2019-17565. Marine Mammals and Endangered Species

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice; issuance of permits and permit modifications.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that permits or permit amendments have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

ADDRESSES:

The permits and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shasta McClenahan (Permit No. 21482), Amy Hapeman (Permit Nos. 21367-01 and 22218), and Carrie Hubard (Permit No. 22965); at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notices were published in the Federal Register on the dates listed below that requests for a permit or permit amendment had been submitted by the below-named applicants. To locate the Federal Register notice that announced our receipt of the application and a complete description of the research, go to www.federalregister.gov and search on the permit number provided in the table below.

Permit No.	RIN	Applicant	Previous Federal Register notice	Permit or amendment issuance date
21367-01	0648-XF862	Christopher Marshall, Ph.D., Texas A&M University at Galveston, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77553	84 FR 23020; May 21, 2019	July 24, 2019.
21482	0648-XG359	Dan T. Engelhaupt, Ph.D., HDR, Inc., 4173 Ewell Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23455	84 FR 22452; May 17, 2019	July 19, 2019.
22218	0648-XG499	NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 (Responsible Party: Dr. Jon Hare)	83 FR 50646; October 9, 2018	July 30, 2019.
22965	0648-XG961	Sea to Sea Productions Ltd., 477 Island View Drive, Boutiliers Point, Nova Scotia, Canada B3Z1R3 (Responsible Party: David Kent Nason)	84 FR 15602; April 16, 2019	July 10, 2019.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the activities proposed are categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

As required by the ESA, as applicable, issuance of these permit was based on a finding that such permits: (1) Were applied for in good faith; (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in Section 2 of the ESA.

Authority: The requested permits have been issued under 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 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226), as applicable.

Dated: August 12, 2019.

Julia Marie Harrison,

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.