43302 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MM Docket No. 97–173, RM–9134]

Radio Broadcasting Services;

Lexington, TX

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Commission requests

comments on a petition by Lee County

Broadcasters seeking the allotment of

Channel 286A to Lexington, Texas, as

the community’s first local aural

transmission service. Channel 286A can

be allotted to Lexington in compliance

with the Commission’s minimum

distance separation requirements with a

site restriction 13.3 kilometers (8.3

miles) north in order to avoid a shortspacing conflict with the licensed

operation of Station KBUK–FM,

Channel 285A, La Grange, Texas. The

coordinates for Channel 286A at

Lexington 30–31–36 NL and 96–57–45

WL.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or

before September 29, 1997, and reply

comments on or before October 14,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, Washington, DC 20554. In

addition to filing comments with the

FCC, interested parties should serve the

petitioner, or its counsel or consultant,

as follows: Henry E. Crawford, Esq.,

1150 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite

900, Washington, D.C. 20036 (Counsel

for petitioner).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam

Blumenthal, Mass Media Bureau, (202)

418–2180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

synopsis of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rule Making, MM Docket No.

97–173, adopted July 30, 1997, and

released August 8, 1997. The full text of

this Commission decision is available

for inspection and copying during

normal business hours in the FCC’s

Reference Center (Room 239), 1919 M

Street, NW, Washington, DC. The

complete text of this decision may also

be purchased from the Commission’s

copy contractor, ITS, Inc., (202) 857–

3800, 1231 20th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20036.

Provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980 do not apply to

this proceeding.

Members of the public should note

that from the time a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making is issued until the matter

is no longer subject to Commission

consideration or court review, all ex

parte contacts are prohibited in

Commission proceedings, such as this

one, which involve channel allotments.

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules

governing permissible ex parte contacts.

For information regarding proper

filing procedures for comments, see 47

CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Radio broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.

John A. Karousos,

Chief, Allocations Branch, Policy and Rules

Division, Mass Media Bureau.

[FR Doc. 97–21373 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

50 CFR Part 229

[Docket No. 970129015–7127–03; I.D.

042597B]

RIN 0648–AI84

Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental

to Commercial Fishing Operations;

Gulf of Maine Harbor Porpoise Take

Reduction Plan Regulations

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to

implement a plan to reduce the bycatch

and mortality of harbor porpoises that

occur incidental to sink gillnet fishing

in the Gulf of Maine. These regulations

were based on a draft Harbor Porpoise

Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP)

submitted by the Gulf of Maine Harbor

Porpoise Take Reduction Team (HPTRT)

pursuant to the Marine Mammal

Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS seeks

comment on the draft Harbor Porpoise

Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP), NMFS’

proposed changes to the draft plan, the

proposed regulations to implement the

plan and the Environmental Assessment

(EA) of the plan.

DATES: Comments must be received by

October 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Chief,

Marine Mammal Division, Office of

Protected Resources, National Marine

Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910–

3226. Copies of the draft HPTRP and EA

are available upon request from Douglas

Beach, Northeast Region, NMFS, One

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930,

or from Donna Wieting, Office of

Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910–3226.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kevin Chu, NMFS, 508–495–2291 or

Donna Wieting, NMFS, 301–713–2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf

of Maine sink gillnet fishery is classified

as a Category I fishery under section 118

of the MMPA, 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.. A

Category I fishery is a fishery that has

frequent incidental mortality and

serious injury of marine mammals. The

fishery operates year-round in nearshore

and offshore waters. Much of the sink

gillnet activity in the Gulf of Maine is

regulated by the New England

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan

(FMP). Gillnet fishing for other species,

such as monkfish and dogfish, will be

governed by FMPs and implementing

regulations that are currently under

development by the New England

Fishery Management Council (NEFMC)

and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (MAFMC),

respectively.

The Gulf of Maine sink gillnet fishery

has a historical incidental bycatch of a

strategic marine mammal stock, the

harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).

A strategic stock is a stock: (1) For

which the level of direct human-caused

mortality exceeds the potential

biological removal (PBR) level; (2) that

is declining and is likely to be listed

under the Endangered Species Act

(ESA) in the foreseeable future; or (3)

that is listed as a threatened or

endangered species under the ESA. The

incidental bycatch of harbor porpoises

in the Gulf of Maine sink gillnet fishery

exceeds the PBR level established for

that stock. The Gulf of Maine Stock of

harbor porpoise has been proposed for

listing as threatened under the ESA (58

FR 3108, January 7, 1993).

Section 118 of the MMPA requires

NMFS to develop and implement a take

reduction plan to assist in the recovery

or to prevent the depletion of each

strategic stock that interacts with a

Category I or II fishery. A Category II

fishery is a fishery that has occasional

incidental mortality and serious injury

of marine mammals. The immediate

goal of a take reduction plan is to

reduce, within 6 months of its

implementation, the mortality and

serious injury of strategic stocks

incidentally taken in the course of

commercial fishing operations to below

the PBR levels established for such

stocks. The PBR level is the maximum

number of animals that can be removed

annually from a marine mammal stock

by human causes while allowing that