Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 58527 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 226 

[Docket No. 080730953–81003–01] 

RIN 0648–AX04 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants: Proposed Rulemaking to 

Designate Critical Habitat for the 

Threatened Southern Distinct 

Population Segment of North American 

Green Sturgeon; Notification of Public 

Workshop; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public workshop; 

correction to a proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, will convene a 

public workshop in Sacramento, CA on 

October 16, 2008, to collect information 

and to provide an opportunity for the 

public and other interested parties to 

comment on the proposed rulemaking to 

designate critical habitat for the 

threatened Southern Distinct Population 

Segment of North American green 

sturgeon. This document also contains a 

correction to the proposed rulemaking. 

DATES: The public workshop will be 

held on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 

from 9 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m., 

Pacific Daylight Time. 

ADDRESSES: The public workshop will 

be held at the Federal Building, 

CALFED Conference Room (5th Floor), 

650 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 

95814–4706. Written comments may 

also be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 1–562–980–4027, Attention: 

Melissa Neuman. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

the Chief, Protected Resources Division, 

Southwest Region, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 650 Capitol Mall, 

Sacramento, CA 95814–4706. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information or orherwise sensitive or 

protected information 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe file fomats only. 

Comments mailed, faxed, or 

electronically submitted must be 

received by 5 p.m. (PST) on November 

7, 2008 to be considered. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melissa Neuman, NMFS, Southwest 

Region, (562) 980–4115, 

Melissa.Neuman@noaa.gov, or Susan 

Wang, NMFS, Southwest Region, (562) 

980–4199, Susan.Wang@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Southern Distinct Population 

Segment of North American green 

sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris; 

hereafter, ‘‘Southern DPS’’) was listed as 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) on April 7, 2006 (71 

FR 17757). A proposed rule to designate 

critical habitat for the threatened 

Southern DPS of green sturgeon was 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 8, 2008 (73 FR 52084). The 

areas proposed for designation include: 

coastal U.S. marine waters within 110 

meters (m) depth from Monterey Bay, 

California (including Monterey Bay), 

north to Cape Flattery, Washington, 

including the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 

Washington, to its United States 

boundary; the Sacramento River, lower 

Feather River, and lower Yuba River in 

California; the Sacramento-San Joaquin 

Delta and Suisun, San Pablo, and San 

Francisco bays in California; the lower 

Columbia River estuary; and certain 

coastal bays and estuaries in California 

(Humboldt Bay), Oregon (Coos Bay, 

Winchester Bay, and Yaquina Bay), and 

Washington (Willapa Bay and Grays 

Harbor). The areas proposed for 

designation comprise approximately 

325 miles (524 km) of freshwater river 

habitat, 1,058 square miles (2,739 sq 

km) of estuarine habitat, 11,927 square 

miles (30,890 sq km) of coastal marine 

habitat, and 136 square miles (352 sq 

km) of habitat within the Yolo and 

Sutter bypasses (Sacramento River, CA). 

Under section 7 of the ESA, Federal 

agencies would be required to insure 

that any actions they carry out, 

authorize, or fund do not destroy or 

adversely modify designated critical 

habitat. A wide range of agency actions 

may be subject to the ESA section 7 

consultation process including, but not 

limited to: the installation and operation 

of hydropower dams; the installation 

and operation of water diversions; inwater construction or alterations; 

dredging operations and disposal of 

dredge material; NPDES permit 

activities and activities generating nonpoint source pollution (e.g., agricultural 

runoff); power plant operations; 

operations of liquefied natural gas 

(LNG) projects; tidal or wave energy 

projects; discharges from desalination 

plants; commercial shipping (e.g., 

discharges, oil spills); aquaculture; 

bottom trawl fisheries; and habitat 

restoration activities. We solicit 

additional information and comments 

from the public concerning this 

proposed rule, including information 

and comments on the biological basis 

supporting the proposed rule; the 

benefits of the proposed critical habitat 

designation to the Southern DPS of 

green sturgeon; and the economic, 

national security, and other relevant 

impacts of the proposed designation. 

Public Workshop 

Interested parties may contribute 

written or oral comments and 

information regarding the proposed 

critical habitat rule to NMFS during a 

public workshop on Thursday, October 

16, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the 

Federal Building, CALFED Conference 

Room (5th Floor), 650 Capitol Mall, 

Sacramento, CA 95814–4706. 

Please be advised that weapons, 

cameras, and cell phones with cameras 

are prohibited in the Federal building. 

Members of the public attempting to 

enter the building with any of these 

items will be denied access and will be 

asked to return said item(s) to their 

vehicles before entering the building. 

Need for Correction to the Proposed 

Rulemaking 

As published, the notice of proposed 

rulemaking (73 FR 52084; September 8, 

2008) contains an error in the map of 

proposed critical habitat for the 

Southern DPS in California. The spatial 

extent of the Sacramento-San Joaquin 

Delta, California, as depicted on the 

overview map on page 52110, does not 

match the textual description of the 

Delta found in 50 CFR 226.216(a)(3)(i) of 

the proposed regulatory text. The 

textual description of proposed critical 

habitat in the Delta is correct, but the 

map is incorrect. This error may prove 

to be misleading and is in need of 

correction. 

Correction 

Accordingly, the proposed rule, 

published on September 8, 2008 at 73 

FR 52084, is corrected as follows: 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
58528 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

On page 52110, replace the map of 

proposed critical habitat for the 

Southern DPS of green sturgeon in 

California with the following map: 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting location is physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Melissa Neuman 

(see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days prior to 

the meeting date. 

Dated: September 30, 2008. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–23657 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 


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