59334 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules

measurement in the effluent discharge,

capital and operating costs of the combined

treatment system, volume and fate of the

sludge, TCLP and total metals analysis of the

sludge if previously done, reclamation value

of the sludge and the associated costs to

Molex for the storage, transportation, and

reclamation of the sludge, and (b) the

segregated treatment system including

descriptions of each wastewater treatment

process, capital costs of the segregated

treatment system, the proposed volume and

fate of the sludge, and an estimate of the cost

to transport and treat or dispose of the sludge

as hazardous waste based on anticipated

generation rate and transportation and

treatment or disposal costs.

11. Quarterly reports in accordance with

Attachment 2 shall be due on the last day of

the month every three months after the initial

report describing current data for the

segregated treatment system including the

actual daily average mass metals loading in

the facility discharge and associated metal

effluent concentrations including pH

measurements; operating costs of the

segregated treatment system; storage,

recycling volume, and fate of the sludge;

waste analysis of the sludge; and reclamation

value of the sludge and the associated costs

to Molex for the storage, transportation, and

reclamation of the sludge.

12. Within 90 days of the end of this two

year temporary variance, Molex shall provide

a final report that: (a) provides an overview

of the demonstration project; (b) incorporates

the initial report and quarterly reports as

appendices; (c) describes the technical

aspects of the project; (d) describes and

quantifies the environmental aspects of the

project; (e) describes and quantifies the

economic aspects of the project, including a

comparison of the mass treatment system to

the segregated treatment system and

calculation of costs saved by this variance.

It Is Further Ordered that Molex shall at all

times remain in compliance with its

Pretreatment Permit #NE0131776 and comply

with all other applicable requirements in

Title 128 and Nebraska law.

It Is Further Ordered that this temporary

variance shall expire two years from the date

signed below. This temporary variance shall

be subject to cancellation at any time for

violation of any of the conditions and

requirements identified in this temporary

variance or refusal to conduct any additional

waste analysis required pursuant to

paragraph 5 above.

By The Director.

Randolph Wood,

Nebraska Department of Environmental

Quality.

[FR Doc. 97–29053 Filed 10–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Reopening of Comment

Period for Additional Information

Relative to the Status of the Lesser

Prairie-Chicken

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Reopening of public comment

period

SUMMARY: On July 8, 1997, the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service (Service) published

a positive 90-day finding on a petition

to list the lesser prairie-chicken

(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) as

threatened under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended,

and requested that any additional

information be submitted by September

8, 1997. The Service has been asked by

the Lesser Prairie-chicken Interstate

Working Group to reopen the comment

period to allow for submission of a

conservation strategy for the lesser

prairie-chicken.

Thus, the Service announces that it

will reopen the comment period to

allow additional time for submission of

information regarding the status,

population trend, distribution, and

habitat use of the lesser prairie-chicken.

DATES: The comment period, which

originally closed on September 8, 1997,

is reopened and now closes on

December 3, 1997. To be considered in

the 12-month finding for this petition,

additional information on the lesser

prairie-chicken should be submitted to

the Service by December 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Information, comments, or

questions should be sent to the Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Ecological Services Field

Office, 222 S. Houston, Suite A, Tulsa,

Oklahoma 74127–8909. The petition

finding and supporting data are

available for public inspection by

appointment during normal business

hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry

Brabander, Field Supervisor, at the

above address, or telephone (918) 581–

7458 ext. 224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

4(b)(3)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), requires that the Service make an

initial finding within 90 days, if

practicable, on whether a petition to list,

delist, or reclassify a species presents

substantial scientific or commercial

information to indicate that the

petitioned action may be warranted. A

petition to list the lesser prairie-chicken

(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) as

threatened was received by the Service

on October 6, 1995, from the

Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Boulder,

Colorado, and Marie E. Morrissey. On

July 8, 1997 (62 FR 36482), the Service

published a 90-day finding on that

petition. The finding stated that the

petition contained substantial

information to indicate that listing

under the Act may be warranted, and

announced that the Service would

conduct a thorough status review of the

species in conjunction with the affected

states. In addition, the Service requested

that any additional information on

lesser prairie-chicken population

abundance, population trends,

distribution, and use of habitats be

submitted to the Service by September

8, 1997.

On September 3, 1997, the Service

received a request from the Lesser

Prairie-chicken Interstate Working

Group (Working Group) to extend or

reopen the comment period to allow

this group additional time to submit a

Conservation Plan for the lesser prairiechicken. The Working Group stated in

their letter that they are currently

editing the first draft of a conservation

strategy that contains goals, objectives,

and action items that will significantly

reduce the threats to the species.

This notice reopens the comment

period for submission of information on

the status of the species throughout its

range until December 3, 1997. The

Service invites the public to submit

additional information on the

population abundance, population

trends, distribution, use of habitats

including native prairie and cropland,

and factors documented to influence

population abundance, distribution, and

habitat use of lesser prairie-chickens.

Authors

This document was prepared by

Noreen E. Walsh, at the Service’s

Oklahoma Ecological Services Field

Office (see ADDRESSES above).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531–1544).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and threatened species,

Exports, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, and

Transportation.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules 59335

Dated: October 28, 1997.

Thomas Bauer,

Acting Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 97–28981 Filed 10–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 222

Docket No. 971021250–7250–01; I.D.

