9040 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 33 / Thursday, February 17, 2022 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB737] 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; 

Approved Industry-Funded Monitoring 

Service Providers 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of approved industryfunded monitoring service providers. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has approved four 

companies to provide industry-funded 

monitoring services (observing, at-sea 

monitoring, and/or portside sampling) 

to Atlantic herring vessels during 

industry-funded monitoring years 2022– 

2023 (April 1, 2022, through March 31, 

2024). Monitoring coverage regulations 

require that any entities seeking to 

provide monitoring services, including 

services for industry-funded monitoring 

programs, must apply for and obtain 

approval from NMFS. This action will 

allow Atlantic herring vessels to secure 

industry-funded monitoring services 

from any of the approved providers 

during 2022–2023. 

ADDRESSES: The list of NMFS-approved 

industry-funded monitoring service 

providers is available at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/data/ 

observer-providers-northeast-and-midatlantic-programs. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Fenton, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9196. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The New England Industry-Funded 

Monitoring (IFM) Omnibus Amendment 

created an IFM program in the Atlantic 

herring fishery and set a 50-percent 

monitoring coverage target on vessels 

issued an All Areas (Category A) or 

Areas 2/3 (Category B) limited access 

Atlantic herring permit. This 50-percent 

coverage target consists of the 

combination of Standardized Bycatch 

Reporting Methodology (SBRM) 

coverage and IFM coverage provided to 

a vessel during the IFM year. Prior to 

any trip declared into the herring 

fishery, representatives for vessels 

issued Category A or B permits are 

required to notify NMFS for monitoring 

coverage. If NMFS informs a vessel that 

a trip is selected for IFM coverage, the 

vessel is required to obtain at-sea 

monitoring coverage from a NMFSapproved service provider for that trip. 

Midwater trawl vessels may also obtain 

IFM observer coverage in order to fish 

in a Groundfish Closed Area on a trip 

that was not selected for SBRM or IFM 

coverage. Vessels selected for SBRM 

coverage will continue to follow SBRM 

procedures, and that coverage will 

count toward achieving the 50-percent 

coverage target. 

Some Category A or B herring vessels 

may participate in an Exempted Fishing 

Permit (EFP) to use an electronic 

monitoring and portside sampling 

program in lieu of carrying a human atsea monitor to fulfill the requirements of 

the IFM Amendment. If NMFS informs 

a vessel participating in the EFP that a 

trip has been selected for IFM coverage, 

that vessel is required to obtain portside 

sampling services for that trip. Vessels 

participating in the EFP may also obtain 

portside sampling coverage in lieu of 

carrying an observer in order to fish in 

a Groundfish Closed Area on a trip that 

was not selected for SBRM or IFM 

coverage. 

Monitoring Service Provider Approval 

Process 

Monitoring coverage regulations at 

§ 648.11(h)(1) require that any entities 

seeking to provide monitoring services, 

including services for IFM programs, 

must apply for and obtain approval from 

NMFS. The regulations at § 648.11(h)(4) 

describe the criteria for evaluating and 

approving a monitoring services 

provider application. NMFS approves 

service providers based on: (1) 

Completeness of the applications; and 

(2) determination of the applicant’s 

ability to perform the duties and 

responsibilities of a monitoring service 

provider, as demonstrated in the 

application. Once approved, service 

providers must meet the requirements, 

conditions, and responsibilities 

specified at § 648.11(h)(5) and (6) in 

order to maintain eligibility. NMFS 

must notify service providers, in 

writing, if approval is withdrawn for 

any reason. 

Approved Industry-Funded Monitoring 

Service Providers 

NMFS received complete applications 

from four companies to provide IFM 

services to Atlantic herring vessels 

during IFM years 2022–2023: Saltwater 

Inc.; East West Technical Services LLC; 

A.I.S., Inc.; and Fathom Resources, LLC. 

We approved all four companies to 

provide IFM services to Atlantic herring 

vessels during IFM years 2022–2023 

because they met the application 

requirements and demonstrated their 

ability to perform the duties and 

responsibilities of a monitoring service 

provider. All four companies are 

currently approved to provide IFM 

services for the Atlantic herring fishery 

in 2020–2021. NMFS will closely 

monitor the performance of approved 

providers and will be prepared to 

withdraw approval during the current 

approval term, or disapprove a future 

application to provide monitoring 

services, if it is determined that 

monitoring provider requirements, 

conditions, and responsibilities are not 

being met. 

TABLE 1—COMPANIES APPROVED TO PROVIDE IFM SERVICES TO ATLANTIC HERRING VESSELS DURING IFM YEARS

2022–2023 

Provider Approved IFM service(s) Contact information Website 

Saltwater Inc .................................. Portside sampling ........................ 733 N St., Anchorage, AK 99501, Phone: 

907–276–3241, Fax: 907–258–5999.

www.saltwaterinc.com. 

East West Technical Services LLC Industry-funded observer, ASM, 

portside sampling.

91 Point Judith Rd., Suite 26, Unit 347, 

Narragansett, RI 02882, Phone: 860– 

910–4957, Fax: 860–223–6005.

www.ewts.com. 

A.I.S., Inc ....................................... Industry-funded observer, ASM, 

portside sampling.

540 Hawthorn St., North Dartmouth, MA 

02747, Phone: 508–990–9054, Fax: 

508–990–9055.

www.aisobservers.com. 

Fathom Resources, LLC ............... Industry-funded observer, ASM, 

portside sampling.

855 Aquidneck Ave., Unit 9, Middletown, 

RI 02842, Phone: 508–990–0997, Fax: 

508–991–7372.

www.fathomresources.com. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 33 / Thursday, February 17, 2022 / Notices 9041 

1See Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program 

(TBCP) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 

(June 3, 2021), https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/ 

view-opportunity.html?oppId=333974 (available 

under the ‘‘Related Documents’’ tab). 

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

Dated: February 10, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03435 Filed 2–16–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Tribal Broadband 

Connectivity Program 

AGENCY: National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration (NTIA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection, 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, following the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the 

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 of Information Collection is for 

the Tribal Broadband Connectivity 

Program Baseline Report, Performance 

Report and Annual Report. The purpose 

of this notice is to allow for 60 days of 

public comment preceding the 

submission of the collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before April 18, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

mail to Jennifer Duane, Director, Grants 

Management, Administration, and 

Compliance, Office of internet 

Connectivity and Growth, National 

Telecommunication and Information 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Room 4887, Washington, DC 

20230, or by email to broadbandusa@

ntia.gov. Please reference TBCP Data 

Collection 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 Jennifer 

Duane, Director, Grants Management, 

Administration, and Compliance, via 

email at jduane@ntia.gov; 

broadbandusa@ntia.gov; or via 

telephone at (202) 482–2048. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Tribal Broadband Connectivity 

Program (TBCP), authorized by the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 

Division N, Title IX, Section 905(c), 

Public Law 116–260, 134 stat. 1182 

(Dec. 27, 2020) (Act), provides new 

federal funding for grants to eligible 

entities to expand access to and 

adoption of: (i) Broadband service on 

Tribal Land; or (ii) for programs that 

promote the use of broadband to access 

remote learning, telework, or telehealth 

resources. The TBCP will make up to 

$980,000,000 available for federal 

assistance to the following eligible 

entities: (i) A Tribal Government; (ii) a 

Tribal College or University; (iii) the 

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands 

on behalf of the Native Hawaiian 

Community, including Native Hawaiian 

Education Programs; (iv) a Tribal 

organization; or (v) an Alaska Native 

Corporation. The purpose of the TBCP 

is to improve the quality of life, spur 

economic development and commercial 

activity, create opportunities for remote 

employment and online 

entrepreneurship, remote learning, and 

telehealth by expanding broadband 

access and providing digital training 

and inclusion programs to Native 

American communities. 

On June 3, 2021, NTIA published the 

program’s Notice of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO) on Grants.gov to 

describe the requirements under which 

it will award grants for the TBCP.1 The 

NOFO required award recipients to 

submit financial reports, performance 

(technical) reports, and annual reports 

to the NTIA Federal Program Officer 

and the NOAA Grants Officer and 

Grants Specialist. Award recipients 

must follow the reporting requirements 

described in Sections A.01, Reporting 

Requirement, of the Department of 

Commerce Financial Assistance 

Standard Terms and Conditions (dated 

November 12, 2020). Additionally, in 

accordance with 2 CFR part 170, all 

recipients of a federal award made on or 

after October 1, 2010, must comply with 

reporting requirements under the 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109– 

282). 

NTIA will use the information 

collected from each award recipient to 

effectively administer and monitor the 

grant program to ensure the 

achievement of TBCP program purposes 

and account for the expenditure of 

federal funds to deter waste, fraud, and 

abuse. 

II. Method of Collection 

Tribal Broadband Connectivity 

Program Award recipients will submit 

financial and performance reports on a 

semi-annual basis for the periods ending 

March 31st and September 30th of each 

year, and an annual report no later than 

one year after receiving grant funds and 

until they have expended all funds. The 

Baseline Report is a one-time collection 

of information from award recipients 

covering project plans and details about 

key outputs and outcomes that is due 

within 45 days of the issuance of the 

award. NTIA will collect data through 

electronic submission. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 06XX–XXXX. 

Form Number(s): TBD. 

Type of Review: New information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Grant award 

recipients consisting of Tribal 

Governments, Tribal Colleges or 

Universities, the Department of 

Hawaiian Home Lands, Tribal 

organizations, or Alaska Native 

Corporations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

600. 

Estimated Time per Response: 33.22. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 30,636. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $816,449.40. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, 

Title IX, Section 905(c), Public Law 

116–260, 134 Stat. 1182 (Dec. 27, 2020). 

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. 

(d) Minimize the reporting burden on 

those who are to respond, including the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 


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