39428 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Notices 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. To ensure 

ESA compliance for the issuance of 

IHAs, NMFS consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

In order to comply with the ESA, 

NMFS Alaska Regional Office (AKR) 

Protected Resources Division issued a 

Biological Opinion on March 21, 2017 

under section 7 of the ESA, on the 

issuance of an IHA to ADOT&PF under 

section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA. This 

consultation concluded that the project 

was likely to adversely affect but 

unlikely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of the threatened Mexico DPS 

of humpback whale (Megaptera 

novaeangliae) or the endangered 

western DPS of Steller sea lion 

(Eumatopias jubatus), or adversely 

modify designated critical habitat for 

Steller sea lions. In a memo dated June 

13, 2018, NMFS AKR concluded that reinitiation of section 7 consultation is not 

necessary for the issuance of the 

proposed 2018–2019 IHA. The only 

modification to the project is a time 

shift of one year. No additional take has 

been requested by ADOT&PF or is 

proposed for authorization by NMFS. 

All mitigation measures described in the 

Biological Opinion would be 

implemented to reduce harassment of 

marine mammals and document take of 

marine mammals. For these reasons, we 

anticipate no new or changed effects of 

the action beyond what was considered 

in the 2017 Biological Opinion. 

Proposed Authorization and Request 

for Public Comments 

As a result of these determinations, 

NMFS proposes to issue an IHA to 

ADOT&PF for the Gustavus Ferry 

Terminal Improvements project in 

Gustavus, AK from December 15, 2018 

through December 14, 2019, provided 

the previously described mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

from the 2017–2018 IHA are 

incorporated. We request comment on 

our analyses and the proposed issuance 

of the IHA which would be identical to 

the previous IHA (https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-alaskadot-gustavus-ferry-terminalimprovement-project). We also request 

comment on the potential for renewal of 

this proposed IHA as described in the 

paragraph below. Please include with 

your comments any supporting data or 

literature citations to help inform our 

final decision on the request for MMPA 

authorization. 

On a case-by-case basis, NMFS may 

issue a second one-year IHA without 

additional notice when (1) another year 

of identical or nearly identical activities 

as described in the Specified Activities 

section is planned or (2) the activities 

would not be completed by the time the 

IHA expires and a second IHA would 

allow for completion of the activities 

beyond that described in the Dates and 

Duration section, provided all of the 

following conditions are met: 

• A request for renewal is received no 

later than 60 days prior to expiration of 

the current IHA; 

• The request for renewal must 

include the following: 

(1) An explanation that the activities 

to be conducted beyond the initial dates 

either are identical to the previously 

analyzed activities or include changes 

so minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) 

that the changes do not affect the 

previous analyses, take estimates, or 

mitigation and monitoring 

requirements; and 

(2) A preliminary monitoring report 

showing the results of the required 

monitoring to date and an explanation 

showing that the monitoring results do 

not indicate impacts of a scale or nature 

not previously analyzed or authorized; 

and 

• Upon review of the request for 

renewal, the status of the affected 

species or stocks, and any other 

pertinent information, NMFS 

determines that there are no more than 

minor changes in the activities, the 

mitigation and monitoring measures 

remain the same and appropriate, and 

the original findings remain valid. 

Dated: August 3, 2018. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16993 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XG376 

Notice of Availability of a Request for 

Information: Expressions of Interest in 

Conducting Collaborative Research 

and Development on Innovative 

Approaches for Exploiting 

Environmental Data 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for information. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 

seeking expression of interest from 

private firms interested in entering into 

a Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreement (CRADA) with 

NOAA to conduct collaborative research 

and development (R&D) on new and 

innovative approaches that could lead 

to new and better ways of processing, 

exploiting and disseminating spacebased Earth and space weather 

observations from NOAA developed and 

deployed satellites, with a wide range of 

applications, societal and economic 

benefits. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

5 p.m. on September 24, 2018. Any 

questions pertaining to this Request for 

Information must be submitted no later 

than August 24, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document by the following 

method: 

Email: Derek.parks@noaa.gov. Please 

include the subject heading of 

‘‘Response to Collaborative R&D RFI’’. 

Attachments to electronic comments 

will be accepted in Microsoft Word or 

Excel, or Adobe PDF formats only. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NOAA. Comments 

containing references, studies, research, 

and other empirical data that are not 

widely published should include copies 

or electronic links of the referenced 

materials. Comments that contain 

profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other 

inappropriate language will not be 

considered. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Derek Parks, Technology Transfer 

Program Manager, Technology 

Partnerships Office, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, Office of 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Notices 39429 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 

Room 2617, 1305 East West Hwy, Bldg. 

SSMC4, Silver Spring, MD 20910–3278. 

(Phone: 301–628–1010, email: 

derek.parks@noaa.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) is seeking 

expression of interest from private firms 

interested in entering into a Cooperative 

Research and Development Agreement 

(CRADA) with NOAA to conduct 

collaborative research and development 

(R&D) on new and innovative 

approaches that could lead to new and 

better ways of processing, exploiting 

and disseminating space-based Earth 

and space weather observations from 

NOAA developed and deployed 

satellites, with a wide range of 

applications, societal and economic 

benefits. 

