Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 12, 2018 / Notices 46195 

Evening briefing to discuss the 

Expeditions award and forthcoming 

site visit. 

Thursday, September 13, 2018 

8:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: Open 

Presentations by Awardee Institution, 

faculty staff and students, to Site 

Team and NSF Staff. Discussions, 

question and answer sessions. 

1:30 p.m.–2:00 p.m.: Closed 

NSF Staff and Panelists deliberation. 

2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.: Open 

Continued presentations by Awardee 

Institution. Response and feedback 

to presentations by Site Team and 

NSF Staff. Discussions, question 

and answer sessions. Draft report on 

education and research activities. 

Complete written site visit report 

with preliminary recommendations. 

6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.: Closed 

NSF Staff and Panelists working dinner. 

Friday, September 14, 2018 

8:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.: Open 

Expeditions PIs responses to issues 

raised by panelists. 

10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.: Closed 

Panelists prepare site visit report. 

2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.: Open 

Presentation of site visit report to 

Expeditions leadership team. 

Reason For Closing: Topics to be 

discussed and evaluated during closed 

portions of the site review will include 

information of a proprietary or 

confidential nature, including technical 

information; and information on 

personnel. These matters are exempt 

under 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), (4) and (6) of the 

Government in the Sunshine Act. 

Dated: September 6, 2018. 

Crystal Robinson, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19780 Filed 9–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Notice of Permit Applications Received 

Under the Antarctic Conservation Act 

of 1978 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice of permit applications 

received. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) is required to publish 

a notice of permit applications received 

to conduct activities regulated under the 

Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. 

NSF has published regulations under 

the Antarctic Conservation Act in the 

Code of Federal Regulations. This is the 

required notice of permit applications 

received. 

DATES: Interested parties are invited to 

submit written data, comments, or 

views with respect to this permit 

application by October 12, 2018. This 

application may be inspected by 

interested parties at the Permit Office, 

address below. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Permit Office, Office of 

Polar Programs, National Science 

Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 

Alexandria, Virginia 22314. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nature McGinn, ACA Permit Officer, at 

the above address, 703–292–8030, or 

ACApermits@nsf.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Science Foundation, as 

directed by the Antarctic Conservation 

Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95–541, 45 CFR 

671), as amended by the Antarctic 

Science, Tourism and Conservation Act 

of 1996, has developed regulations for 

the establishment of a permit system for 

various activities in Antarctica and 

designation of certain animals and 

certain geographic areas a requiring 

special protection. The regulations 

establish such a permit system to 

designate Antarctic Specially Protected 

Areas. 

Application Details 

Permit Application: 2019–005 

1. Applicant: Bill Davis, VP Operations, 

Quark Expeditions, 3131 Elliot 

Avenue, Suite 250, Seattle, WA 

98121. 

Activity for Which Permit is 

Requested: Waste Management. The 

applicant is seeking a waste 

management permit associated with the 

operation of the i/b Kapitan Khlebnikov 

in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The 

vessel will complete multiple cruises 

and multiple landings per cruise. 

Maximum passengers taken ashore at 

any one time will be limited to 100 

persons. Quark would offer activities 

including shore excursions by Zodiac or 

helicopter, sightseeing by helicopter, 

visits to the Snow Hill emperor penguin 

colony, polar plunges, and vesselsupported short overnight stays 

(camping). The applicant also proposes 

to operate a small, battery-operated 

remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) 

consisting, in part, of a quadcopter 

equipped with a camera to collect 

footage for commercial and educational 

purposes. Mitigation measures would be 

in place to reduce the risk of non-native 

species introductions and the risk of 

spills or releases to the environment. 

Waste generated during small boat and 

shore-based activities would be returned 

to the vessels for proper disposal. 

For vessel-supported short overnight 

stays (camping): Camping would be 

away from vegetated sites and at least 

150m from wildlife concentrations or 

lakes, protected areas, historical sites, 

and scientific stations. Tents would be 

pitched on snow, ice, or bare smooth 

rock, at least 15m from the high-water 

line. No food, other than emergency 

rations, would be brought onshore and 

all wastes, including human waste, 

would be collected and returned to the 

ship for proper disposal. Campers 

would be limited to 30 passengers plus 

staff, except at the following sites where 

campers are limited to 60 passengers 

plus staff: Damoy Point/Dorian Bay, 

Danco Island, Pleneau Island, Leith 

Cove, and Ronge ́ Island. The ratio of 

staff to passengers would be 1:10. 

Camping would include overnight stays 

of any duration, but in accordance with 

the visitor site guidelines for each site. 

For remotely piloted aircraft systems 

(RPAS) operation: The quadcopter 

would not be flown over wildlife, or 

over Antarctic Specially Protected Areas 

or Historic Sites and Monuments. The 

RPAS would only be operated by pilots 

with adequate experience. Several 

measures would be taken to prevent 

against loss of the quadcopter including 

painting the them a highly visible color; 

only flying when the wind is calm; 

flying for only 15 minutes at a time to 

maintain adequate battery charge; 

having a flotation device for operations 

over water, and an ‘‘auto go home’’ 

feature in case of loss of control link or 

low battery; having an observer on the 

lookout for wildlife, people, and other 

hazards; and ensuring that the 

separation between the operator and 

quadcopter does not exceed a maximum 

distance of 300 meters. 

Location: Snow Hill Island; Antarctic 

Peninsula region. For camping: Damoy 

Point/Dorian Bay, Danco Island, Ronge ́

Island, Errera Channel, Paradise Bay, 

Andvord Bay, Pleneau Island, Argentine 

Islands (Winter Island by Wordie 

House), Hovgaard Island, Orne Harbour, 

Leith Cove, Prospect Point, Portal Point, 

Skontorp Cove, Horseshoe Island, Stony 

Point, Lefevre-Utile, the Naze. 

Dates of Permitted Activities: October 

1, 2018–March 31, 2019. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19824 Filed 9–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 


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