46480 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 170 / Wednesday, September 3, 1997 / Notices

discuss the role the Board will fill and

set the framework for future meetings of

the Board. On September 26, 1997, the

agenda for this first meeting of the

Board will include an overview of MEP

to include manufacturing extension

centers’ current activities, impacts of

services provided and future goals of

centers.

DATES: The meeting will convene on

September 26, 1997 at 9:00 am and will

adjourn at 3:00 pm.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

Building 301, Room C–145 (seating

capacity 45, includes 15 participants), at

NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MEP

services to smaller manufacturers

address the needs of the national market

as well as the unique needs of each

company. Since MEP is committed to

providing this type of individualized

service through its centers, the program

requires the perspective of locally-based

experts to be incorporated into its

national plans. The MEP National

Advisory Board was set up at the

direction of the Director of the National

Institute of Standards and Technology

to maintain MEP’s focus on local and

market based needs. The NEP National

Advisory Board was approved on

October 24, 1996, in accordance with

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5

U.S.C. app.2., to provide advice on MEP

programs, plans, and policies; assess

soundness of MEP plans and strategies;

assess current performance against MEP

program plans, and function in an

advisory capacity. The Board will meet

three times a year and reports to the

Director of NIST. This will be the first

meeting of the members.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Acierto, Assistant to the Director

for Policy, Manufacturing Extension

Partnership, National Institute of

Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, telephone

number (301) 975–5033.

Dated: August 21, 1997.

Elaine Bunten-Mines,

Director, Program Office.

[FR Doc. 97–23364 Filed 9–2–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 082597A]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean

Quahog Fisheries; Notice That Vendor

Will Provide 1998 Cage Tags

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of vendor to provide

1998 cage tags.

SUMMARY: NMFS informs surf clam and

ocean quahog allocation owners that

they will be required to purchase their

1998 cage tags from a vendor.

ADDRESSES: Written inquiries may be

sent to Mr. Richard Pearson at: National

Marine Fisheries Serivce, Northeast

Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive,

Gloucestr, MA 01930–3799.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard A. Pearson, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 508–281–9279.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Federal Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean

Quahog Fisheries regulations at 50 CFR

648.75(b) authorize the Regional

Administrator of the Northeast Region

to specify in the Federal Register a

vendor from whom cage tags, required

under the management plan, shall be

purchased. Implementation of this

program will make the surf clam/ocean

quahog tag program consistent with

other regional tag programs, and set the

stage for future tag programs that may be

considered. Notice is hereby given that

National Band and Tag Company of

Newport, KY, is the authorized vendor

of cage tags required for the 1998

Federal surf clam and ocean quahog

fisheries. Detailed instructions for

purchasing these cage tags will be

provided in a letter to allocation owners

within the next several weeks.

Dated: August 26, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–23253 Filed 9–2–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 080897A]

Small Takes of Marine Mammals

Incidental to Specified Activities;

Seismic Retrofit of the Richmond-San

Rafael Bridge, San Francisco Bay, CA

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application

and proposed authorization for a small

take exemption; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request

from the California Department of

Transportation (CALTRANS) for an

authorization to take small numbers of

Pacific harbor seals and possibly

California sea lions by harassment

incidental to seismic retrofit

construction of the Richmond-San

Rafael Bridge, San Francisco Bay, CA

(the Bridge). Under the Marine Mammal

Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is

requesting comments on its proposal to

authorize CALTRANS to incidentally

take, by harassment, small numbers of

marine mammals in the above

mentioned area for a 1-year period

beginning in December 1997.

DATES: Comments and information must

be received no later than October 3,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the

application should be addressed to

Michael Payne, Chief, Marine Mammal

Division, Office of Protected Resources,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910–3225. A copy of the

application, a draft Environmental

Assessment (EA) and a list of references

cited in this document may be obtained

by writing to this address or by

telephoning one of the contacts listed

below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of

Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713–

2055, or Irma Lagomarsino, Southwest

Regional Office, NMFS, (310) 980–4016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

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

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

the Secretary of Commerce to allow,

upon request, the incidental, but not

intentional, taking 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
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 170 / Wednesday, September 3, 1997 / Notices 46481

1California Department of Transportation. 1996.

Final Natural Environmental Study/Biological

Assessment for the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

Seismic Retrofit Project. CALTRANS District 4.

are made and either regulations are

issued or, if the taking is limited to

harassment, notice of a proposed

authorization is provided to the public

for review.

Permission may 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,

and the permissible methods of taking

and requirements pertaining to the

monitoring and reporting of such taking

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.’’

New section 101(a)(5)(D) of the

Marine Mammal Protection Act

established an expedited process by

which citizens of the United States can

apply for an authorization to

incidentally take small numbers of

marine mammals by harassment. The

MMPA now defines harassment as:

* * * any act of pursuit, torment, or

annoyance which (a) has the potential to

injure a marine mammal or marine mammal

stock in the wild; or (b) 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.

New subsection 101(a)(5)(D)

establishes a 45-day time limit for

NMFS review of an application

followed by a 30-day public notice and

comment period on any proposed

authorizations for the incidental

harassment of small numbers of marine

mammals. Within 45 days of the close

of the comment period, NMFS must

either issue or deny issuance of the

authorization.

Summary of Request

On July 7, 1997, NMFS received an

application from CALTRANS,

requesting an authorization for the

possible harassment of small numbers of

Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and

possibly some California sea lions

(Zalophus californianus) incidental to

seismic retrofit construction of the

Bridge.

The Bridge will be seismically

retrofitted to withstand a future severe

earthquake. Construction is scheduled

to begin in December 1997, and extend

through December 2001. A detailed

description of the work planned is

contained in CALTRANS (1996).1

Among other things, seismic retrofit

work will include: Excavation around

pier bases, hydro-jet cleaning,

installation of steel casings around the

piers with a crane, installation of micropiles and installation of precast concrete

jackets. Foundation construction will

require approximately 2 months per

pier, with construction occurring on

more than one pier at a time. In addition

to pier retrofit, superstructure

construction and tower retrofit work

will also be carried out. The

construction duration for the seismic

retrofit of foundation and towers on

Piers 52 through 57 will be

approximately 7 to 8 months. Because of

work restrictions and mitigation

measures, the seismic retrofit

construction in this area will be

completed within one or two seasons.

As the seismic retrofit construction

between Piers 52 and 57 may potentially

result in disturbance of pinnipeds at

Castro Rocks, an MMPA authorization is

warranted.

Description of Habitat and Marine

Mammals Affected by the Activity

A description of the San Francisco

Bay ecosystem and its associated marine

mammals can be found in the

CALTRANS application (CALTRANS

1997) and CALTRANS (1996).

Castro Rocks are a small chain of

rocky islands located next to the Bridge

and approximately 1,500 ft (460 m)

north of the Chevron Long Wharf. They

extend in a south-westerly direction for

approximately 800 ft (240 m) from Pier

55. The rocks start at about 55 ft (17 m)

from Pier 55 and end at approximately

250 ft (76 m) from Pier 53. The chain of

rocks is exposed during low tides and

inundated during high tide.

Marine Mammals

General information on harbor seals

and other marine mammal species

found in Central California waters can

be found in Barlow et al. (1995). The

marine mammals likely to be found in

the Bridge area are limited to the

California sea lion and harbor seal.

The California sea lion primarily uses

the Central San Francisco Bay area to

feed. California sea lions are

periodically observed at Castro Rocks.

No pupping or regular haulouts occur in

the project area.

The harbor seal is the only marine

mammal species found in the Bridge

area in significant numbers and,

therefore, is described in detail below.

Harbor Seals

The California stock of the Pacific

harbor seal had an estimated population

size in 1994 of 34,554 (Barlow et al.

1995). Harbor seal counts have

continued to increase by 4.1 percent

annually from 1983 and 1994, except

during El Nino events of 1983 and 1995

(Barlow et al. 1995). During the same

period however, harbor seal numbers

within San Francisco Bay remained

stable; their 1994 estimated number

being approximately 350 (CALTRANS

1997).

The harbor seal is a non-migratory

pinniped found in estuaries and marine

embayments and typically rests ashore

(hauls out) on tidal-inundated habitats

such as mudflats, marshes, and nearshore rocky outcroppings (Kopec and

Harvey 1995; Zeiner et al. 1990). Haulout locations are used as resting sites

and are important to the health of

harbor seals. Harbor seals feed

opportunistically in shallow water on a

variety of fish, crustaceans, and a few

cephalopods (Zeiner et al. 1990). Harbor

seals often use isolated, undisturbed,

sites for pupping and molting. The

numbers of harbor seals on haul-out

sites fluctuates throughout the year, but

peaks generally occur during pupping

and molting at some sites, such as

Castro Rocks. Typically, in San

Francisco Bay, pupping occurs from

March to May, and molting occurs in

June (Kopec and Harvey 1995). Females

usually give birth on land, often at low

tide, and the newborn pups are able to

swim immediately after birth (Zeiner et

al. 1990).

