57942 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices 

Burden Hours: 

Invention Records: 19,144 hours. 

Patent Records: 11,486 hours. 

Utilization Records: 38,288 hours. 

Needs and Uses: The Bayh-Dole Act 

(35 U.S.C. 18) and its implementing 

regulations (37 CFR 401) allow for 

recipients of Federal research funding 

(Contractors) to retain ownership of 

inventions developed under Federal 

funding agreements. In exchange, the 

government retains certain rights to the 

invention, including a world-wide right 

to use by or on behalf of the U.S. 

government. The law also requires the 

Contractor to obtain permission for 

certain actions and fulfill reporting 

requirements including: 

a. Initial reporting of invention. 

b. Decision to retain title to invention. 

c. Filing of patent protection. 

d. Evidence of government support 

clause within patents. 

e. Submission of a license confirming 

the government’s rights. 

f. Notice if the Contractor is going to 

discontinue the pursuit or continuance 

of patent protection. 

g. Information related to the 

development and utilization of 

invention. 

h. Permission to assign to a third 

party; and 

i. Permission to waive domestic 

manufacturing requirements. 

This information is used for a variety 

of reasons. It allows the government to 

identify technologies to which the 

government has rights to use without 

additional payment or licensing. This 

acts as a time and cost-saving 

mechanism to avoid unnecessary 

negotiating and payment. It also 

provides data for calculation of return 

on investment (ROI) from Federal 

funding and identifies successful 

research programs. Thirdly, it allows the 

government the opportunity to timely 

protect inventions which the Contractor 

declines title or discontinues patent 

protection. Many agencies utilize the 

iEdison system, managed by NIST, to 

collect this information. Agencies that 

do not register with iEdison are required 

to collect this information 

independently. 

Historically, only NIH and DOE 

regularly requested that Contractors 

submit requests for reports on the 

development and utilization of an 

invention (utilization reports) within 

iEdison. However, there has been an 

increased interest across the government 

in the impact of federally funded 

research and resulting inventions as 

well as compliance with the Bayh-Dole 

requirements, especially as it relates to 

domestic manufacturing requirements. 

As a result, the interagency working 

group for Bayh-Dole decided that all 

agencies would begin to request this 

information, and the questions would be 

amended and expanded upon so that 

the agencies could get a clear picture of 

the commercialization plans for subject 

inventions, what the licensing 

landscape looked like, what products 

were resulting, and where those 

products were being manufactured. 

Another data point of particular 

interest across government relates to 

gender, and specifically how gender 

disparity may be present within the 

inventing and commercialization space. 

Collecting gender of the inventors 

within iEdison provides agencies 

previously unavailable data that they 

may use to conduct assessments under 

administrative policy guidance outlined 

in Executive Order 13985. NIST does 

not anticipate that the collection of this 

data will significantly affect the 

reporting burden. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; Not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain benefits. 

Legal Authority: The Bayh-Dole Act 

(35 U.S.C. 18) and its implementing 

regulations (37 CFR 401); 35 U.S.C. 200– 

212. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering the title of the collection. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18160 Filed 8–23–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Advisory Committee on Earthquake 

Hazards Reduction Meeting 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee on 

Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR 

or Committee) will hold an open virtual 

meeting via web conference on Monday, 

September 25, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary 

purpose of this meeting is for the 

Committee to finalize their 2023 

Biennial Report on the Effectiveness of 

the National Earthquake Hazards 

Reduction Program (NEHRP). The final 

agenda will be posted on the NEHRP 

website at https://nehrp.gov/ 

committees/meetings.htm. 

DATES: The ACEHR will meet on 

Monday, September 25, 2023, from 1:00 

p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via web conference. For instructions on 

how to participate in the meeting, 

please see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina 

Faecke, Management and Program 

Analyst, NEHRP, Engineering 

Laboratory, NIST. Ms. Faecke’s email 

address is tina.faecke@nist.gov and her 

phone number is (240) 477–9841. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee is composed of 12 members, 

appointed by the Director of NIST, who 

were selected for their established 

records of distinguished service in their 

professional community, their 

knowledge of issues affecting NEHRP, 

and to reflect the wide diversity of 

technical disciplines, competencies, and 

communities involved in earthquake 

hazards reduction. In addition, the 

Chairperson of the U.S. Geological 

Survey Scientific Earthquake Studies 

Advisory Committee serves as an exofficio member of the Committee. 

Pursuant to FACA, as amended, 5 

U.S.C. 1001 et seq., notice is hereby 

given that the ACEHR will meet on 

Monday, September 25, 2023, from 1:00 

p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The 

meeting will be open to the public and 

will be held via web conference. 

Interested members of the public will be 

able to participate in the meeting from 

remote locations. The primary purpose 

of this meeting is for the Committee to 

finalize their 2023 Biennial Report on 

the Effectiveness of NEHRP. The final 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices 57943 

agenda will be posted on the NEHRP 

website at https://nehrp.gov/ 

committees/meetings.htm. 

Individuals and representatives of 

organizations who would like to offer 

comments and suggestions related to the 

Committee’s business are invited to 

request a place on the agenda. 

Approximately fifteen minutes will be 

reserved for public comments and 

speaking times will be assigned on a 

first-come, first-serve basis. The amount 

of time per speaker will be determined 

by the number of requests received. This 

meeting will be recorded. Public 

comments can be provided via email or 

by web conference attendance. 

Questions from the public will not be 

considered during this period. All those 

wishing to speak must submit their 

request by email to Tina Faecke at 

tina.faecke@nist.gov by 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time, Monday, September 4, 

2023. Speakers who wish to expand 

upon their oral statements, those who 

had wished to speak but could not be 

accommodated on the agenda, and those 

who were unable to participate are 

invited to submit written statements 

electronically by email to tina.faecke@

nist.gov. 

Anyone wishing to attend this 

meeting via web conference must 

register by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 

Monday, September 4, 2023, to attend. 

Please submit your full name, the 

organization you represent (if 

applicable), email address, and phone 

number to Tina Faecke at tina.faecke@

nist.gov. After pre-registering, 

participants will be provided with 

instructions on how to join the web 

conference. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7704(a)(5) and 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. 1001 et 

seq. 

Alicia Chambers, 

NIST Executive Secretariat. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18258 Filed 8–23–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD270] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Geophysical Surveys 

Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the 

Gulf of Mexico 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of letter of 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, its implementing 

regulations, and NMFS’ MMPA 

Regulations for Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Geophysical 

Surveys Related to Oil and Gas 

Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, 

notification is hereby given that a Letter 

of Authorization (LOA) has been issued 

to ExxonMobil Corporation 

(ExxonMobil) for the take of marine 

mammals incidental to geophysical 

survey activity in the Gulf of Mexico. 

DATES: The LOA is effective from 

August 18, 2023, through April 1, 2026. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-oil-andgas-industry-geophysical-surveyactivity-gulf-mexico. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben 

Laws, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce to allow, 

upon request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

An authorization for incidental 

takings shall be granted if NMFS finds 

that the taking will have a negligible 

impact on the species or stock(s), will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 

relevant), and if the permissible 

methods of taking and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as 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. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, the MMPA 

defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) 

has the potential to injure a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild (Level A harassment), or (ii) has 

the potential to disturb a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild by causing disruption of behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (Level B 

harassment). 

On January 19, 2021, we issued a final 

rule with regulations to govern the 

unintentional taking of marine 

mammals incidental to geophysical 

survey activities conducted by oil and 

gas industry operators, and those 

persons authorized to conduct activities 

on their behalf (collectively ‘‘industry 

operators’’), in U.S. waters of the Gulf of 

Mexico (GOM) over the course of 5 

years (86 FR 5322, January 19, 2021). 

The rule was based on our findings that 

the total taking from the specified 

activities over the 5-year period will 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

species or stock(s) of marine mammals 

and will not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

those species or stocks for subsistence 

uses. The rule became effective on April 

19, 2021. 

Our regulations at 50 CFR 217.180 et 

seq. allow for the issuance of LOAs to 

industry operators for the incidental 

take of marine mammals during 

geophysical survey activities and 

prescribe the permissible methods of 

taking and other means of effecting the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

marine mammal species or stocks and 

their habitat (often referred to as 

mitigation), as well as requirements 

pertaining to the monitoring and 

reporting of such taking. Under 50 CFR 

217.186(e), issuance of an LOA shall be 

based on a determination that the level 

of taking will be consistent with the 

findings made for the total taking 

allowable under these regulations and a 

determination that the amount of take 

authorized under the LOA is of no more 

than small numbers. 

Summary of Request and Analysis 

ExxonMobil plans to conduct well 

appraisal and high-resolution 

engineering geophysical surveys 

associated with its federal lease blocks 

within the High Island and Galveston 

areas. See Figure 1 of the LOA 

application for a map of the area. 

ExxonMobil anticipates using a daily 

contingent of from one to three source 


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