35904 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 6, 2000 / Notices

and Documentation Division, F/PR1,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705,

Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those

individuals requesting a hearing should

set forth the specific reasons why a

hearing on this particular request would

be appropriate.

Comments may also be submitted by

facsimile at (301) 713–0376, provided

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy

submitted by mail and postmarked no

later than the closing date of the

comment period. Please note that

comments will not be accepted by email or by other electronic media.

Concurrent with the publication of

this notice in the Federal Register,

NMFS is forwarding copies of this

application to the Marine Mammal

Commission and its Committee of

Scientific Advisors.

Dated: May 31, 2000.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14198 Filed 6–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 050500F]

Taking of Threatened or Endangered

Marine Mammals Incidental to

Commercial Fishing Operations;

Proposed Permit

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposal for issuance

of permit; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to issue a

permit for a period of three years, to

authorize the incidental, but not

intentional, taking of four stocks of

threatened or endangered marine

mammals by the California/Oregon drift

gillnet fishery. The four stocks are: (1)

Fin whale, California/Oregon/

Washington stock; (2) Humpback whale,

California/Oregon/Washington-Mexico

stock; (3) Steller sea lion, eastern stock;

and (4) Sperm whale, California/

Oregon/Washington stock. This

authorization is based on a

determination that this incidental take

will have a negligible impact on the

affected marine mammal stocks.

DATES: Comments must be received at

the appropriate address or fax number

(see ADDRESSES), no later than 5 p.m.

Pacific Standard Time, by July 21, 2000.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or Internet.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed

permit and requests for reference

materials should be sent to Tim Price,

Protected Resources Division, National

Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest

Region, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite

4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213.

Comments may also be sent via

facsimile (fax) to 562–980–4027.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim

Price, NMFS, Southwest Region,

Protected Resources Division, (562)

980–4029.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

101(a)(5)(E) of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act (MMPA) requires the

authorization of the incidental taking of

individuals from marine mammal stocks

listed as threatened or endangered

under the ESA in the course of

commercial fishing operations if NMFS

determines that: (1) incidental mortality

and serious injury will have a negligible

impact on the affected species or stock;

(2) a recovery plan has been developed

or is being developed for such species

or stock under the ESA; and (3) where

required under section 118 of the

MMPA, a monitoring program has been

established, vessels engaged in such

fisheries are registered in accordance

with section 118 of the MMPA, and a

take reduction plan has been developed

or is being developed for such species

or stock.

On August 31, 1995 (60 FR 45399),

NMFS issued permits for fisheries

meeting the conditions under section

101(a)(5)(E) of the MMPA. At that time,

NMFS did not issue a permit to the

California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery

for the California/Oregon/WashingtonMexico humpback whale stock or the

California/Oregon/Washington sperm

whale stock because NMFS was unable

to determine that the estimated

mortality and serious injury incidental

to commercial fishing operations was

negligible. In addition, in 1995, NMFS

did not consider issuing a permit for the

incidental mortality and serious injury

of the California/Oregon/Washington fin

whale stock because there had been no

reported incidental takes at that time,

and NMFS had no reason to anticipate

any such takes. However, NMFS did

determine that the mortality and serious

injury incidental to commercial fishing

operations was negligible for the eastern

Steller sea lion stock and issued a

permit for that stock. On December 30,

1998 (63 FR 71894), NMFS extended the

permit until June 30, 1999. At that time,

NMFS announced that it was reviewing

the criteria for issuance of permits and

evaluating whether the criteria were

adequate or if changes should be made.

No comments were received. On May

27, 1999 (64 FR 28800), NMFS proposed

the issuance of permits for those

fisheries that have negligible impacts on

marine mammal stocks listed as

threatened or endangered under the

ESA for a period of 3 years. In addition,

that document provided further

guidance about the process for

determining negligible impact. A permit

for the mortality and serious injury of

the Steller sea lion incidental to the

California/Oregon drift gillnet fishing

operations was also proposed. Based on

new information, NMFS did not finalize

the proposed permits.