092297E

RIN 0648–AK46

Endangered Fish or Wildlife; Special

Prohibitions; North Atlantic Right

Whale Protection

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce

ACTION: Proposed rule; temporary

closure of fishery.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to close the

Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Coastal

segments of the Atlantic pelagic drift

gillnet fishery for swordfish, tuna, and

shark through July 31, 1998. The

swordfish portion of the Atlantic pelagic

drift gillnet fishery has been closed

since December 5, 1996, under an

emergency Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

closure which expires on November 26,

1997. This action is necessary to avoid

jeopardy to the continued existence of

the northern right whale (Eubalaena

glacialis), a species listed as endangered

under the Endangered Species Act

(ESA). The purpose of this action is to

continue the existing closure of the

swordfish portion of the Atlantic pelagic

drift gillnet fishery and to close the tuna

and shark portions of the Atlantic

pelagic drift gillnet fishery until

regulatory measures implementing one

or more reasonable and prudent

alternatives necessary to avoid jeopardy

to the continued existence of the

northern right whale are completed and

implemented.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before November 18,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the

Chief, Marine Mammal Division (F/

PR2), Office of Protected Resources (F/

PR), NMFS, 1315 East West Highway,

Silver Spring, MD 20910–3282. Copies

of the May 29, 1997, Biological Opinion

(BO), of the August 29, 1997, Amended

BO, and, a draft environmental

assessment on the Atlantic Offshore

Cetacean Take Reduction Plan are

available upon request from Gregory

Silber, Ph.D., Marine Mammal Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gregory Silber, Ph.D. or Michael Payne,

Office of Protected Resources, (F/PR2),

NMFS, 1315 East West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910, 310–713–2322; or by

facsimile at 301–713–0376.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Atlantic pelagic fishery (which

includes the swordfish, tuna, and shark

drift gillnet fishery) is managed by

NMFS under the authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801

et seq.) and the Atlantic Tunas

Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.).

Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.

1531 et seq.) requires an agency to

ensure that any action proposed by a

Federal agency is not likely to

jeopardize the continued existence of a

threatened or endangered species. Due

to new information concerning the

status of the northern right whale,

NMFS re-initiated consultation on the

Atlantic pelagic fishery on September

25, 1996.

One right whale entanglement has

been documented by a NMFS observer

in Atlantic pelagic drift gillnet gear. The

potential exists for further

entanglements in this gear because the

geographic distribution of right whales

overlaps with that of the Atlantic drift

gillnet fishery during part of the year.

On December 5, 1996, NMFS published

an emergency closure pursuant to the

Magnuson-Stevens Act closing the drift

gillnet fishery for swordfish in the

Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of

Mexico and Caribbean Sea, from

December 1, 1996, through May 29,

1997 (61 FR 64486). In its December 5,

1996, notice, NMFS announced that it

had reinitiated consultation under the

ESA for the entire Atlantic pelagic

fishery (which includes the drift gillnet

fishery for swordfish, tuna, and shark). On May 29, 1997, NMFS issued a BO

which concluded that continued

operation of the swordfish, tuna, and

shark drift gillnet portions of the

Atlantic pelagic fishery was likely to

jeopardize the continued existence of

the northern right whale. This BO

identified two reasonable and prudent

alternatives for the use of drift gillnet

gear that would avoid the likelihood of

jeopardy for the northern right whale.

The first alternative is to prohibit the

use of drift gillnet gear for the taking of

pelagic swordfish, tuna, and shark. The

second alternative is to allow the

restricted use of drift gillnet gear. Under

this alternative, drift gillnet fishing for

swordfish, tuna, and shark would take

place under a limited entry system with

100 percent observer coverage, time/

area closures, and elimination of the

derby nature of the fishery during

certain times of the year.

On June 5, 1997, pursuant to the

Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS extended

the closure of the swordfish portion of

fishery until November 26, 1997, or

until a preferred option to avoid the

likelihood of jeopardy was identified

and implemented (62 FR 30775).

Based on new information on the

implementation of additional right

whale management measures,

consultation under section 7 of the ESA

was again re-initiated on August 12,

1997. On August 29, 1997, NMFS issued

an amended BO identifying a third

reasonable and prudent alternative to

avoid jeopardy to the northern right

whale from the Atlantic pelagic drift

gillnet fishery. The reasonable and

prudent alternative would be 100

percent observer coverage with

expanded time/area closures. The BO

concluded that the distribution of right

whales overlaps with that of the

swordfish component of the drift gillnet

fishery from November 1 until July 31

and that closure of the fishery during

that period is likely to avoid jeopardy

for northern right whales.

NMFS is now proposing to implement

the time/area closure component of the

reasonable and prudent alternatives

developed through this consultation

process. However, there is not sufficient

time to implement the alternatives

identified in the BO under the

Magnuson-Stevens Act. As a result,

NMFS is proposing to implement this

measure under the ESA on an temporary

basis pending full implementation of

the reasonable and prudent

alternative(s). This proposed temporary

closure would provide necessary

protections to the northern right whale

while NMFS develops a long term

fishery management solution in

conformance with alternatives

identified in the BOs for this fishery.

The BO issued on August 29, 1997,

requires that the driftnet fishery for

swordfish, shark, and tunas be

prohibited from operating from

November 1 to July 31 to avoid jeopardy

to the continued existence of northern

right whales. Although the final rule

version of this document will not

become effective until late November,

NMFS has determined that the risk to

right whales from drift gillnet gear from

November 1, 1997, to the effective date

of this rule is remote for the following