Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 14 / Friday, January 22, 2010 / Notices 3711 

uses the Trustees are using a Travel Cost 

Model and are employing the Benefits 

Transfer Method. To compensate for the 

lost and diminished human uses arising 

from the Incident, the Trustees intend to 

solicit project ideas from local, regional, 

State, and Federal managers of parks 

and other recreational areas, as well as 

from the general public. The Trustees 

will then select restoration actions using 

a value to cost approach, by which the 

cost of the restoration actions are scaled 

to the monetary value of lost and 

diminished human uses. 

During the restoration planning 

phase, the Trustees will evaluate 

potential projects, determine the scale of 

restoration actions needed to make the 

environment and the public whole, and 

release a draft Damage Assessment and 

Restoration Plan for public review and 

comment. Based upon information in 

the Administrative Record and the 

foregoing determinations, the Trustees 

intend to proceed with restoration 

planning for this Incident. 

Administrative Record 

The Trustees have opened an 

Administrative Record (‘‘Record’’) in 

compliance with 15 CFR 990.45. The 

Record will include documents 

considered by the Trustees during the 

preassessment, assessment, and 

restoration planning phases of the 

NRDA performed in connection with 

the Incident. The Record will be 

augmented with additional information 

over the course of the NRDA process. 

The Record is available at the following 

locations: 

San Francisco Main Library, 100 

Larkin Street (at Grove Street), Civic 

Center, San Francisco, CA 94102, 

(415) 557–4400. 

The Library is open seven days a 

week. Please check its Web site for 

hours and directions: http://sfpl.org/

librarylocations/mainimain.htm. 

and at: 

Water Resources Center Archives, 410 

O’Brien Hall, University of 

California, Berkeley, CA 94720– 

1718, (510) 642–2666. 

The Center is generally open Monday 

through Friday. However, please check 

its Web site for hours that may be 

different during academic vacations and 

for directions: http:// 

www.lib.berkeley.edul

WRCNinfo.htm1#hours. 

The Index of the Administrative 

Record and selected documents may 

also be viewed at the following Web 

site(s): http://www.dfg.ca.gov/

osprispilllnrda/nrda_cosco-busan.html; 

http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/southwest/

coscolindex.html; and http:// 

www.fws.gov/contaminants/Issues/

OiISpill.cfm. 

Dated: January 11, 2010. 

David G. Westerholm, 

Director, Office of Response and Restoration, 

National Ocean Service, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1117 Filed 1–21–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3S10–JE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 0907081108–91430–02] 

RIN 0648–XP68 

Listing Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife and Designating Critical 

Habitat; 12–month Determination on 

How to Proceed with a Petition to 

Revise Designated Critical Habitat for 

Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of 12–month 

determination. 

SUMMARY: We, the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), announce our 

12–month determination on how to 

proceed with a petition to revise the 

critical habitat designation for elkhorn 

(Acropora palmata) and staghorn (A. 

cervicornis) corals pursuant to section 

4(b)(3)(D)(ii) of the Endangered Species 

Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. Elkhorn 

and staghorn corals are listed as 

threatened throughout their ranges and 

have designated critical habitat 

consisting of substrate of suitable 

quality and availability to support 

successful larval settlement and 

recruitment, and successful 

reattachment and recruitment of asexual 

fragments in water depths shallower 

than 30 meters in four areas in Florida, 

Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The petition seeks to extend the 

northern boundary of designated critical 

habitat in the Florida area to the Lake 

Worth Inlet, which is approximately 

15.5 miles (25 km) north of the current 

boundary at Boynton Beach Inlet, based 

on the discovery of staghorn corals 

north of the existing critical habitat 

boundary. We have evaluated the 

available scientific information and 

have decided, based on the adequacy of 

the existing, recent designation to meet 

the corals’ conservation needs, the 

relatively low benefit the requested 

revision would provide, the protections 

afforded to the species from the recent 

ESA section 4(d) regulations, and our 

need to complete higher priority 

conservation activities for these and 

other coral species, to deny the 

petitioned action. 

DATES: The finding announced in this 

document was made on January 22, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may 

obtain more information about critical 

habitat designated for elkhorn and 

staghorn corals online at the NMFS 

Southeast Regional Office website: 

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/ 

acropora.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Moore by phone 727–824–5312, 

fax 727–824–5309, or e-mail 

jennifer.moore@noaa.gov; or Marta 

Nammack by phone 301–713–1401 or email marta.nammack@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 6, 2009, NOAA received a 

petition from Palm Beach County Reef 

Rescue (the Petitioner) to revise the 

designated critical habitat of elkhorn 

(Acropora palmata) and staghorn (A. 

cervicornis) corals (PBCRR, 2009). On 

July 27, 2009, we issued a positive 90– 

day finding that the petition presented 

substantial scientific information 

indicating the revision may be 

warranted and initiated a 30–day 

information solicitation period (74 FR 

36995). Section 4(a)(3)(A)(i) of the ESA 

(16 U.S.C. §§ 1533 et seq.) requires 

generally that critical habitat shall be 

initially designated at the time of listing 

a species as threatened or endangered. 

