Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 57 / Thursday, March 26, 2009 / Notices 13193 

Protected Species website at https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt 

McGoogan at phone number (562) 980– 

4026 or e-mail: 

matthew.mcgoogan@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority 

Issuance of permits, as required by the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

U.S.C. 1531B1543) (ESA), is based on a 

finding that such permits: (1) are 

applied for in good faith; (2) would not 

operate to the disadvantage of the listed 

species which are the subject of the 

permits; and (3) are consistent with the 

purposes and policies set forth in 

section 2 of the ESA. Authority to take 

listed species is subject to conditions set 

forth in the permits. Permits are issued 

in accordance with and are subject to 

the ESA and NMFS regulations 

governing listed fish and wildlife 

permits (50 CFR parts 222–226). 

Those individuals requesting a 

hearing on an application listed in this 

notice should provide the specific 

reasons why a hearing on that 

application would be appropriate (see 

ADDRESSES). The holding of such a 

hearing is at the discretion of the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NOAA. All statements and opinions 

contained in the permit action 

summaries are those of the applicant 

and do not necessarily reflect the views 

of NMFS. 

Permit Application Received 

PRDLB has applied for a permit to 

conduct steelhead rescue activities for 

the Southern California Coast (SCC) 

Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of 

endangered steelhead (Oncorhynchus 

mykiss) which includes coastal streams 

from the Santa Maria River south to the 

Mexican border. The purpose of this 

permit is for the enhancement of 

survival of endangered steelhead in the 

SCC DPS. During the dry season and 

prolonged periods of below normal 

rainfall the instream areas harboring 

endangered steelhead can experience 

dewatering and desiccation. Because 

steelhead within drying sections of 

streams can perish, possessing the legal 

authority to capture and then relocate 

at-risk individuals would be valuable 

should biotic and abiotic factors suggest 

rescue of steelhead is warranted. 

Criteria have been defined in the 

application to provide an objective 

biological basis for determining whether 

a steelhead rescue is reasonable and 

necessary to enhance the population. 

These criteria include instream 

characteristics and conditions within 

the affected area, the cause for any 

observed or projected streamflow 

decreases or dewatering, the availability 

of suitable instream areas to safely 

harbor the rescued steelhead (i.e., 

relocation areas), and the abundance of 

steelhead within the affected area. The 

application specifies that the permit 

would be applicable only in the 

following situations: when a rapid 

response is crucial to steelhead survival, 

and when mortality of steelhead, if not 

rescued and relocated, is reasonably 

certain; and, when take authorization 

has not been granted, or is not expected 

or warranted, under Section 7 or Section 

10 of the ESA. The application defines 

criteria to increase the likelihood that 

the permit would not be misused. 

NMFS-specific responsibilities under 

the rescue and relocation activities 

involve: (1) serving as the permit holder, 

principal investigator, and the primary 

contact, (2) designating and 

collaborating with the California 

Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) as 

a co-investigator, (3) determining the 

need for a steelhead rescue and 

relocation, and (4) providing written 

authorization for undertaking steelhead 

rescue and relocation. NMFS would 

retain discretion as principal 

investigator under the permit for 

determining, either individually or in 

collaboration with CDFG, whether a 

steelhead rescue and relocation are 

warranted using the established rescue 

criteria. 

With regard to authorizing steelhead 

rescue and relocation, the permit would 

grant NMFS the authority to legally 

allow its own qualified biologists or 

those of the CDFG to conduct and 

oversee operations to capture and 

relocate steelhead when an imminent 

threat to the survival of individuals 

exists and when the rescue criteria are 

met. Once the determination has been 

made that a steelhead rescue is needed, 

NMFS will coordinate the rescue and 

relocation operation with its own 

biologists and (or) those of the CDFG. 

The application identifies specific 

responsibilities for CDFG related to the 

rescue and relocation activities. CDFG 

will notify the designated NMFS point 

of contact of the need to rescue and 

relocate steelhead prior to implementing 

any rescue and relocation operation. 

