40494 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 28, 2021 / Notices 

1https://ecfr.io/Title-50/Section-622.51. 

2https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/ 

retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=40795e9b

7e80ab071d63d0f076d60d

11&mc=true&r=SUBPART&n=sp50.12.600.q. 3http://www.p-sea.com/. 

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 the 

incidental take authorization) 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 consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species, in 

this case with NMFS GARFO. 

The NMFS OPR is authorizing the 

incidental take of fin whale, North 

Atlantic right whale, sei whale, and 

sperm whale, which are listed under the 

ESA. We requested initiation of 

consultation under section 7 of the ESA 

with NMFS GARFO for issuance of this 

IHA. On July 13, 2021, NMFS GARFO 

determined that OPR’s issuance of an 

IHA to Vineyard Wind 1 would be 

covered under the June 29, 2021 

programmatic consultation, and that 

issuance of the IHA is not likely to 

adversely affect fin whale, North 

Atlantic right whale, sei whale, and 

sperm whale or the critical habitat of 

any ESA-listed species or result in the 

take of any marine mammals in 

violation of the ESA. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued an IHA to Vineyard 

Wind 1 for the potential harassment of 

small numbers of 14 marine mammal 

species incidental to conducting marine 

site characterization surveys offshore of 

Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the 

area of Commercial Lease of Submerged 

Lands for Renewable Energy 

Development on the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lease Area OCS–A 0501 and along 

the Offshore Export Cable Corridor 

provided the previously mentioned 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting 

requirements are followed. 

Dated: July 22, 2021. 

Angela Somma, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16025 Filed 7–27–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB263] 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Federal Funding Opportunity 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council is requesting 

proposals from highly-qualified 

contractors to organize and expand a 

vessel position monitoring system for 

the federally permitted Gulf of Mexico 

shrimp industry. 

DATES: This will be a 12–18 month 

project and a maximum $350,000 is 

available to fund the work. Proposal 

Submission Deadline: August 20, 2021 

by 11:59 p.m. EST. 

ADDRESSES: Council address: Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council, 

4701 W Spruce Street, Suite 200, 

Tampa, FL 33607; telephone: (813) 348– 

1630. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carrie Simmons, Executive Director, 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; carrie.simmons@

gulfcouncil.org; telephone: (813) 348– 

1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposal Submission Deadline Friday, 

August 20, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. EST 

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) seeks a 

highly-qualified contractor to organize 

and expand a vessel position monitoring 

system for the federally permitted Gulf 

of Mexico shrimp industry. The current 

Gulf of Mexico electronic logbook (ELB) 

program that utilized a 3G cellular 

network to transmit data is no longer 

supported, and the server became 

unviable for data storage in December 

2020. Approximately 1⁄3 of the vessels in 

the shrimp industry have been selected 

by the Science and Research Director to 

participate in the ELB monitoring 

program.1 After transmission of the data 

from the shrimp vessels, vessel position 

monitoring data are securely housed by 

the National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) Southeast Fisheries Science 

Center (Science Center) and used for 

assessment and monitoring efforts 

including bycatch of finfish and 

interactions with protected resources 

across the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Council, in coordination with 

NMFS, is seeking to develop a new 

program that will provide for continued 

collection, storage, and transmission of 

shrimp vessel position data that are 

used to estimate shrimping effort. This 

new program is intended to replace the 

recently discontinued shrimp ELB 

program. In the interim, the Council is 

developing a document to require the 

owner or operator of a vessel with a 

valid federal shrimp permit to install an 

approved vessel monitoring system that 

archives vessel location and 

automatically transmits this data to 

NMFS. In addition, the newly 

developed program will be required to 

meet NMFS hardware/software type 

approval.2 Thus, the intent and need for 

this study is to test the P-Sea WindPlot 3

software program with a portion of the 

shrimp fleet in the near term to 

determine if it meets the needs of 

industry, Council, and NMFS. 

Proposals should identify by region/ 

state the number of vessels that will 

volunteer to participate in the proposed 

pilot program for vessel position 

monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico. The 

proposed work should clearly define 

methodology and intent for meeting the 

NMFS software and hardware 

requirements while documenting the 

estimated costs to the industry. The 

proposal should detail the methodology 

proposed for archiving the vessel 

location, data retention, and automatic 

transmission of the data to NMFS when 

within cellular/satellite range of land. 

A team will establish selection criteria 

and review the proposals after the 

proposal submission deadline. The 

Council will develop an agreement with 

the selected contractor(s) with 

milestones and deliverables after the 

review and selection process. The 

selected contractor(s) will work with 

Council staff. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 28, 2021 / Notices 40495 

4https://gulfcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/D-8- 

Shrimp-AP-Summary-March-2021_final_

revised.pdf. 

Background 

During its January 2021 meeting, the 

Council identified unspent Council 

funds from the 2020 fiscal year. The 

Council is considering funding an 

expanded study that utilizes P-Sea 

WindPlot software as a replacement for 

the recently discontinued shrimp ELB 

program. Preliminary meetings with 

industry, such as the Shrimp Advisory 

Panel meeting 4 suggest that a majority 

of the shrimp fleet currently use the PSea WindPlot software program, which 

is installed on a desktop or laptop 

computer housed onboard the vessel; 

thus, the learning curve and potential 

annual cellular/satellite expenses are 

anticipated to be minimal. Further, 

leaders in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp 

industry support using this type of 

software program. 

Scope of Work 

The contractor will be responsible for 

all data products outlined below and is 

encouraged to contribute additional 

products and suggestions in the 

proposal for this work. The selected 

contractor will also be responsible for 

presenting the mid-term and final 

project summary report to the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committees 

and to the Council. The proposed scope 

of work should include the following: 

• The proposal must consider the use 

of P-Sea WindPlot software to collect 

the vessel position data for shrimp 

vessels, as this is the preferred software 

by industry. However, the contractor 

may also propose testing other 

hardware/software options 

simultaneously that meet the needs of 

industry, Council, and NMFS. The 

proposal should include the rationale 

and viability of any other hardwaresoftware options proposed. 

• The proposal should detail the 

methodology proposed for archiving the 

vessel position location, data retention, 

security, and automatic transmission of 

the data to a secure server when within 

cellular/satellite range of land. 

• The proposal should identify, by 

state, the number of shrimp vessels 

actively participating in the fishery that 

will volunteer to participate in the 

proposed work in the Gulf of Mexico. 

This should be a representative 

subsample of the fleet using a random 

stratified approach. 

• The proposed work should clearly 

define methodology and intent for 

meeting the NMFS software and 

hardware requirements approval 

process. For example, outline the 

methodology proposed to automatically 

transmit vessel position data, from the 

hardware/software device(s) onboard 

the shrimp vessel to a secure server 

when within cellular/satellite range. 

• The proposal should detail the 

estimated costs to the industry for 

hardware/software, vessel position data 

storage, and monthly cellular/satellite 

transmission fees. The proposal should 

outline details about analysis of data 

from individual position points per 

vessel in the program that will be 

synthesized into vessel effort 

monitoring on a monthly basis. 

Results and outcomes from this work 

will be provided to the Council and 

NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science 

Center. 

Application Process 

Contractor Qualifications: The 

successful applicant or applicant team 

will have demonstrable experience in 

fisheries, marine ecology, spatial 

management, or related field. 

How to Apply: Applicants should 

submit a proposal to Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council by email 

(rfp.shrimpmonitoring@gulfcouncil.org) 

by 11:59 p.m. EST on August 20, 2021. 

Requests for additional information can 

also be accepted at this email address. 

Proposals should include the following 

elements and should not exceed 25 

pages, excluding the Qualifications of 

Applicant and Letters of Support: 

Executive Summary: A summary of 

the work proposed, including a brief 

summary of the applicant’s 

qualifications. 

Proposed Scope of Work: See bulleted 

list above. 

Qualifications of Applicant: A 

summary of the qualifications of the 

applicant and other team members, if 

applicable. A curriculum vitae should 

be included for each individual who is 

expected to work on the project. 

Proposed Budget: A detailed budget, 

including the basis for the charges (e.g., 

hourly rates, fixed fees, approved 

federally negotiated overhead rate and 

other costs consistent with federally 

allowable costs for sub-contractors). 

Travel costs for meeting with industry 

volunteers should be detailed. The 

proposal should also budget for 

traveling to SSC and Council meetings 

to present a mid-term and a final report, 

for an approximate total of four inperson meetings. 

Letters of Support: Letters 

demonstrating collaboration with 

shrimp industry leaders will be ranked 

higher. 

Proposed Timeline: A detailed 

timeline for working with industry 

representatives, testing of hardware/ 

software devices, data transmission 

testing, data analyses, and mid-term and 

final reports should be provided. 

Applicant References: Names, titles, 

full addresses, email addresses, and 

phone numbers for three clients for 

whom the applicant has provided 

similar services to those requested or are 

familiar with the applicant’s work and 

the quality of the applicant’s work 

products. 

Proposal Evaluation Criteria and Next 

Steps 

Proposals will be evaluated based on 

methodology and scope outlined in the 

proposed work plan including but not 

limited to the ability to deliver, in a 

timely manner a quality work product, 

references, timeline, and budget. The 

Council may request additional 

information as deemed necessary or 

negotiate modifications prior to 

providing support for a proposal. Once 

a proposal is selected for funding, a 

formal contract will be developed with 

the applicants. 

Disclaimer 

1. This project is being funded by 

federal funding authorized under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

through NOAA Fisheries Service and 

the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council NOAA award number: 

NA20NMF4410011. Compliance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Pub. L. 104–208 as amended), the 

current requirements of the Federal 

Office of Management and Budget, the 

Department of Commerce financial 

assistance standard terms and 

conditions, the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric financial assistance 

administrative terms, all special award 

conditions specific to this award and all 

parts of the Uniform Guidance at Title 

2 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

must be maintained. 

2. The contractor is responsible for all 

costs conducting the work and 

presenting the mid-term and final 

results to the Scientific and Statistical 

Committees and Council. 

3. Proposals and their accompanying 

documentation will not be returned, but 

retained as part of the Council’s 

administrative documents. 

4. All applicants included in the 

proposal must disclose any conflicts of 

interest and/or pending civil/criminal/ 

fishery legal actions. 

5. The Council reserves the right to 

accept or reject any or all applications 

received, negotiate with all qualified 

applicants, cancel or modify this request 

for proposals in part or in its entirety, 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
40496 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 28, 2021 / Notices 

or change the application guidelines, 

when it is in the best interests of the 

Council. 

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

Dated: July 22, 2021. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16012 Filed 7–27–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

Community Bank Advisory Council 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: Under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA), this notice sets 

forth the announcement of a public 

meeting of the Community Bank 

Advisory Council (CBAC or Council) of 

the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection (Bureau). The notice also 

describes the functions of the Council. 

DATES: The meeting date is Thursday, 

August 12, 2021, from approximately 

1:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. eastern daylight 

time. This meeting will be held virtually 

and is open to the general public. 

Members of the public will receive the 

agenda and dial-in information when 

they RSVP. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

George, Outreach and Engagement 

Associate, Consumer Advisory Board 

and Councils Office, External Affairs, at 

202–450–8617, or email: CFPB_

CABandCouncilsEvents@cfpb.gov. If 

you require this document in an 

alternative electronic format, please 

contact CFPB_Accessibility@cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 2 of the CBAC Charter 

provides that pursuant to the executive 

and administrative powers conferred on 

the Bureau by section 1012 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act, the Director established 

the Community Bank Advisory Council 

under agency authority. 

Section 3 of the CBAC Charter states: 

‘‘The purpose of the Advisory Council 

is to advise the Bureau in the exercise 

of its functions under the Federal 

consumer financial laws as they pertain 

to community banks with total assets of 

$10 billion or less.’’ 

II. Agenda 

The CBAC will discuss broad policy 

matters related to the Bureau’s Unified 

Regulatory Agenda and general scope of 

authority. Discussions will include 

recent Bureau initiatives related to the 

COVID–19 recovery and trends and 

themes in the mortgage, and student 

lending marketplace. 

Persons who need a reasonable 

accommodation to participate should 

contact CFPB_504Request@cfpb.gov, 

202–435–9EEO, 1–855–233–0362, or 

202–435–9742 (TTY) at least ten (10) 

business days prior to the meeting or 

event to request assistance. The request 

must identify the date, time, location, 

and title of the meeting or event, the 

nature of the assistance requested, and 

contact information for the requester. 

The Bureau will strive to provide but 

cannot guarantee that accommodation 

will be provided for late requests. 

Written comments will be accepted 

from interested members of the public 

and should be sent to CFPB_

CABandCouncilsEvents@cfpb.gov, a 

minimum of seven (7) days in advance 

of the meeting. The comments will be 

provided to the CBAC members for 

consideration. Individuals who wish to 

join the Council must RSVP via this link 

https://surveys.consumerfinance.gov/ 

jfe/form/SV_b4unKaNdE2OQBvM by 

noon, August 11, 2021. Members of the 

public must RSVP by the due date. 

III. Availability 

The Council’s agenda will be made 

available to the public on Wednesday, 

August 11, 2021, via 

consumerfinance.gov. Individuals 

should express in their RSVP if they 

require a paper copy of the agenda. 

A recording and summary of this 

meeting will be available after the 

meeting on the Bureau’s website 

consumerfinance.gov. 

Dated: July 20, 2021. 

Jocelyn Sutton, 

Deputy Chief of Staff, Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15751 Filed 7–27–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

Academic Research Council Meeting 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: Under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA), this notice sets 

forth the announcement of a public 

meeting of the Academic Research 

Council (ARC or Council) of the Bureau 

of Consumer Financial Protection 

(Bureau). The notice also describes the 

functions of the Council. 

DATES: The meeting date is Friday, 

August 13, 2021, from approximately 

1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. eastern daylight 

time. This meeting will be held virtually 

and is open to the general public. 

Members of the public will receive the 

agenda and dial-in information when 

they RSVP. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

George, Outreach and Engagement 

Associate, at 202–450–8617, or email: 

CFPB_CABandCouncilsEvents@

cfpb.gov. If you require this document 

in an alternative electronic format, 

please contact CFPB_Accessibility@

cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 2 of the of the ARC Charter 

provides that pursuant to the executive 

and administrative powers conferred on 

the Bureau by section 1012 of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), the 

Director established the Academic 

Research Council under agency 

authority. Section 3 of the ARC Charter 

states: The committee will (1) provide 

the Bureau with advice about its 

strategic research planning process and 

research agenda, including views on the 

research that the Bureau should conduct 

relating to consumer financial products 

or services, consumer behavior, costbenefit analysis, or other topics to 

enable the agency to further its statutory 

purposes and objectives; and (2) provide 

the Office of Research with technical 

advice and feedback on research 

methodologies, data collection 

strategies, and methods of analysis, 

including methodologies and strategies 

for quantifying the costs and benefits of 

regulatory actions. 

II. Agenda 

The ARC will discuss broad policy 

matters related to the Bureau’s Unified 

Regulatory Agenda and general scope of 

authority. The ARC will also discuss 

research methodologies and assist with 

providing direction for consumer 

finance research at the Bureau. 

Persons who need a reasonable 

accommodation to participate should 

contact CFPB_504Request@cfpb.gov, 

202–435–9EEO, l–855–233–0362, or 

202–435–9742 (TTY) at least ten (10) 

business days prior to the meeting or 

event to request assistance. The request 

must identify the date, time, location, 

and title of the meeting or event, the 

nature of the assistance requested, and 

contact information for the requester. 

The Bureau will strive to provide but 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES