Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 1998 / Notices 471

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Richard Roberts, OFA1x1,

Station 8118, NOAA, 1305 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910

(301–713–3525, ext. 115).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

NOAA intends to conduct a number

of voluntary surveys of users of selected

NOAA products, services, or programs

in order to determine customer

satisfaction and to solicit suggestions for

improving those NOAA products,

services, and programs. The information

obtained will be used in NOAA’s

program planning efforts.

II. Method of Collection

Individual NOAA offices will develop

questionnaires based upon the generic

forms to be approved by OMB. The

generic questions will be edited by

those offices to solicit information

specific to the program involved. These

adaptations will be submitted to OMB

for informal review prior to their use to

ensure that they conform with

objectives and nature of the generic

questions that have been approved.

Distribution of the questionnaires may

be by mailings to customers, as

attachments to products sent to

customers, and on the World Wide Web

(usually associated with order forms).

III. Data

OMB Number: None.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Regular Submission.

Affected Public: Individuals;

businesses or other for-profit; not-forprofit institutions; and State, Local, or

Tribal Governments.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

13,739.

Estimated Time Per Response: Varies

from 1–20 minutes (depending upon the

questionnaire used).

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 705 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to

Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: December 31, 1997.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–223 Filed 1–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–12–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 122397C]

Marine Mammals; Permit No. 974, File

No. P368F

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for

amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr.

James T. Harvey, Moss Landing Marine

Laboratories, P.O. Box 450, Moss

Landing, CA 95039, has requested an

amendment to Permit No. 974.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments

must be received on or before February

5, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request

and related documents are available for

review upon written request or by

appointment in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130,

Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713–

2289); and

William Hogarth, Regional Director,

Southwest Region (SW), National

Marine Fisheries Service, 501 West

Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802–4213

Written comments or requests for a

public hearing on this request should be

submitted to the Chief, Permits and

Documentation Division, F/PR1, Office

of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315

East-West Highway, Room 13130, Silver

Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals

requesting a hearing should set forth the

specific reasons why a hearing on this

particular amendment request would be

appropriate.

Comments may also be submitted by

facsimile at (301) 713–0376, provided

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy

submitted by mail and postmarked no

later than the closing date of the

comment period. Please note that

comments will not be accepted by email

or other electronic media.

Concurrent with the publication of

this notice in the Federal Register,

NMFS is forwarding copies of this

application to the Marine Mammal

Commission and its Committee of

Scientific Advisors.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

subject amendment to permit no. 974,

issued on September 7, 1995 (60 FR

46577), is requested under the authority

of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of

1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et

seq.), the Regulations Governing the

Taking and Importing of Marine

Mammals (50 CFR part 216), the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the

regulations governing the taking,

importing, and exporting of endangered

fish and wildlife (50 CFR 222.23), and

the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended

(16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).

Permit no. 974 authorizes the permit

holder to conduct research on low

frequency sound and its effect on the

physiology and diving behavior of

harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), provide

local and regional movement data,

hematological variability of the stock,

and harbor seal feeding habits. The

permit holder requests authorization to:

determine body fat; handle 20 harbor

seal pups up to eight times annually to

track changes in health, physiological

condition, and diving behavior; handle

20 adults and 20 juveniles annually to

determine seasonal shifts in health,

physiological condition, and diving

behavior; and harass 200 additional

harbor seals as a result of the above

activities.

In compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial

determination has been made that the

activity proposed is categorically

excluded from the requirement to

prepare an environmental assessment or

environmental impact statement.
472 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 1998 / Notices

Dated: December 23, 1997.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–154 Filed 1–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 121897A]

Marine Mammals; Scientific Research

Permit No. 875–1401

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Scientific research permit

amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a

request for amendment of scientific

research permit no. 875–1401 submitted

by Dr. Christopher W. Clark, Cornell

University, Ithaca, New York 14850, has

been granted .

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s):

Permits Division, Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring,

MD 20910 (301/713–2289); and

Director, Southwest Region, NMFS,

501 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA

90802–4213 (562/980–4001).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

November 14, 1997, notice was

published in the Federal Register (62

FR 61093) that an amendment of permit

no. 875–1401, issued September 8, 1997

(62 FR 48611) had been requested by the

above-name individual. The requested

amended permit has been issued under

the authority of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the Regulations

Governing the Taking and Importing of

Marine Mammals (50 CFR Part 216); the

Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973,

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the

Regulations Governing the Taking,

Importing, and Exporting of Endangered

Fish and Wildlife (50 CFR part 222); and

the Fur Seal Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

1151–1175). Issuance of this permit, as

required by the ESA, was based on a

finding that such permit: (1) Was

applied for in good faith; (2) will not

operate to the disadvantage of the

endangered species which is the subject

of this permit; and (3) is consistent with

the purposes and policies set forth in

section 2 of the ESA. The requested

amendment has been issued under the

authority of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the Regulations

Governing the Taking and Importing of

Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).

Permit No. 875–1401 currently

authorizes the harassment of several

species of marine mammals during the

conduct of research to study the effects

of low-frequency sound produced by the

Navy’s Surface Towed Array

Surveillance System Low Frequency

Active (SURTASS LFA) system on the

behavior of blue whales (Balaenoptera

musculus) and fin whales (Balaenoptera

physalus) feeding in the Southern

California Bight during September/

October of 1997 and/or 1998. The

permit has been amended to provide for:

1) the conduct of playback experiments

using a SURTASS LFA sound source to

study behavioral responses of gray

whales (Eschrichtius robustus) to

SURTASS LFA signals and related

stimuli; and 2) radio tagging via suction

cup attachment of up to 14 gray whales.

Individuals of several other species of

cetaceans, pinnipeds, and possibly sea

turtles, may be taken (i.e., by

harassment or auditory temporary

threshold shift) during during the

proposed experiments.

In compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an EA examining

the environmental consequences of

issuing the requested amended permit

has been prepared. Based upon this EA,

NMFS has concluded that issuance of

the requested permit will not have a

significant effect on the human

environment.

Dated: December 30, 1997.

Ann D. Terbush

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–214 Filed 1-5-98:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000–0134]

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request Entitled

Environmentally Sound Products

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of request for an

extension to an existing OMB clearance.

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Secretariat has submitted to the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) a

request to review and approve an

extension of a currently approved

information collection requirement

concerning Environmentally Sound

Products. A request for public

comments was published at 62 FR

55788, October 28, 1997. No comments

were received.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on

or before February 5, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ralph DeStefano, Federal Acquisition

Policy Division, GSA (202) 501–1758.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding this

burden estimate or any other aspect of

this collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden,

should be submitted to: FAR Desk

Officer, OMB, Room 10102, NEOB,

Washington, DC 20503, and a copy to

the General Services Administration,

FAR Secretariat, 1800 F Street, NW,

Room 4037, Washington, DC 20405.

Please cite OMB Control No. 9000–0134,

Environmentally Sound Products, in all

correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

This information collection complies

with Section 6002 of the Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

(42 U.S.C. 6962). RCRA requires the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

to designate items which are or can be

produced with recovered materials.

RCRA further requires agencies to

develop affirmative procurement

programs to ensure that items composed

of recovered materials will be purchased

to the maximum extent practicable.

Affirmative procurement programs

required under RCRA must contain, as

a minimum (1) a recovered materials

preference program and an agency

promotion program for the preference

program; (2) a program for requiring

estimates of the total percentage of

recovered materials used in the

performance of a contract, certification

of minimum recovered material content

actually used, where appropriate, and

reasonable verification procedures for

estimates and certifications; and (3)

annual review and monitoring of the

effectiveness of an agency’s affirmative

procurement program.