1616 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

1–800–378–3160 or via email 

www.BCPIWEB.com. This document 

does not contain proposed information 

collection requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

therefore, it does not contain any 

proposed information collection burden 

‘‘for small business concerns with fewer 

than 25 employees,’’ pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). 

Provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980 do not apply to 

this proceeding. 

Members of the public should note 

that from the time a Notice of Proposed 

Rule Making is issued until the matter 

is no longer subject to Commission 

consideration or court review, all ex 

parte contacts are prohibited in 

Commission proceedings, such as this 

one, which involve channel allotments. 

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules 

governing permissible ex parte contacts. 

For information regarding proper 

filing procedures for comments, see 47 

CFR 1.415 and 1.420. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 

Radio, Radio broadcasting. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Nazifa Sawez, 

Assistant Chief, Audio Division, Media 

Bureau. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

part 73 as follows: 

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST 

SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 73 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, 336 

and 339. 

§ 73.202 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM 

Allotments under Oklahoma, is 

amended by adding Wright City, 

Channel 295A. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00341 Filed 1–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 223 

[Docket No. 0911231415–4999–04] 

RIN 0648–XT12 

Advanced Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking and Request for 

Information for the Issuance of 

Protective Regulations Under Section 

4(d) of the Endangered Species Act for 

the Conservation of Threatened Corals 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed 

rulemaking; request for information. 

SUMMARY: We, the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), are 

considering proposing protective 

regulations to provide for the 

conservation of the 20 coral species 

recently listed as threatened under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). Fifteen 

of the listed species occur in the IndoPacific and five occur in the Caribbean. 

This advanced notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPR) is intended to alert 

other agencies and the public of our 

planning efforts and request public 

input that will assist in identifying 

actions and activities that may impact 

the status of these corals, as well as 

information on the existence and 

efficacy of on-going conservation 

activities. This information will help 

inform our evaluation of what, if any, 

protective regulations are necessary and 

advisable for the conservation of these 

species. 

DATES: Responses to this request for 

information must be received by March 

16, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

information, or data on this document, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0158, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014- 

0158. Click the ‘‘Comment Now’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: 

Æ To submit written comments 

regarding the species listed in Table 1 

below, contact the Pacific Islands 

Region: Lance Smith, Protected 

Resources Division, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands 

Regional Office, NOAA Inouye Regional 

Center, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176, 

Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Æ To submit written comments 

regarding the species listed in Table 2 

below, contact the Southeast Region: 

Stephania Bolden, Protected Resources 

Division, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, Southeast Regional Office, 263 

13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, 

FL 33701. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lance Smith, NMFS, Pacific Islands 

Regional Office, 808–725–5131; 

Kimberly Maison, NMFS, Pacific Islands 

Regional Office, 808–725–5143; 

Stephania Bolden, NMFS, Southeast 

Regional Office, 727–824–5312; or 

Marta Nammack, NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources, 301–427–8469. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On September 10, 2014, we published 

a final rule listing 20 species of coral as 

threatened under the ESA (79 FR 

53851). The 15 Indo-Pacific species 

include Acropora globiceps, Acropora 

jacquelineae, Acropora lokani, 

Acropora pharaonis, Acropora retusa, 

Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa, 

Acropora tenella, Anacropora spinosa, 

Isopora crateriformis, Euphyllia 

paradivisa, Montipora australiensis, 

Porites napopora, Pavona diffluens, and 

Seriatopora aculeata. The five 

Caribbean species include Dendrogyra 

cylindrus, Orbicella annularis, Orbicella 

faveolata, Orbicella franksi, and 

Mycetophyllia ferox. The final listing 

rule describes the background of the 

listing actions for these 20 corals and 

provides a summary of our conclusions 

regarding the statuses of the listed 

corals. For additional background and a 

summary of natural history and threats 

to the species, the reader is referred to 

the Status Review Report, Supplemental 

Information Report, and Final Listing 

Rule (all three are available at http://

www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_

coral.html). At the time of listing we did 

not propose any protective regulations 

pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA. 

ESA section 9(a)(1) prohibitions are 

automatically applied to species listed 

as endangered but not to species listed 

as threatened. Section 4(d) of the ESA 

provides that, whenever a species is 

listed as threatened, the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) shall issue such 

regulations as she deems necessary and 

advisable to provide for the 

conservation of the species. Such 

regulations may include any or all of the 

prohibitions in ESA section 9(a)(1) that 

apply automatically to species listed as 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2015 / Proposed Rules 1617 

endangered. Those section 9(a)(1) 

prohibitions make it unlawful, with 

limited specified exceptions, for any 

person subject to the jurisdiction of the 

United States to: ‘‘(A) Import any such 

species into, or export any such species 

from the United States; (B) take any 

such species within the United States or 

the territorial sea of the United States; 

(C) take any such species upon the high 

seas; (D) possess, sell, deliver, carry, 

transport, or ship, by any means 

whatsoever, any such species taken in 

violation of subparagraphs (B) and (C); 

(E) deliver, receive, carry, transport, or 

ship in interstate or foreign commerce, 

by any means whatsoever and in the 

course of a commercial activity, any 

such species; (F) sell or offer for sale in 

interstate or foreign commerce any such 

species; or (G) violate any regulation 

pertaining to such species or to any 

threatened species of fish or wildlife 

listed pursuant to section 1533 of this 

title and promulgated by the Secretary 

pursuant to authority provided by this 

chapter.’’ Section 11 of the ESA 

provides for civil and criminal penalties 

for violations of section 9 or regulations 

issued under the ESA. 

Whether section 9(a)(1) prohibitions 

or other regulations are necessary and 

advisable to provide for the 

conservation of species depends in large 

part upon the biological status of the 

species, the potential impacts of various 

activities on the species, and on factors 

such as the existence and efficacy of 

other conservation activities. 

Statuses of the 20 Recently-Listed 

Corals 

We determined in the final listing rule 

that the 20 coral species are not 

currently in danger of extinction but are 

likely to become so within the 

foreseeable future. In the final listing 

rule we identified nine threats to the 

corals that posed either a current or 

future extinction risk (79 FR 53851; 

September 10, 2014) and further 

classified the threats by importance. 

Primary threats identified include ocean 

warming, disease, and ocean 

acidification. Threats of medium to low 

importance include trophic effects of 

fishing, sedimentation, nutrient 

enrichment, sea-level rise, predation, 

and collection and trade. See Tables 1 

and 2 below for U.S. distributions of 

these 20 threatened coral species. For 

more details on the individual status 

reviews, threat susceptibilities, and 

listing determinations for each species, 

please see the final listing rule (79 FR 

53851; September 10, 2014). We also 

determined Acropora palmata and 

Acropora cervicornis continue to 

warrant listing as threatened species; 

the ESA 4(d) rule (73 FR 64264; October 

29, 2009) for those two species 

previously listed in 2006 remains 

effective. 

Developing Protective Regulations 

We are now considering whether 

there are protective regulations that are 

necessary and advisable for the 

conservation of these 20 recently listed 

corals. We have flexibility under section 

4(d) to tailor protective regulations 

based on the contributions of other 

existing conservation measures. The 

4(d) regulations may prohibit, with 

respect to threatened species, some or 

all of the acts which section 9(a)(1) of 

the ESA prohibits with respect to 

endangered species. For those 

prohibitions we do apply, we may also 

provide exceptions for certain 

circumstances in which extending the 

take prohibitions is not necessary and 

advisable. For example, we can exempt 

from regulations activities that may take 

listed corals but ultimately provide an 

overall conservation benefit. 

Seven of the 15 threatened IndoPacific coral species have been 

confirmed to occur within U.S. Pacific 

jurisdictional areas including Guam, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, the Pacific Remote Island areas, 

and American Samoa (See Table 1). This 

information may change as more 

surveys are conducted and better 

information becomes available. The 

remaining eight threatened Indo-Pacific 

coral species have not yet been reported 

or confirmed within U.S. jurisdiction 

and are currently considered to occur 

naturally as foreign species, entirely 

outside of U.S. jurisdiction; however, 

they may be observed within U.S. 

jurisdictions in future surveys, and 

several are commonly imported into the 

United States for the marine aquarium 

trade. All five threatened Caribbean 

corals occur within U.S. jurisdiction 

(See Table 2). One of the section 9(a)(1) 

prohibitions that may be applied 

pursuant to section 4(d) is the 

prohibition on the take of species on the 

high seas. We are therefore requesting 

information for all 20 newly listed 

threatened species, wherever they may 

occur, to help inform our determination 

of which take prohibitions may be 

necessary and advisable for their 

conservation. 

