15408 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2022 / Notices 

Game (ADF&G) has not recorded harvest 

of cetaceans from Ketchikan or Saxman 

(ADF&G 2018). 

All project activities will take place 

within the industrial area of Tongass 

Narrows immediately adjacent to 

Ketchikan where subsistence activities 

do not generally occur. Both the harbor 

seal and the Steller sea lion may be 

temporarily displaced from the project 

area. The project will also not have an 

adverse impact on the availability of 

marine mammals for subsistence use at 

locations farther away, where these 

construction activities are not expected 

to take place. Some minor, short-term 

harassment of the harbor seals could 

occur, but given the information above, 

we do not expect such harassment to 

have effects on subsistence hunting 

activities. 

Based on the description of the 

specified activity and the required 

mitigation and monitoring measures, 

NMFS has determined that there will 

not be an unmitigable adverse impact on 

subsistence uses from ADOT’s planned 

activities. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 

216–6A, NMFS must evaluate our 

proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an 

IHA) and alternatives with respect to 

potential impacts on the human 

environment. This action is consistent 

with categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 of the 

Companion Manual for NAO 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 has determined that this action 

qualifies to be categorically excluded 

from further NEPA review. 

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’ Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species, in 

this case with NMFS’ Alaska Regional 

Office (AKRO). 

NMFS OPR is proposing to authorize 

take of the Central North Pacific stock 

of humpback whales, of which a portion 

belong to the Mexico DPS of humpback 

whales, which are ESA-listed. On 

February 6, 2019, NMFS AKRO 

completed consultation with NMFS for 

the Tongass Narrows Project and issued 

a Biological Opinion. Reinitiation of 

formal consultation was required to 

analyze changes to the action that were 

not considered in the February 2019 

opinion (PCTS# AKR–2018–9806/ECO# 

AKRO–2018–01287). The original 

opinion considered the effects of only 

one project component being 

constructed at a time and did not 

analyze potential effects of concurrent 

pile driving that may cause effects to the 

listed species that were not considered 

in the original opinion; therefore, 

reinitiation of formal consultation was 

required. NMFS’ AKRO issued a revised 

Biological Opinion to NMFS’ OPR on 

December 19, 2019 that concluded that 

issuance of IHAs to ADOT is not likely 

to jeopardize the continued existence of 

Mexico DPS humpback whales. The 

effects of this Federal action were 

adequately analyzed in NMFS’ 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 

7(a)(2) Biological Opinion for 

Construction of the Tongass Narrows 

Project (Gravina Access), revised 

December 19, 2019, which concluded 

that the take NMFS proposes to 

authorize through this IHA would not 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

any endangered or threatened species or 

destroy or adversely modify any 

designated critical habitat. NMFS has 

determined that issuance of this IHA 

does not require reinitiation of the 

December 2019 Biological Opinion. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued an IHA to ADOT for 

the potential harassment of small 

numbers of eight marine mammal 

species incidental to construction of 

four facilities in the channel between 

Gravina Island and Revillagigedo 

(Revilla) Island in Ketchikan, Alaska, 

that includes the previously explained 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting 

requirements. 

Dated: March 11, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05561 Filed 3–17–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket ID No.: NOAA–NOS–2022–0033] 

Deep Seabed Hard Minerals; Request 

for Extension of Exploration Licenses; 

Comments Request 

AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management 

(OCM), National Ocean Service (NOS), 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application 

to extend Deep Seabed Mineral 

Exploration Licenses USA–1 and USA– 

4; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NOS has received from the 

Lockheed Martin Corporation 

(‘‘Lockheed Martin’’ or ‘‘Licensee’’) a 

request to extend to 2027 two deep 

seabed hard mineral exploration 

licenses issued pursuant to the Deep 

Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act 

(DSHMRA). Lockheed Martin’s 

extension request includes an updated 

exploration plan for activities 

conducted under the licenses. Lockheed 

Martin’s request and accompanying 

exploration plan are available for public 

review and comment on whether the 

Licensee has met the criteria for the 

issuance of extensions specified in 

DSHMRA. 

DATES: Comments may be submitted on 

or before May 17, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: To access and review all 

documents related to the extension 

request under consideration, please use 

http://www.regulations.gov by searching 

the Docket ID number NOAA–NOS– 

2022–0033. Comments submitted in 

response to this notice should be 

submitted electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov by selecting the 

Docket ID number. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kerry Kehoe, Federal Consistency 

Specialist, NOAA Office of Coastal 

Management, at kerry.kehoe@noaa.gov, 

or at 240–560–8515. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA has 

received an application from Lockheed 

Martin for a five-year extension of its 

two Deep Seabed Hard Mineral 

Exploration Licenses, USA–1 and USA– 

4. Lockheed Martin’s application 

includes a single revised exploration 

plan for both licenses that sets forth the 

activities to be conducted during the 

extension. 

DSHMRA exploration licenses USA–1 

and USA–4 were issued in 1984 and 

both are presently held by Lockheed 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2022 / Notices 15409 

Martin. USA–1 and USA–4 were most 

recently extended in 2017 (82 FR 42327, 

September 7, 2017). The current terms 

of Exploration Licenses USA–1 and 

USA–4 end on June 2, 2022. Section 

107(a) of DSHMRA provides that NOAA 

shall extend exploration licenses for a 

term of not more than five years if the 

licensee has substantially complied 

with the license and exploration plan 

and has requested an extension of the 

license. 30 U.S.C. 1417. 

