[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13955-13957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06611]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG041
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Marine
Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a PEIS; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (CEQ), the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces its intention to prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to evaluate
potential environmental effects associated with continued
implementation of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response
Program
[[Page 13956]]
(MMHSRP). In addition, this PEIS will address changes to increase
efficiencies made in the program since the initial MMHSRP PEIS was
published in 2009. These updates include changes to the Best Practices
for Marine Mammal Stranding Response, Rehabilitation and Release
(Policies and Practices), as well as other aspects of the program
including large whale entanglement response, health surveillance,
research, morbidity and mortality investigations, and assessments.
DATES: Comments must be received by June 1, 2018. Scoping meetings are
scheduled as follows:
1. May 1, 2018, 3 p.m. EDT--Webinar (Registration Required)
2. May 15, 2018, 3:30 p.m. EDT--Webinar (Registration Required)
3. May 18, 2018, 3 p.m. EDT--(valid ID compliant with the REAL ID Act
required)--NOAA Science Center, 1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,
MD
4. May 21, 2018, 10:30 a.m. EDT--Webinar (Registration Required)
ADDRESSES: Those wishing to attend either the webinars or in-person
meeting must register at https://mmhsrp-peis.eventbrite.com. Valid ID
that is compliant with the REAL ID Act is required to attend the in-
person scoping meeting on May 18, 2018. Further information on types of
ID that comply with this Act can be found at https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs. Foreign nationals wishing to attend the in-person
meeting must contact Stephen Manley 30 days in advance.
NMFS invites comments from all interested parties regarding the
scope and content of a PEIS for changes and updates to the MMHSRP. For
additional background and reference, the previous MMHSRP PEIS published
in 2009 is available in electronic form via the internet at https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/4939. Comments may be submitted
using either of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0036, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon,
complete the required fields and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Send comments to: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle
Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-
3226, Attn: MMHSRP PEIS.
Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public
record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name,
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender is publicly
accessible. NMFS will also accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in
the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Manley, NMFS, Office of
Protected Resources, 301-427-8402, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA; 16
U.S.C. 1421), NMFS implements the MMHSRP. The mandated goals and
purposes of the MMHSRP are to: (1) Facilitate the collection and
dissemination of reference data on the health of marine mammals and
health trends of marine mammal populations in the wild; (2) correlate
the health of marine mammals and marine mammal populations in the wild,
with available data on physical, chemical, and biological environmental
parameters; and (3) coordinate effective responses to unusual mortality
events in accordance with section 404 of the MMPA.
To meet the goals of the MMPA, the MMHSRP carries out several
important activities, including: Coordinating the National Marine
Mammal Stranding Network, the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue
Assistance Grant Program, the National Marine Mammal Entanglement
Response Program, the Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event and
Emergency Response Programs, the Marine Mammal Biomonitoring Program,
the Marine Mammal Tissue Bank, the Marine Mammal Analytical Quality
Assurance Program, the MMHSRP Information Management Program, and the
facilitation of several regional health assessment programs on wild
marine mammals.
Individuals, groups and organizations throughout the country have
been responding to stranded marine mammals for decades. After the
passage of Title IV of the MMPA in 1992, NMFS began the process of
codifying the roles, responsibilities, and activities of participant
organizations in the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network through a
Stranding Agreement (SA), issued under MMPA section 112(c) (16 U.S.C.
1382) and through the 109(h) authority for Federal, state, and local
government employees (16 U.S.C. 1379). By issuing SAs under section
112(c), NMFS allows stranding network response organizations, acting as
agents of the government, an exemption to the prohibition on takes of
marine mammals established under the MMPA. A standardized national
template for SAs was developed, including sections that may be
customized by each region in order to maintain flexibility. NMFS also
developed a list of minimum criteria for organizations wishing to
obtain a SA and participate in the stranding network. NMFS proposes to
modify both the template and the list of minimum criteria to become a
member of the stranding network. Additionally, NMFS has national
protocols to help standardize the stranding network across the country
while maintaining regional flexibility where appropriate. These
protocols, as well as the SAs and minimum criteria, were analyzed in
the initial PEIS and were issued in 2009 as one consolidated manual,
titled ``Policies and Best Practices for Marine Mammal Stranding
Response, Rehabilitation and Release'' (Policies and Practices). The
MMHSRP will update these documents to reflect the information gained
from and the developments in marine mammal emergency response that have
occurred over the past decade, and would like to identify the scope of
issues that should be addressed.
