Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 175 / Monday, September 12, 2005 / Notices 53777 

wetland type wildlife habitat will be 

preserved. Fishery habitats will also be 

maintained. 

No endangered or threatened plant or 

animal species will be impacted by the 

project. 

There are no wilderness areas in the 

watershed. 

There are no planned mitigation 

requirements for the project. 

No significant adverse environmental 

impacts will result from the dam 

rehabilitation measures except for minor 

inconveniences to local residents during 

construction. 

Alternatives 

Six alternative plans of action were 

considered in project planning. No 

significant adverse environmental 

impacts are anticipated from installation 

of the selected alternative. Also, the 

planned action is the most practical, 

complete, and acceptable means of 

protecting life and property of 

downstream residents. 

Consultation and Public Participation 

Original sponsoring organizations 

include the Augusta County Board of 

Supervisors, the City of Waynesboro, 

and the Headwaters Soil and Water 

Conservation District. At the initiation 

of the planning process, meetings were 

held with representatives of the original 

sponsoring organizations to ascertain 

their interest and concerns regarding the 

South River Watershed. The Headwaters 

Soil and Water Conservation District 

agreed to serve as ‘‘lead sponsor’’ being 

responsible for leading the planning 

process with assistance from NRCS. As 

lead sponsor they also agreed to provide 

non-federal cost-share, property rights, 

operation and maintenance, and public 

participation during, and beyond, the 

planning process. Meetings with the 

project sponsors were held throughout 

the planning process. 

An Interdisciplinary Planning Team 

provided planning assistance for this 

project. Planning guidelines included 

the NRCS nine-step planning process 

and planning procedures outlined in the 

NRCS National Watershed Manual. 

Examples of tasks completed by the 

Planning Team include, but are not 

limited to, preliminary investigations, 

hydrologic analyses, reservoir 

sedimentation surveys, economic 

analyses, formulating and evaluating 

alternatives, and writing the 

Supplemental Watershed Plan—

Environmental Assessment. Data 

collected from partner agencies, 

databases, landowners, and others 

throughout the entire planning process 

were evaluated at Planning Team 

meetings. Informal discussions amongst 

Planning Team members, partner 

agencies, and landowners were 

conducted throughout the entire 

planning period. 

A scoping meeting was held on 

February 13, 2004 to identify issues of 

economic, environmental, cultural, and 

social concerns in the watershed. 

Representatives from the Virginia 

Department of Conservation and 

Recreation’s Division of Dam Safety and 

Floodplain Management and the 

Division of Soil and Water 

Conservation, the Virginia Department 

of Emergency Management, the Virginia 

Department of Transportation, the 

Virginia Department of Environmental 

Quality, the Virginia Department of 

Forestry, the Virginia Department of 

Game and Inland Fisheries, the Augusta 

County Board of Supervisors, the City of 

Waynesboro, the Headwaters Soil and 

Water Conservation District, the U.S. 

Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, and the USDA Natural 

Resources Conservation Service 

participated in the meeting. 

A public meeting was held on October 

30, 2003 to explain the Small Watershed 

Rehabilitation Program and to scope 

resource problems, issues, and concerns 

of local residents associated with the 

South River Watershed. Potential 

alternative solutions to bring the South 

River Watershed Dams into compliance 

with current dam design and safety 

criteria were also presented. Meeting 

participants provided input on issues 

and concerns to be considered in the 

planning process. A fact sheet was 

distributed which addressed frequently 

asked questions regarding the South 

River Watershed Dams. 

A second public meeting was held on 

March 9, 2004 to discuss the need for 

landowner permission to access the 

property during the planning process. 

A third public meeting was held on 

April 12, 2005 to summarize planning 

accomplishments, convey results of the 

reservoir sedimentation surveys, and 

present various structural alternatives. 

The selected alternative was identified 

as the most complete, acceptable, 

efficient, and effective plan for the 

watershed. 

Conclusion 

The Environmental Assessment 

summarized above indicates that this 

Federal action will not cause significant 

adverse local, regional, or national 

impacts on the environment. Therefore, 

based on the above findings, I have 

determined that an environmental 

impact statement for the recommended 

plan of action on South River Watershed 

Dams Numbers 23, 25 and 26 is not 

required. 

M. Denise Doetzer, 

State Conservationist. 

[FR Doc. 05–17967 Filed 9–9–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 081705D] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Meeting of Atlantic Highly Migratory 

Species and Billfish Advisory Panels; 

Nominations for Atlantic Highly 

Migratory Species and Billfish 

Advisory Panels 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; advisory panel meetings; 

request for nominations. 

SUMMARY: NMFS will hold a joint three 

day Highly Migratory Species Advisory 

Panel (HMS AP) and Billfish Advisory 

Panel (Billfish AP) meeting in October 

2005. Additionally, NMFS solicits 

nominations for the HMS AP and the 

Billfish AP. The intent of these joint 

Advisory Panels meetings is to consider 

alternatives for the conservation and 

management of HMS as presented in the 

Draft Consolidated HMS Fishery 

Management Plan, Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement, and proposed rule. 

DATES: The joint HMS-Billfish AP 

meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 

p.m. on Tuesday, October 11, 2005; 

from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 

October 12, 2005; and from 8 a.m. to 5 

p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2005. 

Nominations must be submitted on or 

before October 27, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at 

the Holiday Inn, 8777 Georgia Avenue 

(Rt. 97), Silver Spring, MD 20910; 

phone: 301–589–0800. 

You may submit nominations and 

requests for the AP Statement of 

Organization, Practices, and Procedures 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: SF1.081705D@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line the following 

identifier: I.D. 081705D. 

• Mail: Margo Schulze-Haugen, Chief, 

Highly Migratory Species Management 

Division, NMFS, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

• Fax: 301–713–1917. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Othel Freeman or Heather Stirratt at 301 

713–2347. 

53778 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 175 / Monday, September 12, 2005 / Notices 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq., as amended by the Sustainable 

Fisheries Act, Public Law 104–297, 

provided for the establishment of 

Advisory Panels (AP) to assist in the 

collection and evaluation of information 

relevant to the development of any FMP 

or FMP amendment. NMFS consults 

with and considers the comments and 

views of an HMS AP when preparing 

and implementing FMPs or FMP 

amendments for Atlantic tunas, 

swordfish, and sharks, and consults 

with a Billfish AP for Atlantic billfish 

plans and amendments. These APs have 

previously consulted with NMFS on the 

HMS FMP (April 1999), Amendment 1 

to the HMS FMP (December 2004), and 

Amendment 1 to the Billfish FMP (April 

1999). 

Nominations are being sought to fill 

one-third of the posts on the HMS AP 

for a 3-year appointment and one-half of 

the posts on the Billfish AP for a 2-year 

appointment. The nomination process, 

and appointments are set forth in the 

Statement of Organization, Practices, 

and Procedures for each AP. 

Additionally, a specific nomination 

request is being solicited for a vacant 

seat on the HMS AP. Nominations for 

this seat should have definable interests 

and commercial expertise for the 

Caribbean region. 

Procedures and Guidelines 

A. Nomination Procedures for 

Appointments to the Advisory Panels 

Individuals with definable interests in 

the recreational and commercial fishing 

and related industries, environmental 

community, academia, governmental 

entities, and non-governmental 

organizations will be considered for 

membership in each AP. 

Nominations are invited from all 

individuals and constituent groups. 

Nominations should include: 

1. The name of the applicant or 

nominee and a description of their 

interest in HMS or one species in 

particular from among sharks, 

swordfish, tunas, and billfish; 

2. A statement of background and/or 

qualifications; 

3. The AP to which the applicant 

seeks appointment; 

4. A written commitment that the 

applicant or nominee shall actively 

participate in good faith in the tasks of 

the AP; and 

5. Outreach resources. 

Tenure for the HMS AP 

Member tenure will be for 3 years (36 

months), with one-third of the 

members= terms expiring on the last 

day of each calendar year. However, the 

tenure of the individual filling the 

vacant seat will be for 3 years and 3 

months (39 months). 

Tenure for the Billfish AP 

Member tenure will be for 2 years (24 

months), with one-half of the terms 

expiring on the last day of each calendar 

year. 

B. Participants 

Nominations for each AP will be 

accepted to allow representation from 

recreational and commercial fishing 

interests, the conservation community, 

and the scientific community. The HMS 

AP consists of not less than 23 members 

who are knowledgeable about the 

fisheries for Atlantic HMS species. The 

Billfish AP consists of not less than nine 

members who are knowledgeable about 

the fisheries for Atlantic billfish species. 

