60-day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 22, 2020 / Notices

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Conservancy in Maine. In these letters
these organizations expressed their
support of MBI’s application for an ITP.
Of the two additional comments one
commenter was opposed to the killing
of any fish. This is not consistent with
the ESA, which allows for the incidental
take of listed species if certain criteria
are met and a permit is issued by NMFS.
Additionally, lethal take is not
authorized for this permit. The other
commenter seemed confused regarding
the requirements of the ESA and the ITP
process. NMFS and MBI held further
discussions regarding information that
would be incorporated in the
Conservation Plan and a final
application and Conservation Plan was
submitted on July 6, 2020.
Conservation Plan
Section 10 of the ESA specifies that
no permit may be issued unless an
applicant submits an adequate
conservation plan. The conservation
plan prepared by MBI describes
measures designed to minimize and
mitigate the impacts of any incidental
take of ESA-listed shortnose sturgeon,
Atlantic sturgeon and Atlantic salmon.
To avoid and minimize take of ESA
listed species MBI is required to
implement the following minimization
measures: (a) Conduct sampling
between mid-September and midOctober to minimize any encounters
with early life stage or juvenile fish. (b)
MBI will request any recent acoustic
detections of ESA listed species in the
study area and take steps to avoid any
congregations of listed species. (c) Only
trained and qualified MBI crew leaders
and either MBI or Maine Department of
Marine Resources (DMR) agency
technicians will be allowed to carry out
the sampling activities. The MBI crew
leader will review the ESA listed
species minimization and avoidance
procedures with the sampling crew at
the beginning of each sampling day. In
addition Maine DMR procedures
(Bruchs et al. 2016) for electrofishing
will be included in the training and
instructions. (d) Sampling and the
operation of the electrofishing gear will
be done in a manner that minimizes the
potential for injury to the listed species.
The pulse frequency will be reduced to
30–60Hz when sampling in areas of
prior interaction with ESA listed species
to minimize the risk of injury. (e)
Electric current and sampling activity
will cease upon an encounter where a
listed species is observed to be affected
by the electric field. Affected sturgeon,
if immobilized and/or in apparent
distress, may be netted or otherwise
handled in order to ascertain any injury
and to revive if necessary, but the

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individual will not be removed from the
water. Otherwise, affected fish that
leave the electric field under their own
power and appear to be uninjured will
not be pursued and netted. In such
cases, the species identification and
estimation of length will be made
visually. (f) Sampling will not be
conducted when ambient water
temperature is >22 °C per Maine DMR
specifications (Bruchs et al. 2016).
Temperature will be routinely measured
at the start of each electrofishing site,
but will be more frequently monitored
(every 2 hours) when temperatures are
between 20–22 °C. (g) When there is any
interaction with a listed species all
sampling activities will cease and the
electric current will be shut off for a
period of 5 minutes and/or until the
individual fish are released and
determined to have departed the area.
Notation will be made about the
physical condition of the individual in
terms of the reaction to the electric field
and if it was able to leave the area under
its own power. Photographs will be
taken of each interaction to document
occurrence and any evidence of injury.
At present, the project is funded by
MBI research and development funds,
but MBI continues to seek external
funding. This project has been ongoing
for 18 years and is one of the longest
running biological monitoring projects
in New England and the only sustained
effort that focuses on large river fish
assemblages.
Permit 23861
NMFS authorizes the following nonlethal incidental takes:
• Four (adult/subadult) Gulf of Maine
& New York Bight DPS Atlantic
sturgeon;
• Four (adult/subadult) Shortnose
sturgeon; and
• Five (adult/subadult) Gulf of Maine
DPS Atlantic salmon.
National Environmental Policy Act
Issuing an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B)
permit constitutes a Federal action
requiring NMFS to comply with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as
implemented by 40 CFR parts 1500–
1508 and NOAA Administrative Order
216–6, Environmental Review
Procedures for Implementing the
National Policy Act (1999). NMFS has
determined that the activity proposed is
categorically excluded from the
requirement to prepare an
environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement. This
action falls within the B3 category—
Issuance of, and amendments to, ‘‘low
effect’’ Incidental Take Permits and

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their supporting ‘‘low effect’’ Habitat
Conservation Plans under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. Additionally
there are no extraordinary
circumstances with the potential for
significant environmental effects that
would preclude the issuance of this
permit type from being categorically
excluded.
Dated: December 17, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–28228 Filed 12–21–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Weather Modification
Activities Reports
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to comment on
proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before February 22, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
at Adrienne.thomas@noaa.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
0025 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to OAR
Weather Program Office at
Weather.Modification@noaa.gov.
SUMMARY:

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

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83524

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 22, 2020 / Notices

I. Abstract
This is a request for extension of a
currently approved information
collection. The National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration’s Office of
Atmospheric Research (OAR)/Weather
Program Office is conducting this
information collection pursuant to
Section 6(b) of Public Law 92–205. This
law requires that all non-federal weather
modification activities (e.g., cloud
seeding) in the United States (U.S.) and
its territories be reported to the
Secretary of Commerce through NOAA.
This reporting is critical for gauging the
scope of these activities, for determining
the possibility of duplicative operations
or of interference with another project,
for providing a database for checking
atmospheric changes against the
reported activities, and for providing a
single source of information on the
safety and environmental factors used in
weather modification activities in the
U.S. Two forms are collected under this
OMB Control Number: One prior to and
one after the activity. The requirements
are detailed in 15 CFR part 908. This
data is used for scientific research,
historical statistics, international reports
and other purposes.
II. Method of Collection
Respondents have a choice of either
electronic or paper forms. Methods of
submittal include email of electronic
forms, mail and facsimile transmission
of paper forms.
III. Data

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OMB Control Number: 0648–0025.
Form Number(s): NOAA Forms 17–4
and 17–4A.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a current information
collection).

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Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
50.
Estimated Time per Response: 60
minutes per initial report; 30 minutes
per final report.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 75 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $0.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Public Law 92–205,
Weather Modification Reporting Act of
1972.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department/Bureau to: (a)
Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.

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While you may ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2020–28216 Filed 12–21–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–KD–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
[Transmittal No. 20–86]

Arms Sales Notification
Defense Security Cooperation
Agency, Department of Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Arms sales notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of Defense is
publishing the unclassified text of an
arms sales notification.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karma Job at karma.d.job.civ@mail.mil
or (703) 697–8976.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
36(b)(1) arms sales notification is
published to fulfill the requirements of
section 155 of Public Law 104–164
dated July 21, 1996. The following is a
copy of a letter to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Transmittal
20–86 with attached Policy Justification
and Sensitivity of Technology.
SUMMARY:

Dated: December 17, 2020.
Kayyonne T. Marston,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P

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