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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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2024 / Notices 753 

data and information for managers to 

effectively conserve coral reefs for 

current and future generations. 

The purpose of this information 

collection is to obtain human 

dimensions information from residents 

in the seven United States (U.S.) 

jurisdictions containing coral reefs: 

Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), 

Puerto Rico, Hawai’i, American Samoa, 

Guam, and the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). 

Specifically, NOAA is seeking 

information on the behaviors and 

activities related to coral reefs, as well 

as information on perceptions of coral 

reef conditions and attitudes toward 

specific reef conservation activities. 

Each survey has a core set of questions 

that are asked across all jurisdictions to 

allow for information to be tracked over 

time and across jurisdictions. To 

account for geographical, cultural and 

linguistic differences between 

jurisdictions, the survey questions 

include items that are specific to the 

local context and developed based on 

jurisdictional partner feedback. 

We intend to use the information 

collected through this instrument for 

research purposes, as well as for 

measuring and improving the results of 

our reef protection programs. Because 

many of our efforts to protect reefs rely 

on education and changing attitudes 

toward reef protection, the information 

collected will allow CRCP to ensure that 

programs are designed appropriately at 

the start, future program evaluation 

efforts are as successful as possible, and 

outreach efforts are targeting the 

intended recipients with useful 

information. 

Pursuant to a request from the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB), this 

collection of information was 

restructured in 2021 as a hybrid-generic 

collection. That structure is maintained 

herein. 

II. Method of Collection 

Information will be collected using 

the most efficient and effective 

methodology that is feasible in the 

individual jurisdiction. Dependent upon 

the jurisdiction, data will be collected 

via in-person or mail recruitment, inperson interviews, and/or push-to-web 

online survey platforms. For the three 

years covered by this clearance, data 

collection will target the USVI, Florida, 

and Hawai’i and will be collected as 

such: in-person interviews with an 

online option in the USVI and via mail 

push-to-web in Florida and Hawai’i. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0646. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Revision and extension to a currently 

approved information collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

9,840. 

Estimated Time per Response: 20 

minutes per response. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 469 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0 in recordkeeping/reporting 

costs. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Coral Reef 

Conservation Act of 2000, 16 U.S.C. 

6401 et seq. 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 

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 information 

collection request. 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. If you 

would rather make an anonymous 

comment, please submit comments 

through regulations.gov. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00040 Filed 1–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD557] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Marine Site 

Characterization Surveys Off New 

York, New Jersey, Delaware, and 

Maryland 

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 Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, 

LLC (Atlantic Shores) for authorization 

to take marine mammals incidental to 

marine site characterization surveys in 

waters off of New York, New Jersey, 

Delaware, and Maryland, including in 

the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease 

of Submerged Lands for Renewable 

Energy Development on the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Areas 

OCS–A 0499, OCS–A 0541, OCS–A 

0549, and associated export cable 

corridor (ECC) areas. 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 

public comments prior to making any 

final decision on the issuance of the 

requested MMPA authorization and 

agency responses will be summarized in 

the final notice of our decision. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than February 5, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service and should be 

submitted via email to ITP.clevenstine@

noaa.gov. Electronic copies of the 

application and supporting documents, 

as well as a list of the references cited 


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