11492 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Notices 

Any party submitting factual 

information in an antidumping duty or 

countervailing duty proceeding must 

certify to the accuracy and completeness 

of that information. See section 782(b) 

of the Act. Parties are hereby reminded 

that revised certification requirements 

are in effect for company/government 

officials as well as their representatives 

in all segments of any antidumping duty 

or countervailing duty proceedings 

initiated on or after March 14, 2011. See 

Certification of Factual Information to 

Import Administration During 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Proceedings: Interim Final Rule, 76 FR 

7491 (February 10, 2011) (‘‘Interim Final 

Rule’’), amending 19 CFR 351.303(g)(1) 

and (2). The formats for the revised 

certifications are provided at the end of 

the Interim Final Rule. The Department 

intends to reject factual submissions in 

any proceeding segments initiated on or 

after March 14, 2011 if the submitting 

party does not comply with the revised 

certification requirements. 

These initiations and this notice are 

in accordance with section 751(a) of the 

Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)) and 19 CFR 

351.221(c)(1)(i). 

Dated: February 21, 2012. 

Christian Marsh, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping 

and Countervailing Duty Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4518 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB032 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Issuance of Incidental Harassment 

Authorizations in the U.S. Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Draft 

Environmental Assessment; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

availability of the ‘‘Draft Environmental 

Assessment (DEA) for the Issuance of 

Incidental Harassment Authorizations 

for the Take of Marine Mammals by 

Harassment Incidental to Conducting 

Exploratory Drilling Programs in the 

U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.’’ 

Publication of this notice begins the 

official public comment period for this 

DEA. The purpose of the DEA is to 

evaluate, in compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), the potential direct, indirect, 

and cumulative impacts of issuing 

Incidental Harassment Authorizations 

(IHAs) to Shell for the take of marine 

mammals incidental to offshore oil and 

gas exploratory drilling programs in the 

U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

pursuant to the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA). 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than March 28, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the DEA 

should be addressed to Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 

East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. The mailbox address for 

providing email comments is 

ITP.Nachman@noaa.gov. NMFS is not 

responsible for email comments sent to 

addresses other than the one provided 

here. Comments sent via email, 

including all attachments, must not 

exceed a 25-megabyte file size. 

A copy of the DEA may be obtained 

by writing to the address specified 

above, telephoning the contact listed 

below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT), or visiting the internet at: 

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental.htm. Documents cited in this 

notice may also be viewed, by 

appointment, during regular business 

hours, at the aforementioned address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Candace Nachman, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sections 

101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary 

of Commerce to allow, upon request, the 

incidental, but not intentional taking of 

small numbers 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 are made and either 

regulations are issued or, if the taking is 

limited to harassment, a notice of 

proposed authorization is provided to 

the public for review. The term ‘‘take’’ 

under the MMPA means ‘‘to harass, 

hunt, capture, kill or collect, or attempt 

to harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect.’’ 

Except with respect to certain activities 

not pertinent here, the MMPA defines 

‘‘harassment’’ as ‘‘any act of pursuit, 

torment, or annoyance which (i) has the 

potential to injure a marine mammal or 

marine mammal stock in the wild [Level 

A harassment]; or (ii) 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 [Level B harassment].’’ 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall 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 (where relevant), and if 

the permissible methods of taking and 

requirements pertaining to the 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting of 

such takings 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.’’ 

In accordance with NEPA, the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

implementing regulations, and NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6, NMFS has 

prepared this DEA to evaluate the 

potential direct, indirect, and 

cumulative effects on the human 

environment that may result from the 

issuance of IHAs pursuant to section 

101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA to Shell 

Offshore Inc. and Shell Gulf of Mexico 

Inc. (collectively ‘‘Shell’’) for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

conducting offshore exploratory drilling 

programs in the U.S. Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas. NMFS published Notices 

of Proposed IHAs on Shell’s Beaufort 

and Chukchi Sea exploratory drilling 

programs for public comment on 

November 7, 2011, and November 9, 

2011, respectively (76 FR 68974 and 76 

FR 69958), which contained analyses of 

the proposed specified activities on 

marine mammals, their habitats, and the 

availability of marine mammals for 

subsistence uses. 

NMFS requests comment on our 

analysis contained in the DEA regarding 

the potential effects of the proposed 

action of issuing IHAs for the specified 

activities on the human environment 

and any other aspects of the DEA. Please 

include, with your comments, any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform our final decision on Shell’s 

request for MMPA authorizations. 

Dated: February 21, 2012. 

James H. Lecky, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4511 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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