Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Notices 22761 

conservation and survival of federally 

listed species, i.e., recovery plans. 

DATES: To allow NMFS adequate time to 

conduct the reviews, all information 

must be received no later than May 17, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on these documents, identified by 

NOAA–NMFS–2012–0091, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.

regulations.gov. To submit comments 

via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click 

the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon, then 

enter NOAA–NMFS–2012–0091 in the 

keyword search. Locate the document 

you wish to comment on from the 

resulting list and click on the ‘‘Submit 

a Comment’’ icon on the right of that 

line. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 

Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East 

West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910, Attn: Recovery Plans. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. 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. All comments received are 

a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. 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 or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larissa Plants, Office of Protected 

Resources, 301–427–8471, or Shannon 

Bettridge, Office of Protected Resources, 

301–427–8437. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Management responsibility for blue 

whales and North Pacific right whales 

lies with the Secretary of Commerce and 

has been delegated to NMFS. As such, 

NMFS is charged with the recovery of 

blue and North Pacific right whales, 

which are listed as endangered under 

the ESA. The recovery planning process 

is guided by the statutory language of 

Section 4(f) of the ESA and NMFS 

policies. Recovery planning identifies 

all methods and procedures that are 

necessary to recover any endangered 

species or threatened species. Section 

4(f)(1)(B) of the ESA specifies that 

recovery plans must incorporate in each 

plan (i) a description of such sitespecific management actions as may be 

necessary to achieve the plan’s goal for 

the conservation and survival of the 

species; (ii) objective, measurable 

criteria which when met, would result 

in a determination, that the species be 

removed from the list; and (iii) estimates 

of the time required and cost to carry 

out those measures needed to achieve 

the plan’s goal and to achieve 

intermediate steps toward that goal. 

Section 4(f)(4) of the ESA requires 

that public notice and an opportunity 

for public review and comment be 

provided during recovery plan 

development. NMFS requests relevant 

information from the public during 

preparation of the draft Recovery Plans. 

Such information should address: (a) 

criteria for removing the these whales 

from the list of threatened and 

endangered species; (b) factors that are 

presently limiting, or threaten to limit, 

the survival of the blue and North 

Pacific right whales; (c) actions to 

address limiting factors and threats; (d) 

estimates of time and cost to implement 

recovery actions; and (e) research, 

monitoring and evaluation needs. Upon 

completion, the draft Recovery Plans 

will be available for public review and 

comment through the publication of a 

Federal Register Notice. 

Authority: 6 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: April 10, 2012. 

Marta Nammack, 

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9239 Filed 4–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Draft Management Plan and 

Environmental Assessment for Monitor 

National Marine Sanctuary: Notice of 

Public Availability and Meetings 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of public availability and 

meetings. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 

304(e) of the National Marine 

Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), as amended, 

NOAA is soliciting public comment on 

the draft management plan and draft 

environmental assessment for Monitor 

National Marine Sanctuary. 

DATES: Comments: Comments on the 

draft management plan and draft 

environmental assessment will be 

considered if received on or before June 

22, 2012. 

Public meetings: See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below for the dates 

and locations for the public meetings. 

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy: For a copy 

of the draft management plan and draft 

environmental assessment, contact the 

Management Plan Review Coordinator, 

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, 100 

Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 

23606. Copies can also be downloaded 

from the Monitor National Marine 

Sanctuary Web site at http:// 

monitor.noaa.gov. 

To submit comments: Comments on 

the draft management plan and draft 

environmental assessment may be 

submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal with Docket 

Number NOAA–NOS–2012–0076. 

2. By email to monitor@noaa.gov; 

3. By providing comments (oral or 

written) at one of the public meetings 

(see public meetings section below); or 

4. In writing to the Monitor NMS 

Management Plan Review Coordinator 

at 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, 

VA 23606. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

be generally posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. NOAA 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 PDF file formats only. 

Public meetings: See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for the dates and 

locations for the public meetings. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannon Rides, Management Plan 

Review Coordinator, at (757) 591–7328. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
22762 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Notices 

Background information 

On January 30, 1975, the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) designated 

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary 

(MNMS) as the nation’s first national 

marine sanctuary (NMS). Managed by 

NOAA’s Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), it protects the 

wreck of the famed Civil War ironclad, 

USS Monitor, best known for its battle 

with the Confederate ironclad, CSS 

Virginia in Hampton Roads, VA., on 

March 9, 1862. The sanctuary also 

promotes appreciation and responsible 

use of the ocean. 

NOAA is undergoing a review of the 

Monitor NMS draft management plan 

pursuant to section 304(e) of the NMSA, 

and is now releasing the plan for public 

review and comment. The draft 

management plan (2012) was prepared 

by NOAA in cooperation with the 

Monitor NMS Sanctuary Advisory 

Council and with input from the public, 

local governments, state and federal 

agencies, and other stakeholders. The 

draft plan is comprised of eight action 

plans (education and outreach; research 

and monitoring; resource protection; 

visitor use; USS Monitor sailors; 

possible future sanctuary expansion; 

conservation; and operations and 

administration). It sets priorities to 

guide sanctuary programs and 

operations, and provides the public 

with a better understanding of the 

sanctuary’s strategies to protect the USS 

Monitor. 

The accompanying draft 

environmental assessment analyzes the 

environmental impacts of the draft 

management plan pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act. In 

doing so, it analyzes two alternatives: 

the status quo (no change) and the 

preferred alternative (2012 management 

plan). 

Public meetings 

Public meetings will be held at the 

following locations and dates: 

1. April 30, 6:30 p.m., Raleigh, NC, 

NC Museum of History, 5 East Edenton 

Street, Raleigh, NC 27601. 

2. May 1, 6:30 p.m., Wilmington, NC, 

NC Maritime Museum, 204 E Moore 

Street, Southport, NC 28461. 

3. May 2, 6:30 p.m., Beaufort, NC, NC 

Maritime Museum, 315 Front Street, 

Beaufort, NC 28516. 

4. May 3, 6:30 p.m., Nags Head, NC, 

Jennette’s Pier at Nags Head, 7223 South 

Virginia Dare Trail, Milepost 16.5, Nags 

Head, NC 27959. 

5. May 4, 2 p.m., Newport News, VA, 

The Mariners’ Museum, 100 Museum 

Drive, Newport News, VA 23606. 

Dated: April 9, 2012. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9031 Filed 4–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; State Broadband 

Data and Development Grant Program 

Progress Report 

AGENCY: National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on the 

proposed revision and/or continuing 

information collections, as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before June 18, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via email to 

jjessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instruments and instructions should be 

directed to Anne Neville, Director, State 

Broadband Initiative, Department of 

Commerce, National 

Telecommunications and Information 

Administration, 14th and Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or 

via email at aneville@ntia.doc.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

Section 6001 (l) of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(Recovery Act), Public Law 111–5 

(2009), required the Assistant Secretary 

of Commerce for Communications and 

Information (Assistant Secretary) to 

develop and maintain a comprehensive, 

interactive, and searchable nationwide 

inventory map of existing broadband 

service capability and availability in the 

United States that depicts the 

geographic extent to which broadband 

service capability is deployed and 

available from a commercial or public 

provider throughout each state. 

(Recovery Act section 6001(l), 123 Stat. 

at 516). The statue further provided that 

the Assistant Secretary would make the 

national broadband map accessible by 

the public on a National 

Telecommunications and Information 

Administration (NTIA) Web site no later 

than February 17, 2011. 

On July 8, 2009, NTIA issued the 

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) 

and Solicitation of Applications setting 

forth the requirements for the State 

Broadband Data and Development 

(SBDD) Grant Program (NOFA, 74 FR 

32545, July 8, 2009), a competitive, 

merit-based matching grant program 

funding projects that collect 

comprehensive and accurate State-level 

broadband mapping data, develop Statelevel broadband maps, aid in the 

development and maintenance of a 

national broadband map, and fund 

statewide initiatives directed at 

broadband planning and capacity 

building. 

The NOFA requires grantees to submit 

regular reports to NTIA. Specifically it 

states: 

‘‘All grantees under this Program will 

provide quarterly reports on: 

(a) Achievement of project goals, 

objectives, and milestones (e.g., collection of 

a ‘‘substantially complete data set’’; 

completion of data review or quality control 

process) as set forth by the applicant in their 

application timeline; 

i. expenditure of grant funds and how 

much of the award remains; 

ii. Amount of non-federal case or in-kind 

investment that is being added to complete 

the project; and 

iii. whether the grantee is on schedule to 

provide broadband-related data in 

accordance with the mapping project 

timeline.’’ See 74 FR 32556 (July 8, 2009). 

NTIA requires these quarterly 

Performance Progress Reports (PPRs) in 

order to gauge the progress of grantees 

in meeting their project goals. Without 

such formal reporting, NTIA is unable to 

effectively monitor the expenditure of 

these Recovery Act funds. While 

grantees are also required to submit 

Recovery Act reports, these reports do 

not include vital details that NTIA 

needs in order to provide proper 

oversight of activities. 

After reviewing recent PPRs, NTIA 

has identified a need to revise its 

existing PPR format by changing 

existing questions and adding new 

questions to improve clarity, reduce the 

frequency with which some information 

is reported, and delete certain items that 

are not necessary for effective 

performance monitoring. The revisions 

will improve the quality of recipients’ 

responses and enable NTIA to better 

monitor and assess the extent to which 

the recipients are meeting program goals 


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