Since 1995, NMFS has gathered

additional data on the status of listed

marine mammals. Based on the more

recent survey data and analyses, the

Stock Assessment Reports contain

revised estimates of potential biological

removal (PBR) levels. PBR is defined in

the MMPA as ‘‘the maximum number of

animals, not including natural

mortalities, that may be removed from a

stock while allowing that stock to reach

or maintain its optimum sustainable

population’’ (16 U.S.C. 1362(20)). Also,

since 1995, NMFS has developed and

implemented the Pacific Offshore

Cetacean Take Reduction Plan (the Plan)

(62 FR 51805) for the California/Oregon

drift gillnet fishery. The initial goal of

a take reduction plan is to reduce

marine mammal bycatch in the fishery

to levels below PBR for all stocks. Since

the implementation of the Plan, overall

cetacean mortality in this fishery has

been reduced by 70 percent. For these

reasons, NMFS is re-evaluating whether

issuance of a permit under section

101(a)(5)(E) of the MMPA for the

California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery is

appropriate.

Process and Criteria for Issuing Permits

Section 101(a)(5)(E) of the Marine

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)

requires the authorization of the

incidental taking of individuals from

marine mammal stocks listed as

threatened or endangered under the

ESA in the course of commercial fishing

operations if NMFS determines, among

other criteria, that incidental mortality

and serious injury will have a negligible

impact on the affected species or stock.

‘‘Negligible impact’’ as defined in 50

CFR 216.103 and as applies here is, ‘‘an

impact resulting from the specified

activity that cannot be reasonably

expected to, and is not reasonably likely

to, adversely affect the species or stock

through effects on annual rates of

recruitment or survival.’’

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 6, 2000 / Notices 35905

In 1990, the Marine Mammal

Commission (MMC) submitted scientific

guidelines to NMFS to govern the

incidental taking of marine mammals in

the course of commercial fishing

operations. In those guidelines, the

MMC recommended NMFS determine

negligible impact if the mortality and

serious injury incidental to commercial

fishing operations would cause no more

than a 10 percent increase in the time

to recovery. NMFS incorporated the

MMC’s recommendation of negligible

impact criteria into the 1992 legislative

proposal. Participants at NMFS’ 1994

PBR workshop agreed, and determined

that authorized levels of human-related

mortality should increase recovery time

of endangered stocks by no more than

10 percent. Therefore, a default recovery

factor of 0.1 was chosen to use in the

PBR equation for endangered stocks of

marine mammals (Barlow et al., 1995).

On August 31, 1995 (60 FR 45399),

NMFS issued permits for fisheries

meeting the conditions under section

101(a)(5)(E) of the MMPA. As an interim

measure, NMFS considered a total

annual serious injury and mortality of

not more than 10 percent of a stock’s

PBR level to be negligible. In 1999,

NMFS published a notice of proposal to

issue permits under section 101(a)(5)(E)

of the MMPA. In the 1999 proposal,

NMFS again applied a serious injury

and mortality of not more than 10

percent of a stock’s PBR level as the

starting point for negligible impact

determinations. However, NMFS

recognized that a strict application of 10

percent of PBR was not appropriate in

some cases and that such a criterion

would not be the only factor in

evaluating whether a particular level of

take would be considered negligible.

Because population abundance and

fishery-related mortality information

have varying degrees of uncertainty,

NMFS considers factors such as

population trends and reliability of

abundance and mortality estimates in

calculating PBR. When calculating a

PBR for species listed as endangered

under the ESA, NMFS uses a value of

0.1 for the recovery factor based on the

rationale that this would not cause more

than a 10 percent increase in the time

to recovery (Barlow et al., 1995). Using

a PBR containing a recovery factor of 0.1

would allow a large portion of the

stock’s annual net production to be used

for recovery rather than being

authorized for removal due to incidental

mortality. Therefore, when incidental

mortality and serious injury was below

the stock’s PBR, such mortality and

serious injury would have no more than

a negligible impact on the stock.

In 1995, NMFS limited a

determination of negligible impact only

to those cases in which mortality and

serious injury incidental to commercial

fishing operations did not exceed 10

percent of any stock’s PBR. When that

criterion was applied to the cases in

which the PBR equation contained a

recovery factor of 0.1, the result was a

situation where authorized mortality

would cause only a small portion (10

percent) of the mortality that would

cause a negligible impact according to

the MMC’s recommendation. Therefore,

the standard was too restrictive for those

fisheries that take endangered marine

mammals with a recovery factor of 0.1

in the PBR calculation. Consequently, in

making a negligible impact

determination, NMFS has decided to

use case-specific analyses in those cases

where incidental mortality and serious

injury exceeded 10 percent of an

endangered stock’s PBR in determining

whether the estimated level of mortality

or serious injury would delay recovery

by more than 10 percent. In the case of

the 4 stocks of marine mammals

addressed by this permit, NMFS

evaluated whether the estimated level of

mortality and serious injury would

likely increase the recovery time by

more than 10 percent. Takes below this

level will be considered negligible.

