Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 150 / Monday, August 4, 2008 / Notices 45217 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

scheduling a public meeting of its 

Scallop Advisory Panel, in August, 

2008, to consider actions affecting New 

England fisheries in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ). 

Recommendations from this group will 

be brought to the full Council for formal 

consideration and action, if appropriate. 

DATES: This meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, August 20, 2008, at 8:30 

a.m. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at 

the Radisson Airport Hotel, 2081 Post 

Road, Warwick, RI 02886; telephone: 

(401) 739–3000; fax: (401) 732–9309. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

committee will review public scoping 

comments on Amendment 15 and 

provide initial input on a range of 

alternatives developed by the Scallop 

Committee to date. The scoping issues 

included: implementation of annual 

catch limits (ACLs); measures to 

rationalize the limited access scallop 

fishery; revision of the overfishing 

definition; modifications to specific 

aspects of the general category limited 

entry program implemented by 

Amendment 11; measures to address 

essential fish habitat (EFH) closed areas 

in the Scallop Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) if the EFH Omnibus Amendment 

is delayed; alternatives to improve the 

research set-aside program; and 

modifying the start date of the scallop 

fishing year. Other issues may also be 

discussed based on input from scoping 

hearings and a previous Scallop 

Committee meeting on July 8, 2008. The 

committee will also review Scallop Plan 

Development Team (PDT) discussion of 

Section 7 Endangered Species Act 

Consultation for the Scallop FMP 

(Biological Opinion). Overall, the 

biological opinion concluded that the 

scallop fishery may adversely affect, but 

is not likely to jeopardize, continued 

existence of four sea turtle species. 

Thus, NMFS is required to identify and 

implement reasonable and prudent 

measures (RPMs) necessary to minimize 

impacts of any incidental take. The 

Advisors may review PDT 

recommendations for how best to 

comply with these measures and 

provide input for the Scallop Committee 

to consider. The committee may discuss 

other topics at their discretion. 

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 this meeting. 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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided the public has 

been notified of the Council’s intent to 

take final action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, at (978) 

465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the 

meeting date. 

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

Dated: July 29, 2008. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–17735 Filed 8–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XJ48 

Marine Mammals; File No. 605–1904 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application 

for amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Whale Center of New England 

(WCNE) (Mason Weinrich, Principal 

Investigator), P.O. Box 159, Gloucester, 

MA 01930, has requested an 

amendment to scientific research Permit 

No. 605–1904. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

September 3, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The amendment request 

and related documents are available for 

review upon written request or by 

appointment in the following offices: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; 

Northeast Region, NMFS, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2298; phone (978)281–9300; fax 

(978)281–9394; and 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, Florida 

33701; phone (727)824–5312; fax 

(727)824–5309. 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this request should be 

submitted to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 

hearing on this particular amendment 

request would be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 605–1904–01. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Hapeman or Kristy Beard, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 605–

1904, issued on February 21, 2008 (73 

FR 10744) is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the regulations 

governing the taking and importing of 

marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

the regulations governing the taking, 

importing, and exporting of endangered 

and threatened species (50 CFR 222–

226). 

Permit No. 605–1904 authorizes the 

permit holder to harass humpback 

(Megaptera novaengliae), fin 

(Balaenoptera physalus), and sei 

(Balaenoptera borealis) whales along 

the U.S. Atlantic coast during close 

approaches for vessel surveys, photoidentification, tracking, and incidental 

harassment annually. During 

approaches, researchers may suctioncup tag and/or biopsy sample whales 

greater than six months of age. A subset 

of approached humpback and fin whale 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
45218 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 150 / Monday, August 4, 2008 / Notices 

calves three to six months of age may 

also be biopsy sampled. The original 

application submitted by the WCNE 

included a request to conduct research 

on North Atlantic right whales 

(Eubalaena glacialis). At the time of 

permit issuance, takes for right whales 

were not authorized. NMFS is now 

reviewing the right whale portion of the 

request as an amendment to Permit No. 

605–1904. The WCNE requests 

authorization to harass up to 75 North 

Atlantic right whales annually during 

close vessel approaches for photoidentification, behavioral observation, 

and prey sampling. This work would 

continue long-term population 

monitoring to determine status and 

trends of this species in the North 

Atlantic. The amendment would be 

valid until the permit expires on 

February 15, 2013. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: July 29, 2008. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–17813 Filed 8–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

[OE Docket No. PP–334] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment and To 

Conduct Public Scoping Meetings; 

Baja Wind U.S. Transmission, LLC 

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) and To 

Conduct Public Scoping Meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) will prepare an EA and hold 

public scoping meetings on the 

proposed Federal action of granting a 

Presidential permit to Baja Wind U.S. 

