Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Notices 89385 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28503 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD605] 

Notice of Availability of Draft 

Environmental Assessment on the 

Effects of Permitting Translocation of 

Sturgeon for Scientific Research and 

Enhancement Under the of the 

Endangered Species Act 

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: NOAA has prepared a draft 

programmatic environmental 

assessment (PEA) under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) analyzing the environmental 

impacts of the NMFS, Office of 

Protected Resources’ proposal to 

authorize directed take under the 

sturgeon Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

permitting program for the translocation 

of shortnose (Acipenser brevirostrum) 

and Atlantic (A. oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) 

sturgeon needed to achieve recovery 

objectives. We are making the draft PEA 

available to the public for review and 

comment. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before January 26, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The draft PEA may be 

downloaded or viewed at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/draftenvironmental-assessment-permittingtranslocation-sturgeon-scientificresearch-and. Please submit public 

comments via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov with the 

subject line ‘‘Public Comment on Draft 

PEA for Permitting Sturgeon 

Translocation’’. No business proprietary 

information, copyrighted information, 

or personally identifiable information 

should be submitted in response to this 

request. Please be aware that comments 

submitted may be posted on a Federal 

website or otherwise released publicly. 

Clearly indicate which section, page 

number, and line number, if applicable, 

submitted comments pertain to. All 

comments must be provided in English. 

Please note that the U.S. Government 

will not pay for response preparation, or 

for the use of any information contained 

in the response. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Markin, Ph.D., erin.markin@noaa.gov, 

(301) 427–8416; Malcolm Mohead,

malcolm.mohead@noaa.gov, (301) 427–

8427.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This draft

PEA serves as a framework to analyze

the potential impacts on the natural and

human environments for the

authorization of directed take of

sturgeon by translocation, in scientific

research or enhancement permits under

section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, to

achieve recovery objectives. For the

purposes of the sturgeon permitting

program, translocation is the intentional

capture, holding, handling, transport,

and release of individuals within a river

system (e.g., translocation of fish across

a dam or fish passage) or between river

systems within the U.S. historical range

of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon (i.e.,

Maine to Florida). NMFS proposes to

authorize directed take for the

translocation of ESA-listed Atlantic and

shortnose sturgeon as a research or

enhancement activity to support

sturgeon conservation management and

recovery objectives. NMFS proposes to

authorize translocation concurrent with

additional research or enhancement

activities, if the research or

enhancement activity’s objectives are (1)

stated as a term and condition to

implement reasonable and prudent

measures of an active biological

opinion, (2) an identified objective in a

NMFS recovery outline or recovery plan

for the species, or (3) determined

necessary by NMFS Regional Offices 

and the NMFS Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) to recover the species. 

Programmatic NEPA reviews add value 

and efficiency to the decision making 

process when they inform the scope of 

decisions and subsequent tiered NEPA 

reviews. Therefore, NMFS decided that 

completing a PEA for the proposed 

action was appropriate. 

This document has been prepared in 

compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321, 

et seq.), the 2020 Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

Regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508) as 

modified by the Phase 1 2022 revisions, 

and NOAA policy and procedures 

(NOAA Administrative Order 216–6A 

(NAO 216–6A and its Companion 

Manual). 

Dated: December 21, 2023. 

Amy Sloan, 

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28505 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD544] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the Parallel 

Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project, Virginia 

Beach, Virginia 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental 

harassment authorization; request for 

comments on proposed authorization 

and possible renewal. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from the Chesapeake Tunnel Joint 

Venture (CTJV) for authorization to take 

marine mammals incidental to the 

Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project 

(PTST) in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Pursuant to the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is 

requesting comments on its proposal to 

issue an incidental harassment 

authorization (IHA) to incidentally take 

marine mammals during the specified 

activities. NMFS is also requesting 

comments on a possible one-time, 1- 

year renewal that could be issued under 

certain circumstances and if all 

requirements are met, as described in 

Request for Public Comments at the end 

of this notice. NMFS will consider 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1