Summary of Findings

NMFS has evaluated the best

available information for stocks listed as

threatened or endangered under the

ESA and has determined on a stock-bystock basis, whether the mortality and

serious injury (using 3-year averages

1997, 1998, 1999) incidental to the

California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery

that interacts with such stocks is having

a negligible impact on such stocks

(NMFS, 2000). Based on this

assessment, NMFS concludes that the

estimated mortality and serious injury

caused by the California/Oregon drift

gillnet fishery would cause no more

than a 10–percent increase in the time

to recovery for each of the four stocks

of marine mammals addressed by this

permit and is, therefore, negligible.

These stocks were then reviewed to

confirm that: (1) a recovery plan has

been developed or is being developed,

and (2) where required under section

118 of the MMPA, a monitoring program

has been established, vessels engaged in

such fisheries are registered, and a take

reduction plan has been, or is being,

developed.

For the following stocks with

documented evidence of fishery-related

interactions, NMFS has determined that

the mortality and serious injury

incidental to the California/Oregon drift

gillnet fishery will have a negligible

impact and proposes to issue a permit

for incidental takes of:

(1) Fin whale, California/Oregon/

Washington stock;

(2) Humpback whale, California/

Oregon/Washington-Mexico stock;

(3) Steller sea lion, eastern stock; and

(4) Sperm whale, California/Oregon/

Washington stock.

A stock-by-stock summary of the

negligible impact determination follows.

Fin whale, California/Oregon/

Washington stock: The PBR for this

stock is 2.1 whales per year. After the

1997 implementation of the Plan,

overall cetacean entanglement rates in

the California/Oregon drift gillnet

fishery dropped considerably. Using a 3-

year (1997–1999) average, the annual

mean mortality and serious injury rate

from the California/Oregon drift gillnet

fishery is estimated to be as low as 1.7

or as high as 2.3, depending on the

methodology used. However, during the

past 10 years, only one fin whale has

been observed taken in this fishery,

indicating a remote likelihood of a fin

whale take in the California/Oregon

drift gillnet fishery. When the mortality

and serious injury rate is calculated

from a more broad-based set of data than

the 3-year period under the Plan,

estimated mortality is low enough that

it could be considered a negligible

impact.

Humpback whale, California/Oregon/

Washington-Mexico stock: The PBR

level for this stock is 1.7 whales per

year. Using a 3-year average (1997–

1999), the mean annual mortality and

serious injury rate from the California/

Oregon drift gillnet fishery is estimated

to be 0.0 humpback whales. One

observed humpback whale

entanglement in 1999 was released alive

without any trailing gear and was not

considered a serious injury or mortality.

Since the beginning of the observer

program in 1990, there have been no

reported mortalities or serious injuries

of humpback whales.

Steller sea lion, eastern stock: The

PBR level for this stock is 1,368 animals

per year. Fishery observers monitored

the California/Oregon drift gillnet

fishery between 1990 and 1999. In both

1992 and 1994, one Steller sea lion

mortality was observed incidental to

this fishery. Using a 3-year average

(1997–1999), the mean annual mortality

and serious injury rate from the

California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery is

estimated to be 0.0 animals for the

California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery.

Sperm whale, California/Oregon/

Washington stock: The PBR level for

this stock is 2.0 whales per year. Using

a 3-year average (1997–1999), the mean

35906 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 6, 2000 / Notices

annual mortality and serious injury rate

from the California/Oregon drift gillnet

fishery is estimated to be 1.7 sperm

whales. In 1998, one sperm whale was

observed killed in a net that was not in

compliance with the Plan. The Pacific

Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team

(The Team) and the Pacific Scientific

Review Group both recommended no

further strategies to reduce sperm whale

entanglement be taken until the

effectiveness of pingers is better

understood. At the recommendation of

The Team, NMFS conducted workshops

to educate vessel operators on the need

to use the full complement of pingers

required by the Plan. NMFS

enforcement also trained the U.S. Coast

Guard about the requirements of the

Plan and requested their assistance with

at-sea enforcement.

