27756 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 115 / Thursday, June 14, 2018 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF600 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

for Issuing Annual Catch Limits to the 

Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

Environmental Impact Statement; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

availability of a draft environmental 

impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), in order to assess the 

impacts of issuing annual catch limits 

for the subsistence harvest of bowhead 

whales by Alaska Natives from 2019 

onward. The official 60-day comment 

period for comments on the draft EIS 

began on June 1, 2018 and will end on 

July 31, 2018. 

DATES: Comments on this draft EIS must 

be received no later than July 31, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on 

this draft environmental impact 

statement, by including NOAA–NMFS– 

2017–0098 by either of the following 

methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0098. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Carolyn Doherty, Office of 

International Affairs and Seafood 

Inspection, NOAA Fisheries, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. Instructions: NMFS may not 

consider comments if they are sent by 

any other method, to any other address 

or individual, or received after the 

comment period ends at 11:59 p.m. 

eastern time on the date of comment 

period closure. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

For posted comments, all personal 

identifying information (e.g., name, 

address, etc.), confidential business 

information, or otherwise sensitive 

information submitted voluntarily by 

the sender is publicly accessible. NMFS 

will accept anonymous comments (enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe portable document file (PDF) 

formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carolyn Doherty, Office of International 

Affairs and Seafood Inspection, NOAA 

Fisheries (phone: 301–427–8385 or 

email: Carolyn.Doherty@noaa.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is 

preparing an EIS in order to 

comprehensively assess impacts of the 

subsistence harvest of Western Arctic 

bowhead whales by Alaska Natives from 

2019 onward. The draft EIS is posted on 

the NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Regional 

Office’s web page at https://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/whalesbowhead. 

Background 

Alaska Natives have hunted bowhead 

whales for over 2,000 years as the 

whales migrate in the spring and fall 

along the coast of Alaska. Their 

traditional subsistence hunts for these 

whales have been regulated by catch 

limits and other limitations under the 

authority of the International Whaling 

Commission (IWC) since 1977. Alaska 

Native subsistence hunters from 11 

northern Alaskan communities take less 

than 1 percent of the stock of bowhead 

whales per year. Since 1977, the number 

of whales struck by harpoons has ranged 

between 14 and 72 animals per year, 

depending in part on changes in IWC 

management strategy due to higher 

estimates of both bowhead whale 

abundance and increased hunter 

efficiency in recent years. The IWC sets 

an overall aboriginal subsistence catch 

limit for this stock, based on the request 

of IWC member countries on behalf of 

the aboriginal hunters. The IWC’s catch 

limit for bowhead whales includes a 

limit on the number of landed whales 

and a limit on the number of whales 

that may be struck. In the case of Alaska 

and Russian Native subsistence hunts, 

the United States and the Russian 

Federation make a joint request to the 

IWC for subsistence catch limits for 

bowhead whales. 

NMFS must annually publish a notice 

of aboriginal subsistence whale hunting 

catch limits and any other limitations 

on such hunting in the Federal Register 

(50 CFR 230.6). The subsistence hunt is 

directly managed by the Alaska Eskimo 

Whaling Commission (AEWC) and the 

catch limits are issued through annual 

amendments to a cooperative agreement 

between the AEWC and NOAA, 

consistent with the mandates codified 

in the Whaling Convention Act, 16 

U.S.C. 916–916l. 

In order to comprehensively assess 

the effects of these annual removals, this 

proposed action would extend from 

2019 onward, subject to IWC-set catch 

limits. IWC-set catch limits are, in turn, 

based on IWC Scientific Committee 

advice on the sustainability of proposed 

catch limits using a population model, 

referred to as a Strike Limit Algorithm. 

The Strike Limit Algorithm used by the 

IWC is specific to this population of 

bowhead whales and is the IWC’s 

formula for calculating sustainable 

aboriginal subsistence whaling removal 

levels, based on the size and 

productivity of a whale population, in 

order to satisfy subsistence need. The 

Strike Limit Algorithm also allows for 

an inter-annual variation of strikes up to 

50 percent of the annual strike limit in 

order to provide flexibility for the hunt 

while meeting the Commission’s 

conservation objectives. 

Alternatives Considered 

NMFS considered five alternatives in 

the draft EIS: 

Alternative 1 (no action): Do not grant 

the AEWC a catch limit. 

Alternative 2: Grant the AEWC an 

annual strike limit of 67 bowhead 

whales, not to exceed a total of 336 

landed whales over any 6-year period, 

with no unused strikes from previous 

years added to the subsequent annual 

limit as carry-forward. 

Alternative 3: Grant the AEWC an 

annual strike limit of 67 bowhead 

whales, not to exceed a total of 336 

landed whales over any 6-year period, 

with unused strikes from previous years 

carried forward and added to the annual 

strike limit of subsequent years (subject 

to limits), provided that no more than 

15 additional strikes are added to any 

one year’s allocation of strikes. This 

alternative would maintain the status 

quo for any 6-year period with respect 

to management of the hunt. 

Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative): 

Grant the AEWC an annual strike limit 

of 67 bowhead whales, not to exceed a 

total of 336 landed whales over any 6- 

year period, with unused strikes from 

previous years carried forward and 

added to the annual strike quota of 

subsequent years (subject to limits), 

provided that no more than 50 percent 

of the annual strike limit is added for 

any one year. This alternative would 

maintain the status quo for any 6-year 

period with respect to management of 

the hunt for landed whales and employ 

the Commission’s agreed-upon 50 

percent carryover principle. The agency 

has identified Alternative 4 as its 

preferred alternative because it best 

meets the purpose and need of this 

action, and it achieves the socio-cultural 

benefits of the subsistence hunt at 

minimal environmental cost. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 115 / Thursday, June 14, 2018 / Notices 27757 

Alternative 5: Grant the AEWC an 

annual strike limit of 100 bowhead 

whales, not to exceed a total of 504 

landed whales over any 6-year period, 

with unused strikes from previous years 

carried forward and added to the annual 

strike quota of subsequent years (subject 

to limits), provided that no more than 

50 percent of the annual strike limit is 

added for any one year. This alternative 

would increase the harvest levels by 50 

percent and employ the Commission’s 

agreed-upon 50 percent carryover 

principle. Under this alternative, NMFS 

would authorize a higher level of 

harvest, given: (1) The timeframe for 

NMFS’s proposed action, i.e., from 2019 

onward, where it is likely that the 

AEWC’s subsistence need for bowhead 

whales will increase over this 

timeframe; and (2) the increasing size of 

the Western Arctic bowhead whale 

population. As with the other 

alternatives, NMFS’s issuance of any 

future catch limits will be subject to 

IWC requirements, which, in turn, will 

be based on IWC Scientific Committee 

advice on the sustainability of those 

catch limits. 

NMFS decided to prepare an EIS 

rather than an EA in order to assess the 

impacts of issuing annual quotas for the 

subsistence hunt by Alaska Natives from 

2019 onward. This decision was not 

based on any new determination that 

significant effects occur as a result of the 

bowhead subsistence hunt, but rather to 

take advantage of the greater 

transparency and public involvement in 

decision-making afforded through an 

EIS process. 

Major issues addressed in this draft 

EIS include: The impact of subsistence 

removal of bowhead whales from the 

Western Arctic stock of bowhead 

whales; the impacts of these harvest 

levels on the traditional and cultural 

values of Alaska Natives, and the 

cumulative effects of the action when 

considered along with environmental 

conditions and past, present, and future 

actions potentially affecting bowhead 

whales. 

Public Comment 

The publication date of the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Notice of Availability of the draft EIS, 

June 1, 2018, 83 FR 25451, constitutes 

the start of the comment period under 

NEPA for the draft EIS. The public 

comment period will end on July 31, 

2018, per 83 FR 26665. NOAA 

encourages all parties with an interest in 

or who are affected by the Alternatives 

described in the draft EIS to provide 

suggestions and comments. Comments 

are specifically requested regarding the 

range of alternatives assessed, scope of 

analysis, and assessment of direct, 

indirect, and cumulative impacts. 

The official public comment period is 

60 days, from June 1, 2018 until July 31, 

2018. The draft EIS is posted on the 

NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Regional 

Office’s web page at https://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/whalesbowhead. 

Authority 

The preparation of this draft EIS was 

conducted under the authority and in 

accordance with the requirements of 

NEPA, Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500– 

1508), other applicable Federal laws and 

regulations, and policies and procedures 

of NMFS for compliance with those 

regulations. 

Dated: June 8, 2018. 

John Henderschedt, 

Director, Office of International Affairs and 

Seafood Inspection, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–12734 Filed 6–13–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2018–ICCD–0034] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; 

Federal Student Loan Program: 

Internship/Residency and Loan Debt 

Burden Forbearance Forms 

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), 

Department of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing an extension of an existing 

information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before July 16, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the 

documents related to the information 

collection listed in this notice, please 

use http://www.regulations.gov by 

searching the Docket ID number ED– 

2018–ICCD–0034. Comments submitted 

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Docket ID number or via postal mail, 

commercial delivery, or hand delivery. 

Please note that comments submitted by 

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accepted. Written requests for 

information or comments submitted by 

postal mail or delivery should be 

addressed to the Director of the 

Information Collection Clearance 

Division, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue SW, LBJ, Room 

216–34, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Ian Foss, 202– 

377–3681. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department of Education (ED), in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general 

public and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed, 

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assess the impact of its information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. It also 

helps the public understand the 

Department’s information collection 

requirements and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. ED is 

soliciting comments on the proposed 

information collection request (ICR) that 

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Education is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) Is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

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considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Federal Student 

Loan Program: Internship/Residency 

and Loan Debt Burden Forbearance 

Forms. 

OMB Control Number: 1845–0018. 

Type of Review: An extension of an 

existing information collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals or Households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 27,042. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 6,393. 

Abstract: These forms serve as the 

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William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan 

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