NMFS does not believe that each 

potentially affected organization or 

individual must necessarily have its 

own representative, but each area of 

interest must be adequately represented. 

The intent is to have a group that, as a 

whole, reflects an appropriate and 

equitable balance and mix of interests 

given the responsibilities of each AP. 

Criteria for membership include one or 

more of the following: (1) experience in 

the recreational fishing industry 

involved in catching swordfish, tunas, 

billfish, or sharks; (2) experience in the 

commercial fishing industry for HMS; 

(3) experience in fishery-related 

industries (marinas, bait and tackle 

shops); (4) experience in the scientific 

community working with HMS; and/or 

(5) representation of a private, nongovernmental, regional, (non-Federal) 

state, national, or international 

organization representing marine 

fisheries, environmental, governmental 

or academic interests dealing with HMS. 

Five additional members in each AP 

include one voting member representing 

each of the following Councils: New 

England Fishery Management Council, 

the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council, the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, the Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council, 

and the Caribbean Fishery Management 

Council. The AP also includes 22 ex 

officio participants: 20 representatives 

of the constituent states and two 

representatives of the constituent 

interstate commissions (the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission 

and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries 

Commission). 

NMFS will provide the necessary 

administrative support, including 

technical assistance, for each AP. 

However, NMFS will not compensate 

participants with monetary support of 

any kind. Depending on availability of 

funds, members may be reimbursed for 

travel costs related to the AP meetings. 

C. Meeting Schedule 

Meetings of each AP will be held as 

frequently as necessary but are routinely 

held once each year in the spring. Often 

the meetings are held jointly, and may 

be held in conjunction with other 

advisory panel meetings or public 

hearings. 

The October 2005 joint HMS-Billfish 

AP meeting will focus on management 

alternatives for Atlantic tunas, 

swordfish, sharks, and billfish. The 

proposed rule and draft HMS FMP 

describe a range of management 

measures that could impact fishermen 

and dealers for all HMS fisheries. These 

management measures include those to: 

establish mandatory workshops for 

fishermen and dealers; consider 

methods of modifying and establishing 

time/area closures; address rebuilding 

and/or overfishing of northern albacore 

tuna, finetooth sharks, and Atlantic 

billfish; simplify the management 

process of bluefin tuna; change the 

fishing year for tunas, swordfish, and 

billfish back to a calendar year; 

authorize additional fishing gears; and 

clarify existing regulations. In addition 

to these management measures, NMFS 

also announces its decision: to not 

include the no sale provision for the 

artisanal handline fishery in Puerto 

Rico, as outlined in the 1988 Atlantic 

Billfish FMP in the HMS FMP; to 

formally withdraw the proposed rule to 

establish an annual domestic 

recreational landing limit of 250 

Atlantic blue and white marlin, 

combined (September 17, 2003, 68 FR 

54410); and to consider a Petition for 

Rulemaking regarding a closure of 

bluefin tuna spawning grounds within 

the draft HMS FMP. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Othel Freeman or 

Heather Stirratt (FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 7 days 

prior to the meeting. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 175 / Monday, September 12, 2005 / Notices 53779 

Dated: September 6, 2005. 

Emily Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–17988 Filed 9–9–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

External Advisory Panel for NOAA’s 

Oceans and Human Health Initiative 

AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS), 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of 

members for an external advisory panel 

for the NOAA Oceans and Human 

Health Initiative. 

SUMMARY: The Oceans and Human 

Health Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108–447) 

created a national, interagency research 

program to improve understanding of 

the role of the oceans in human health. 

Section 903(a) of this Act authorizes the 

Secretary of Commerce to establish an 

Oceans and Human Health Initiative 

(OHHI) to coordinate and implement 

research and activities of NOAA related 

to the role of the oceans, the coasts, and 

the Great Lakes in human health. The 

OHHI is further authorized to provide 

support for (1) Centralized program and 

research coordination, (2) an advisory 

panel, (3) one or more NOAA national 

centers of excellence, (4) research 

grants, and (5) distinguished scholars 

and traineeships. Section 903(b) of the 

OHH Act further authorizes the 

Secretary of Commerce to establish an 

oceans and human health advisory 

panel to assist in the development and 

implementation of the NOAA OHHI. 

This advisory panel is to provide for 

balanced representation of individuals 

with multi-disciplinary expertise in the 

marine and biomedical sciences and is 

not subject to the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

Nominations to the OHHI advisory 

panel are being solicited herein. The 

intent is to select from the nominees. 

However, NOAA retains the prerogative 

to name people to the advisory panel 

who were not nominated if it deems it 

necessary to achieve the desired 

balance. Once selected, NOAA will post 

the review panel, with abridged 

resumes, at http:// 

oceanservice.noaa.gov/aaoffice/OHHI/. 

DATES: Nominations should be sent to 

the address specified and must be 

received within 30 days following the 

date of publication of this 

announcement. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be 

submitted electronically to Dr. Paul 

Sandifer (Paul.Sandifer@noaa.gov) or 

mailed to Dr. Paul Sandifer, c/o Hollings 

Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson 

Road, Charleston, South Carolina 29412. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Paul Sandifer (843) 762–8814. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Panel 

members shall not be employed by 

NOAA. Nominations should describe 

the nominees’s contact information and 

qualifications relative to the criteria 

given below, or include a resume. 

Anyone is eligible to nominate, and 

nominations from organizations and 

self-nominations are encouraged. The 

advisory panel is expected to have up to 

a maximum of 15 members, with a 

variety of backgrounds (recognizing that 

it will not be practical to have all 

backgrounds represented), with respect 

to: 

1. Particularly relevant areas of 

marine and biomedical sciences, such 

as: 

a. Conservation medicine, diseases of 

humans, diseases of marine organisms; 

b. Epidemiology and human health 

sciences; 

c. Harmful algal bloom (HAB) impacts 

on public health; 

d. Source tracking and environmental 

microbiology; 

e. Marine pharmaceuticals and other 

natural products; 

f. Marine organisms and habitats as 

models for biomedical research and/or 

indicators of environmental condition; 

g. Pollutants, contaminants, and 

ecological chemistry; 

h. Seafood safety; 

i. Remote sensing, observing systems; 

and predictive models; 

j. Ecosystem science and services; 

k. Climate change and variability; 

l. Genomics and proteomics; 

m. Biomaterials, bioengineering, and 

other techniques for producing marine 

products, including chemical, 

aquaculture, and recombinant DNA; 

n. Outreach and education; and 

o. Social sciences relevant to human 

health. 

2. Experience in academia, within 

mission-oriented government agencies, 

non-governmental organizations, and 

the private sector; 

3. Familiarity with NOAA’s mandates; 

and 

4. Being a science provider to key 

generic groups of stakeholders, science 

interpreter to groups of stakeholders, or 

stakeholder with a history of interaction 

with science providers. 

The advisory panel members should 

have the following qualifications: 

1. National and international 

recognition within their profession; 

2. Knowledge of the scientific, 

technical, and biomedical information 

needed to support NOAA’s Oceans and 

Human Health Initiative, coupled with 

broad familiarity with NOAA’s mission; 

3. Knowledge of, and experience with, 

the organization and management of 

complex, mission-oriented scientific 

and/or public health programs; and 

4. Ability to represent views of 

academia, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, or the 

private business sector. 

The qualifications of individuals are 

expected to be outstanding with respect 

to one or more, but not necessarily all, 

of the criteria. Because of the limited 

size of the advisory panel, management 

organization expertise must include 

expertise directly related to ecosystem 

condition or human health or the very 

special features of science applied to 

government decision-making. 

The purpose of the OHH advisory 

panel is to advise NOAA with regard to: 

1. Development of overall vision, 

mission and goals for its OHHI; 

2. Preparation and periodic updating 

of a NOAA OHHI Research Plan; 

3. Communication, coordination and 

integration of OHHI activities with other 

programs and partners, including but 

not limited to the NSF/NIEHS Centers of 

Oceans and Human Health, the InterAgency Task Force on Harmful Algal 

Blooms and Hypoxia, human health 

academic and medical communities, 

and state environmental, health and 

natural resource agencies; 

4. OHHI performance and progress; 

5. Effectiveness of NOAA’s education 

and outreach efforts; and 

6. Such other matters as may be 

identified. 

Initial appointments to the advisory 

panel will be for three-year terms, and 

the panel is expected to meet twice 

yearly. 

Dated: August 30, 2005. 

John L. Hayes, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean 

Services and Coastal Zone Management, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 05–17958 Filed 9–9–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–M