NMFS prepared an Environmental

Assessment (EA) on the final rule to

implement the Plan (62 FR 51805). This

action falls within the scope of that EA

and the environmental consequences

described in that action, and there have

been no changes to the fishery

subsequent to issuing the EA. Therefore,

this action qualifies for a categorical

exclusion under section 5.05b of NOAA

Administrative Order 216–6 because a

prior NEPA analysis for the same action

demonstrated that the action will not

have significant impacts on the quality

of the human environment.

Issuance of Permits

Based on requirements of section

101(a)(5)(E) of the MMPA, NMFS

proposes to issue a permit to allow the

incidental, but not intentional, taking of

four stocks of endangered or threatened

marine mammals to the California/

Oregon drift gillnet fishery: (1) Fin

whale, California/Oregon/Washington

stock; (2) Humpback whale, California/

Oregon/Washington-Mexico stock; (3)

Steller sea lion, eastern stock; and (4)

Sperm whale, California/Oregon/

Washington stock. These permits may

be suspended or revoked if the level of

take is likely to result in an impact that

is more than negligible.

References

Barlow, J., S. Swartz, T. Eagle, and P.

Wade. 1995. U.S. Marine mammal stock

assessments: guidelines for preparation,

background, and a summary of the 1995

assessments. U.S. Department of

Commerce, NOAA Technical

Memorandum NMFS–SWFSC–219. 162

p.

National Marine Fisheries Service.

2000. Assessment for issuing a permit

under section 101(a)(5)(E) of the Marine

Mammal Protection Act to the

California/Oregon Drift Gillnet Fishery.

Southwest Region, Protected Resources

Division.

Wade, P.R. 1998. Calculating limits to

the allowable human-caused mortality

of cetaceans and pinnipeds. (Mar.

Mamm. Sci., 1491): 1–37.

Dated: May 31, 2000.

Donald R. Knowles,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14201 Filed 6–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Proposed Information Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Corporation for National and

Community Service.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National

and Community Service (hereinafter the

‘‘Corporation’’), as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, conducts a

preclearance consultation program to

provide the general public and Federal

agencies with an opportunity to

comment on proposed and/or

continuing collections of information in

accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44

U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program

helps to ensure that requested data can

be provided in the desired format,

reporting burden (time and financial

resources) is minimized, collection

instruments are clearly understood, and

the impact of collection requirement on

respondents can be properly assessed.

This form is available in alternate

formats. Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TTY/TDD) may call (202) 606–5256

between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30

p.m. Eastern time, Monday through

Friday.

Currently, the Corporation is

soliciting comments concerning the

revision of its Financial Status Report

form (Standard Form 269A) for National

and Community Services Act programs.

Copies of the information collection

request can be obtained by contacting

the office listed below in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted to the office listed in the

ADDRESSES section by August 7, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the

Corporation for National and

Community Service, Attn: Bruce Cline,

Director, Grants Management Office,

1201 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite

8711, Washington, D.C., 20525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bruce Cline, (202) 606–5000, ext. 440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comment Request

The Corporation is particularly

interested in comments which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the Corporation, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

• Evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

• Enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including the use of

appropriate automated, electronic,

mechanical, or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology, e.g., permitting

electronic submissions of responses.

Background

The National and Community Service

Act of 1990, as amended, specifically

sections 12571 and 12594, require

matching contributions of varying

proportion for both program (12571) and

member support (12594) costs.

Accordingly, our grantees must provide

the Corporation information on match

according to budget sections (Section A

is member support and Sections B–G are

other program support costs.) Without

these breakdowns, the Corporation

cannot accurately calculate match or

determine whether the legislated levels

are being met.

Current Action

The Corporation seeks OMB approval

to request the required reporting

information by allowing grantees to

utilize the Remarks block, Section 12, of

the Standard Form 269A, in the

following format:

In Remarks, Section 12, please

provide the following:

• For Recipient share of outlays

(section 10—Transactions ‘‘Previously

Reported,’’ ‘‘This period,’’ and

‘‘Cumulative’’), please list separately:

(1) Outlays from Budget Section B–G,

and

(2) Outlays from Budget Section A for

Transactions columns ‘‘Previously

Reported,’’ ‘‘This Period,’’ and

‘‘Cumulative.’’