Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 8, 2009 / Notices 15941 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: April 2, 2009. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–8004 Filed 4–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XO49 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery 

Management Council will hold public 

meetings to obtain input from fishers, 

the general public, and the local 

agencies representatives on the 

Regulatory Amendment to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Fishery of Puerto Rico and the United 

States Virgin Islands Concerning Bajo de 

Sico Seasonal Closure including a 

Regulatory Impact Review and an 

Environmental Assessment. 

DATES: The meetings will be held on the 

following dates and locations: 

•April 22, 2009, Frenchman’s Reef 

and Morning Star Hotel, 5 Estate 

Bakkeroe, St. Thomas, USVI 

•April 23, 2009, Buccaneer Hotel, 

Estate Shoys, Christtiansted, St. Croix, 

USVI 

•April 27, 2009, Mayaguez Resort and 

Casino, Rd. 104, Km. 0.3, Mayaguez, 

Puerto Rico 

All meetings will be held from 7 p.m. 

to 10 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 

268 Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918–2577; 

telephone: (787) 766–5926. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Caribbean Fishery Management Council 

will hold public meetings to receive 

public input on the Regulatory 

Amendment to the Fishery Management 

Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto 

Rico and the United States Virgin 

Islands concerning Bajo de Sico 

seasonal closure including a Regulatory 

Impact Review and an Environmental 

Assessment. The purpose of this 

regulatory amendment is to protect the 

snapper and grouper spawning 

aggregations and the associated habitat 

from directed fishing pressure to 

achieve a more natural sex ratio, age and 

size structure, while minimizing 

adverse social and economic effects. 

Currently, the area is closed to all 

fishing activity from December 1 

through the end of February, each year. 

In addition, fishing with pot, trap, 

bottom longlines, gillnets or trammel 

nets is prohibited year-round. 

The proposed management 

alternatives are: 

Action 1: Extend the closed season for 

Bajo de Sico (year-round gear 

restrictions already in place will not be 

affected) 

Alternative 1: No actiondo not extend 

the seasonal closure of Bajo de Sico. 

Alternative 2: (Preferred) Establish a 6 

month closure of Bajo de Sico from 

October 1 to March 31 in order to 

provide better protection for spawning 

aggregations of large snappers and 

groupers as well as coral reef habitat. 

Option a: prohibit fishing for all 

species, including Highly Migratory 

Species (HMS) 

Option b: prohibit fishing for and 

possession of all species, including 

HMS 

Option c: prohibit fishing for Council 

managed species 

Option d: (Preferred) prohibit fishing 

for and possession of Council managed 

species 

Alternative 3: Establish a 6 month 

closure of Bajo de Sico from December 

1 to May 31 in order to provide better 

protection for spawning aggregations of 

large snappers and groupers as well as 

coral reef habitat. 

Option a: prohibit fishing for all 

species, including HMS 

Option b: prohibit fishing for and 

possession of all species, including 

HMS 

Option c: prohibit fishing for Council 

managed species 

Option d: prohibit fishing for and 

possession of Council managed species 

Alternative 4: Extend closure of Bajo 

de Sico to 12 months in order to provide 

full protection for spawning 

aggregations of large snappers and 

groupers as well as coral reef habitat. 

Option a: prohibit fishing for all 

species, including HMS 

Option b: prohibit fishing for and 

possession of all species, including 

HMS 

Option c: prohibit fishing for Council 

managed species 

Option d: prohibit fishing for and 

possession of Council managed species 

Action 2: Prohibit anchoring by 

fishing vessels 

Alternative 1: No action—do not 

prohibit anchoring by fishing vessels 

Alternative 2: Prohibit anchoring for 

six (6 months). The six (6)-month 

closure will coincide with the closure 

period chosen in action 1. 

Alternative 3: (Preferred) Prohibit 

anchoring year round. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during these meetings. Actions 

will be restricted to those issues 

specifically identified in this notice and 

any issues arising after publication of 

this notice that require emergency 

action under section 305 (c) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided the 

public has been notified of the Council’s 

intent to take final action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

For more information or request for sign 

language interpretation and other 

auxiliary aids, please contact Mr. 

Miguel A. Rolon, Executive Director, 

Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 

268 Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108, 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918–2577; 

telephone: (787) 766–5926, at least 5 

days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: April 3, 2009. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–8006 Filed 4–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Intent To Conduct 

Restoration Planning To Evaluate 

Potential Injuries to Natural Resources 

and Services Resulting From the 

Discharge of Oil From the Tank Barge 

(T/B) DBL 152 in the Gulf of Mexico 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Conduct 

Restoration Planning to evaluate 

potential injuries to natural resources 

and services resulting from the 

discharge of oil from the Tank Barge 

(T/B) DBL 152 in the Gulf of Mexico. 

NOAA also seeks public involvement in 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
15942 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 8, 2009 / Notices 

the restoration planning for this oil 

spill. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

has determined that the impacts of the 

November 11, 2005, discharge of slurry 

oil from the Tank Barge 

(T/B) DBL 152, over which NOAA has 

jurisdiction as a natural resource 

trustee, warrant performing a natural 

resource damage assessment. NOAA is 

hereby providing notice of its intent to 

conduct restoration planning to evaluate 

potential injuries to natural resources 

and services resulting from this incident 

and to use that information to determine 

the need for and the scale of restoration 

actions to address these potential 

injuries. 

NOAA seeks public involvement in 

the restoration planning for this spill. 

Opportunities for public involvement 

are provided through public review and 

comment on documents contained in 

the Administrative Record, as well as on 

the Draft and Final Restoration Plans 

when they have been prepared. 

Public Involvement and Further 

Information: Pursuant to 15 CFR 

990.44(c), NOAA seeks public 

involvement in restoration planning for 

this incident, through public review of 

and comments on the documents 

contained in the administrative record. 

Comments should be sent to: Troy 

Baker, NOAA Assessment and 

Restoration Division, LSU/Sea Grant 

Building, Room 124B, Baton Rouge, 

Louisiana 70803, 225–578–7921 (ph), 

225–578–7926 (fax), 

Troy.Baker@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Oil Spill and Response Activities 

On November 11, 2005, while en 

route from Houston, Texas, to Tampa, 

Florida, the T/B DBL 152, owned and 

operated by K-Sea Transportation 

Partners, L.P. and K-Sea Operating 

Partnership, L.P. (collectively ‘‘K-Sea’’) 

allided with the unmarked, submerged 

remains of a pipeline service platform 

that collapsed in the western Gulf of 

Mexico during Hurricane Rita. The 

double-hulled barge was carrying 

approximately 119,793 barrels 

(5,031,317 gallons) of a blended mixture 

of heavier-than-water slurry oil. An 

estimated 45,846 barrels of oil 

(1,925,532 gallons) were discharged into 

federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico as 

a result of the allision (the Incident). Of 

this volume, an estimated 2,355 bbls 

(98,910 gallons) were recovered by 

divers. In total, 43,491 bbls (1,826,622 

gallons) of unrecovered oil was left 

remaining in the environment. The 

discharge occurred in federal waters 

approximately 35 nautical miles southsoutheast of Sabine Pass, Texas and 

Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana. 

Operations to locate, assess and 

recover the submerged oil were initiated 

shortly after the Incident occurred. Fullscale submerged oil recovery efforts 

using diver-directed pumping were 

initiated by early December 2005. 

Submerged oil cleanup activities were 

continued until January 12, 2006, at 

which time recovery operations were 

suspended by the Unified Command. 

Long-term monitoring of non-recovered 

submerged oil was initiated in January 

2006 and continued for a period of 

approximately one year. Based on the 

results of long-term monitoring and ongoing feasibility constraints, no 

additional submerged oil recovery was 

performed after January 2006. As of July 

2006, residual submerged oil had been 

found as far as 13 nautical miles from 

the accident site. 

The owner/operator of the vessel is a 

‘‘Responsible Party’’ for this incident as 

defined by the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), 

33 U.S.C. Section 2701 et seq. To date, 

the Responsible Party has cooperated 

with NOAA in the performance and/or 

funding of response, cleanup, and 

preassessment data collection activities. 

By letter dated May 10, 2007, the 

Responsible Party has committed to 

participate in a cooperative natural 

resource damage assessment. NOAA is 

the sole natural resource trustee for the 

DBL 152 Incident, as designated 

pursuant to 33 U.S.C. Section 2706(b), 

Executive Order 12777, and the 

National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 

300.600 and 300.605. NOAA’s trust 

resources include, but are not limited to, 

commercial and recreational fish 

species, anadramous and catadromous 

fish species, marshes and other coastal 

habitats, marine mammals, and 

endangered and threatened marine 

species. 

Immediately following the spill, 

NOAA and the Responsible Party 

initiated a number of cooperative 

preassessment data collection activities, 

pursuant to OPA, to gather information 

to aid in an initial determination as to 

whether natural resources or services 

have been injured or are likely to be 

injured by the discharge. Specific 

preassessment activities included the 

collection and analysis of neat and 

weathered oil samples, benthic fauna 

and demersal fishes, and samples of 

sediments and water taken in the oiled 

areas. NOAA’s Preassessment Data 

Report details these preassessment data 

collection efforts, and provides 

summaries of laboratory results and 

supporting information. This 

Preassessment Data Report is available 

for review at: http:// 

www.darrp.noaa.gov/southeast/dbl152/ 

index.html. 

NOAA’s Determination of Jurisdiction 

NOAA made the following 

determinations required by 15 CFR 

990.41(a): 

(1) NOAA has jurisdiction to pursue 

restoration pursuant to OPA, 33 U.S.C. 

2702 and 2706(c); 40 CFR part 300, the 

OPA Natural Resource Damage 

Assessments Final Rule, 15 CFR part 

990, and 61 FR 440 (January 6, 1996). 

(2) The discharge of slurry oil into the 

Gulf of Mexico on November 11, 2005, 

was an incident, as defined in 15 CFR 

990.30. 

(3) The discharge was not permitted 

under State, Federal, or local law; the 

discharge was not from a public vessel; 

and the discharge was not from an 

onshore facility subject to the TransAlaska Pipeline Authority Act, 43 

U.S.C. 1651 et seq. 

(4) Natural resources under the 

trusteeship of NOAA may have been 

injured as a result of the incident. The 

slurry oil discharged contains 

components that may be harmful to 

aquatic organisms, birds, wildlife, and 

vegetation. Specifically, benthic and 

demersal invertebrate and vertebrate 

fauna were likely exposed to the oil 

from this discharge, and injury to those 

resources, as well as lost ecological 

services, may have resulted from the 

Incident. 

Based on the above findings, NOAA 

made the determination that it has 

jurisdiction to pursue restoration 

pursuant to OPA, 33 U.S.C. Sections 

2702 and 2706(b)–(c). 

Determination To Conduct Restoration 

Activities 

For the reasons discussed below, 

NOAA has made the determinations 

required by 15 CFR 990.42(a) and is 

providing notice pursuant to 15 CFR 

990.44 that it intends to conduct 

restoration planning in order to develop 

restoration alternatives that will restore, 

replace, rehabilitate, or acquire the 

equivalent of natural resources injured 

and/or natural resource services lost as 

a result of the Incident. 

(1) Injuries have likely resulted from 

the Incident, though the extent of such 

injuries has not been fully determined at 

this time. NOAA bases this 

determination upon data presented in 

the Preassessment Data Report, which 

were collected and analyzed pursuant to 

15 CFR 990.43. These data demonstrate 

the likelihood that natural resources and 

services have been injured from this 

incident including, but not limited to, 

benthic and demersal vertebrates and 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 8, 2009 / Notices 15943 

1Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: 

Closing Date, 73 Fed. Reg. 62,258 (Oct. 20, 2008) 

(PTFP Closing Date Notice). 

2 73 Fed. Reg. at 62,258. 

3Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: 

Notice of Amended Closing Date for Solicitation of 

Applications, 73 Fed. Reg. 74,709 (Dec. 9, 2008). 

Public Telecommunications Facilities Program; 

Notice of Amended Solicitation of Applications, 74 

Fed. Reg. 5643 (Jan. 30, 2009). 

4See Pub. L. No. 111–8. 

invertebrates, which live on or near the 

ocean floor where the oil settled. The 

nature and extent of injuries will be 

determined during the damage 

assessment. 

(2) Response actions during cleanup 

have not fully addressed the injuries 

resulting from the Incident. Although 

response actions were initiated 

promptly, the nature and location of the 

discharge prevented recovery of all of 

the oil and precluded prevention of 

injuries to some natural resources. It is 

anticipated that injured natural 

resources will eventually return to 

baseline levels, but there is the potential 

for interim losses to have occurred and 

to continue to occur until a return to 

baseline is achieved. 

(3) Feasible compensatory restoration 

actions exist to address injuries from 

this incident. Restoration actions that 

could be considered may include, but 

are not limited to: creation or 

enhancement of offshore artificial reef 

structures; creation, restoration, 

enhancement or protection of marsh 

habitat; and marine debris removal. In 

addition, methods such as Habitat 

Equivalency Analysis exist to scale the 

amount of compensatory restoration 

required to offset ecological service 

losses resulting from this incident. 