Transmission, LLC (Baja Wind) to 

construct a new electric transmission 

line at the U.S.-Mexico border in San 

Diego County, California, near the 

community of Jacumba. The proposed 

international transmission line would 

originate at a wind generation facility to 

be located in northern Baja California, 

Mexico, cross the U.S.-Mexico 

international border, and extend one 

mile into the U.S. where it would 

terminate at a substation to be 

constructed by San Diego Gas & Electric 

Company (SDG&E) adjacent to the 

existing Southwest Powerlink (SWPL) 

500–kV transmission line, located in 

San Diego County, California. Baja Wind 

has applied to DOE’s Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability (OE) for a Presidential permit 

to construct either a double-circuit 230- 

kilovolt (kV) or a single-circuit 500-kV 

electric transmission line across the U.S. 

border with Mexico. 

The EA, entitled Baja Wind U.S. 

Transmission Environmental 

Assessment (DOE/EA–399) will address 

potential environmental impacts from 

the proposed action and the range of 

reasonable alternatives. The EA will be 

prepared in compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA) and applicable regulations, 

including Council on Environmental 

Quality NEPA Implementing 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508) 

and DOE NEPA implementing 

regulations at 10 CFR Part 1021. It will 

help DOE determinie whether to 

prepare an EIS. Given that the proposed 

transmission line is short, and that the 

imports into the U.S. appear to be small, 

DOE believes an EA is appropriate. 

DOE invites the public to participate 

in determining the scope of the EA by 

suggesting alternatives and pointing out 

potential environmental impacts. If at 

any time during preparation of the EA 

DOE determines that an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) is needed, DOE 

will issue a Notice of Intent to prepare 

an EIS in the Federal Register. In that 

case, this scoping process will serve as 

the scoping process that normally 

would follow a Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS. Accordingly, DOE will 

consider any comments on the scope of 

the EA received during this scoping 

process in preparing such an EIS. 

DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, 

organizations, Native American tribes, 

and members of the public to submit 

comments or suggestions to assist in 

identifying any potentially significant 

environmental issues and in 

determining the scope of the EA. The 

public scoping period starts with the 

publication of this Notice in the Federal 

Register and will continue until 

September 3, 2008. DOE will consider 

all comments received or postmarked by 

September 3, 2008 in defining the scope 

of the EA. Comments received or 

postmarked after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

Public scoping meetings will be held 

on August 26, 2008, from 1 p.m. to 3 

p.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., 

at the Jacumba Highland Center, 44681 

Old Highway 80, Jacumba, California. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments or 

suggestions on the scope of the EA 

should be addressed to: Mrs. Ellen 

Russell, Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability (OE–20), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0350; phone 

202–586–9624, facsimile at 202–586–

8008, or electronic mail at 

Ellen.Russell@hq.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further 

information on the proposed project, on 

the Presidential permit process, or to 

receive a copy of the pre-approval EA 

when it is issued for state and public 

review, contact Ellen Russell at the 

address listed in the ADDRESSES section 

of this notice. The Baja Wind 

Presidential permit application, 

including associated maps and 

drawings, can be downloaded in its 

entirety from the OE program Web site 

http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits.htm. 

For general information on the DOE 

NEPA process, please contact: Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–20), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103; phone 

202–586–4600, leave a message at 800–

472–2756, or facsimile to 202–586–

7031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive 

Order (EO) 10485, as amended by EO 

12038, requires that a Presidential 

permit be issued by DOE before electric 

transmission facilities may be 

constructed, operated, maintained, or 

connected at the U.S. international 

border. The EO provides that a 

Presidential permit may be issued after 

a finding that the proposed project is 

consistent with the public interest and 

after favorable recommendations from 

the U.S. Departments of State and 

Defense. In determining consistency 

with the public interest, DOE considers 

the environmental impacts of the 

proposed project under NEPA, 

determines the project’s impact on 

electric reliability (including whether 

the proposed project would adversely 

affect the operation of the U.S. electric 

power supply system under normal and 

contingency conditions), and considers 

any other factors that DOE may find 

relevant to the public interest. The 

regulations implementing the EO have 

been codified at 10 CFR 205.320–

205.329. DOE’s issuance of a 

Presidential permit indicates that there 

is no Federal objection to the project, 

but does not mandate that the project be 

undertaken. 


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