Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2024 / Notices 751 

prior to the meeting. Comments 

received after that date and time will be 

distributed to the members but may not 

be considered during the meeting. 

Comments and statements will be 

posted on the IAC website (https://

www.trade.gov/selectusa-investmentadvisory-council) without change, 

including any business or personal 

information provided such as it 

includes names, addresses, email 

addresses, or telephone numbers. All 

comments and statements received, 

including attachments and other 

supporting materials, are part of the 

public record and subject to public 

disclosure. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

publicly available. 

Copies of the meeting minutes will be 

available within 90 days of the meeting 

date. 

Jasjit Kalra, 

Executive Director, SelectUSA. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00022 Filed 1–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Information Collection Activities; 

Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) Program Application 

Cover Sheet 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on October 4, 

2023 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST), 

Commerce. 

Title: Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) Program Application 

Cover Sheet. 

OMB Control Number 0693–0072. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

current information collection. 

Number of Respondents: 138. 

Average Hours per Response: 30 

minutes. 

Burden Hours: 69 hours. 

Needs and Uses: The information 

collected in the Cover Sheet provides 

identifying information and 

demographic data for use in NIST’s 

annual report to the SBA on the 

program. The technical abstract is used 

in prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse 

by providing a method to compare 

similar applications to other agency 

SBIR programs. The abstract and 

potential commercial applications of 

successful applicants are posted on the 

agency website. 

Affected Public: Applicants to the 

NIST SBIR Program. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0693–0072. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00037 Filed 1–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD610] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Geophysical Surveys 

Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the 

Gulf of Mexico 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of modification to 

expiration date of letter of authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, its implementing 

regulations, and NMFS’ MMPA 

Regulations for Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Geophysical 

Surveys Related to Oil and Gas 

Activities in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), 

notification is hereby given that NMFS 

has modified the expiration date of a 

Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued to 

LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C. 

(LLOG) for the take of marine mammals 

incidental to geophysical survey activity 

in the GOM. 

DATES: This LOA is effective through 

December 31, 2026. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/marine-mammal-protection/ 

issued-letters-authorization-oil-and-gasindustry-geophysical-survey. In case of 

problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed below (FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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 a proposed 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

An 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. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, the MMPA 

defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance which: 


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752 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2024 / Notices 

(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). 

On January 19, 2021, we issued a final 

rule with regulations to govern the 

unintentional taking of marine 

mammals incidental to geophysical 

survey activities conducted by oil and 

gas industry operators, and those 

persons authorized to conduct activities 

on their behalf (collectively ‘‘industry 

operators’’), in U.S. waters of the GOM 

over the course of 5 years (86 FR 5322, 

January 19, 2021). The rule was based 

on our findings that the total taking 

from the specified activities over the 5- 

year period will have a negligible 

impact on the affected species or 

stock(s) of marine mammals and will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of those species or 

stocks for subsistence uses. The rule 

became effective on April 19, 2021. 

Our regulations at 50 CFR 217.180 et 

seq. allow for the issuance of LOAs to 

industry operators for the incidental 

take of marine mammals during 

geophysical survey activities and 

prescribe the permissible methods of 

taking and other means of effecting the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

marine mammal species or stocks and 

their habitat (often referred to as 

mitigation), as well as requirements 

pertaining to the monitoring and 

reporting of such taking. Under 50 CFR 

217.186(e), issuance of an LOA shall be 

based on a determination that the level 

of taking will be consistent with the 

findings made for the total taking 

allowable under these regulations and a 

determination that the amount of take 

authorized under the LOA is of no more 

than small numbers. 

NMFS issued an LOA to LLOG on 

January 20, 2022, for the take of marine 

mammals incidental to the following 

vertical seismic profile (VSP) survey 

types: Zero Offset, Offset, Walk Away, 

Salt Proximity and/or Check Shots after 

reaching total depth of any of the 

proposed wells operated by LLOG 

within the Keathley Canyon Area, 

effective March 1, 2022 through 

December 31, 2022. Please see the 

Federal Register notice of issuance (87 

FR 3084, January 20, 2022) for 

additional detail regarding the LOA and 

the survey activity. 

LLOG subsequently requested 

modification of the December 31, 2022, 

expiration date to December 31, 2023, 

due to survey delays and NMFS 

modified the LOA accordingly (87 FR 

41670, July 13, 2022). More recently, 

LLOG informed NMFS that the survey 

would be further delayed, and requested 

a second modification to the expiration 

date of the LOA (from December 31, 

2023, to December 31, 2026) to 

accommodate the delays. There are no 

other changes to LLOG’s planned 

activity. Since issuance of the LOA, no 

survey work has occurred. 

Authorization 

NMFS has changed the expiration 

date of the LOA from December 31, 

2023, to December 31, 2026. There are 

no other changes to the LOA as 

described in the January 20, 2022, 

Federal Register notice of issuance (87 

FR 3084): the specified survey activity; 

estimated take by incidental 

harassment; and small numbers analysis 

and determination remain unchanged 

and are incorporated here by reference. 

Dated: December 27, 2023. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00007 Filed 1–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Socioeconomics of Coral 

Reef Conservation 

AGENCY: National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection, 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed, and continuing information 

collections, which helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. This notice pertains to 

a revision and extension of the 

approved collection of information for 

Socioeconomics of Coral Reef 

Conservation. The purpose of this notice 

is to allow for 60 days of public 

comment preceding submission of the 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before March 5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, 

at NOAA.PRA@noaa.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 0648– 

0646 in the subject line of your 

comments. Written comments NOAA 

receives are considered part of the 

public record, and the entirety of the 

comment, including the name of the 

commenter, email address, attachments, 

and other supporting materials, will be 

publicly accessible. Sensitive personally 

identifiable information, such as 

account numbers and Social Security 

numbers or Confidential Business 

Information, should not be included 

with the comment. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

specific questions related to collection 

activities should be directed to Mary 

Allen, NOAA Office for Coastal 

Management, Coral Reef Conservation 

Program, 1305 East-West Highway, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910, Telephone 

(240) 528–8151 or Mary.Allen@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is for revision and 

extension to an approved collection of 

information, OMB Control Number 

0648–0646, under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., 

and implementing regulations at 5 CFR 

part 1320. This previously-approved 

information collection assists NOAA in 

the administration of the National Coral 

Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), 

which was established by the NOAA 

Coral Reef Conservation Program 

(CRCP) under the authority of the Coral 

Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 16 

U.S.C. 6401 et seq. This act authorizes 

CRCP to, among other things, conserve 

and restore the condition of United 

States coral reef ecosystems and 

enhance public awareness, 

understanding, and appreciation of 

coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems 

and their ecological and socioeconomic 

value. In accordance with its mission 

goals, NOAA developed a survey to 

track relevant information regarding 

each jurisdiction’s population, social 

and economic structure, the benefits of 

coral reefs and related habitats, the 

impacts of society on coral reefs, and 

the impacts of coral management on 

communities. The survey is repeated in 

each jurisdiction every five to seven 

years in order to provide longitudinal 


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