In the San Francisco Bay area, harbor

seals are known to haul out at the Corte

Madera ecological reserve in Marin

County; at Castro Rocks on the southeast

end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

in the North Bay; at Yerba Buena Island

in Central San Francisco Bay; at several

locations along the western shoreline of

the Dumbarton Bridge, on the east side

of the Bay (Newark and Mowry Soughs);

and at the adjacent coastal areas (such

as Point Reyes, Bolinas Lagoon, and

Pillar Point (Kopec and Harvey 1995). In

addition, several smaller or abandoned

haul-out sites occur in San Francisco

Bay (Kopec and Harvey 1995).

The numbers of harbor seals at Castro

Rocks varies year-round. The most

current independent surveys of harbor

seals at Castro Rocks were conducted

from 1989 to 1992 by Kopec and Harvey

(1995). Mean yearly numbers of adults

per count ranged from 76 to 113 during

the pupping season, and ranged from 48

to 67 during the non-pupping seasons.
46482 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 170 / Wednesday, September 3, 1997 / Notices

Maximum numbers of harbor seal pups

were between 13 and 26 for that fouryear period (Kopec and Harvey 1995).

During biological surveys at the

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge,

CALTRANS personnel counted 101

harbor seals on June 16, 1994, all seals

were adults. On June 25, 1996, census

data was again collected identifying 86

adults and 6 pups.

Harbor seals do not haul out at Castro

Rocks at the highest tides. Harbor seals

first come ashore when tide levels drop

below 3 ft (1 m) on the eastern half of

the easternmost island, closest to Pier

55. As the tide drops further, seals haul

out on every island in the chain.

Harbor seals haul out onto dry land

for various biological reasons, including

sleep (Krieber and Barrette 1984),

predator avoidance and

thermoregulation (Barnett 1992). As

harbor seals spend most of the evening

and nighttime hours in the ocean

(Bowles and Stewart 1980), hauled-out

seals spend much of their daytime hours

in apparent sleep (Krieber and Barrette

1984, Terhune 1985). In addition to

sleep, seals need to leave the ocean to

avoid aquatic predators and excessive

heat loss to the sea water (Barnett 1992).

However, the advantages of hauling

out are counterbalanced by dangers of

the terrestrial environment including

predators. In general, because of these

opposing biological forces, haulout

groups are temporary, unstable

aggregations (Sullivan 1982). The size of

the haulout group is thought to be an

anti-predator strategy (da Silva and

Terhune 1988). By increasing their

numbers at a haulout site, harbor seals

optimize the opportunities for sleep by

minimizing the requirement for

individual vigilance against predators

(Krieber and Barrette 1984). This

relationship between seals and their

predators is thought to have represented

a strong selection pressure for startle

behavior patterns (da Silva and Terhune

1988). As a result, harbor seals, which

have been subjected to extensive

predation or hunting, rush into the

water at the slightest alarm.

Startle response in harbor seals can

vary from a temporary state of agitation

by a few individuals to the complete

abandonment of the beach area by the

entire colony. Normally, when harbor

seals are frightened by noise, or the

approach of a boat, plane, human, or

other potential predator, they will move

rapidly to the relative safety of the

water. Depending upon the severity of

the disturbance, seals may return to the

original haul out site immediately, stay

in the water for some length of time

before hauling out, or haulout in a

different area. When disturbances occur

late in the day, harbor seals may not

haul out again until the next day.

Disturbances have the potential to

cause a more serious effect when herds

are pupping or nursing, when

aggregations are dense, and during the

molting season. However, evidence to

date has not indicated that

anthropogenic disturbances have

resulted in increased mortality to harbor

seals. Bowles and Stewart (1980) for

example, found that harbor seals

tendency to flee, and the length of time

before returning to the beach, decreased

during the pupping season. They also

found that maternal-pup separations in

crowded colonies are considered

frequent, natural occurrences that can

result from several causes, including

normal female-female or male-female

interactions. Both factors apparently

giving some protection to young seals

from the startle response of the herd.

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals

The impact to the harbor seals and

California sea lions would be

disturbance by the presence of workers,

construction noise, and construction

vessel traffic. Disturbance from these

activities is expected to have a shortterm negligible impact to a small

number of harbor seals and sea lions.

These disturbances will be reduced by

implementation of the proposed work

restrictions and mitigation measures

(see below).

During the work period, harbor seal

and on rare occasions, California sea

lion incidental harassment is expected

to occur on a daily basis upon initiation

of the retrofit work. When harbor seals

no longer perceive construction noise

and activity as being threatening, they

are likely to resume their regular

hauling out behavior. The number of

seals disturbed will vary daily

depending upon tidal elevations. It is

expected that disturbance to harbor

seals during peak periods of abundance

will not occur since construction

activities will not take place within the

restricted work area during the peak

period (see Mitigation below).

It is not known whether California sea

lions will react to construction noise

and move away from the rocks during

construction activities. Sea lions are

generally thought to be more tolerant of

human activities than harbor seals and

are likely therefore to be less impacted.

Potential Effect on Habitat

Short-term impacts of the activities

are expected to result in a temporary

reduction in utilization of the Castro

Rocks haul out site while work is in

progress or until seals acclimate to the

disturbance. This will not likely result

in any permanent reduction in the

number of seals at Castro Rocks. The

abandonment of Castro Rocks as a

harbor seal haul out and rookery is not

anticipated since existing traffic noise

from the Bridge, commercial activities at

the Chevron Long Wharf used for offloading crude oil, and considerable

recreational boating and commercial

shipping currently occur within the

area. In addition, mitigation measures

and proposed work restrictions are

designed to preclude abandonment.

Therefore, as described in detail in

CALTRANS (1996), other than the

potential short-term abandonment by

harbor seals, of part or all of Castro

Rocks during retrofit construction, no

impact on the habitat or food sources of

marine mammals are likely from this

construction project.

Mitigation

Several mitigation measures to reduce

the potential for marine mammal

harassment will be implemented by

CALTRANS as part of their proposed

activity. General restrictions include: No

piles installed between 7 p.m. and 7

a.m., imposition of a construction noise

limit of 86 dBA at 50 ft (15 m) between

7 p.m. and 7 a.m., and a limitation on

construction noise levels for 24 hrs/day

in the vicinity of Castro Rocks during

the pupping/molting restriction period.

Marine mammal mitigation measures

include: (1) A February 1 through June

30 restriction on work in the water

south of the Bridge center line and on

piers and pilings from Piers 52 through

57; and (2) no watercraft will be

deployed during the year within the

exclusion zone located between Piers 52

and 57 on the south side of the Bridge,

except for when construction equipment

is required for seismic retrofitting of

piers 52 through 57. This exclusion area

will be restricted as a controlled access

area on plans and will be marked off

with buoys located 200 ft (60 m) from

the rocks.

To further minimize potential

harassment, NMFS proposes to require

CALTRANS to the following: (1)

Minimize vessel traffic in the exclusion

zone when conducting construction

activities between piers 52 and 57; (2)

construction noise levels on the

superstructure will be limited to 86 dB

re 20 μPa-m for 24 hours/day in the

vicinity of Castro Rocks during the

pupping/molting restriction period; and

(3) no retrofit construction work will

occur on the towers associated with

piers 52 through 57 between February 1

and June 30.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 170 / Wednesday, September 3, 1997 / Notices 46483

Monitoring

During the time that seismic retrofit

construction activities occur on Piers 52

through 57, harbor seal monitoring at

Castro Rocks will be made for an 8-hour

period once a week. Sound levels will

be recorded on those days that seals are

being monitored. Monitoring will be

conducted by a minimum of one trained

biologist approved by NMFS.

Monitoring of harbor seals at Castro

Rocks will continue on a quarterly basis

for one year after the retrofit

construction is completed.

Reporting

CALTRANS will provide weekly

reports to NMFS and a final report will

be provided within 3 months of

completion of construction work on

Piers 52 through 57. These reports will

provide dates, time, tidal height,

maximum number of harbor seals

ashore, number of adults and subadults, number of females/males,

number of redcoats, and any observed

disturbances. A description of retrofit

activities at the time of observation and

any sound pressure levels

measurements made at the haulout.

