Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2017 / Notices 49331 

Small Numbers 

As noted above, only small numbers 

of incidental take may be authorized 

under Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA 

for specified activities other than 

military readiness activities. The MMPA 

does not define small numbers; so, in 

practice, where estimated numbers are 

available, NMFS compares the number 

of individuals taken to the most 

appropriate estimation of abundance of 

the relevant species or stock in our 

determination of whether an 

authorization is limited to small 

numbers of marine mammals. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. Table 8 provides numbers of 

take by Level A harassment and Level 

B harassment authorized. These are the 

numbers we use for purposes of the 

small numbers analysis. 

The numbers of marine mammals that 

we authorize to be taken, for all species 

and stocks, would be considered small 

relative to the relevant stocks or 

populations (less than 7 percent for all 

species and stocks). Based on the 

analysis contained herein of the 

planned activity (including the 

mitigation and monitoring measures) 

and the anticipated take of marine 

mammals, NMFS finds that small 

numbers of marine mammals will be 

taken relative to the population size of 

the affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stocks or 

species implicated by this action. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

the total taking of affected species or 

stocks will not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.) requires that each Federal agency 

insure that any action it authorizes, 

funds, or carries out is not likely to 

jeopardize the continued existence of 

any endangered or threatened species or 

result in the destruction or adverse 

modification of designated critical 

habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for 

the issuance of IHAs, NMFS consults 

internally, in this case with the ESA 

Interagency Cooperation Division, 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

The NMFS Permits and Conservation 

Division are authorizing the incidental 

take of 5 species of marine mammals 

which are listed under the ESA: The 

humpback whale (Mexico DPS), sei 

whale, fin whale, blue whale and sperm 

whale. Under Section 7 of the ESA, we 

initiated consultation with the NMFS 

OPR Interagency Cooperation Division 

for the issuance of this IHA. In 

September, 2017, the NMFS OPR 

Interagency Cooperation Division issued 

a Biological Opinion with an incidental 

take statement, which concluded that 

the issuance of the IHA was not likely 

to jeopardize the continued existence of 

the humpback whale (Mexico DPS), sei 

whale, fin whale, blue whale and sperm 

whale. The Biological Opinion also 

concluded that the issuance of the IHA 

would not destroy or adversely modify 

designated critical habitat for these 

species. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued an IHA to the SIO 

for the potential harassment of small 

numbers of 27 marine mammal species 

incidental to a low-energy marine 

geophysical survey in the northeast 

Pacific Ocean, provided the previously 

mentioned mitigation, monitoring and 

reporting requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: October 19, 2017. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23132 Filed 10–24–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

National Integrated Drought 

Information System (NIDIS), NIDIS 

Executive Council Meeting 

AGENCY: Climate Program Office (CPO), 

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Research (OAR), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The National Integrated 

Drought Information System (NIDIS) 

Program Office will hold an 

organizational meeting of the NIDIS 

Executive Council on October 24, 2017. 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Tuesday, October 24, 2017 from 9:00 

a.m. EST to 4:00 p.m. EST. These times 

and the agenda topics described below 

are subject to change. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the National Association of Counties, 

660 North Capitol St. NW., Washington, 

DC 20001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Veva Deheza, NIDIS Executive Director, 

David Skaggs Research Center, Room 

GD102, 325 Broadway, Boulder CO 

80305. Email: Veva.Deheza@noaa.gov; 

or visit the NIDIS Web site at 

www.drought.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Status: This meeting will be open to 

public participation. Individuals 

interested in attending should register at 

https://cpaess.ucar.edu/meetings/2017/ 

fall-2017-nidis-executive-councilmeeting. Please refer to this Web page 

for the most up-to-date meeting times 

and agenda. Seating at the meeting will 

be available on a first-come, first-served 

basis. 

Special Accommodations: This 

meeting is physically accessible to 

people with disabilities. Requests for 

special accommodations may be 

directed no later than 12:00 p.m. on 

October 18, 2017, to Elizabeth 

Ossowski, Program Coordinator, David 

Skaggs Research Center, Room GD102, 

325 Broadway, Boulder CO 80305; 

Email: Elizabeth.Ossowski@noaa.gov. 

Matters To Be Considered: The 

meeting will include the following 

topics: (1) NIDIS implementation 

updates and 2017—2018 priorities, (2) 

Executive Council member updates and 

2017—2018 priorities, (3) Federal 

coordination around drought early 

warning, (4) Sub-seasonal to seasonal 

prediction, (5) Private sector and nongovernmental partner engagement, and 

(6) open discussion on advancing the 

goals of the NIDIS Public Law and 

Reauthorization. 

The National Integrated Drought 

Information System (NIDIS) was 

established by Public Law 109–430 on 

December 20, 2006, and reauthorized by 

Public Law 113–86 on March 6, 2014, 

with a mandate to provide an effective 

drought early warning system for the 

United States; coordinate, and integrate 

as practicable, Federal research in 

support of a drought early warning 

system; and build upon existing 

forecasting and assessment programs 

and partnerships. See 15 U.S.C. 313d. 

The Public Law also calls for 

consultation with ‘‘relevant Federal, 

regional, State, tribal, and local 

government agencies, research 

institutions, and the private sector’’ in 

the development of NIDIS. 15 U.S.C. 

313d(c). The NIDIS Executive Council 

provides the NIDIS Program Office with 

an opportunity to engage in individual 

consultation with senior resource 

officials from NIDIS’s Federal partners, 

as well as leaders from state and local 

government, academia, 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
49332 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2017 / Notices 

nongovernmental organizations, and the 

private sector. 

Dated: September 28, 2017. 

David Holst, 

Acting Chief Financial Officer/CAO, Office 

of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21577 Filed 10–23–17; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KD–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF788 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) 

Groundfish Plan Team will meet 

November 13 through November 17, 

2017. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Monday, November 13, 2017 to Friday, 

November 17, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m. Pacific Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Alaska Fishery Science Center, 

Traynor Room 2076, 7600 Sand Point 

Way NE., Building 4, Seattle, WA 

98115. 

Council address: North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 

4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 

99501–2252; telephone: (907) 271–2809. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diana Stram or Jim Armstrong, Council 

staff; telephone: (907) 271–2809. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

Monday, November 13 to Friday, 

November 17, 2017 

The Plan Teams will compile and 

review the annual Groundfish Stock 

Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 

(SAFE) reports, (including the Economic 

Report, the Ecosystems/assessment and 

status report, and the stock assessments 

for BSAI and GOA groundfishes), and 

recommend final groundfish harvest 

specifications for 2017/2018. 

The Agenda is subject to change, and 

the latest version will be posted at 

http://www.npfmc.org/fisherymanagement-plan-team/goa-bsaigroundfish-plan-team/. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Shannon Gleason 

at (907) 271–2809 at least 7 working 

days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: October 20, 2017. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23190 Filed 10–24–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF507 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Boost-Back and 

Landing of Falcon 9 Rockets 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental 

harassment authorization; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from Space Exploration Technology 

Corporation (SpaceX) for authorization 

to take marine mammals incidental to 

boost-back and landing of Falcon 9 

rockets at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 

California, and at contingency landing 

locations in the Pacific Ocean. Pursuant 

to the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments 

on its proposal to issue an incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to 

SpaceX to incidentally take marine 

mammals, by Level B harassment only, 

during the specified activity. NMFS will 

consider public comments prior to 

making any final decision on the 

issuance of the requested MMPA 

authorizations and agency responses 

will be summarized in the final notice 

of our decision. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than November 24, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. Physical 

comments should be sent to 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 

and electronic comments should be sent 

to ITP.Carduner@noaa.gov. 

Instructions: NMFS is not responsible 

for comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. Comments received 

electronically, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word or Excel or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted online at 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental/research.htm without 

change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jordan Carduner, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

Electronic copies of the application and 

supporting documents, as well as a list 

of the references cited in this document, 

may be obtained online at: 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental/research.htm. In case of 

problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce to allow, 

upon request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

An authorization for incidental 

takings shall be granted if NMFS finds 

that the taking will have a negligible 

impact on the species or stock(s), will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 

relevant), and if the permissible 

methods of taking and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. 

NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact 

resulting from the specified activity that 

cannot be reasonably expected to, and is 

not reasonably likely to, adversely affect 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES