Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 25451 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the intent to take final action 

to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Council office (see ADDRESSES) at least 

10 business days prior to each 

workshop. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: April 26, 2022. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09251 Filed 4–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB967] 

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; 

Southeast Data, Assessment, and 

Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of SEDAR 77 HMS 

Hammerhead Sharks Assessment 

Webinar I. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 77 assessment of 

the Atlantic stock of hammerhead 

sharks will consist of a stock 

identification (ID) process, data 

webinars/workshop, a series of 

assessment webinars, and a review 

workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

DATES: The SEDAR 77 HMS 

Hammerhead Sharks Assessment 

Webinar I has been scheduled for 

Thursday, May 26, 2022, from 12 p.m. 

until 3 p.m. ET. The established times 

may be adjusted as necessary to 

accommodate the timely completion of 

discussion relevant to the assessment 

process. Such adjustments may result in 

the meeting being extended from or 

completed prior to the time established 

by this notice. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via webinar. The webinar is open to 

members of the public. Registration for 

the webinar is available by contacting 

the SEDAR coordinator via email at 

Kathleen.Howington@safmc.net. 

SEDAR address: South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N 

Charleston, SC 29405; 

www.sedarweb.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathleen Howington, SEDAR 

Coordinator, 4055 Faber Place Drive, 

Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; 

phone: (843) 571–4371; email: 

Kathleen.Howington@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 

Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commissions, 

have implemented the Southeast Data, 

Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 

process, a multi-step method for 

determining the status of fish stocks in 

the Southeast Region. SEDAR is a threestep process including: (1) Data 

Workshop; (2) Assessment Process 

utilizing webinars; and (3) Review 

Workshop. The product of the Data 

Workshop is a data report which 

compiles and evaluates potential 

datasets and recommends which 

datasets are appropriate for assessment 

analyses. The product of the Assessment 

Process is a stock assessment report 

which describes the fisheries, evaluates 

the status of the stock, estimates 

biological benchmarks, projects future 

population conditions, and recommends 

research and monitoring needs. The 

assessment is independently peer 

reviewed at the Review Workshop. The 

product of the Review Workshop is a 

Summary documenting panel opinions 

regarding the strengths and weaknesses 

of the stock assessment and input data. 

Participants for SEDAR Workshops are 

appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South 

Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery 

Management Councils and NOAA 

Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, 

Highly Migratory Species Management 

Division, and Southeast Fisheries 

Science Center. Participants include: 

Data collectors and database managers; 

stock assessment scientists, biologists, 

and researchers; constituency 

representatives including fishermen, 

environmentalists, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); 

international experts; and staff of 

Councils, Commissions, and state and 

federal agencies. 

The items of discussion at the SEDAR 

77 HMS Hammerhead Shark Data 

Webinar 1 are as follows: Discuss any 

leftover data issues that were not 

cleared up during the data process, 

answer any questions that the analysts 

have, and introduce/discuss model 

development and model setup. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Action 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 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the intent to take final action 

to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is accessible to people 

with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary 

aids should be directed to the South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

office (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

business days prior to the meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: April 26, 2022. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09250 Filed 4–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

National Integrated Drought 

Information System (NIDIS) Executive 

Council Meeting 

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR), Climate 

Program Office (CPO), National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA), Department of Commerce 

(DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The National Integrated 

Drought Information System (NIDIS) 

Program Office will hold an 

organizational meeting of the NIDIS 

Executive Council on May 3, 2022. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. 

EST to 3:00 p.m. EST. These times and 

the agenda topics are subject to change. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Hall of the States, Room 383/385, 

444 North Capitol St. NW, Washington, 

DC 20001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Veva Deheza, NIDIS Executive Director, 

David Skaggs Research Center, Room 


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25452 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2022 / Notices 

GD102, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 

80305. Phone: 303–487–3431. Email: 

Veva.Deheza@noaa.gov; or visit the 

NIDIS website at www.drought.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Integrated Drought Information 

System (NIDIS) was established by 

Public Law 109–430 on December 20, 

2006, and reauthorized by Public Law 

113–86 on March 6, 2014 and Public 

Law 115–423 on January 7, 2019 , with 

a mandate to provide an effective 

drought early warning system for the 

United States; coordinate, and integrate 

as practicable, Federal research in 

support of a drought early warning 

system; and build upon existing 

forecasting and assessment programs 

and partnerships. See 15 U.S.C. 313d. 

The Public Law also calls for 

consultation with ‘‘relevant Federal, 

regional, State, tribal, and local 

government agencies, research 

institutions, and the private sector’’ in 

the development of NIDIS. 15 U.S.C. 

313d(c). The NIDIS Executive Council 

provides the NIDIS Program Office with 

an opportunity to engage in individual 

consultation with senior resource 

officials from NIDIS’s Federal partners, 

as well as leaders from state and local 

government, academia, 

nongovernmental organizations, and the 

private sector. 

Status: This meeting will be open to 

public participation. Individuals 

interested in attending should register at 

https://cpaess.ucar.edu/meetings/2022/ 

nidis-executive-council-meeting-may2022. Please refer to this web page for 

the most up-to-date meeting times and 

agenda. Seating at the meeting will be 

available on a first-come, first-served 

basis. 

Special Accommodations: This 

meeting is physically accessible to 

people with disabilities. Requests for 

special accommodations may be 

directed no later than 12:00 p.m. on 

April 28, 2022, to Elizabeth Ossowski, 

Program Coordinator, David Skaggs 

Research Center, Room GD102, 325 

Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305; Email: 

Elizabeth.Ossowski@noaa.gov. 

Matters To Be Considered: The 

meeting will include the following 

topics: (1) NIDIS implementation 

updates and 2022 priorities; (2) 

Executive Council member updates and 

2022 priorities relevant to Drought, 

Climate Adaptation and Resilience, 

Water, Fire; (3) Long Term Drought and 

Aridification: Outcomes from the 2021 

Southwest Drought Forum, including 

Priority Actions where NIDIS and 

partners have a critical role to play; (4) 

Climate Engine, OpenET, and 

Applications for Drought Monitoring 

and New Opportunities; (5) Fire, Water, 

and Resilience and the Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law. 

David Holst, 

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, 

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09243 Filed 4–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KB–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB895] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Kitty Hawk 

Wind Marine Site Characterization 

Surveys, North Carolina and Virginia 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental 

harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 

amended, notification is hereby given 

that NMFS has issued an IHA to Kitty 

Hawk Wind, LLC (Kitty Hawk Wind), to 

incidentally harass marine mammals 

during marine site characterization 

surveys off North Carolina and Virginia 

in and around the area of Commercial 

Lease of Submerged Lands for 

Renewable Energy Development on the 

Outer Continental Shelf Lease Area 

(OCS)–A 0508. 

DATES: The IHA is effective from August 

1, 2022 through July 31, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jaclyn Daly, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

Electronic copies of the IHA and 

supporting documents may be obtained 

online at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/permit/incidental-takeauthorizations-under-marine-mammalprotection-act. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

incidental take authorization may be 

provided to the public for review. 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall be granted if NMFS finds that the 

taking will have a negligible impact on 

the species or stock(s) and will not have 

an unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

taking for subsistence uses (where 

relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe 

the permissible methods of taking and 

other ‘‘means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact’’ on the 

affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance, and on the 

availability of the species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to in shorthand as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of the takings are set forth. 

The definitions of all applicable MMPA 

statutory terms cited above are included 

in the relevant sections below. 

Summary of Request 

On July 19, 2021, NMFS received a 

request from Kitty Hawk Wind, a 

subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables 

(Avangrid), for an IHA to take marine 

mammals incidental to conducting 

marine site characterization surveys off 

of the Atlantic Coast. Kitty Hawk 

Wind’s overall lease area (OCS–A 0508) 

is located approximately 44 kilometers 

(km) offshore of Corolla, North Carolina, 

in Federal waters. The proposed survey 

activities will occur within the wind 

development area (WDA) and along the 

electric cable corridor (ECC) to landfall 

locations in North Carolina and 

Virginia. We received a final, revised 

version of Kitty Hawk Wind’s 

application on January 12, 2022 and 

deemed it adequate and complete on 

January 13, 2022. Kitty Hawk Wind’s 

request is for take of 17 species of 

marine mammals, by Level B 

harassment only. Neither Kitty Hawk 

Wind nor NMFS expects serious injury 

or mortality to result from this activity 

and, therefore, an IHA is appropriate. 

NMFS previously issued an IHA to 

Avangrid, prior to it establishing Kitty 

Hawk Wind, for similar work in the 

same geographic area on June 3, 2019 

(84 FR 31032) with effectives dates from 

June 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020 and 

to Kitty Hawk Wind specifically on July 


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