12772 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 52 / Monday, March 19, 2007 / Notices 

December 29, 2006). Thus, NMFS 

believes that the Council has taken the 

necessary steps under MagnusonStevens Act section 304(e)(3)(A) to end 

overfishing on petrale sole. 

Dated: March 12, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–4954 Filed 3–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 030602141–7056–49; I.D. 

030607G] 

Availability of Grant Funds for Fiscal 

Year 2007 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; reopening of 

competition solicitation. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, National 

Marine Fisheries Service publishes this 

notice to reopen the competitive 

solicitation for the Chesapeake Bay 

Cooperative Science Program which was 

originally published in the Federal 

Register on December 27, 2006. The 

solicitation period was reopened to 

provide the public more time to submit 

proposals. 

DATES: The new deadline for the receipt 

of proposals is 5 p.m. Eastern Time on 

March 26, 2007 for both electronic and 

paper applications. 

ADDRESSES: The address for submitting 

Proposals electronically is: http:// 

www.grants.gov/. (Electronic 

submission is strongly encouraged). 

Paper submissions should be sent to the 

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, 410 

Severn Avenue, Suite 107, Annapolis, 

MD 21403. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Derek Orner, 410–267–5676, 

derek.orner@noaa.gov; or Peter 

Bergstrom, 410–267–5665, 

peter.bergstrom@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

program was originally solicited in the 

Federal Register on December 27, 2006 

(71 FR 77726), as part of the December, 

2006 NOAA Omnibus 

solicitation. The original deadline for 

receipt of proposals was 5 p.m., EST, on 

March 12, 2007. NOAA reopens the 

solicitation period to provide the public 

more time to submit proposals as severe 

weather conditions adversely affected 

the ability of potential applicants to 

submit applications. All applications 

that are submitted between March 12, 

2007, and March 19, 2007 will be 

considered timely. All other 

requirements published in the 

December 27, 2006 solicitation notice 

are applicable and remain the same. 

Limitation of Liability 

Funding for programs listed in this 

notice is contingent upon the 

availability of Fiscal Year 2007 funds. In 

no event will NOAA or the Department 

of Commerce be responsible for 

proposal preparation costs if these 

programs fail to receive funding or are 

cancelled because of other agency 

priorities. Publication of this 

announcement does not oblige NOAA to 

award any specific project or to obligate 

any available funds. 

Universal Identifier 

Applicants should be aware that they 

are required to provide a Dun and 

Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number during the 

application process. See the October 30, 

2002, Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 210, 

pp. 66177–66178, for additional 

information. Organizations can receive a 

DUNS number at no cost by calling the 

dedicated toll-free DUNS Number 

request line at 1–866–705–5711 or via 

the internet (http:// 

www.dunandbradstreet.com). 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

NOAA must analyze the potential 

environmental impacts, as required by 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), for applicant projects or 

proposals which are seeking NOAA 

federal funding opportunities. Detailed 

information on NOAA compliance with 

NEPA can be found at the following 

NOAA NEPA website: http:// 

www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our 

NOAA Administrative Order 216–6 for 

NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ 

NAO216l6lTOC.pdf, and the Council 

on Environmental Quality 

implementation regulations, http:// 

ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/ 

toclceq.htm. Consequently, as part of 

an applicant’s package, and under their 

description of their program activities, 

applicants are required to provide 

detailed information on the activities to 

be conducted, locations, sites, species 

and habitat to be affected, possible 

construction activities, and any 

environmental concerns that may exist 

(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous 

or toxic chemicals, introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to 

endangered and threatened species, 

aquaculture projects, and impacts to 

coral reef systems). 

In addition to providing specific 

information that will serve as the basis 

for any required impact analyses, 

applicants may also be requested to 

assist NOAA in drafting of an 

environmental assessment, if NOAA 

determines an assessment is required. 

Applicants will also be required to 

cooperate with NOAA in identifying 

feasible measures to reduce or avoid any 

identified adverse environmental 

impacts of their proposal. The failure to 

do so shall be grounds for not selecting 

an application. In some cases if 

additional information is required after 

an application is selected, funds can be 

withheld by the Grants Officer under a 

special award condition requiring the 

recipient to submit additional 

environmental compliance information 

sufficient to enable NOAA to make an 

assessment on any impacts that a project 

may have on the environment. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

contained in the Federal Register notice 

of December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389), are 

applicable to this solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, 

SF-LLL, and CD–346 has been approved 

by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) under the respective 

control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 

0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of 

law, no person is required to respond to, 

nor shall any person be subject to a 

penalty for failure to comply with, a 

collection of information subject to the 

requirements of the PRA unless that 

collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

Executive Order 12866 

This notice has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

Federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Prior notice and an opportunity for 

public comment are not required by the 

Administrative Procedure Act or any 

other law for rules concerning public 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 52 / Monday, March 19, 2007 / Notices 12773 

property, loans, grants, benefits, and 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because 

notice and opportunity for comment are 

not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or 

any other law, the analytical 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are 

inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory 

flexibility analysis has not been 

prepared. 