Lockheed Martin has submitted this 

request to maintain its interests and 

rights under these exploration licenses. 

Lockheed Martin is not currently 

conducting at-sea activities under 

DSHMRA exploration licenses USA–1 

or USA–4, nor is the company 

proposing any such activities in this 

license extension request. Lockheed 

Martin has stated that at-sea exploration 

activities have been delayed for several 

reasons including conditions in the 

metals markets and the lack of 

international recognition of the 

DSHMRA licenses USA–1 and USA–4. 

DSHMRA, which establishes a 

domestic licensing regime for United 

States citizens who engage in 

exploration of deep seabed hard mineral 

resources in areas beyond national 

jurisdiction, was enacted in 1980 as an 

interim statute pending the completion 

of negotiations on a Law of the Sea 

Convention (LOSC) acceptable to the 

United States. See 30 U.S.C. 1401(a). 

Although the LOSC was opened for 

signature in 1982, the United States has 

yet to become a party, and thus is not 

a member of the International Seabed 

Authority (ISA), the body established 

under LOSC to regulate deep seabed 

mining and award exploration and 

mining contracts in areas beyond 

national jurisdiction. DSHMRA 

exploration licenses USA–1 and USA–4 

predate the establishment of the ISA in 

1994. As the United States is not a party 

to the Law of the Sea Convention and 

thus not a member of the ISA, the 

United States is unable to seek from the 

ISA an exploration contract to obtain 

international legal recognition of 

Lockheed Martin’s domestic law rights 

under DSHMRA exploration licenses 

USA–1 and USA–4. Recently, the ISA 

established an Area of Particular 

Environmental Interest that partially 

overlaps with DSHMRA exploration 

license USA–1. The ISA designation has 

no bearing on the extension request 

currently under consideration as it is 

not within the criteria specified within 

DSHMRA and its implementing 

regulations for granting license 

extensions. 

During the requested five-year 

extension, Lockheed Martin would 

continue to conduct various preparatory 

activities in advance of at-sea 

exploration, which may become feasible 

at some future date. If NOAA grants this 

extension request, Lockheed Martin 

would need to obtain additional 

authorization from the agency before it 

would be allowed to conduct at-sea 

exploration activities under these 

licenses. Among other requirements, 

any request by Lockheed Martin for 

authorization from NOAA to conduct atsea exploration activities would require 

the agency to conduct additional 

environmental analysis pursuant to 

NOAA’s obligations under the National 

Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq., and DSHMRA. 

NOAA is required under 30 U.S.C. 

1417 to approve an extension request if 

the licensee has substantially complied 

with the license and its associated 

exploration plan. In determining 

substantial compliance, the DSHMRA 

implementing regulations at 15 CFR 

970.515(b) provide that NOAA may 

make allowance for deviation from the 

exploration plan for good cause such as 

significantly changed market 

conditions. 

The request for extension and revised 

exploration plan can be viewed at 

www.regulations.gov, by searching for 

docket number ‘‘NOAA–NOS–2022– 

0033’’. NOAA is seeking comments on 

Lockheed Martin’s request to extend 

DSHMRA exploration licenses USA–1 

and USA–4 including whether the 

company has substantially complied 

with the licenses and exploration plans, 

and whether the revised exploration 

plans for USA–1 and USA–4 meet the 

terms, conditions and restrictions of 

DSHMRA and the licenses issued 

thereunder. 

Keelin S. Kuipers, 

Deputy Director, Office for Coastal 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05793 Filed 3–17–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–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; Emergency Beacon 

Registrations 

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 12/17/2021 

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: Emergency Beacon 

Registrations. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0295. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

Revision of a currently approved 

information collection. 

Number of Respondents: 343,808. 

Average Hours per Response: 15 

Minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 85,952. 

Needs and Uses: The United States, 

Canada, France, and Russia operate the 

Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided 

Tracking (COSPAS/SARSAT), a satellite 

system with equipment that can detect 

and locate ships, aircraft, and 

individuals in distress if an emergency 

radio beacon is being carried. 

This system is used to detect digitally 

encoded signals in the 406.000–406.100 

MHz range, coming from these 

emergency beacons. The 406.000– 

406.100 MHz beacons transmit a unique 

identifier, making possible the ability to 

combine previously collected data 

associated with that beacon and 

transmit this vital data along with the 

beacon’s position to the appropriate 

rescue coordination center. 

Persons buying 406.000–406.100 MHz 

emergency radio beacons are required to 

register them with NOAA prior to 

installation. These requirements are 

contained in Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) regulations at 47 

CFR 80.1061, 47 CFR 87.199 and 47 CFR 

95.1402. 

The registration data is used to 

facilitate a rescue and to suppress the 

costly consequences of false alarms, 

which if unsuppressed would initiate 

the launch of a rescue mission and 

thereby deplete limited resources and 

possibly result in the loss of lives. This 

is accomplished through the use of the 

data provided to the rescue forces from 

the beacon registration database 

maintained by the NOAA’s United 

States Mission Control Center (USMCC) 


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