Draft Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center

• Published date: 19 April 2024
• Citation: 89 FR 28749
• Pages: 28749-28750
• FR Document: 2024-07096
• Section: Notices
• Issuer: Commerce Department,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration

28749

Federal Register/Vol. 89, No. 77/Friday, April 19, 2024/Notices

MBDA awarded thirteen AIANNH

projects during the 2021 competition

cycle under funding opportunity

number MBDA–OBD–2021–2006916.

MBDA designated at least one award in

each of these service locations: (1)

Alaska; (2) California; (3) Northwest

Area (Idaho, Oregon and Washington);

(4) Rocky Mountain Area (Montana and

Wyoming); (5) Western Area (Arizona,

Nevada, and Utah); (6) Southwest Area

(Colorado and New Mexico); (7) Great

Plains Area (Nebraska, North Dakota

and South Dakota); (8) Southern Plains

Area (Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas); (9)

Midwest Area (Iowa, Michigan,

Minnesota, and Wisconsin); (10) Eastern

Area (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut,

Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine,

Massachusetts, Missouri, Mississippi,

New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,

Rhode Island, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West

Virginia); and (11) Hawaii.

The AIANNH project cycle spanned

from September 2021 through August

2023 and was extended through August

2024. The one-year extension allowed

MBDA to conduct an analysis of current

AIANNH projects, outcomes, and

impact and to obtain public feedback

through Tribal consultation and open

comment period for future program

design. The current AIANNH project

awards will expire in August 2024.

II. Consultation Meetings

The purpose of the consultation

meetings is, consistent with E.O. 13175

and DAO 218–8, to provide an

accountable and transparent process

that ensures meaningful and timely

input from Tribal officials regarding

MBDA’s business development and

entrepreneurial services in Indian

Country, Alaska, and Hawaii and the

implications that these programs have

in these communities. The consultation

meetings are closed to the public.

III. Questions for Public Comment

Members of the general public are

invited to submit responses to the

following questions. Please provide

comments on any or all of the following

issues and identify the specific

AIANNH community addressed by

these comments:

1. What is the primary challenge (or

top three challenges) businesses

encounter in AIANNH communities?

What solutions do you think would help

to address the challenge(s)?

2. What are some best practices that

you have seen implemented that

positively address the business

challenges experienced by your

AIANNH community through self-

funded and/or externally funded

programs (e.g., Federal, State, local

government, foundations, etc.)?

3. If you have direct or indirect

experience with a MBDA AIANNH

project, please provide your thoughts on

which services and activities were most

beneficial and which could have been

more effective.

For comments to be considered, they

must include the following

identification of the commenter: name;

title (if applicable); Tribe, Alaska Native

Corporation, or native community (if

applicable); organization or business (if

applicable); city and state; and they

must be submitted in written form at

www.regulations.gov. To access the

docket where comments may be

submitted, please enter ‘‘DOC–2024–

0003’’ in the search bar. Comments must

be received no later than 11:59 p.m.,

EDT, Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Dated: April 16, 2024.

Eric Morrissette,

Acting Under Secretary, Minority Business

Development Agency, U.S. Department of

Commerce.

[FR Doc. 2024–08414 Filed 4–17–24; 11:15 am]

BILLING CODE P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Draft Supplemental Programmatic

Environmental Assessment for

Fisheries Research Conducted and

Funded by the Alaska Fisheries

Science Center

AGENCY

: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

US Department of Commerce.

ACTION

: Notice of availability of a Draft

Supplemental Programmatic

Environmental Assessment; request for

comments.

SUMMARY

: NMFS announces the

availability of the ‘‘Draft Supplemental

Programmatic Environmental

Assessment (SPEA) for Fisheries

Research Conducted and Funded by the

Alaska Fisheries Science Center.’’

Publication of this notice begins the

official public comment period for this

SPEA. The purpose of this Draft SPEA

is to evaluate potential direct, indirect,

and cumulative effects of changes in

research that were not analyzed in the

2019 Alaska Fisheries Science Center

(AFSC) Programmatic Environmental

Assessment (PEA), or new research

activities in the North Pacific Ocean and

marine waters off of Alaska. Where

necessary, updates to certain

information on species, stock status or

other components of the affected

environment that may result in different

conclusions from the 2019 PEA are

presented in this analysis.

DATES

: Comments and information must

be received no later than June 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES

: Comments on the Draft

SPEA should be addressed to Rebecca

Reuter, Environmental Compliance

Coordinator, NOAA/NMFS/AFSC, 7600

Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.

The mailbox address for providing

email comments is: nmfs.afsc.spea@

noaa.gov NMFS is not responsible for

email comments sent to addresses other

than the one provided here. Comments

sent via email, including all

attachments, must not exceed a 10-

megabyte file size.

A copy of the Draft SPEA may be

obtained by writing to the address

specified above, telephoning the contact

listed below (see

FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT

), or visiting the

internet at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/action/supplemental-

programmatic-environmental-

assessment-fisheries-research-

conducted-and-funded. Documents

cited in this notice may also be viewed,

by appointment, during regular business

hours at the aforementioned address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Rebecca Reuter, email: rebecca.reuter@

noaa.gov, phone: (206) 526–4234.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: The AFSC

is the research arm of NMFS in the

Alaska Region. The purpose of AFSC

fisheries research is to produce

scientific information necessary for the

management and conservation of living

marine resources in the North Pacific

Ocean and marine waters off of Alaska.

