Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 142 / Monday, July 27, 2009 / Proposed Rules 36995 

receive no adverse comment(s) on this 

deletion action, we will not take further 

action on this Notice of Intent to Delete. 

If we receive adverse comment(s), we 

will withdraw the direct final Notice of 

Deletion, and it will not take effect. We 

will, as appropriate, address all public 

comments in a subsequent final Notice 

of Deletion based on this Notice of 

Intent to Delete. We will not institute a 

second comment period on this Notice 

of Intent to Delete. Any parties 

interested in commenting must do so at 

this time. 

For additional information, see the 

direct final Notice of Deletion which is 

located in the Rules section of this 

Federal Register. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous 

substances, Hazardous waste, 

Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Superfund, Water 

pollution control, Water supply. 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 

9601–9657; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 

1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923; 

3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193. 

Dated: July 15, 2009. 

Laura Yoshii, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. E9–17564 Filed 7–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 226 

[Docket No. 0907081108–91119–01] 

RIN 0648–XP68 

Listing Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife and Designating Critical 

Habitat; 90–day Finding for a Petition 

to Revise Designated Critical Habitat 

for Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), NationalOceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of petition finding; 

request for information and comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), announce a 

90–day finding for a petition to revise 

elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and 

staghorn (A. cervicornis) corals’ critical 

habitat under 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 larval 

settlement and recruitment and the 

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, approximately 15.5 miles 

(24.9 km) north of the current boundary 

at Boynton Beach Inlet. We find that the 

petition presents substantial scientific 

information that the revision may be 

warranted. We are soliciting information 

and comments pertaining to this request 

for revision of critical habitat. 

DATES: Written comments and 

information related to this petition 

finding or the petitioned action must be 

received [see ADDRESSES] by August 26, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by [RIN 0648–XP68], by any 

one of the following methods: (1) 

Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; (2) Fax: 727–824– 

5309, attention: Jennifer Moore; or (3) 

mail: addressed to Jennifer Moore, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 

Southeast Regional Office, Protected 

Resources Division, 263 13th Avenue 

South, Saint Petersburg, FL, 33701. 

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 otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

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, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

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: 

Background 

Critical habitat is defined in the ESA 

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as: 

‘‘(i) the specific areas within the 

geographical area currently occupied by the 

species, at the time it is listed...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; 

and (ii) specific areas outside the 

geographical area occupied by the species at 

the time it is listed upon a determination by 

the Secretary that such areas are essential for 

the conservation of the species.’’ 

Section 4(b)(2) of the ESA requires us 

to designate and make revisions to 

critical habitat for listed species based 

on the best scientific data available and 

after taking into consideration the 

economic impact, the impact on 

national security, and any other relevant 

impact, of specifying any particular area 

as critical habitat. The Secretary of 

Commerce may exclude any particular 

area from critical habitat if he 

determines that the benefits of such 

exclusion outweigh the benefits of 

specifying such area as part of the 

critical habitat, unless he determines 

that the failure to designate such area as 

critical habitat will result in the 

extinction of the species concerned. 

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 provide 

further that, in making a 90–day finding 

on a petition to revise critical habitat, 

we shall consider whether a petition 

includes substantial information 

indicating that: (i) areas contain 

physical and biological features 

essential to, and that may require 

special management to provide for, the 

conservation of the species; or (ii) 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. In 

determining whether substantial 

information exists, we take into account 

several factors, including information 

submitted with, and referenced in, the 

petition and all other information 

readily available in our files. To the 

maximum extent practicable, this 

finding is to be made within 90 days of 

the receipt of the petition, and the 

finding is to be published promptly in 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
36996 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 142 / Monday, July 27, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

the Federal Register. If we find that a 

petition presents substantial 

information indicating that the revision 

may be warranted, within 12 months 

after receiving the petition, we are 

required to determine how we intend to 

proceed with the requested revision and 

promptly publish notice of such 

intention in the Federal Register. See 

ESA Section 4(b)(3)(D)(ii). 

Analysis of Petition 

On January 6, 2009, we received a 

petition from Palm Beach County Reef 

Rescue (the Petitioner) to revise elkhorn 

and staghorn corals’ critical habitat 

(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 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 (24.9 km) north of the current 

boundary at Boynton Beach Inlet. 

The petition contains information on 

the location of staghorn coral colonies 

north of Boynton Beach Inlet. This 

location was verified by the petitioner 

on December 20, 2008. The petition 

includes information about the geology 

of the Florida Reef Tract, suggesting that 

the features essential to elkhorn and 

staghorn corals exist north of Boynton 

Beach Inlet. The petition 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. 

Petition Finding 

Based on the above information and 

information readily available in our 

files, and pursuant to criteria specified 

in 50 CFR 424.14(c), we find the 

petition presents substantial scientific 

information indicating that the 

requested revision to designated critical 

habitat for elkhorn and staghorn corals 

may be warranted. We will review the 

information provided by the Petitioner, 

comments received from the public 

(requested below), and the best 

scientific information available before 

making a finding of how we intend to 

proceed with the requested revision by 

January 6, 2010. 

We solicit information and comments 

on whether the petitioned area qualifies 

as critical habitat. Further, we solicit 

information on the potential economic, 

national security, and other relevant 

impacts that may arise from the 

requested revision of critical habitat. 

We request that all data, information, 

and comments be accompanied by 

supporting documentation such as 

maps, bibliographic references, or 

reprints of pertinent publications. 

Comments and materials received will 

be available for public inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at the above address (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Peer Review 

The Office of Management and Budget 

issued its Final Information Quality 

Bulletin for Peer Review on December 

16, 2004. The Bulletin went into effect 

June 16, 2005, and generally requires 

that all ‘‘influential scientific 

information’’ and ‘‘highly influential 

scientific information’’ disseminated on 

or after that date be peer reviewed. 

Because the information used to 

evaluate this petition may be considered 

‘‘influential scientific information,’’ we 

solicit the names of recognized experts 

in the field that could serve as peer 

reviewers of such information we may 

disseminate as we evaluate this petition. 

Independent peer reviewers will be 

selected from the academic and 

scientific community, applicable tribal 

and other Native American groups, 

Federal and state agencies, the private 

sector, and public interest groups. 

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

Dated: July 21, 2009. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–17838 Filed 7–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS