60-day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices
OMB Control Number: 0648–0538.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular [Revision
and extension of a current information
collection.].
Number of Respondents: 736.
Average Hours per Response: 3 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,208
hours.
Needs and Uses: This request is for a
revision and extension of a currently
approved information collection
through the Environmental Compliance
Questionnaire for National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Federal
Financial Assistance Applicants
(Questionnaire). This Questionnaire is
used by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to
collect information about proposed
activities for the purpose of complying
with the National Environmental Policy
Act (‘‘NEPA,’’ 42 U.S.C. 4321–4370) and
other environmental compliance
requirements associated with proposed
activities. NEPA requires federal
agencies to complete an environmental
analysis for all major federal actions,
including funding non-federal activities
through federal financial assistance
awards where federal participation in
the funded activity is expected to be
significant. The Questionnaire is used in
conjunction with NOAA Notices of
Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
The NOFO will indicate the specific
questions to which an applicant must
respond in one of three ways: (1) The
applicable questions are inserted
directly into the NOFO with reference to
the OMB Approval Number (0648–0538)
for this form; (2) the NOFO will specify
which questions (e.g., 1, 2) an applicant
must answer, with the entire OMBapproved Questionnaire attached to the
NOFO; or (3) applicants to be
recommended for funding will be
required to answer relevant questions
from the Questionnaire. The federal
program officer will determine which
questions are relevant to each specific
applicant. Answers must be provided
before the application can be submitted
for final funding approval. This
Questionnaire has been revised to (1)
remove repetitive questions; (2) revise
specific questions to use plain language;
and (3) add 18 new questions that
would be helpful to a wider range of
NOAA programs.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit
organizations; Not-for-profit
institutions; State, Local, or Tribal
government.
Frequency: Required when
responding to a NOFO.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain Benefits.

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Legal Authority: National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
4321–4370).
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0648–0538.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2021–20486 Filed 9–21–21; 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; Submission of Conservation
Efforts To Make Listings Unnecessary
Under the Endangered Species Act
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Information
Collection, 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 a
request for extension of a currently
approved information collection to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB).
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
extension of an information collection
must be received on or before November
22, 2021.
SUMMARY:

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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–
0466 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.

ADDRESSES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to Lisa
Manning, National Marine Fisheries
Service at 301–427–8466 or
Lisa.Manning@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS), Office of Protected Resources,
is sponsoring a request for extension of
a currently approved information
collection.
Under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA), determinations whether to list
species as endangered or threatened
must be based on the best scientific and
commercial data available, including
consideration of those efforts, if any,
being made by any state or foreign
nation (or any of their political
subdivisions) to protect the particular
species. On March 28, 2003, NMFS and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the
‘‘Services’’) announced a final policy on
the criteria the Services will use to
evaluate certain conservation efforts by
states, tribes, and other non-federal
entities when making listing
determinations under the ESA (68 FR
15100). The conservation efforts usually
involve the development of a
conservation plan or agreement,
procedures for monitoring the
effectiveness of the plan or agreement,
and an annual report.
The development of conservation
plans could prevent some species from
becoming so imperiled that the only
recourse is to add them to the list of
threatened and endangered species
under the Endangered Species Act. The
purpose of this policy is to encourage
such plans and to give applicants
guidance about how NMFSs will
evaluate such plans. This policy
identifies criteria for evaluating the
certainty of implementation and
effectiveness of a conservation effort.
NMFS developed this policy to ensure
consistent and adequate evaluation of
agreements and plans in making listing
decisions and to help States and other
entities develop agreements and plans
that will be adequate to make listing
species unnecessary.

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices

II. Method of Collection
NMFS does not require, but does
accept, conservation plans and reports
electronically. NMFS has not developed
a form to be used for submission of
plans or reports. In the past, NMFS has
made plans and annual reports from
states available through the internet and
plans to continue this practice.

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. 2021–20488 Filed 9–21–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0466.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
information collection).
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; State, local or tribal
governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Time per Response: 2,500
hours to complete each agreement or
plan that has the intention of making
listing unnecessary; 320 hours to
conduct monitoring for successful
agreements; and 80 hours to prepare a
report for successful agreements.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 3,300.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $150.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: ESA (16 U.S.C. 1533).
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit NMFS 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 information
collection request. 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. While
you may ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XB358]

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to Elkhorn Slough
Tidal Marsh Restoration Project, Phase
III in Monterey County, California
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental
harassment authorization.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, notification is hereby given
that NMFS has issued an incidental
harassment authorization (IHA) to the
California Department of Fish and
Wildlife (CDFW) to incidentally harass,
by Level B harassment only, marine
mammals during restoration activity
associated with the Elkhorn Slough
Tidal Marsh Restoration Project, Phase
III, in Monterey Bay, California.
DATES: This authorization is effective
from September 16, 2021 through
September 15, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim
Corcoran, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, (301) 427–8401. Electronic
copies of the original application and
supporting documents (including NMFS
FR notices of the prior authorizations),
as well as a list of the references cited
in this document, may be obtained
online at: https://www.fisheries.
noaa.gov/permit/incidental-takeauthorizations-under-marine-mammalprotection-act. In case of problems
accessing these documents, please call
the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

Background
The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of
marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and
(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce

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(as delegated to NMFS) 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
incidental take authorization may be
provided to the public for review.
Authorization for incidental takings
shall be granted if NMFS finds that the
taking will have a negligible impact on
the species or stock(s) and will not have
an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for
taking for subsistence uses (where
relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe
the permissible methods of taking and
other ‘‘means of effecting the least
practicable adverse impact’’ on the
affected species or stocks and their
habitat, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of
similar significance, and on the
availability of such species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses
(referred to in shorthand as
‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring
and reporting of such takings are set
forth.
The definitions of all applicable
MMPA statutory terms cited above are
included in the relevant sections below.
Summary of Request
On June 14, 2021, NMFS received a
request from CDFW for an IHA to take
marine mammals incidental to the
Elkhorn Slough Restoration Project,
Phase III, at the Seal Bend Restoration
Area in Monterey Country, CA. The
application was deemed adequate and
complete on July 27, 2021. CDFW’s
request is for take of a small number of
Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) by
Level B harassment only. Neither CDFW
nor NMFS expects serious injury or
mortality to result from this activity
and, therefore, an IHA is appropriate.
NMFS previously issued an IHA to
CDFW for Phase I (82 FR 16800; April
6, 2017) and Phase II (85 FR 14640;
March 13, 2020) of the Elkhorn Slough
Restoration Project. Restoration work
under the 2020 IHA at the MinhotoHester and Seal Bend restoration areas
was expected to be completed within
180 days within the 1-year timeframe of
the IHA. However, on May 3, 2021
CDFW informed NMFS that the
estimated 180 days of construction for
both the Minhoto-Hester and Seal Bend
Restoration Areas would not be enough
to complete the project. This
preliminary estimate did not adequately

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