CALTRANS will provide NMFS with

a follow-up report on the postconstruction monitoring activities

within 18 months of project completion

in order to evaluate whether haul-out

patterns are similar to the pre-retrofit

haul-out patterns at Castro Rocks.

National Environmental Policy Act

In conjunction with this notice,

NMFS has released a draft EA that

addresses the impacts on the human

environment from issuance of the

authorization and the alternatives to the

proposed action. A copy of the draft EA

is available upon request (see

ADDRESSES).

Conclusions

NMFS has preliminarily determined

that the short-term impact of a seismic

retrofit construction of the Bridge will

result, at worst, in a temporary

modification in behavior by harbor seals

and possibly some California sea lions.

While behavioral modifications,

including temporarily vacating the haulout, may be made by these species to

avoid the resultant noise, this action is

expected to have a negligible impact on

the animals. In addition, no take by

injury and/or death is anticipated and

takes will be at the lowest level

practicable due to incorporation of the

mitigation measures mentioned above.

Proposed Authorization

NMFS proposes to issue an incidental

harassment authorization to CALTRANS

for the possible harassment of small

numbers of harbor seals and California

sea lions incidental to seismic retrofit

construction of the Bridge, provided the

above mentioned mitigation, monitoring

and reporting requirements are

incorporated. NMFS has preliminarily

determined that the proposed activities

would result in the harassment of only

small numbers of harbor seals and

possibly California sea lions and will

have no more than a negligible impact

on these marine mammal stocks.

Information Solicited

NMFS requests interested persons to

submit comments, information, and

suggestions concerning this request (see

ADDRESSES).

Dated: August 26, 1997.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–23251 Filed 9–2–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 081297B]

Longline and Billfish Advisory Panels;

Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Atlantic Billfish Advisory

Panel (AP) and the AP for the pelagic

longline fishery for Atlantic highly

migratory species (HMS) will hold their

second meetings on Sept. 18 and 19,

1997, respectively, in Miami, FL to

discuss future management options for

the Atlantic billfish and pelagic longline

fisheries. Additionally, a longline

technical workshop will be held on the

evening of Sept. 18, 1997.

DATES: The billfish AP will meet from

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 18, 1997,

followed by the longline technical

workshop from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The

longline AP will meet on Sept. 19, 1997,

from 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The AP meetings will be

held at the NMFS Southeast Fisheries

Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive,

Miami, FL 33149. The longline

technical workshop will be held at the

Sheraton Biscayne Bay on Brickell

Point, 495 Brickell Ave., Miami, FL

33131.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill

Stevenson or Liz Lauck, telephone:

(301) 713–2347, Fax: (301) 713–1917, email: jill.stevenson@noaa.gov or

liz.lauck@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

billfish and longline APs are established

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

The longline AP will assist the Secretary

of Commerce (Secretary) in preparing a

study on the feasibility of implementing

a comprehensive management system

for the pelagic longline fishery for

Atlantic HMS. The billfish AP will

assist the Secretary in collecting

information to develop an amendment

to the Atlantic Billfish Fishery

Management Plan. The AP meetings and

the technical workshop are open to the

public and will be attended by members

of the AP, including appointed

members, representatives of the five

Fishery Management Councils that work

with HMS, the Atlantic and Gulf states,

the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine

Fisheries Commissions, and the Chair,

or his representative, of the U.S.

Advisory Committee to the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas. Agenda items for the

billfish AP include:

(1) Enforcement of domestic billfish

regulations.

(2) Discussion of a draft Issues/

Options (scoping) document.

(3) Discussion of scoping meetings

and draft schedule.

(4) Recreational fishery data

collection and analysis.

(5) Seasonal billfish bycatch analysis.

(6) Discussion of two petitions for

rulemaking.

(7) Presentation and discussion of

economic valuation issues by fishery.

Potential issues to be presented at the

technical workshop include limited

access, individual transferable quotas,

quota monitoring, data collection and

analysis, and other technical issues

related to the pelagic longline fishery.

Potential agenda items for the pelagic

longline AP include:

(1) Discussion of the longline survey,

questionnaire, and workshops.

(2) Discussion of a draft problem

statement that highlights issues to be

considered in the study.

(3) Further topics concerning

development of the study.

This meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to Jill

Stevenson or Liz Lauck, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910,

phone (301) 713–2347 at least 7 days

prior to the meeting date.