Dated: March 13, 2007. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–4883 Filed 3–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3520–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 022807G] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Rocket Launches from 

Kodiak, AK 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a Letter of 

Authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) and implementing regulations, 

notification is hereby given that a 1-year 

letter of authorization (LOA) has been 

issued to the Alaska Aerospace 

Development Corporation (AADC), to 

take Steller sea lions (Eumetopias 

jubatus) and Pacific harbor seals (Phoca 

vitulina richardii) incidental to rocket 

launches from the Kodiac Launch 

Complex (KLC). 

DATES: Effective March 12, 2007, 

through March 11, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting 

documentation are available by writing 

to Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, 

Conservation, and Education Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910-3225, by telephoning one of the 

contacts listed here (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT), or online at: 

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

incidental.htm. Documents cited in this 

notice may be viewed, by appointment, 

during regular business hours, at the 

aforementioned address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jolie 

Harrison, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, (301) 713–2289, or Brad Smith, 

NMFS, (907) 271–3023. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs the National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to 

allow, on 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 regulations are issued. 

Under the MMPA, the term ‘‘taking’’

means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or 

to attempt to harass, hunt, capture or 

kill marine mammals. 

Authorization may be granted for 

periods up to 5 years if NMFS finds, 

after notification and opportunity for 

public comment, that the taking will 

have a negligible impact on the species 

or stock(s) of marine mammals and will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for subsistence uses. In 

addition, NMFS must prescribe 

regulations that include permissible 

methods of taking and other means 

effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact on the species and its habitat 

and on the availability of the species for 

subsistence uses, paying particular 

attention to rookeries, mating grounds, 

and areas of similar significance. The 

regulations must include requirements 

for monitoring and reporting of such 

taking. 

Regulations governing the taking of 

Steller sea lions (SSLs) and harbor seals 

incidental to rocket launches at KLC, 

became effective on February 27, 2006 

(71 FR 4297), and remain in effect until 

February 28, 2011. For detailed 

information on this action, please refer 

to that document. These regulations 

include mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements for the 

incidental taking of marine mammals 

during rocket launches at KLC. 

Summary of Request 

NMFS received a request for an LOA 

pursuant to the aforementioned 

regulations that would authorize, for a 

period not to exceed 1 year, take of 

marine mammals incidental to rocket 

launches at KLC. 

Summary of Activity and Monitoring 

Under the Current LOA 

In compliance with the 2006 LOA, 

AADC submitted an annual report on 

the rocket launches at KLC. A summary 

of that report (R&M Consultants, 2006) 

follows. 

One launch was conducted at KLC 

between February 27, 2006, and 

February 28, 2007. This was a 

monitored launch of an Interceptor 

FTG-02 on September 1, 2006, at 9:22 

am. Aerial surveys to document 

abundance of SSLs and harbor seals 

were flown 3 days prior to, immediately 

after, and 2 days post launch. Video 

monitoring equipment and a sound 

level meter were deployed on the 

northeast end of Ugak Island, 4.5 miles 

(7.2 km) from the launch site, 

overlooking East Ugak Rock, and 

another sound level meter was deployed 

at Narrow Cape, 0.9 miles from the 

launch site. No SSLs were observed at 

the traditional haul-out site on the 

northern tip of Ugak Island during prelaunch surveys; therefore, no 

monitoring at that site was conducted. 

As an alternative, the northeast end of 

Ugak Island was chosen as a monitoring 

location as two to five SSLs we observed 

there during pre-launch aerial survey 

flights. 

Sound level monitoring equipment at 

the SSL haulout site registered noise 

above general ambient levels for one 

minute eight seconds. Noise levels 

peaked at 105.6 dBC. During pre-launch 

aerial surveys, 2 to 4 sea lions were 

observed hauled out at this site and one 

was seen swimming in the area on 2 of 

the 3 days. Video monitoring showed 

two SSLs resting on East Ugak Rock 

during the launch. No change in SSL 

activity was observed during the 

ignition, during the peak noise levels 

that followed the launch, or for the 

remaining duration of the video 

monitoring (4 hrs 7 min). Post launch 

surveys documented 1-2 SSLs using this 

haul-out site. 

Video monitoring for harbor seal 

reaction during the launch was not 

required in conjunction with SSL 

response monitoring. Abundance 

monitoring via aerial surveys conducted 

pre and post launch around Ugak Island 

revealed that harbor seals concentrated 

at two haul-out sites. Average haul-out 

attendance increased on days following 

the launch at these two locations, 

Northeast and Southeast Ugak Island. 

Pre launch surveys showed 876 and 

1154, respectively, seals hauled-out 

while post launch surveys revealed 

1207 and 1497 seals at these locations. 

Therefore, NMFS believes that harbor 

seal attendance at these haul-out sites 

was not affected negatively by this 

launch. 

In summary, no impacts to any 

marine mammals were detected during 

the launches. There was no evidence of 

injury or mortality as a result of the 

launches and numbers of hauled out 

animals were similar to or higher than 


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