Administrative Record 

NOAA has opened an Administrative 

Record (Record) in compliance with 15 

CFR 990.45. The Record will include 

documents relied on by NOAA during 

the pre-assessment performed in 

conjunction with the Incident. To date 

the Record contains: 

(1) A copy of this notice; 

(2) A letter from NOAA to the 

Responsible Party inviting their 

participation in a cooperative natural 

resource damage assessment; 

(3) A letter from the Responsible Party 

to NOAA accepting the invitation to 

participate in a cooperative natural 

resource damage assessment and 

enclosing the ‘‘Guiding Principles for 

NOAA/K-Sea DBL 152 Cooperative 

Natural Resource Damage Assessment’’ 

that were developed and coordinated by 

NOAA and K-Sea to guide the 

cooperative NRDA for the Incident; and 

(4) The Preassessment Data Report 

prepared in conjunction with the 

preassessment activities arising from the 

Incident. 

The Record is on file at: NOAA 

Assessment & Restoration Division, 

ATTN: Troy Baker, Louisiana State 

University, Sea Grant Building, Room 

124B, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, 225–578– 

7921 (ph), 225–578–7926 (fax), 

TroyBaker@noaa.gov. 

Dated: March 31, 2009. 

David G. Westerholm, 

Director, Office of Response and Restoration, 

National Ocean Service, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–7850 Filed 4–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration 

Docket No. 090402625–9626–01 

Public Telecommunications Facilities 

Program: Notice of Availability of 

Funds 

AGENCY: National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration (NTIA), 

U.S. Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds; 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

SUMMARY: On October 20, 2008, the 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration (NTIA) 

announced the closing date for receipt 

of applications for the Public 

Telecommunications Facilities Program 

(PTFP). NTIA now announces that $18 

million has been appropriated for fiscal 

year 2009 grants. 

DATES: Funds will be available for 

applications submitted by the originally 

announced deadline of December 18, 

2008, as well as applications for certain 

digital television Distributed 

Transmission System (DTS) projects and 

replacement translator projects that 

must be received prior to 5 p.m. Eastern 

Daylight Time (Closing Time), Monday, 

May 18, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: To obtain a printed 

application package, submit completed 

applications, or send any other 

correspondence, write to PTFP at the 

following address: NTIA/PTFP, Room 

H–4812, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., 

Washington, DC 20230. Application 

materials may be obtained electronically 

via the Internet at http:// 

www.ntia.doc.gov/ptfp or http:// 

www.grants.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Cooperman, Director, Public 

Broadcasting Division, telephone: (202) 

482–5802; fax: (202) 482–2156; or 

wcooperman@ntia.doc.gov. Information 

about the PTFP also can be obtained 

electronically via the Internet at http:// 

www.ntia.doc.gov/ptfp. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 20, 2008, NTIA published a 

Notice of Closing Date for Solicitation of 

Applications for the FY 2009 PTFP 

grant round. The Notice established 

Thursday, December 18, 2008 as the 

Closing Date.1 The Notice indicated that 

‘‘[i]ssuance of grants is subject to the 

availability of FY 2009 funds. At this 

time, the Congress has passed the 

Consolidated Security, Disaster 

Assistance, and Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2009. Public Law 

No. 110–329 (2008), to fund operations 

of the PTFP through March 6, 2009. 

Further notice will be made in the 

Federal Register about the final status of 

funding for this program at the 

appropriate time.’’ 2

As a result of subsequent Federal 

Communications Commission actions 

authorizing new digital television 

services, NTIA extended the Closing 

Date to May 18, 2009, for Distributed 

Transmission System (DTS) projects and 

for replacement digital television 

translators.3

On March 11, 2009, the Omnibus 

Appropriations Act, 2009, was signed 

into law.4 The Act appropriated $18 

million for public telecommunications 

facilities planning and construction 

grants. These funds are now available to 

fund applications submitted in response 

to the Federal Register notices 

referenced above. 

Dated: April 3, 2009. 

Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, 

Associate Administrator, Office of 

Telecommunications and Information 

Applications. 

[FR Doc. E9–8003 Filed 4–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–60–S 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

Establishment of Risk Management 

Advisory Committee 

The Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission has determined to establish 

a new advisory committee, the Risk 

Management Advisory Committee. The 

purpose of the committee is to conduct 

public meetings and to make reports 

and recommendations to the 

Commission on risk management issues 

involving or relevant to participants in 

the markets regulated by the 

Commission. The reports and 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES