[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 82 (Friday, April 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10246]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 29, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 042294C]
Marine Mammals
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of additional public hearing on scientific research
permit application (P557A) and extension of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: In response to numerous requests, NMFS will hold an additional
public hearing and will extend the public comment period on this
application for a scientific research permit to allow harassment of
marine mammals and sea turtles by a low frequency sound source and
monitor its effects.
DATES: A public hearing will be held in California on May 16, 1994,
from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church
Street, Santa Cruz, California, co-sponsored with the Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary. The period from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. will be
allotted for the applicant to provide a brief description of an updated
research program.
ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for
review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289);
Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, NOAA, 501 West Ocean Boulevard,
suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 (310/980-4016); and
Sanctuary Manager, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, National
Ocean Service, 2560 Garden Road, #101, Monterey, CA 93940 (408/647-
4257).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All non-Government organizations and
scientists who wish to present prepared testimony should contact Aaron
King, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, at the address above or
telephone 408/647-4257 or 408/647-4250 (facsimile) at least 48 hours in
advance of the hearing so that a general agenda can be prepared. People
who are deaf or hearing impaired may place a call through the
California Relay Service at 800/735-2922.
A written copy of each testimony to be presented is requested on
the day of the hearing. It is advised to use slides or overheads only
if absolutely necessary during presentations, and copies of any slides
or overheads used are requested to be made available to NMFS on the day
of the hearing.
Other people who are interested in making a statement at this
hearing should bring a written copy of the statement to the hearing,
and will be given an opportunity to make such statements following the
prepared testimonies. Anyone who needs additional information or
requires special accommodations to attend the public hearing should
contact Aaron King at least 7 days in advance of the hearing.
Additional written comments may be sent to the following address:
Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West
Highway, room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or may be sent by
facsimile, if necessary, to 301/713-0376, and must be received by close
of business May 31, 1994.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An application for a scientific research
permit has been submitted by Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Acoustic Thermometry of
Ocean Climate Program, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0225.
On February 3, 1994, notice was published in the Federal Register
(59 FR 5177) that a request for a scientific research permit (P557A)
was submitted, to take by incidental harassment several species of
marine mammals and sea turtles for purposes of scientific research in
waters off the coast of Pt. Sur, California.
On March 10, 1994, notice was published in the Federal Register (59
FR 11254) that a public hearing would be held on this scientific
research permit application (P557A) and on a related scientific
research permit application (P557). This hearing was held in Silver
Spring, Maryland, on March 22, 1994.
This permit application is a request to allow harassment of marine
mammals and sea turtles by a low frequency (70 Hz) sound source at a
depth of 850-900m, and to monitor the effects of the sound on marine
mammals and sea turtles. This source is part of the Acoustic
Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) program, and is proposed to be
operated from April 1994 through March 1996 off California. The maximum
duty cycle will be 8 percent, with a transmission bandwidth of 20 Hz at
a level of 195 dB (re 1 uPa at 1m), and with a spectrum level for the
peak frequency (70 Hz) at 182 dB.
This permit for the Pt. Sur, California project is requested under
the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the Regulations Governing the Taking and
Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the regulations
governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered fish and
wildlife (50 CFR part 222), the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), and fur seal regulations at 50 CFR part 215.
Dated: April 22, 1994.
William W. Fox, Jr.,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-10246 Filed 4-25-94; 12:19 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
