17116 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 

must meet the requirements of the 

Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et 

seq.), 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3, and if 

appropriate, 21 CFR part 58. These 

regulations do not apply to proposed 

research using pre-existing images of 

animals or to research plans that do not 

include live animals that are being cared 

for, euthanized, or used by the project 

participants to accomplish research 

goals, teaching, or testing. These 

regulations also do not apply to 

obtaining animal materials from 

commercial processors of animal 

products or to animal cell lines or 

tissues from tissue banks. 

Limitation of Liability: Funding for 

the programs listed in this notice is 

contingent upon the availability of 

funds. In no event will 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 the 

agency to award any specific project or 

to obligate any available funds. 

Executive Order 12866: This funding 

notice was 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. 

Executive Order 12372: Applications 

under this program are not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Notice and 

comment are not required under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553) or any other law, for rules relating 

to public property, loans, grants, 

benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553 (a)). 

Because notice and comment are not 

required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any 

other law, for rules relating to public 

property, loans, grants, benefits or 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is not required and 

has not been prepared for this notice, 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq. 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

James E. Hill, 

Acting Deputy Director, NIST. 

[FR Doc. E7–6505 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. /807B] 

Endangered Species; File No. 1607 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Grants Pass Irrigation District (GPID), 

200 Fruitvale Drive, Grants Pass, 

Oregon, has applied in due form for an 

incidental take permit for Southern 

Oregon/Northern California coho 

salmon for purposes of the continued 

operation and maintenance of Savage 

Rapids Dam. Unlisted covered species 

include Klamath Mountains Province 

(KMP) steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) 

and Southern Oregon/Northern 

California Coastal (SONCC) Chinook 

salmon (O. tshawytscha). 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

May 7, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following office(s): 

Northwest Region, Oregon State 

Habitat Office, Habitat Conservation 

Division, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd 

Boulevard, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 

97232–1274; phone (503) 231–2202; fax 

(503) 231–6893; and Roseburg Field 

Office, NMFS, 2900 NW Stewart 

Parkway, Roseburg, OR 97470, phone 

(541) 957–3385; fax (541) 957–3386 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this application 

should be mailed to the above address. 

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 (503) 231–6893, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

Kenneth.Phippen@noaa.gov. Include in 

the subject line of the e-mail comment 

the following document identifier: File 

No. 1607. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken 

Phippen, (541)957–3385. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Endangered Species Act 

of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) and the regulations 

governing the taking, importing, and 

exporting of endangered and threatened 

species (50 CFR parts 222–226). 

The Permit application is related to 

the continued operation and 

maintenance of Savage Rapids Dam in 

Josephine and Jackson Counties, in the 

State of Oregon. The dam is owned and 

operated by the GPID for the sole 

purpose of providing irrigation water to 

its customers. The GPID Habitat 

Conservation Plan (HCP) utilizes a 

combination of conservation measures 

that are expected to minimize and 

mitigate, to the maximum extent 

practicable, the impacts of take of ESAlisted coho salmon, and unlisted 

Chinook salmon and steelhead during 

irrigation operations in the period 2007–

2009. A 1-year extension is considered 

in the assessments of this HCP. The HCP 

also requires GPID to take certain steps 

during the time the permit is effective 

to work to secure authorization and 

funding for dam removal and to install 

off-site electrical pumping stations 

along the Rogue River near Grants Pass, 

Oregon, by November 1, 2009, to 

provide for the long-term conservation 

of listed and unlisted covered species. 

The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded 

a contract for constructing the irrigation 

pumps and dismantling the dam. Pump 

construction was initiated in October 

2006 and is expected to be completed 

along with dam dismantling prior to this 

ITP’s expiration. To ensure that the 

mitigation and minimization strategies 

are effective, the HCP incorporates a 

variety of monitoring components, and 

if needed, adaptive management 

changes in the conservation measures 

set forth. It is expected that incidental 

take of the listed and unlisted species 

will occur from the normal operations 

and maintenance of the dam. 

Adult and juvenile SONC coho 

salmon from the Upper Rogue River 

population will be exposed to the SRD 

facilities that pose a physical threat to 

these individuals. Some adults from the 

Middle Rogue and Applegate rivers 

population may also venture above SRD 

or within the area downstream that is 

affected by the flow modifications of the 

dam. Adults must navigate the river and 

the altered flows from SRD in order to 

locate the fish ladders. The adults’

upstream migration is likely to be 

delayed while flow conditions reach 

levels that allow the fish to navigate the 

fish ladders. Total mortality of juveniles 

caused by SRD is estimated to be 10 to 

15 percent by Oregon Department of 

Fish and Wildlife. This may be 

decreased by ongoing conservation 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 17117 

measures, such as forebay lighting. 

However, this may be off-set by lowwater years and a greater percentage of 

fish exposed to the turbines. Therefore, 

based on estimates of juvenile coho 

salmon population sizes and the effects 

described above, the annual injury and 

mortality of salmonid juveniles each 

year during the interim period is 

estimated to be between 1,400 and 2,500 

fish. Total mortality of adult coho 

salmon is estimated to be between 200 

and 1,200 fish annually. On an annual 

basis for the four years of potential 

operation (three years approved and one 

potential extension), fish salvage 

operations in the fall and spring will 

result in additional levels of harm for 

juvenile salmon and rarely for adults. In 

the fall there is potential for one adult 

coho salmon to be encountered during 

the shutdown operations of SRD. Both 

spring and fall situations will result in 

approximately 130 juvenile SONC coho 

salmon captured and released during 

the salvage operations. It is expected 

that up to 10 of these may die. 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6412 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 031507B] 

Draft Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement; Seismic Surveys in 

the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement; notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: NMFS and the Minerals 

Management Service (MMS) announce 

the availability of a Draft Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 

PEIS) for Seismic Surveys in the 

Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, Alaska and 

the times, dates, and locations for public 

hearings in order to receive comments 

from the public on the Draft PEIS. 

DATES: Public hearings on the Draft PEIS 

are scheduled as follows: 

1. April 10, 2007, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., 

Anchorage, AK. 

2. April 17, 2007, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

Nuiqsuk, AK 

3. April 18, 2007, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

Barrow, AK 

4. April 23, 2007, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

Point Hope, AK 

5. April 24, 2007, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

Point Lay, AK 

6. April 25, 2007, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

Wainwright, AK 

Written comments will be accepted at 

these hearings as well as during the 

comment period. Written comments 

must be postmarked no later than May 

14, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

Draft PEIS should be addressed to Mr. 

P. Michael Payne, Chief of the Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

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

20910–3225. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

PR1.ALASKAEIS@noaa.gov. Comments 

sent via e-mail, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 10–

megabyte file size. 

A copy of the Draft PEIS may be 

obtained by writing to this address or by 

telephoning the contact listed here and 

is also available at: http:// 

www.mms.gov/alaska/. 

The public hearings will be held at 

the following locations: 

1. 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Anchorage, 

AK 

2. City Hall, Nuiqsut, AK 

3. Inupiat Heritage Center, Barrow, 

AK 

4. Qalgi Center (City Hall), Point 

Hope, AK 

5. High School Gymnasium, Point 

Lay, AK 

6. Robert James Community Center, 

Wainwright, AK 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kenneth R. Hollingshead, (301) 713–

2289, ext 128. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary 

On March 30, 2007, notice was 

published in the Federal Register of the 

availability of the subject Draft PEIS for 

review and comments. NMFS and MMS 

will hold public hearings under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) to inform interested parties of 

the alternatives analyzed by NMFS and 

MMS and to accept comments on all 

aspects of the Draft PEIS. 

Background 

The NMFS and MMS have jointly 

prepared the subject Draft PEIS in order 

to fully describe and analyze the 

potential significant impacts on marine 

mammals, other Arctic marine life, and 

native subsistence lifestyles by 

reasonably foreseeable proposed 

offshore oil and gas seismic surveys off 

Alaska. This document also addresses a 

number of mitigation measures that 

have been identified as alternatives for 

potentially reducing impacts on 

identified affected environments, 

particularly marine mammals and the 

endangered bowhead whale. This PEIS 

will be used for issuing: (1) permits for 

oil and gas exploration in the Arctic 

Ocean by MMS, and (2) Incidental 

Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) to 

the seismic industry by NMFS to take 

marine mammals incidental to oil and 

gas seismic surveys in the Arctic Ocean. 

As sounds generated by seismic survey 

operations and related activities have 

the potential to adversely impact marine 

mammals and other marine resources, 

IHAs would be warranted, under the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act, in 

order to legally harass marine mammals 

(particularly bowhead whales), 

incidental to conducting seismic 

surveys. 

Summary of Draft PEIS 

Activity 

The Draft PEIS describes and analyzes 

the potential significant environmental 

impacts related to reasonably 

foreseeable proposed geophysical 

exploration using seismic surveys in 

waters of the Arctic Alaska Outer 

Continental Shelf. Specifically, the Draft 

PEIS assesses the environmental 

impacts of up to 6 consecutive surveys 

each in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas 

using deep-penetration 2D and 3D 

streamer and ocean bottom cable 

surveys, and high-resolution surveys 

and the issuance of IHAs to take marine 

mammals by these activities. As the 

sound generated by a seismic-survey 

operation and related activities has the 

potential to adversely impact marine 

mammals and other marine resources, 

IHAs would be warranted in order to 

incidentally harass marine mammals 

(particularly bowhead whales) while 

conducting seismic surveys. 

Impacts 

The best available scientific 

information indicates that marine 

seismic surveys may adversely impact 

archaeological sites, marine 

invertebrates, coastal and marine birds, 

essential fish habitat, marine fish, 

commercial fisheries, marine mammals, 

the sociocultural environment, and 

subsistence-harvest activities. Therefore, 

the analysis contained in the Draft PEIS 

focused on these resource categories. Of 

critical importance to NMFS for the 

proposed action of issuing IHAs are the 

impacts on marine mammals 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES