 

of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), U.S. 

Department of Commerce is announcing 

a thirty day public comment period on 

the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine 

Research Reserve Management Plan 

Revision. 

The Jacques Cousteau National 

Estuarine Research Reserve consists of 

public lands within the Mullica RiverGreat Bay watershed of New Jersey and 

managed by a variety of local, state, and 

federal agencies. The site was 

designated as the Jacques Cousteau 

National Estuarine Research Reserve in 

1998 pursuant to Section 315 of the 

Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, 

as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461. The reserve 

has been operating in partnership with 

The Institute of Marine and Coastal 

Sciences of Rutgers, the State University 

of New Jersey under a management plan 

approved in 1997. Pursuant to 15 CFR 

921.33(c), a state must revise their 

management plan every five years. The 

submission of this plan fulfills this 

requirement and sets a course for 

successful implementation of the goals 

and objectives of the reserve. A 

boundary expansion and land 

conservation initiative, new facilities, 

and updated programmatic objectives 

are notable revisions to the 1997 

approved management plan. 

The revised management plan 

outlines the administrative structure; 

the research, coastal training, education 

and outreach, and stewardship goals of 

the reserve; and the plans for future 

land acquisition and facility 

development to support reserve 

operations. This management plan 

describes how the reserve will focus on 

three key coastal management issues: 

Nutrient inputs into coastal waters; 

human alteration of habitat and water 

quality; and effects of climate change on 

coastal and estuarine systems. 

Since 1997, the reserve has completed 

a site profile that characterizes the 

reserve; they have also expanded the 

coastal training, research and 

monitoring, stewardship and education 

programs significantly. A new 

administrative building, the Jacques 

Cousteau Coastal Center, and a new 

interpretive exhibit, ‘‘Life on the Edge’’ 

at the Tuckerton Seaport, have been 

built to support the growth of reserve 

programs. 

With the approval of this management 

plan, the Jacques Cousteau National 

Estuarine Research Reserve will expand 

their total acreage from 114,665 acres to 

114,873 acres. This change is 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 155 / Thursday, August 13, 2009 / Notices 40815 

attributable to the acquisition of four 

parcels within the Mullica River 

watershed through a partnership with 

New Jersey Conservation Foundation 

and the continued implementation of 

the Mullica River Conservation 

Initiative. The acquisition of Bear Creek 

Preserve (100 acres), Hanselman 

Preserve (57 acres), Rudolph Property 

(31 acres), and Lee Property (20 acres) 

provides additional buffer areas (mixed 

pitch pine-scrub oak upland, Atlantic 

white cedar forest) for key land and 

water areas (salt marsh flats, tidal 

wetlands). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Migliori at (301) 563–1126 or 

Laurie McGilvray at (301) 563–1158 of 

NOAA’s National Ocean Service, 

Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 EastWest Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. For copies of 

the Jacques Cousteau Management Plan 

revision, visit http://www.jcnerr.org/. 

Dated: August 3, 2009. 

David M. Kennedy, 

Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–19284 Filed 8–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XQ83 

Taking and Importing of Marine 

Mammals 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; annual affirmative 

finding renewals. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Administrator 

for Fisheries, NMFS (Assistant 

Administrator), has renewed the 

affirmative findings for the Government 

of Ecuador, the Government of El 

Salvador, the Government of Mexico 

and the Government of Spain under the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA). These affirmative findings will 

allow yellowfin tuna harvested in the 

eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) in 

compliance with the International 

Dolphin Conservation Program (IDCP) 

by Ecuadorian-flag, El Salvadorian-flag, 

Mexican-flag or Spanish-flag purse seine 

vessels or purse seine vessels operating 

under Ecuadorian, El Salvadorian, 

Mexican, or Spanish jurisdiction to be 

imported into the United States. These 

affirmative findings were based on 

review of documentary evidence 

submitted separately by the 

Governments of Ecuador, El Salvador, 

Mexico, and Spain and obtained from 

the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 

Commission (IATTC) and the U.S. 

Department of State. 

DATES: The affirmative finding renewals 

are effective from April 1, 2009, through 

March 31, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Regional Administrator, Southwest 

Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean 

Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 

90802–4213; phone 562–980–4000; fax 

562–980–4018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

MMPA, 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq., allows 

the entry into the United States of 

yellowfin tuna harvested by purse seine 

vessels in the ETP under certain 

conditions. If requested by the 

harvesting nation, the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries (Assistant 

Administrator) will determine whether 

to make an affirmative finding based 

upon documentary evidence provided 

by the government of the harvesting 

nation, the IATTC, and the Department 

of State. 

The affirmative finding process 

requires that the harvesting nation is 

meeting its obligations under the IDCP 

and obligations of membership in the 

IATTC. Every 5 years, the government of 

the harvesting nation must request an 

affirmative finding and submit the 

required documentary evidence directly 

to the Assistant Administrator. On an 

annual basis, NMFS reviews the 

affirmative finding and determine 

whether the harvesting nation continues 

to meet the requirements. A nation may 

provide information related to 

compliance with IDCP and IATTC 

measures directly to NMFS on an 

annual basis or may authorize the 

IATTC to release the information to 

NMFS to annually renew an affirmative 

finding determination without an 

application from the harvesting nation. 

An affirmative finding will be 

terminated, in consultation with the 

Secretary of State, if the Assistant 

Administrator determines that the 

requirements of 50 CFR 216.24(f) are no 

longer being met or that a nation is 

consistently failing to take enforcement 

actions on violations, thereby 

diminishing the effectiveness of the 

IDCP. 

As a part of the affirmative finding 

process set forth in 50 CFR 216.24(f), the 

Assistant Administrator considered 

documentary evidence submitted 

separately by the Government of 

Ecuador, the Government of El 

Salvador, the Government of Mexico, 

and the Government of Spain, as well as 

evidence obtained from the IATTC and 

the Department of State and has 

determined that Ecuador, El Salvador, 

Mexico and Spain have each met the 

MMPA’s requirements to receive annual 

affirmative finding renewals. 

After consultation with the 

Department of State, the Assistant 

Administrator issued annual affirmative 

finding renewals to the Governments of 

Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, and 

Spain, allowing the continued 

importation into the United States of 

yellowfin tuna and products derived 

from yellowfin tuna harvested in the 

ETP by Ecuadorian-flag, El Salvadorianflag, Mexican-flag or Spanish-flag purse 

seine vessels or purse seine vessels 

operating under the jurisdiction of these 

nations. These annual renewals of 

affirmative findings for Ecuador, El 

Salvador, Mexico and Spain will remain 

valid through March 31, 2010. 

Dated: August 7, 2009. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–19470 Filed 8–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

RIN 0710–ZA04 

Proposed Suspension and 

Modification of Nationwide Permit 21 

AGENCY: United States Army Corps of 

Engineers, Department of Defense, 

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: In the July 15, 2009, issue of 

the Federal Register (74 FR 34311) the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published 

a proposal to take two actions 

concerning Nationwide Permit 21, 

which authorizes discharges of dredged 

or fill material into waters of the United 

States for surface coal mining activities. 

The two proposed actions are to 

suspend NWP 21 to prohibit its use to 

authorize surface coal mining activities 

in the Appalachian region of Kentucky, 

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, 

Virginia, and West Virginia, and then to 

modify NWP 21 to make that 

prohibition permanent until NWP 21 

expires on March 18, 2012. The July 15, 

2009, notice stated that public 

comments and any requests for a public 

hearing must be received by August 14, 


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