The notification will involve a letter 

that provides the following information: 

A description of the need to rescue 

steelhead, including an assessment of 

the applicability of the rescue criteria; 

the name of the waterway where the 

subject rescue and relocation would 

occur; a brief description of the specific 

conditions believed to be prompting the 

rescue (e.g., naturally dry conditions, or 

anthropogenic activity causing the 

reduction in flow); an estimate of the 

number of steelhead that are expected to 

be rescued; the name of the waterway 

and location (GPS coordinates) where 

the collected steelhead would be 

relocated; and, a description of the plan 

that will be implemented to monitor the 

status of the relocated individuals over 

time. 

A permit duration of 10 years is 

requested to cover the described 

activities from 6/1/2009 to 12/31/2019. 

For this 10 year program, PRDLB has 

requested an annual non-lethal take of 

up to 2000 juvenile steelhead and 100 

adult steelhead. An annual collection 

and possession of up to 100 steelhead 

tissue samples is being requested as 

well as permission to recover up to 20 

carcasses per year (if found). All 

samples and carcasses would be sent to 

NMFS science center for genetic 

research and processing. No intentional 

lethal take is being proposed for this 

permit. The unintentional lethal take 

(mortalities) that may occur during 

rescue activities is up to100 juvenile 

steelhead per year or no more than 5 

percent of the total captured. See the 

attached documents in the methods 

section of the permit for a complete 

project description including tables and 

figures. 

Dated: March 20, 2009. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–6779 Filed 3–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Availability of a Draft Damage 

Assessment and Restoration Plan and 

Environmental Assessment for Natural 

Resource Injuries and Service Losses 

Associated With Hazardous Substance 

Releases Into Bayou Verdine and the 

Calcasieu River, in Calcasieu Parish, 

LA (‘‘Bayou Verdine Site’’) 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Damage Assessment and Restoration 

Plan and Environmental Assessment for 

natural resource injuries and service 

losses associated with hazardous 

substance releases into Bayou Verdine 

and the Calcasieu River, in Calcasieu 

Parish, Louisiana (‘‘Bayou Verdine 

Site’’); 60-day period for public 

13194 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 57 / Thursday, March 26, 2009 / Notices 

comment on this plan begins March 27, 

2009. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 43 CFR 11.32 and 

11.81–.82, notice is hereby given that a 

document entitled, ‘‘A Draft Damage 

Assessment and Restoration Plan and 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Bayou Verdine Site, Calcasieu Parish, 

Louisiana’’ (Draft DARP/EA) is available 

for public review and comment. This 

document has been prepared by the 

state and federal natural resource trustee 

agencies (the ‘‘Trustees’’) to address 

natural resource injuries and resource 

services losses attributable to past 

releases of hazardous substances from 

two facilities situated in the upper 

Calcasieu Estuary, in Calcasieu Parish, 

Louisiana that are presently owned and 

operated by ConocoPhillips Company 

and Sasol North America Inc 

(collectively, the ‘‘potentially 

responsible parties’’ or ‘‘PRPs’’). The 

Trustees include the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA), Commerce; United States Fish 

& Wildlife Service, acting on behalf of 

the U.S. Department of the Interior 

(USFWS/DOI); Louisiana Department of 

Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and 

Fisheries (LDWF). 

This Draft DARP/EA presents the 

Trustees’ proposed assessment of 

natural resource injuries and service 

losses in the upper Calcasieu Estuary 

due to hazardous substances released 

from these facilities, and presents the 

restoration plan that the Trustees are 

proposing for use to compensate for 

these losses. The Trustees will consider 

comments received during the public 

comment period before adopting the 

final DARP/EA. 

Deadline for Comments: Comments 

on the Draft DARP/EA must be 

submitted in writing on or before May 

26, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the 

Draft DARP/EA should be sent to John 

Rapp of NOAA at 1315 East-West 

Highway, SSMC3, F/HC3, Silver Spring, 

MD 20910, e-mail: 

Verdine.Comments@noaa.gov. The Draft 

DARP/EA is also available for 

downloading at http:// 

www.darrp.noaa.gov (by clicking on the 

document title in the Bayou Verdine 

announcement on that page). 