AFSC’s research is needed to promote

both the long-term sustainability of the

resource and the recovery of certain

species, while generating social and

economic opportunities and benefits

from their use. The AFSC provides

scientific data and technical advice to a

variety of management organizations

and stakeholder groups, including the

NMFS Alaska Regional Office, North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(NPFMC), State of Alaska, Alaska

coastal subsistence communities, and

U.S. representatives participating in

international fishery and marine

mammal negotiations, as well as the

fishing industry, environmental non-

governmental organizations and other

constituents.

NMFS has prepared the Draft SPEA

under the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate several

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28750

Federal Register/Vol. 89, No. 77/Friday, April 19, 2024/Notices

alternatives for conducting and funding

fisheries and ecosystem research

activities as the primary Federal action.

Additionally, in the Draft SPEA, NMFS

evaluates a related action—also called a

‘‘connected action’’ under 40 CFR

1508.25 of the Council on

Environmental Quality’s regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions

of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)—

which is the proposed promulgation of

regulations and authorization of the take

of marine mammal incidental to the

fisheries research under the Marine

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

Additionally, because the proposed

research activities occur in areas

inhabited by species of marine

mammals, birds, sea turtles and fish

listed under the Endangered Species Act

(ESA) as threatened or endangered, this

Draft SPEA evaluates activities that

could result in unintentional takes of

ESA-listed marine species.

The following two alternatives are

currently evaluated in the Draft SPEA:

•Alternative 1—Continue current

fisheries and ecosystem research (Status

Quo/no action) as described in the 2019

AFSC PEA.

•Alternative 2—Conduct current

research with some modifications as

well as new research activities that are

planned for the future (i.e., 2024—

2029). New future research proposed

under Alternative 2 was not previously

analyzed in the 2019 PEA.

The alternatives include a program of

fisheries and ecosystem research

projects conducted or funded by the

AFSC as the primary Federal action.

Because this primary action is

connected to a secondary Federal

action, to consider authorizing

incidental take of marine mammals

under the MMPA, NMFS must identify

as part of this evaluation ‘‘(t)he means

of effecting the least practicable adverse

impact on the species or stock and its

habitat.’’ (section 101(a)(5)(A) of the

MMPA [16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.]) NMFS

must therefore identify and evaluate a

reasonable range of mitigation measures

to minimize impacts to protected

species that occur in AFSC research

areas. These mitigation measures are

considered as part of the identified

alternatives in order to evaluate their

effectiveness to minimize potential

adverse environmental impacts. The

two action alternatives also include

mitigation measures intended to

minimize potentially adverse

interaction with other protected species

that occur within the action area.

Protected species include all marine

mammals, which are covered under the

MMPA, all species listed under the

ESA, and bird species protected under

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Potential direct and indirect effects on

the environment are evaluated under

each alternative in the Draft SPEA. The

environmental effects on the following

resources are considered: physical

environment, special resource areas,

fish, marine mammals, birds, sea turtles,

invertebrates, and the social and

economic environment. Cumulative

effects of external actions and the

contribution of fisheries research

activities to the overall cumulative

impact on the aforementioned resources

is also evaluated in the Draft SPEA for

the geographic regions in which AFSC

surveys are conducted.

NMFS requests comments on the

Draft SPEA for Fisheries Research

Conducted and Funded by the National

Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska

Fisheries Science Center. Please

include, with your comments, any

supporting data or literature citations

that may be informative in

substantiating your comment.

Dated: March 29, 2024.

Robert Foy,

Science and Research Director, Alaska

Fisheries Science Center, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 2024–07096 Filed 4–18–24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[RTID 0648–XD884]

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 Center of Independent

Experts (CIE) review of the Gulf of

Alaska walleye pollock stock

assessment will be held in May, in

Seattle, WA.

DATES

: The meeting will be held on

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 through

Thursday, May 9, 2024, from 10 a.m. to

5 p.m., Pacific Time.

ADDRESSES

:

Meeting address: The meeting will be

in-person only and will be held in Room

2079 on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 and in

Room 2143 on May 8–9, 2024, at the

Alaska Fishery Science Center, Sand

Point Way NE, Building 4, Seattle, WA

98115.

If you plan to attend, you need to

notify Cole Monnahan

(cole.monnahan@noaa.gov) at least 2

days prior to the meeting (or 2 weeks

prior if you are a foreign national). You

will also need a valid U.S. Identification

Card.

Council address: North Pacific

Fishery Management Council, 1007 W

3rd Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501–2252;

telephone: (907) 271–2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

: Cole

Monnahan, Alaska Fishery Science

Center staff; phone: (206) 526–4224;

email: cole.monnahan@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:

Agenda

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Through

Thursday, May 9, 2024

The CIE will review the Gulf of

Alaska walleye pollock stock

assessment input data and model. The

agenda is subject to change, and the

latest version will be posted at https://

apps-afsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/Plan_

Team/2024_GOA_pollock_cie/ prior to

the meeting, along with meeting

materials.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: April 16, 2024.

Rey Israel Marquez,

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 2024–08402 Filed 4–18–24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[RTID 0648–XD882]

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;

Meeting of the Atlantic Highly

Migratory Species Advisory Panel

AGENCY

: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION

: Notice of public meeting and

webinar/conference call.

SUMMARY

: NMFS will hold a 3-day

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species

(HMS) Advisory Panel (AP) meeting in

May 2024. The intent of the meeting is

to consider options for the conservation

and management of Atlantic HMS. The

meeting is open to the public.

DATES

: The AP meeting and webinar

will be held on Tuesday, May 14, from

9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET; Wednesday, May

15, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET; and

Thursday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 12

p.m. ET.

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