Stranded marine mammals undergoing rehabilitation and the
facilities conducting rehabilitation activities are not subject to
inspection or review by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) under the United States Department of Agriculture, if they are
not also a public display facility (separate from their rehabilitation
activities) or a research facility. These facilities are therefore not
subject to APHIS minimum requirements for facilities, husbandry, or
veterinary standards. Previously, NMFS developed minimum standards for
marine mammal rehabilitation facilities that are required of all
facilities operating under a SA with NMFS. Additionally, section 402(a)
(16 U.S.C. 1421a) of the MMPA charges NMFS with providing guidance for
determining at what point a rehabilitated marine mammal is releasable
to the wild. Standards for release of rehabilitated marine mammals were
developed by NMFS and are part of the Policies and Practices document.
NMFS proposes to review the rehabilitation guidelines, as well as the
criteria for release of rehabilitated
[[Page 13957]]
marine mammals into the wild and update these documents, as necessary.
In addition, the MMHSRP maintains a permit from the NMFS Office of
Protected Resources Permits and Conservation, issued under the MMPA (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit
authorizes the MMHSRP to carry out stranding and entanglement response,
rescue, rehabilitation, and release of threatened and endangered marine
mammals and conduct health-related scientific research studies on
marine mammals and marine mammal parts. The current permit issued to
the MMHSRP will expire on June 30, 2020. For additional information
about the MMHSRP, the national stranding network, and other related
information, please visit our website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-in-distress/marine-mammal-health-and-stranding-response-program.
NEPA, CEQ Regulations (40 CFR 1500.4(i), 1502.4 and 1502.20) and
NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A require all proposals for major
actions to be reviewed with respect to environmental consequences on
the human environment and encourage the use of programmatic NEPA
documents and tiering to streamline decision making in a process that
progresses from programmatic analyses to site-specific reviews. NMFS
determined a programmatic approach is appropriate because multiple
activities are conducted in support of the MMHSRP and activities occur
nationally, over large geographical areas. Therefore, the analysis in
the PEIS will support NMFS planning-level decisions associated with
oversight and implementation of the MMHRSP and establish the framework
and parameters for subsequent analyses based on the programmatic
review. In addition, NMFS will rely on this PEIS for permitted
activities as well as the basis for tiering in site-specific NEPA
review.
Purpose and Scope of the Action
NMFS is proposing to continue coordinating and implementing the
MMHSRP. Using a programmatic approach, NMFS will identify and prepare a
qualitative analysis of environmental impacts covering a range of
activities conducted in support of the MMHSRP program, including the
issuance of revised Policies and Best Practices, revised protocols and
procedures, and a new MMPA/ESA permit for this program. Resource areas
to be addressed in this analysis include, but are not limited to,
biological resources (notably marine mammals, threatened and endangered
species, fish and other wildlife species and their habitat), sediments
and water quality, historic and cultural resources, socioeconomics and
tourism, and public health and safety. This PEIS will supersede the
initial PEIS published in 2009 and will assess the potential
environmental effects of marine mammal health and stranding response
under a range of alternatives characterized by different methods,
mitigation measures, and level of response. For all potentially
significant impacts, the proposed PEIS will identify avoidance,
minimization and mitigation measures to reduce these impacts, where
feasible, to a level below significance.
The scoping process will be used to identify public concerns along
with national and local issues to be addressed in the PEIS. Federal
agencies, state agencies, local agencies, Native American Indian Tribes
and Nations, the public, and interested persons are encouraged to
identify specific issues or topics of environmental concern that NMFS
should consider. Public participation is invited by providing written
comments to NMFS and/or attending the scoping meetings and webinars.
Special Accommodations
The in-person meeting is physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Stephen Manley (see ADDRESSES) at
least 5 days prior to the meeting date.
Dated: March 28, 2018.
Elaine T. Saiz,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-06611 Filed 3-30-18; 8:45 am]
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