[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 223 (Friday, November 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 70903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-29259]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA018
Eastern North Pacific Gray Whale; Notice of Extension of Public
Comment Period on Marine Mammal Protection Act Petition
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of availability; extension of public comment
period.
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SUMMARY: On November 9, 2010, NMFS announced receipt of a petition to
designate the Eastern North Pacific population of gray whales
(Eschrichtius robustus) as a depleted stock under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) and solicited comments on the petition. NMFS is
extending the public comment period on the petition until December 8,
2010.
DATES: Comments must be received by close of business on December 8,
2010.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the petition may be requested from Chief, Marine
Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
You may submit comments, identified by 0648-XA018, by any one of
the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal
http:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov.
Fax: 301-713-0376, Attn: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea
Turtle Conservation Division.
Mail: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation
Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Instructions: No comments will be posted for public viewing until
after the comment period has closed. All comments received are a part
of the public record and will generally be posted to
http:[sol][sol]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). You may submit attachments to
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Shannon Bettridge or Dr. Gregory
Silber, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD, (301) 713-
2322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
Interested persons may obtain the petition for review on the
Internet at the following address:
http:[sol][sol]www.nmfs.noaa.gov[sol]pr[sol] or by contacting Dr.
Shannon Bettridge or Dr. Gregory Silber (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
The 2008 stock assessment report for Eastern North Pacific gray
whales is available on the Internet at the following address:
http:[sol][sol]www.nmfs.noaa.gov[sol]pr[sol]pdfs[sol]sars[sol]ak2008whgr
-en.pdf. The Draft 2010 stock assessment report for Eastern North
Pacific gray whales is available on the Internet at the following
address:
http:[sol][sol]www.nmfs.noaa.gov[sol]pr[sol]pdfs[sol]sars[sol]ak2010--
draft.pdf.
Background
The MMPA provides for interested parties to submit a petition to
designate a population stock of marine mammals as depleted. Section
115(a)(3) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1383b(a)(3)) requires NMFS to publish
a notice in the Federal Register that such a petition has been received
and is available for public review. Within 60 days of receiving a
petition, NMFS must publish a finding in the Federal Register as to
whether the petition presents substantial information indicating that
the petitioned action may be warranted.
On November 9, 2010, NMFS published a notice announcing receipt of
a petition to designate the Eastern North Pacific population of gray
whales (Eschrichtius robustus) as a depleted stock under the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and solicited comments on the petition (75
FR 68756). That Federal Register notice began NMFS' 15-day public
comment period ending on November 24, 2010. NMFS received the petition
on October 21, 2010, and therefore must publish its 60-day finding no
later than December 20, 2010.
NMFS subsequently received a request by the petitioners, the
California Gray Whale Coalition, to extend the public comment period by
15 days to provide interested parties additional time to review the
petition, compile additional materials, and prepare comments for
submission to the agency. Since then, NMFS has received other requests
to extend the public comment period. In this notice NMFS is extending
the public comment period until December 8, 2010, to allow adequate
time for the public to review and comment on the petition while
allowing the agency sufficient time to thoughtfully consider public
comments. To provide a more extended public comment period would
preclude NMFS from meeting its statutory requirements under the MMPA to
provide a determination within 60 days.
Dated: November 16, 2010.
David Cottingham,
Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-29259 Filed 11-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P