Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 197 / Thursday, October 10, 2024 / Notices 82229 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE372] 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a public hybrid meeting of 

its Groundfish Committee to consider 

actions affecting New England fisheries 

in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

This meeting will be held in-person 

with a webinar option. 

Recommendations from this group will 

be brought to the full Council for formal 

consideration and action, if appropriate. 

DATES: This meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, October 29, 2024, at 9 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: This meeting will be 

held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 100 High 

Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; 

telephone: (603) 431–1499. 

Webinar registration URL 

information: https://nefmc-org.zoom.us/ 

meeting/register/tJ0rfCtrT4jHdQAS16yNI82_YZ9x8joBKlT. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cate 

O’Keefe, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

The Groundfish Committee will meet 

to discuss recommendations from the 

Recreational Advisory Panel, 

Groundfish Advisory Panel, and 

Groundfish Plan Development Team. 

They will receive an update on 

development of draft alternatives in 

Framework Adjustment 69/ 

Specifications and Management 

Measures, including potential 

recommendations to the Council. The 

Committee will receive an update on 

development of the Atlantic Cod 

Management Transition Plan. Other 

business will be discussed, if necessary. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained on the agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Council 

action will be restricted to those issues 

specifically listed in this notice and any 

issues arising after publication of this 

notice that require emergency action 

under section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act, provided the public has 

been notified of the Council’s intent to 

take final action to address the 

emergency. The public also should be 

aware that the meeting will be recorded. 

Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy 

of the recording is available upon 

request. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Cate 

O’Keefe, Executive Director, at (978) 

465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the 

meeting date. 

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

Dated: October 7, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23467 Filed 10–9–24; 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; Nomination Process for 

National Marine Sanctuaries 

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 April 30, 

2024 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: Nomination Process for National 

Marine Sanctuaries. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0682. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

revision and extension of a current 

information collection. 

Number of Respondents: 7. 

Average Hours per Response: 115 

hours per nomination; 8 hours for 

additional information. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 591. 

Needs and Uses: This request is for a 

revision and extension of an existing 

information collection necessary to 

provide the American public an 

opportunity to nominate marine areas 

which the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

may consider for designation as a 

national marine sanctuary, under the 

National Marine Sanctuaries Act 

(NMSA). The revision adds a Request 

for Additional Information to accurately 

reflect the burden imposed by 

requesting follow-up information. 

National marine sanctuary regulations 

provide that the public can submit areas 

of the marine and Great Lakes 

environments for consideration by 

NOAA as a national marine sanctuary 

through the sanctuary nomination 

process (15 CFR 922.12). Persons 

wanting to submit nominations for 

consideration should submit 

information on the qualifying criteria 

and management considerations for the 

site to be nominated. The Office of 

National Marine Sanctuaries reviews the 

submissions, which could result in the 

nomination being added to an inventory 

of areas that NOAA may consider for 

sanctuary designation at some point in 

the future. Sanctuary designation is a 

separate public process that would be 

conducted pursuant to the requirements 

of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 

and all other applicable laws. This 

proposed information collection is for 

national marine sanctuary nominations 

received pursuant to NOAA regulations 

that provide that the public may 

nominate special places of the marine 

environment through the sanctuary 

nomination process at 15 CFR 922.12. 

Affected Public: Individuals, nonprofit institutions; Federal, State, local, 

government, Native Hawaiian 

organizations; business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain or Retain Benefits. 

Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq. 

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 


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82230 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 197 / Thursday, October 10, 2024 / Notices 

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 0648–0682. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office 

of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23436 Filed 10–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE367] 

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; issuance 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 issued a Letter of Authorization 

(LOA) to WesternGeco for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

geophysical survey activity in the GOM. 

DATES: This LOA is effective from 

October 3, 2024 through November 15, 

2024. 

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: 

Rachel Wachtendonk, 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 (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). 

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, and became effective on April 19, 

2021. 

The 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 

§ 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 subsequently discovered that 

the 2021 rule was based on erroneous 

take estimates. We conducted another 

rulemaking using correct take estimates 

and other newly available and pertinent 

information relevant to the analyses 

supporting some of the findings in the 

2021 final rule and the taking allowable 

under the regulations. We issued a final 

rule in April 2024, effective May 24, 

2024 (89 FR 31488). 

The 2024 final rule made no changes 

to the specified activities or the 

specified geographical region in which 

those activities would be conducted, nor 

to the original 5-year period of 

effectiveness. In consideration of the 

new information, the 2024 rule 

presented new analyses supporting 

affirmance of the negligible impact 

determinations for all species, and 

affirmed that the existing regulations, 

which contain mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting requirements, are 

consistent with the ‘‘least practicable 

adverse impact’’ standard of the MMPA. 

Summary of Request and Analysis 

NMFS issued a LOA to TGS on 

September 27, 2023, for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to a 3- 

dimensional ocean bottom node survey 

in the Green Canyon, Ewing Bank, and 

Atwater Valley protraction areas, 

including approximately 380 lease 

blocks, effective September 27, 2023, 

through September 28, 2024. Please see 

the Federal Register notification (88 FR 

68106, October 3, 2023) for additional 

detail regarding the LOA and the 

planned survey activity. 

On December 20, 2023, TGS requested 

the transfer of the LOA to WesternGeco, 

its partner in the planned survey effort. 

WesternGeco confirmed to NMFS that it 

similarly requested transfer of the LOA. 

No other changes were requested. The 

revised LOA remained effective through 


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