Comments on this plan are to be sent 

in writing to John Rapp of NOAA for 

receipt on or before May 26, 2009. These 

written comments may be submitted 

either by mail at the address provided 

above; by fax to 301–713–0184, or by email to Verdine.Comments@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bayou 

Verdine is a shallow, sinuous bayou in 

the upper Calcasieu Estuary, southwest 

of the City of Westlake and slightly 

northwest of the City of Lake Charles, in 

Calcasieu Parish, LA. It originates in an 

agricultural area immediately north and 

northwest of petroleum facilities owned 

and operated by ConocoPhillips 

Company and Sasol North America Inc., 

and flows in a south-southeast direction 

through this industrialized segment 

before entering the Calcasieu River at 

Coon Island Loop. Historical operations 

at these two facilities have resulted in 

releases of hazardous substances, such 

as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons 

(PAHs), heavy metals, and other 

hazardous compounds, into Bayou 

Verdine and Coon Island Loop, within 

the Estuary. 

The upper Calcasieu Estuary has been 

the focus of a number of past 

investigations related to contaminant 

releases and is the subject of several ongoing response or corrective action 

planning processes under the direction 

or oversight of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (USEPA) and/or 

LDEQ. The most extensive effort to 

identify the nature and extent of 

hazardous substances present in the 

Estuary to date is the federal-lead 

Remedial Investigation (RI) of 

contaminants in sediments, surface 

water, and biota in the Calcasieu 

Estuary undertaken by the USEPA in 

1999. Results from this investigation, 

combined with other relevant data and 

information, prompted the Trustees to 

pursue a natural resource damage 

assessment (NRDA) to determine and 

quantify resource injuries and losses in 

the Estuary attributable to hazardous 

substances from the PRPs’ facilities, and 

to develop a restoration plan that would 

be sufficient to compensate for those 

losses. The Trustees’ decision to 

proceed with this NRDA was identified 

in a ‘‘Notice Of Intent To Perform 

Damage Assessment & Develop 

Restoration Plan for Natural Resources 

Injured by Hazardous Substances in 

Bayou Verdine & Coon Island Loop in 

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana’’ published 

September 26, 2004, in the American 

Press, a newspaper of general 

circulation in Calcasieu Parish, LA. That 

notice also invited public input 

regarding potential restoration 

opportunities in the watershed that the 

Trustees could consider in developing 

an appropriate restoration plan. The 

PRPs were cooperatively involved in the 

NRDA process as well, consistent with 

43 CFR 11.32. 

The Draft DARP/EA released today 

identifies the Trustees’ proposed 

assessment of natural resource injuries 

and losses due to past releases from 

these facilities and identifies the 

restoration action which is preferred for 

use to restore, replace or acquire 

resources or services equivalent to those 

lost. 

In undertaking this NRDA and in 

releasing this Draft DARP/EA, the 

Trustees are acting in accordance with 

their designation and authorities under 

section 107(f) of the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act 

(‘‘CERCLA’’), 42 U.S.C. § 9607(f), section 

311 of the Federal Water Pollution and 

Control Act (FWPCA), 33 U.S.C. section 

1321, Subpart G of the National Oil and 

Hazardous Substances Pollution 

Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR 

sections 300.600–300.615, and 

regulations at 43 CFR part 11 that are 

applicable to natural resource damage 

assessments under CERCLA. The 

Trustees act on behalf of the public 

under these authorities to protect and 

restore natural resources injured or lost 

as a result of discharges or releases of 

hazardous substances. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Rapp, at (301) 713–0174 x174, or e-mail: 

Verdine.Comments@noaa.gov. 

Dated: March 9, 2009. 

David G. Westerholm, 

Director, Office of Response and Restoration, 

National Ocean Service, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–6693 Filed 3–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Public Meeting; The Advisory 

Committee on Commercial Remote 

Sensing (ACCRES) 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee on 

Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) 

will meet April 7, 2009. 

Date and Time: The meeting is 

scheduled as follows: April 7, 2009, 9 

a.m.–3 p.m. The first part of this 

meeting will be closed to the public. 

The public portion of the meeting will 

begin at 1:30 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in 

the Crowne Plaza Hotel located at 8777 

Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

While open to the public, seating 

capacity may be limited. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

required by section 10(a)(2) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5