2020-15560. 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 amendments/modifications.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that permits and permit amendments/modifications 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 via email to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sara Young (Permit Nos. 19108-04 and 23283) and Malcolm Mohead (Permit Nos. 19641-02 and 20314-01); at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notices were published in the Federal Register on the dates listed below that requests for a permit or permit amendment/modification 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 Table 1 below.

Table 1—Issued Permits, Permit Amendments, and Permit Modifications

Permit No.	RTID	Applicant	Previous Federal Register Notice	Issuance date
19108-04	0648-XD953	Daniel P. Costa, Ph.D., University of California at Santa Cruz, Long Marine Laboratory, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95064	84 FR 27767; June 14, 2019	June 15, 2019.
19641-02	0648-XA109	Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 719, Old Lyme, CT 06371 (Responsible Party: Tom Savoy)	85 FR 21833; April 20, 2020	June 16, 2020.
20314-01	0648-XA143	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Fisheries Field Office, 11110, Kimages Road, Charles City, VA 23030 (Responsible Party: Albert Spells)	85 FR 23813; April 29, 2020	June 16, 2020.
23283	0648-XR098	NMFS Marine Mammal Laboratory, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Building 4, Seattle, WA 98115 (Responsible Party: John Bengtson, Ph.D.)	85 FR 11966; February 28, 2020	June 5, 2020.

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 MMPA 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 ESA of 1973, as amended (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: July 14, 2020.

Julia Marie Harrison,

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