The ESA also provides that NMFS may 

revise critical habitat from time-to-time 

as appropriate (section 4(a)(3)(A)(ii)). 

For any petition to revise a designated 

critical habitat that presents substantial 

scientific and commercial information, 

section 4(b)(3)(D)(ii) of the ESA 

provides only that, ‘‘the Secretary shall 

determine how he intends to proceed 

with the requested revision, and shall 

promptly publish notice of such 

intention in the Federal Register.’’ The 

statute says nothing more about options 

or considerations regarding the 

Secretary’s 12–month determination. 

We have fully considered all 

information received in response to our 

90–day finding and determined that the 

most appropriate action to take in 

response is to deny the petition. 

Background 

On November 26, 2008, we published 

a final rule designating critical habitat 

for elkhorn and staghorn corals (73 FR 

72210). On January 6, 2009, we received 

a petition from Palm Beach County Reef 

Rescue (the Petitioner) to revise elkhorn 

and staghorn corals’ critical habitat 


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3712 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 14 / Friday, January 22, 2010 / Notices 

designation (PBCRR, 2009). Currently, 

designated critical habitat consists of 

substrate of suitable quality and 

availability to support larval settlement 

and recruitment, and the reattachment 

and recruitment of asexual fragments in 

water depths shallower than 30 meters 

in four areas covering 2,959 square 

miles (7663 sq km) of the species’ ranges 

in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands (73 FR 72210; November 

26, 2008). The Petitioner requests that 

we extend the northern boundary of the 

Florida area to the Lake Worth Inlet, 

approximately 15.5 miles (25 km) north 

of the current boundary at Boynton 

Beach Inlet. This extension would result 

in an expansion of the 1,329 square mile 

(3442 sq km) Florida area by 

approximately 45 square miles (116.5 sq 

km). 

Section 4(b)(3)(D)(i) of the ESA 

requires us to make a 90–day finding as 

to whether a petition to revise critical 

habitat presents substantial scientific 

information indicating that the revision 

may be warranted. Our implementing 

regulations (50 CFR § 424.14) define 

‘‘substantial information’’ as the amount 

of information that would lead a 

reasonable person to believe that the 

measure proposed in the petition may 

be warranted. Our regulations further 

provide that in making a 90–day finding 

on a petition to revise critical habitat, 

the ‘‘substantial information’’ 

determination is made based upon 

considering whether a petition contains: 

(i) information indicating that areas 

petitioned to be added to critical habitat 

contain physical and biological features 

essential to, and that may require 

special management to provide for, the 

conservation of the species; or (ii) 

information indicating that areas 

designated as critical habitat do not 

contain resources essential to, or do not 

require special management to provide 

for, the conservation of the species (50 

CFR § 424.14(c)). 

The petition contains information on 

the location of a few staghorn coral 

colonies north of Boynton Beach Inlet. 

During the process of designating the 

current critical habitat areas, available 

information conflicted as to whether 

staghorn coral was established this far 

north. The petition also includes 

information about the geology of the 

Florida Reef Tract, suggesting that the 

feature essential to elkhorn and staghorn 

corals on which the existing designation 

is based is present in the petitioned area 

north of Boynton Beach Inlet. That 

essential feature is substrate of suitable 

quality and availability to support larval 

settlement and recruitment, and 

reattachment and recruitment of asexual 

fragments. ‘‘Substrate of suitable quality 

and availability’’ is defined in the 

designation as natural consolidated hard 

substrate or dead coral skeleton that is 

free from fleshy or turf macroalgae cover 

and sediment cover. The petition also 

contains information on the genetic 

diversity of staghorn coral. Finally, the 

Petitioner suggests that the waters of 

Palm Beach County represent a 

potential thermal refuge for staghorn 

coral. The petition does not discuss 

whether the hard substrate features in 

the petitioned area may require special 

management considerations or 

protections, but we judged it reasonable 

to assume the same management 

considerations and needs for protection 

applicable to the feature south of 

Boynton Beach Inlet would also apply 

to the feature within the petitioned area. 

Based on the information in the 

petition and information readily 

available in our files at the time, and 

pursuant to criteria specified in 50 CFR 

section 424.14(c), we made a 90–day 

finding that the petition presents 

substantial scientific information 

indicating that the requested revision to 

designated critical habitat for elkhorn 

and staghorn corals may be warranted 

(74 FR 36995; July 27, 2009). 

In response to our 90–day finding we 

received additional information on the 

presence of staghorn coral colonies 

within the general location identified in 

the petition. We also received a report 

verifying the presence of staghorn corals 

within the general vicinity reported by 

the petitioner, at about 8 miles (13 km) 

north of the current boundary of the 

Florida critical habitat area (Coastal EcoGroup, 2009). The report documented 

51 colonies of staghorn coral, of which 

21 were unattached fragments, 

comprising 2 percent cover of the 

surveyed reef. The report stated only 

seven percent of the colonies were 

larger than 9.8 in (25 cm), indicating 

relatively recent colonization of the reef 

by staghorn coral. There were no 

colonies less than 1.9 in (5 cm) in 

diameter, indicating no recent sexual 

reproduction. Reconnaissance of 

adjacent reefs reported only one 

additional staghorn colony 

approximately 1,000 ft (304 m) away 

from the main site. The report also 

provided a description of the geology of 

the area indicating that natural 

unconsolidated hard substrate may be 

present; however, it suggested this 

feature represented relatively low cover 

and availability for staghorn coral 

settlement on the reef due to the high 

abundance of octocorals. Additionally, 

very little staghorn rubble was observed, 

indicating the reef has not recently been 

dominated by staghorn corals. No 

information was presented suggesting 

the elkhorn coral’s range is further north 

than described in the existing critical 

habitat designation. 

As indicated above, the ESA provides 

us with broad discretion respecting 

revision of designated critical habitat, 

allowing us to determine when revision 

is appropriate, and affording us wide 

latitude to determine how to respond to 

a petition to revise critical habitat 

designations. The few past petitions 

requesting revisions to critical habitat 

designations have been received for 

designations that were completed many 

years prior to the petition, and in most 

of those cases extensive new 

information highlighted the inadequacy 

of the existing designation to meet the 

species’ conservation needs. In those 

instances we have accepted the petition 

and initiated revisions of critical 

habitat. Unlike those circumstances, we 

completed the existing critical habitat 

designation for the corals less than 2 

months prior to receiving the current 

petition, the designation encompasses 

virtually all of the species’ current and 

historical occupied ranges in the United 

States, and the designation protects all 

of the substrate essential feature in these 

ranges, which we determined was 

sufficiently abundant to provide for 

these species’ conservation. As 

discussed below, the requested revision 

would provide at most a very small 

conservation benefit to one of these 

coral species. 

On November 26, 2008, we designated 

critical habitat for staghorn and elkhorn 

corals throughout their occupied U.S. 

ranges (73 FR 72210). Because these 

species’ historic ranges have not 

contracted, we determined that there 

were no unoccupied areas of critical 

habitat that might be essential to their 

conservation. Critical habitat is defined 

in relevant part as specific areas within 

the geographical area occupied by the 

species at the time it is listed in 

accordance with the provisions of 

section 4 of the ESA, and on which are 

found those physical or biological 

features: (i) essential to the conservation 

of the species; and (ii) which may 

require special management 

considerations or protection. We 

identified the key conservation objective 

for the critical habitat designation as 

facilitating increased incidence of 

successful sexual and asexual 

reproduction of the corals, and the 

essential feature to facilitate this 

objective as substrate of suitable quality 

and availability to support successful 

larval settlement and recruitment, and 

successful reattachment and recruitment 

of asexual fragments. The designation 

includes all the hard substrate that 

meets the definition of the essential 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 14 / Friday, January 22, 2010 / Notices 3713 

feature within the species’ U.S. ranges, 

with the exception of some areas of hard 

substrate where these species have not 

been observed and where it was 

determined larvae and fragments were 

unlikely to settle or attach. Given these 

species’ reduced abundances, and 

because the total surface area of the 

essential feature is far larger than the 

surface area currently occupied by the 

corals, we determined the current 

designation would maximize the 

potential for successful recruitment and 

population growth and is sufficient to 

provide for the conservation of these 

coral species. Section 7 consultations on 

the actions of Federal agencies that may 

affect the designated critical habitat will 

assist in ensuring the availability of the 

essential feature for the corals’ 

colonization and population growth. 

In addition to the existing critical 

habitat designation, the species are 

protected by the recent ESA section 4(d) 

regulations that, with few exceptions for 

research and restoration activities, 

extend all the ESA section 9 

prohibitions to them (73 FR 64264; 

October 29, 2008). We determined that 

the section 4(d) regulations are 

necessary and advisable to provide for 

the conservation of the species. The 

section 4(d) regulations apply regardless 

of whether the species are within 

designated critical habitat. Thus, the 

newly discovered staghorn corals are 

protected even though they occur north 

of the existing critical habitat 

designation. 

The requested revision would 

encompass all the suitable substrate 

feature in an approximately 45 square 

mile (116.5 sq km) area based on 

extending the northern boundary of the 

Florida area approximately 15.5 miles 

(25 km). However, the new information 

on the potential northern expansion of 

staghorn coral’s range has been 

confirmed at approximately 8 miles (13 

km) north of Boynton Beach Inlet, or 

about half of the petitioned expansion. 

In addition, because the identified 

natural unconsolidated hard substrate 

feature is typically patchily distributed 

and does not uniformly cover the entire 

area, the actual area that would be 

available for settlement and recruitment 

in the petitioned area is likely much 

smaller, assuming that conditions 

within the entire area are conducive to 

coral settlement, recruitment, and 

survival everywhere the feature is 

present. The available information 

indicates the staghorn colonies are 

present on only one reef, approximately 

one mile (1.7 km) offshore in 57 ft (17.3 

m) of water, and the substrate feature 

potentially available for future 

colonization by staghorn coral is present 

only in low abundance. Further, given 

the available data about staghorn corals’ 

historic range, we believe it is still a 

question of scientific debate whether the 

petitioned area represents a true 

northward expansion of the species’ 

range, as opposed to a temporary 

opportunistic occupation of the area by 

broken, storm-transported fragments 

outside of their natural range. Similar to 

a few colonies of elkhorn coral recently 

discovered at Flower Garden Banks 

National Marine Sanctuary, the staghorn 

corals in the petitioned area require 

monitoring and evaluation to determine 

whether this is an actual range 

expansion at this point in geologic 

history. The existing designation 

includes all of the suitable substrate 

throughout both corals’ ranges, with the 

exception of the substrate in the 

petitioned area. As we described in the 

existing designation, both species have 

precipitously declined in abundance 

and are sparsely distributed throughout 

their ranges. The essential substrate 

feature included in the existing 

designation is much more abundant 

than the corals, and we have determined 

there is sufficient substrate protected by 

the designation that is available for coral 

settlement, reattachment, recruitment, 

and population growth. 

As noted above, we received the 

current petition to revise critical habitat 

less than 2 months after we finalized the 

existing designation. Designating critical 

habitat in accordance with the 

provisions of the ESA is a significant 

undertaking. The process of designating 

the current critical habitat for elkhorn 

and staghorn corals consumed 

significant personnel resources (i.e., 1.5 

full-time employees) for the better part 

of a 2–year period. Were we to 

undertake a revision of the recently 

designated critical habitat, our limited 

resources would again be diverted from 

other work, which in turn would delay 

the completion of other priorities, yet 

would only realize a very small change 

(offering limited benefits) in the critical 

habitat area for one of the coral species. 

At this time, we believe that a greater 

conservation benefit for both species of 

coral, and the appropriate course of 

action, lie in the completion and 

implementation of a recovery plan that 

is currently under development, and 

that will address all threats inhibiting 

the conservation and recovery of these 

species throughout their ranges. We also 

note that we are currently working to 

implement our mandatory obligations 

under the statute regarding a recently 

received petition to list 83 species of 

corals as endangered or threatened, 8 of 

which co-occur in the Atlantic and 

Caribbean Oceans with staghorn and 

elkhorn corals, and to designate critical 

habitat for these species. 

Petition Determination 

Based on the information above, 

pursuant to the provisions of the ESA 

respecting revision of critical habitat 

and petitions for revision, we have 

determined it is not timely and 

appropriate to revise the recently 

designated critical habitat for elkhorn 

and staghorn corals, and we therefore 

deny the petitioned action. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: January 15, 2010. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1204 Filed 1–21–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

[Docket No.: 100111018–0020–01] 

Meeting With Interested Public on 

Offsets in Defense Trade 

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and 

Security (BIS) publishes this notice to 

announce that the agency will hold a 

meeting on February 3, 2010 for 

organizations interested in learning 

about the changes in the reporting 

requirement for U.S. firms engaged in 

offsets in defense trade, pursuant to 

Title 15 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, part 701, as provided under 

the rule BIS published in the Federal 

Register on December 23, 2009. U.S. 

Government officials will provide 

information at this meeting on the 

changes in the reporting requirements 

for offset agreements and transactions. 

This meeting is open to the public. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

February 3, 2010, 1:30 p.m. e.s.t. 

ADDRESSES: If you wish to attend the 

meeting, please provide your name and 

company or organizational affiliation to 

fax number (202) 482–5650, Attn: Offset 

Briefing, or call (202) 482–3755. If you 

are a foreign national wishing to attend 

the meeting, you are required to provide 

additional information for entry to the 

U.S. Department of Commerce facility. 

Please contact Ron DeMarines at (202) 

482–3755 in advance of the meeting for 

more information on the entry 

requirements for foreign nationals. The 


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