Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 39 / Wednesday, February 28, 2007 / Notices 8971 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 022207D] 

Draft Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: NMFS will hold a series of 

public hearings regarding the Draft 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (DPEIS) for Research on 

Steller Sea Lions and Northern Fur 

Seals. 

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

for specific dates, times, and locations 

of public hearings for this issue. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mike Payne or Tammy Adams, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 16, 2007, notice was published 

in the Federal Register (72 FR 7652) of 

the availability of the DPEIS for review 

and comments. Written comments on 

the DPEIS must be received by April 2, 

2007. NMFS will hold three public 

hearings to inform interested parties of 

the alternatives analyzed and accept 

comments. Please be advised that a 

valid government-issued photoidentification will be required for entry 

through building security at the Silver 

Spring, MD and Seattle, WA hearings. 

Public Hearings Agenda 

Public hearings will be held at the 

following dates, times, and locations: 

1. March 13, 2007, 1 to 4 pm; Silver 

Spring Metro Complex, Bldg. 4, Science 

Center, 1301 East-West Highway, Silver 

Spring, MD; 

2. March 15, 2007, 4 to 7 pm; Alaska 

Fisheries Science Center, Bldg. 9, 7600 

Sand Point Way, Seattle, WA; and 

3. March 18, 2007, 5 to 8 pm; Hilton 

Hotel, 501 West 3rd Avenue, 

Anchorage, AK. 

Written comments will be accepted at 

these hearings as well as during the 

comment period. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are accessible to 

people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Tyrone Stuckey or Dee Jenkins, 301–

713–2289 (voice) or 301–427–2521 (fax), 

at least five business days before the 

scheduled meeting date. 

Dated: February 22, 2007. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–3517 Filed 2–27–07; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 022207B] 

National Standard 1 Guidelines; 

Scoping Process 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of scoping meetings; 

extension of scoping period. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces several 

scoping meetings for the environmental 

impact statement for implementation of 

annual catch limit (ACL) and 

accountability measure (AM) 

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA). 

Such guidance would be added to the 

National Standard 1 Guidelines. NMFS 

also extends the ending date of the 

scoping period for this action from April 

2, 2007, through April 17, 2007. 

DATES: Dates and locations of scoping 

meetings are listed below under 

ADDRESSES. Written comments must be 

received by April 17, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Scoping meetings will be 

held at the following locations: 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council Meeting, March 6, 2007, 6:30 

p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Jekyll Island 

Club Hotel, Jekyll Island, GA 31527. 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

Headquarters, Silver Spring, March 9, 

2007, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Silver Spring 

Metro Center ι3 Building, Room 4527, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council Meeting, March 14, 2007, 7:30 

p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ala Moana Hotel, 

Honolulu, HI 96814. 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Council Meeting, March 20, 2007, 6 

p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ponce Hilton Hotel, 

Ponce, PR 00716. 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council Meeting, March 29, 2007, 6:30 

p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites 

Hotel, Destin, FL 32550. 

NMFS may hold additional scoping 

meetings during the comment period 

that ends April 17, 2007. 

You may submit comments on issues 

and alternatives, by any of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail: 

annual.catchlimitDEIS@noaa.gov. 

Include ‘‘Scoping comments on annual 

catch limit DEIS’’ in subject line of the 

message. 

• Fax: 301–713–1193 

• Mail: Mark Millikin; National 

Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA; 1315 

East-West Highway; Silver Spring, MD 

20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Millikin; National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 301–713–2341. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This Federal Register document is 

available on the Government Printing 

Office’s website at: www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

fr/index. 

Background 

The MSRA, signed into law by 

President Bush on January 12, 2007, set 

forth new requirements related to 

overfishing, including new ACL and 

AM provisions for federally managed 

fisheries in the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone. NMFS initiated action through a 

notice of intent (NOI) to develop 

guidance related to these new 

provisions, specifically requirements set 

forth under sections 103(b)(1) and (c)(3), 

104(a)(10), (b), and (c) of the MSRA. 

NMFS intends to revise the National 

Standard 1 (NS1) Guidelines, 50 CFR 

600.310, through a proposed and final 

rule to incorporate guidance of these 

MSRA sections before the end of 2007. 

NMFS is seeking input on ACLs and 

AMs and related matters in the NS1 

Guidelines. More background related to 

this action is contained in the NOI 

published on February 14, 2007 (72 FR 

7016), and is not repeated here. 

If NMFS is able to schedule additional 

scoping meetings with Regional Fishery 

Management Councils, it will issue 

additional notices in the Federal 

Register. 

Special Accommodations 

The public meetings listed in this 

notice will be accessible to people with 

physical disabilities. Requests for sign 

language interpretation and other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Jennifer Ise (301–713–2341), at least 5 

days before the scheduled session. 

Dated: February 23, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–3507 Filed 2–27–07; 8:45 am] 

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