TABLE 1—U.S. DISTRIBUTION OF 15 THREATENED INDO-PACIFIC CORAL SPECIES

Guam 

Commonwealth 

of Northern 

Mariana 

Islands 

Pacific 

Remote 

Island Areas 

American 

Samoa 

Acropora globiceps .......................................................................................... X X X X 

Acropora jacquelineae ..................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ X 

Acropora lokani ................................................................................................ ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Acropora pharaonis ......................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Acropora retusa ............................................................................................... X X X X 

Acropora rudis ................................................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Acropora speciosa ........................................................................................... ........................ ........................ X X 

Acropora tenella ............................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Anacropora spinosa ......................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Euphyllia paradivisa ......................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ X 

Isopora crateriformis ........................................................................................ ........................ ........................ ........................ X 

Montipora australiensis .................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Pavona diffluens .............................................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Porites napopora ............................................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

Seriatopora aculeata ........................................................................................ X X ........................ ........................


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1618 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

TABLE 2—U.S. DISTRIBUTION OF FIVE NEWLY-LISTED CARIBBEAN CORALS

Florida— 

Atlantic Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Gulf of Mexico 

Mycetophyllia ferox .......................................................................................... X X X ........................

Dendrogyra cylindrus ....................................................................................... X X X ........................

Orbicella annularis ........................................................................................... X X X X 

Orbicella faveolata ........................................................................................... X X X X 

Orbicella franksi ............................................................................................... X X X X 

Request for Information 

We are soliciting information from 

other agencies and the public that will 

help us determine what, if any, 

protective regulations are necessary and 

advisable for the conservation of these 

20 newly listed coral species. This 

includes information that will help us 

understand and analyze impacts of 

various activities, the existence and 

efficacy of ongoing conservation 

activities, and prohibitions that are both 

necessary and advisable to reduce 

threats and amenable to management for 

the conservation of these 20 species. 

Specifically, we are soliciting 

information including the following: (1) 

Current or planned activities within the 

range of these species and their possible 

impact on these species; (2) impacts 

within the species’ ranges that fall 

within any of the nine major threat 

categories: Ocean warming, disease, 

ocean acidification, sea-level rise, 

nutrient enrichment, sedimentation, 

predation, trophic effects of fishing, and 

collection and trade; (3) information on 

which of the section 9(a)(1) prohibitions 

on take are necessary and advisable for 

the conservation of these species, with 

associated justification; (4) specific 

activities that should be prohibited for 

the conservation of the 20 coral species, 

with associated justification; (5) specific 

activities that should be excepted from 

any prohibitions that may be applied 

because they either provide a 

conservation benefit or do not detract 

from the conservation of these species, 

with associated justification; (6) existing 

permitting programs that may already 

provide for the conservation of listed 

corals through their activity evaluation 

and permitting process, with associated 

justification; and (7) the economic costs 

and benefits likely to result from 

protective regulations (see DATES and 

ADDRESSES). 

We will fully consider all relevant 

information received in our 

determination of what protective 

regulations are necessary and advisable 

for the conservation of the species. 

References Cited 

A complete list of references is 

available at http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/

PRD/prd_coral.html and upon request 

(see ADDRESSES). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

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

Dated: January 2, 2015. 

Eileen Sobeck, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00366 Filed 1–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 226 

RIN 0648–BC56 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Proposed Designation of Critical 

Habitat for the Arctic Ringed Seal; 

Public Hearings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce the 

specific dates and locations for four 

public hearings in Alaska, one each in 

Nome, Anchorage, Kotzebue, and 

Barrow, on our proposed rule to 

designate critical habitat for the 

threatened Arctic subspecies (Phoca 

hispida hispida) of the ringed seal 

(Phoca hispida) under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA), which published in 

the Federal Register on December 9, 

2014. We also announce that a hearing 

will be held in Bethel, AK. 

DATES: Written comments on the 

proposed rule must be received by 

March 9, 2015. For specific dates of the 

public hearings, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: Five public hearings will be 

held in Alaska, one each in Nome, 

Anchorage, Kotzebue, Barrow, and 

Bethel: For specific locations of these 

hearings, see SUPPLMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

You may submit written comments on 

the proposed rule, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2013–0114, by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013- 

0114, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Address written comments to 

Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Protected Resources, 

Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen 

Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

Electronic copies of the proposed 

rule, list of references and supporting 

documents, and the draft economic 

report (i.e., Regulatory Impact Review 

(RIR)/4(b)(2) Preparatory Assessment/

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act (IRFA) 

report) prepared for this action are 

available from http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013- 

0114 or from the NMFS Alaska Region 

Web site at http://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tamara Olson, NMFS Alaska Region, 

(907) 271–2373; Jon Kurland, NMFS 

Alaska Region, (907) 586–7638; or Marta 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS