[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12474-12475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05236]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE448
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment for
Oil and Gas Activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska in 2016
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Services announces the
availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the
environmental impacts of issuing annual Incidental Take Authorizations
(ITAs) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) for the
taking of marine mammals incidental to oil and gas activities in Cook
Inlet, AK during 2016. The Draft EA is available for review and comment
at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/energy_other.htm.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than March
28, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft EA should be addressed to Jolie
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910. The mailbox address for providing email
comments is [email protected]. Comments sent via email, including all
attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. NMFS is not
responsible for comments sent to addresses other than those provided
here.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm 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.
An electronic copy of the Draft EA 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: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Young, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8484.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 12, 2015, NMFS published a Notice
of Intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Assessment on the
Issuance of Incidental Take Authorizations in Cook Inlet, Alaska in
2016 (80 FR 48299), to help NMFS assess the effects of multiple one-
year incidental take authorizations and consider mitigation and
monitoring measures in the context of the multiple activities. In
furtherance of that goal NMFS requested applicants for ITAs to submit
their applications by October 1 of the year preceding the requested ITA
[[Page 12475]]
year. NMFS received applications for ITAs from ExxonMobil Alaska LNG
LLC (see 81 FR 6376, February 5, 2016) (Notice of Proposed Incidental
Harassment Authorization); SAExploration Inc.; and BlueCrest Alaska
Operating LLC. Potential impacts from these actions are assessed in the
Draft EA available at the above web address.
On February 5, 2016, NMFS published a Proposed Issuance of an
Incidental Take Authorization for ExxonMobil Alaska LNG LLC (see 81 FR
6376, February 5, 2016), which stated that the Draft EA would be
available for review concurrently with the proposed Authorization. The
Draft EA was not available for the majority of the public comment
period of the proposed Authorization. Due to the delay in making the
Draft EA publically available, NMFS will be accepting public comment on
the Draft EA until March 28, 2016.
Dated: March 3, 2016.
Perry F. Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-05236 Filed 3-8-16; 8:45 am]
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