The initial period of performance for 

this CRADA is expected to be from 

fiscal year 2019 through fiscal year 2021 

(three years), with extensions possible if 

all parties agree. 

This notice does not constitute an 

Invitation for Bid or Request for 

Proposal and is not to be construed as 

a commitment by the Government. No 

contracts will be awarded as a result of 

this notice. No reimbursement will be 

made for any costs associated with 

providing information in response to 

this notice or for any follow-up requests 

for information. NOAA may contact 

respondents for clarification and 

discussion of the submitted responses. 

Synopsis 

NOAA wishes to conduct 

collaborative R&D with one or more 

private firms or non-government groups 

on new techniques to be used, new 

products to be generated, enhancement 

of the use of satellite data in existing or 

new applications, and exploring 

potential new services that will enhance 

the value and enable wider use of data 

obtained from NOAA’s space-based 

assets. General areas of R&D interest 

include, but are not limited to, 

exploring creating new products and 

eliciting new information for 

geophysical applications benefiting 

citizens, communities, local, state and 

federal governments and the private 

sector, and the use of new numerical 

approaches such as machine learning 

and artificial intelligence (AI) to 

maximize the information gathered from 

satellite observations. Some potential 

R&D topics on specific uses of data 

could include: (1) Atmospheric 

composition for air quality, and 

visibility applications, (2) atmospheric 

data for measuring instability and 

therefore severe weather and turbulence 

applications, (3) ocean and coastal data 

for ecosystems, severe weather, 

inundation, and water quality 

management, (4) land data for multiple 

applications such as wildfires, 

agriculture, droughts, flooding, urban 

planning, etc., (5) information delivery 

systems for extreme environmental 

conditions, (6) satellite-based data of 

volcanic ash for aviation safety and 

societal applications, (7) day-night band 

for new applications such as detection 

of fires, population migration, etc., (8) 

satellite data for renewable energy 

availability, (9) space-based data for 

measuring economic vulnerability (to 

space weather, to drought, etc.), (10) 

compositing multiple geophysical data 

sets to generate user-ready decisionmaking products for different economic 

sectors (insurance, health, 

transportation, tourism, education, 

energy, agriculture, etc.), and (11) cloud 

information for better characterizing the 

state of the atmosphere in all sky 

situations for use as initial conditions in 

numerical model forecasts. 

Documentation of Interest 

Responders may document their 

interest in entering into a CRADA with 

a comment to Derek Parks, Technology 

Transfer Program Manager. See contact 

information above in ADDRESSES. 

Responders must include, in writing, 

detailed information regarding their 

technical qualifications, the company 

name, address, point of contact, 

telephone number, and business size. 

Information submitted should be 

pertinent and specific in the technical 

areas described above under 

consideration. Any other specific and 

pertinent information as pertains to this 

particular undertaking that would 

enhance the information submitted will 

be considered by the agency. 

Additional information requested: 

(A) Institution’s name, address, point 

of contact, phone number and email 

address. 

(B) If a business, include the firm’s 

DUNS number and Cage Code as 

provided under the SAM system. 

(C) If a business, then state the firm’s 

SBA certified small business concern 

status or other socioeconomic status. 

Specifically identify if your firm is 

HUBZone-certified, Service Disabled 

Veteran Owned, Women Owned, or in 

the SBA’s 8(a) program. If your 

institution is not a small business, 

please state that it is a large business, 

FFRDC, university, UARC, or other. 

(D) Institution’s previous work 

experience that is similar to that 

described above. 

(E) Any other pertinent 

documentation or information. 

(F) Responses should be no more than 

10 pages. 

All information submitted in response 

to this notice is voluntary; the United 

States Government will not pay for 

information requested nor will it 

compensate any respondent for any cost 

incurred in developing information 

provided to the United States 

Government. No hard copy submittals 

will be accepted or considered. All 

responses to this Request for 

Information shall be submitted only via 

email to derek.parks@noaa.gov (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Dated: August 2, 2018. 

Sid Boukabara, 

Senior Scientist for Strategic Initiatives, 

Center for Satellite Applications and 

Research, NOAA Satellite and Information 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17054 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–HR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Availability of a 

Programmatic Environmental 

Assessment and Finding of No 

Significant Impact for the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration National Data Buoy 

Center 

AGENCY: National Weather Service 

(NWS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

DATES: The PEA and Finding of No 

Significant Impact are available for 

public inspection for 30 days after 

posting. 

ADDRESSES: The Final PEA can be 

accessed at:http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ 

pea/ndbc_final_pea_20180104.pdf. 

The Finding of No Significant Impact 

is available for public inspection for 30 

days after posting. It can be found 

at:http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/pea/ndbc_

fonsi_signed_20180102.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe 

Swaykos, National Data Buoy Center, 

Bldg. 3205, Stennis Space Center, MS 

39529; phone (228) 688–4766; fax (228) 

688–1364; email joe.swaykos@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) National Data 

Buoy Center (NDBC), a part of the 

National Weather Service (NWS), 

designs, develops, operates, and 

maintains a network of moored buoys 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES