6092 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Notices 

17See Order. 

18See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; and 19 CFR 

351.213(h). 

company-specific rate published for the 

most recently-completed segment of this 

proceeding in which they were 

reviewed; (3) if the exporter is not a firm 

covered in this review, a prior review, 

or the original LTFV investigation, but 

the producer is, then the cash deposit 

rate will be the cash deposit rate 

established for the most recently 

completed segment of this proceeding 

for the producer of the merchandise; 

and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other 

producers or exporters will continue to 

be 6.08 percent, the all-others rate 

established in the LTFV investigation.17

These cash deposit requirements, when 

imposed, shall remain in effect until 

further notice. 

Final Results of Review 

Unless the deadline is otherwise 

extended, Commerce intends to issue 

the final results of this administrative 

review, including the results of its 

analysis of issues raised by interested 

parties in the written comments, within 

120 days after the date of publication of 

these preliminary results in the Federal 

Register.18

Notification to Importers 

This notice also serves as a 

preliminary reminder to importers of 

their responsibility under 19 CFR 

351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding 

the reimbursement of antidumping 

duties prior to liquidation of the 

relevant entries during this review 

period. Failure to comply with this 

requirement could result in Commerce’s 

presumption that reimbursement of 

antidumping duties occurred and the 

subsequent assessment of doubled 

antidumping duties. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

We are issuing and publishing these 

preliminary results in accordance with 

sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the 

Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4). 

Dated: January 25, 2024. 

Abdelalia Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix 

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Scope of the Order 

IV. Discussion of the Methodology 

V. Currency Conversion 

VI. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2024–01936 Filed 1–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD655] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Marine Site 

Characterization Surveys in the New 

York Bight 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on 

proposed renewal incidental harassment 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from 

Bluepoint Wind, LLC (BPW) for the 

renewal of their currently active 

incidental harassment authorization 

(IHA) (hereinafter, the ‘‘initial IHA’’) to 

take marine mammals incidental to 

marine site characterization surveys in 

coastal waters off of New York and New 

Jersey in the New York Bight, 

specifically within the Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management (BOEM) 

Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands 

for Renewable Energy Development on 

the Outer Continental Shelf (Lease) Area 

OCS–A 0537 and associated export 

cable route (ECR) area. BPW’s activities 

will not be completed prior to the IHA’s 

expiration. Pursuant to the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior 

to issuing the currently active IHA, 

NMFS requested comments on both the 

proposed IHA and the potential for 

renewing the initial authorization if 

certain requirements were satisfied. The 

renewal requirements have been 

satisfied, and NMFS is now providing 

an additional 15-day comment period to 

allow for any additional comments on 

the proposed renewal not previously 

provided during the initial 30-day 

comment period. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than February 15, 

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.harlacher@

noaa.gov. 

Instructions: NMFS is not responsible 

for comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. Comments, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. Attachments to 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. All comments received are a part 

of the public record and will generally 

be posted online at https://www.

fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidentaltake-authorizations-under-marinemammal-protection-act without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. Electronic copies of the 

original application, renewal request, 

and supporting documents (including 

NMFS Federal Register notices of the 

original proposed and final 

authorizations, and the previous IHA), 

as well as a list of the references cited 

in this document, may be obtained 

online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.

gov/permit/incidental-takeauthorizations-under-marine-mammalprotection-act. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to NMFS) 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 

promulgated or, if the taking is limited 

to harassment, an IHA is issued. 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall be granted if NMFS finds that the 

taking will have a negligible impact on 

the species or stock(s) and will not have 

an unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

taking for subsistence uses (where 

relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe 

the permissible methods of taking and 

other ‘‘means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact’’ on the 

affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance, and on the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Notices 6093 

availability of such species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to here as ‘‘mitigation 

measures’’). NMFS must also prescribe 

requirements pertaining to monitoring 

and reporting of such takings. The 

definition of key terms such as ‘‘take,’’ 

‘‘harassment,’’ and ‘‘negligible impact’’ 

can be found in the MMPA and the 

NMFS’s implementing regulations (see 

16 U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR 216.103). 

NMFS’ regulations implementing the 

MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate 

that IHAs may be renewed for 

additional periods of time not to exceed 

one year for each reauthorization. In the 

notice of proposed IHA for the initial 

IHA, NMFS described the circumstances 

under which we would consider issuing 

a renewal for this activity, and 

requested public comment on a 

potential renewal under those 

circumstances. Specifically, on a caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime 1-year renewal of an IHA following 

notice to the public providing an 

additional 15 days for public comments 

when (1) up to another year of identical, 

or nearly identical, activities as 

described in the Detailed Description of 

Specified Activities section of the initial 

IHA issuance notice is planned or (2); 

the activities as described in the 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts section of the 

initial IHA issuance notice would not be 

completed by the time the initial IHA 

expires and a renewal would allow for 

completion of the activities beyond that 

described in the DATES section of the 

notice of issuance of the initial IHA, 

provided all of the following conditions 

are met: 

1. A request for renewal is received no 

later than 60 days prior to the needed 

renewal IHA effective date (recognizing 

that the renewal IHA expiration date 

cannot extend beyond 1 year from 

expiration of the initial IHA); 

2. The request for renewal must 

include the following: 

• An explanation that the activities to 

be conducted under the requested 

renewal IHA are identical to the 

activities analyzed under the initial 

IHA, are a subset of the activities, or 

include changes so minor (e.g., 

reduction in pile size) that the changes 

do not affect the previous analyses, 

mitigation and monitoring 

requirements, or take estimates (with 

the exception of reducing the type or 

amount of take); and 

• A preliminary monitoring report 

showing the results of the required 

monitoring to date and an explanation 

showing that the monitoring results do 

not indicate impacts of a scale or nature 

not previously analyzed or authorized; 

and 

3. Upon review of the request for 

renewal, the status of the affected 

species or stocks, and any other 

pertinent information, NMFS 

determines that there are no more than 

minor changes in the activities, the 

mitigation and monitoring measures 

will remain the same and appropriate, 

and the findings in the initial IHA 

remain valid. 

An additional public comment period 

of 15 days (for a total of 45 days), with 

direct notice by email, phone, or postal 

service to commenters on the initial 

IHA, is provided to allow for any 

additional comments on the proposed 

renewal. A description of the renewal 

process may be found on our website at: 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

national/marine-mammal-protection/ 

incidental-harassment-authorizationrenewals. Any comments received on 

the potential renewal, along with 

relevant comments on the initial IHA, 

have been considered in the 

development of this proposed IHA 

renewal, and a summary of agency 

responses to applicable comments is 

included in this notice. NMFS will 

consider any additional public 

comments prior to making any final 

decision on the issuance of the 

requested renewal, and agency 

responses will be summarized in the 

final notice of our decision. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 

take authorizations with no anticipated 

serious injury or mortality) of the 

Companion Manual for NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6A, which do 

not individually or cumulatively have 

the potential for significant impacts on 

the quality of the human environment 

and for which we have not identified 

any extraordinary circumstances that 

would preclude this categorical 

exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS 

determined that the issuance of the 

initial IHA qualified for categorical 

exclusion from further NEPA review. 

NMFS has preliminarily determined 

that the application of this categorical 

exclusion remains appropriate for this 

renewal IHA. 

History of Request 

On February 28, 2023, NMFS issued 

an IHA to BPW to take marine mammals 

incidental to conducting marine site 

characterization surveys in coastal 

waters off of New York and New Jersey 

in the New York Bight, specifically 

within the BOEM Lease Area OCS–A 

0537 and associated ECR area (88 FR 

13783, March 6, 2023), effective from 

March 1, 2023 through February 29, 

2024. On December 21, 2023, NMFS 

received an application for the renewal 

of that initial IHA. As described in the 

application for renewal IHA, the 

activities for which incidental take is 

requested consist of activities that are 

covered by the initial authorization but 

will not be completed prior to its 

expiration. As required, the applicant 

also provided a preliminary monitoring 

report which confirms that the applicant 

has implemented the required 

mitigation and monitoring, and which 

also shows that no impacts of a scale or 

nature not previously analyzed or 

authorized have occurred as a result of 

the activities conducted. 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts 

BPW’s initial IHA included 

conducting marine site characterization 

surveys, including high-resolution 

geophysical (HRG) surveys, in coastal 

waters off of New Jersey and New York 

in the New York Bight, specifically 

within the BOEM Lease Area OCS–A 

0537 and associated ECR area. 

Challenges and delays with 

procurement, mobilization, and 

downtime contributed to less survey 

being completed during the initial IHA 

period than anticipated. 

The surveys were designed to obtain 

data sufficient to meet BOEM guidelines 

for providing geophysical, geotechnical, 

and geohazard information for site 

assessment plan surveys and/or 

construction and operations plan 

development. The objective of the 

surveys was to support the site 

characterization, siting, and engineering 

design of offshore wind project facilities 

including wind turbine generators, 

offshore substations, and submarine 

cables within the Lease Area. At least 

two survey vessels would operate as 

part of the planned surveys with a 

maximum of two nearshore (<20 meters 

(m)) vessels and a maximum of two 

offshore (≥20 m) vessels operating 

concurrently. 

BPW is proposing to continue to 

conduct survey activities as per the 

initial IHA application up to 

approximately 17,008 kilometers (km) of 

trackline, which would be conducted 

over up to approximately 335 days 

across multiple vessels (in the same 

manner as the initial IHA). This is a 

subset of the survey trackline included 

in the initial IHA. The initial survey 

plan included 13,268 km of trackline in 

the ECR survey area and 9,923 km in the 

Lease Area (total of 23,191 km) using 

the sparker for all survey activities as 


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6094 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Notices 

the worst-case-scenario. Through the 

expiration of the initial IHA, BPW 

expects to survey 6,183 km of trackline, 

leaving 17,008 km remaining from the 

initial request (up to 10,299 km in the 

ECR survey area and 6,709 km in the 

Lease Area). 

The potential impacts of BPW’s 

proposed activity on marine mammals 

could involve acoustic stressors and are 

unchanged from the impacts described 

in the Notice of the proposed IHA (88 

FR 2325, January 13, 2023). Acoustic 

stressors include effects of the marine 

site characterization surveys. The effects 

of underwater disturbance from the 

BPW’s proposed activities have the 

potential to result in Level B harassment 

of marine mammals in the specified 

geographic region. 

This proposed renewal IHA is for the 

remainder of work that will not be 

completed by the expiration of the 

initial IHA. The renewal IHA would 

authorize incidental take, by Level B 

harassment only (in the form of 

behavioral disturbance), of 15 species 

(16 stocks) of marine mammals for a 

subset of marine site characterization 

survey activities to be completed in 1 

year, in the same area, using survey 

methods identical to those described in 

the initial IHA application. Therefore, 

the anticipated effects on marine 

mammals and the affected stocks also 

remain the same. All mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting measures 

would remain exactly as described in 

the Federal Register notice of the issued 

initial IHA (88 FR 13783, March 6, 

2023). 

Detailed Description of the Activity 

A detailed description of the marine 

site characterization survey activities for 

which incidental take is proposed here 

may be found in the Federal Register 

notice of the proposed IHA (88 FR 2325, 

January 13, 2023) for the initial 

authorization. The location and nature 

of the activities, including the types of 

equipment planned for use, are identical 

to those described in the previous 

notices. The proposed renewal would be 

effective for a period not exceeding 1 

year from the date of expiration of the 

initial IHA. 

Description of Marine Mammals 

A description of the marine mammals 

in the area of the activities for which 

authorization of take is proposed here, 

including information on abundance, 

status, distribution, and hearing, may be 

found in the Federal Register notice of 

the proposed IHA for the initial 

authorization (88 FR 2325, January 13, 

2023). NMFS has reviewed the finalized 

2022 Stock Assessment Reports (SARs), 

which included updates to certain stock 

abundances since the initial IHA was 

issued, information on relevant Unusual 

Mortality Events, and other scientific 

literature. In August 2023 after the 

initial IHA was issued, NMFS released 

its final 2022 SARs, which updated the 

population estimate (Nbest) of North 

Atlantic right whales from 368 to 338 

and annual mortality and serious injury 

increased from 8.1 to 31.2. This large 

increase in annual serious injury/ 

mortality is a result of NMFS including 

undetected annual mortality and serious 

injury in the total annual serious injury/ 

mortality, which had not been 

previously included in the SARs. The 

population estimate is slightly lower 

than the North Atlantic Right Whale 

Consortium’s 2022 Report Card, which 

identifies the population estimate as 340 

individuals (Pettis et al., 2023). The 

2022 SAR and NARWC estimates are 

based on sighting history through 

November 2020 (Hayes et al., 2023). In 

October 2023, NMFS released a 

technical report identifying that the 

North Atlantic right whale population 

size based on sighting history through 

2022 was 356 whales, with a 95 percent 

credible interval ranging from 346 to 

363 (Linden, 2023). NMFS has 

determined that neither this nor any 

other new information affects which 

species or stocks have the potential to 

be affected or any other pertinent 

information in the Description of the 

Marine Mammals in the Area of 

Specified Activities contained in the 

supporting documents for the initial 

IHA. 

On August 1, 2022, NMFS announced 

proposed changes to the existing North 

Atlantic right whale vessel speed 

regulations to further reduce the 

likelihood of mortalities and serious 

injuries to endangered North Atlantic 

right whales from vessel collisions, 

which are a leading cause of the species’ 

decline and a primary factor in an 

ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (87 FR 

46921, August 1, 2022). Should a final 

vessel speed rule be issued and become 

effective during the effective period of 

this proposed Renewal IHA (or any 

other MMPA incidental take 

authorization), the authorization holder 

would be required to comply with any 

and all applicable requirements 

contained within the final rule. 

Specifically, where measures in any 

final vessel speed rule are more 

protective or restrictive than those in 

this or any other MMPA authorization, 

authorization holders would be required 

to comply with the requirements of the 

rule. Alternatively, where measures in 

this or any other MMPA authorization 

are more restrictive or protective than 

those in any final vessel speed rule, the 

measures in the MMPA authorization 

would remain in place. These changes 

would become effective immediately 

upon the effective date of any final 

vessel speed rule and would not require 

any further action on NMFS’s part. 

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals 

and Their Habitat 

A description of the potential effects 

of the specified activity on marine 

mammals and their habitat for the 

activities for which an authorization of 

incidental take is proposed here may be 

found in the Notice of the Proposed IHA 

for the initial authorization (88 FR 2325, 

January 13, 2023). NMFS has reviewed 

the monitoring data from the initial 

IHA, recent draft SAR, information on 

relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and 

other scientific literature, and 

determined that there is no new 

information that affects our initial 

analysis of impacts on marine mammals 

and their habitat. 

Estimated Take 

A detailed description of the methods 

and inputs used to estimate take for the 

specified activity are found in the 

Notices of the Proposed and Final IHAs 

for the initial authorization (88 FR 2325, 

January 13, 2023; 88 FR 13783, March 

6, 2023). Specifically, the source levels, 

days of operation, and marine mammal 

density/occurrence data applicable to 

this authorization remain unchanged 

from the previously issued IHA. 

Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of 

take, and types of take remain 

unchanged from the previously issued 

IHA. The number of takes proposed for 

authorization in this renewal IHA are a 

subset of the initial authorized takes 

that better represent the amount of 

activity BPW has left to complete. These 

estimated takes, which reflect the 

remaining survey days, are indicated 

below in table 1. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Notices 6095 

TABLE 1—PROPOSED NUMBER OF TAKES BY LEVEL B HARASSMENT BY SPECIES AND STOCK AND PERCENT OF TAKE BY

STOCK

Common name Authorized 

take 

Population 

abundance 

Percent of 

population 

North Atlantic right whale ............................................................................................................ 11 338 3.3 

Fin whale ..................................................................................................................................... 63 6,802 0.9 

Sei whale ..................................................................................................................................... 15 6,292 0.2 

Minke whale ................................................................................................................................. 149 21,968 0.7 

Humpback whale ......................................................................................................................... 27 1,396 1.9 

Sperm whale ................................................................................................................................ 5 4,349 0.1 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin ......................................................................................................... 316 93,233 0.3 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ............................................................................................................... 162 39,921 0.4 

Bottlenose dolphin (W.N. Atlantic Offshore) ................................................................................ 204 62,851 0.3 

Bottlenose dolphin (Northern Migratory Coastal) ........................................................................ 730 6,639 11.0 

Long-finned pilot whale ................................................................................................................ 50 39,215 0.1 

Risso’s dolphin ............................................................................................................................. 38 35,215 0.1 

Common dolphin .......................................................................................................................... 3,456 172,947 2.0 

Harbor porpoise ........................................................................................................................... 958 95,543 1.0 

Gray seal ..................................................................................................................................... 861 27,300 3.2 

Harbor seal .................................................................................................................................. 861 61,366 1.4 

Description of Proposed Mitigation, 

Monitoring and Reporting Measures 

The proposed mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting measures included as 

requirements in this authorization are 

identical to those included in the 

Federal Register notice announcing the 

issuance of the initial IHA (88 FR 13783, 

March 6, 2023), and the discussion of 

the least practicable adverse impact 

included in that document and the 

Notice of the proposed IHA remains 

accurate (88 FR 2325, January 13, 2023). 

The following measures are proposed 

for this renewal: 

• Ramp-up: A ramp-up procedure 

would be used for geophysical survey 

equipment capable of adjusting energy 

levels at the start or re-start of survey 

activities; 

• Protected Species Observers: A 

minimum of one NMFS-approved 

Protected Species Observer (PSO) must 

be on duty and conducting visual 

observations at all times during daylight 

hours (i.e., from 30 minutes prior to 

sunrise through 30 minutes following 

sunset). Two PSOs will be on watch 

during nighttime operations; 

• Pre-Operation Clearance Protocols: 

Prior to initiating HRG survey activities, 

BPW would implement a 30-minute preoperation clearance period. If any 

marine mammals are detected within 

the Exclusion Zones prior to or during 

ramp-up, the HRG equipment would be 

shut down (as described below); 

• Shutdown Zones: If an HRG source 

is active and a marine mammal is 

observed within or entering a relevant 

shutdown zone, an immediate 

shutdown of the HRG survey equipment 

would be required. Note this shutdown 

requirement would be waived for 

certain genera of small delphinids and 

pinnipeds; 

• Vessel strike avoidance measures: 

Separation distances for large whales 

(500 m North Atlantic right whales; 100 

m for sperm whales and all other baleen 

whales; 50 m all other marine 

mammals); restricted vessel speeds and 

operational maneuvers; and 

• Reporting: BPW will submit a 

marine mammal report within 90 days 

following completion of the surveys. 

Comments and Responses 

As noted previously, NMFS published 

a notice of a proposed IHA (88 FR 2325, 

January 13, 2023) and solicited public 

comments on both our proposal to issue 

the initial IHA for marine site 

characterization surveys and on the 

potential for a renewal IHA, should 

certain requirements be met. All public 

comments were addressed in the notice 

announcing the issuance of the initial 

IHA (88 FR 13783, March 6, 2023) and 

none of the comments specifically 

pertained to the potential renewal of the 

2023 IHA. 

Preliminary Determinations 

BPW’s proposed activities consist of a 

subset of activities analyzed in the 

initial IHA. In analyzing the effects of 

the activities for the initial IHA, NMFS 

determined that BPW’s activities would 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

species or stocks and that authorized 

take numbers of each species or stock 

were small relative to the relevant 

stocks (e.g., less than one-third the 

abundance of all stocks). The mitigation 

measures and monitoring and reporting 

requirements as described above are 

identical to the initial IHA. 

NMFS has preliminarily concluded 

that there is no new information 

suggesting that our analysis or findings 

should change from those reached for 

the initial IHA. Based on the 

information and analysis contained here 

and in the referenced documents, NMFS 

has determined the following: (1) the 

required mitigation measures will effect 

the least practicable adverse impact on 

marine mammal species or stocks and 

their habitat; (2) the authorized takes 

will have a negligible impact on the 

affected marine mammal species or 

stocks; (3) the authorized takes 

represent small numbers of marine 

mammals relative to the affected stock 

abundances; (4) BPW’s activities will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on taking for subsistence purposes as no 

relevant subsistence uses of marine 

mammals are implicated by this action; 

and (5) appropriate monitoring and 

reporting requirements are included. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. To ensure 

ESA compliance for the issuance of 

IHAs, NMFS consults internally, in this 

case with the NMFS Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources 

has authorized the incidental take of 

four species of marine mammals which 

are listed under the ESA (the North 

Atlantic right, fin, sei, and sperm whale) 

and has determined that these activities 

fall within the scope of activities 

analyzed in GARFO’s programmatic 


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consultation regarding geophysical 

surveys along the U.S. Atlantic coast in 

the three Atlantic Renewable Energy 

Regions (completed June 29, 2021; 

revised September 2021). The proposed 

Renewal IHA provides no new 

information about the effects of the 

action, nor does it change the extent of 

effects of the action, or any other basis 

to require reinitiation of consultation 

with NMFS GARFO; therefore, the ESA 

consultation has been satisfied for the 

initial IHA and remains valid for the 

Renewal IHA. 

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for 

Public Comment 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

a renewal IHA to BPW for conducting 

marine site characterization surveys in 

coastal waters off of New York and New 

Jersey in the New York Bight, from 

March 1, 2024 through February 28, 

2025, provided the previously described 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements are incorporated. A draft 

of the proposed and final initial IHA can 

be found at https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. We 

request comment on our analyses, the 

proposed renewal IHA, and any other 

aspect of this notice. Please include 

with your comments any supporting 

data or literature citations to help 

inform our final decision on the request 

for MMPA authorization. 

Dated: January 25, 2024. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01856 Filed 1–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD696] 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Pacific Council) 

Ad Hoc Marine Planning Committee 

(MPC) will hold an online public 

meeting. 

DATES: The online meeting will be held 

Tuesday, February 20, 2024, from 10 

a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific standard time or 

until business for the day has been 

completed. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held 

online. Specific meeting information, 

including a proposed agenda and 

directions on how to attend the meeting 

and system requirements, will be 

provided in the meeting announcement 

on the Pacific Council’s website (see 

www.pcouncil.org). You may send an 

email to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt 

(kris.kleinschmidt@noaa.gov) or contact 

him at (503) 820–2412 for technical 

assistance. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kerry Griffin, Staff Officer, Pacific 

Council; telephone: (503) 820–2409. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this online meeting is for the 

MPC to consider current offshore wind 

(OSW) energy issues and to provide 

information and advice to the Pacific 

Council for consideration at its March or 

April 2024 meetings. Meeting topics 

may include updates from lessees on 

their site survey activities within the 

lease sites off California. Other OSW or 

aquaculture topics may be considered, 

as appropriate. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may be 

discussed, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during this 

meeting. Action will be restricted to 

those issues specifically listed in this 

document and any issues arising after 

publication of this document that 

require emergency action under section 

305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the intent to take final action to address 

the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt (kris.kleinschmidt@

noaa.gov; (503) 820–2412) at least 10 

days prior to the meeting date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: January 26, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01917 Filed 1–30–24; 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; Northeast Region Observer 

Providers Requirements 

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. 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 April 1, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, 

at Adrienne.thomas@noaa.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 0648– 

0546 in the subject line of your 

comments. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

specific questions related to collection 

activities should be directed to Travis 

Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 978–281– 

9233, travis.ford@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is for an extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. Under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) has the responsibility for the 

conservation and management of marine 

fishery resources. Much of this 

responsibility has been delegated to the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA)/National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 

Under this stewardship role, the 

Secretary was given certain regulatory 

authorities to ensure the most beneficial 

uses of these resources. One of the 


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