[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3191-3192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-997]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 226

[Docket No. 09022432-91321-03]
RIN 0648-XT72


Endangered and Threatened Species; Notice of Public Hearings on 
Proposed Critical Habitat Designation for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whales

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: On December 2, 2009, NMFS published a proposal to designate 
critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale as required 
by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. As part of 
that proposal, NMFS announced a public comment period to end on 
February 1, 2010, which was extended to March 3, 2010. NMFS has 
received requests for public hearings on this issue. In response, NMFS 
is announcing that hearings will be held at four locations in Alaska to 
provide additional opportunities and formats to receive public input.

[[Page 3192]]


DATES: Written comments must be received by March 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Kaja Brix, Assistant Regional 
Administrator, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 
Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments, identified by ``RIN 0648-
XT72'', by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal website at http://www.regulations.gov
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802
     Fax: 907-586-7557
     Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th 
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.
    No comments will be posted for public viewing until after the 
comment period has closed. All comments received are part of the public 
record and will be generally posted to http://www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required 
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF 
file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mandy Migura, NMFS, 222 West 7th 
Avenue, Box 43, Anchorage, AK 99517, (907) 271-5006; Kaja Brix, NMFS, 
(907) 586-7235; or Marta Nammack, (301) 713-1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(a)(3) of the ESA requires NMFS to designate critical 
habitat for threatened and endangered species. NMFS published an 
advanced notice of proposed rulemaking and a request for information on 
April 14, 2009 (74 FR 17131). On December 2, 2009, NMFS published a 
proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the endangered Cook 
Inlet beluga whale (74 FR 63080). On January 12, 2010, NMFS extended 
the public comment period to March 3, 2010 (75 FR 1852).

Public Hearings

    Joint Commerce-Interior ESA implementing regulations state that the 
Secretary of Commerce shall promptly hold at least one public hearing 
if any person requests one within 45 days of publication of a proposed 
regulation to list a species or to designate critical habitat (see 50 
CFR 424.16(c)(3)). In past ESA rulemakings, NMFS has conducted 
traditional public hearings, consisting of recorded oral testimony from 
interested individuals. This format, although providing a means of 
public input, does not provide opportunities for dialogue and 
information exchange. NMFS believes that the traditional public hearing 
format can be improved upon by also including a brief presentation on 
what may be considered topics of interest.
    The preferred means for providing public comment to the official 
record is via written testimony prepared in advance of the meeting, 
which may also be presented orally. Blank ``comment sheets'' will be 
provided at the meetings for those without prepared written comments, 
and opportunity will also be provided for additional oral testimony. 
There is no need to register for these hearings.
    In scheduling these public hearings, NMFS has anticipated that many 
affected stakeholders and members of the public may prefer to discuss 
the proposed critical habitat designation directly with staff during 
the public comment period. These public meetings are not the only 
opportunity for the public to provide input on this proposal. The 
public and stakeholders are encouraged to continue to comment and 
provide input to NMFS on the proposal (via correspondence, e-mail, and 
the Internet; see ADDRESSES, above) up until the scheduled close of the 
comment period on March 3, 2010.

Hearing Dates & Locations

    Public hearings will be held in Anchorage, Wasilla, Soldotna, and 
Homer, Alaska. The specific dates and locations of these meetings are 
listed below:
    (1) Soldotna: February 3, 2010, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the 
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers, George A. Navarre Kenai 
Peninsula Borough Administration Building, 144 N. Binkley Street, 
Soldotna, AK.
    (2) Homer: February 4, 2010, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the 
Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Highway 1, 
Homer, AK.
    (3) Wasilla: February 11 between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Best 
Western, Lake Lucille Inn, Iditarod Room, 1300 West Lake Lucille Drive, 
Wasilla, AK.
    (4) Anchorage: February 12 between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the Loussac 
Public Library, Wilda Marston Room, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, AK.

References

    The proposed rule, economic analysis, maps, status reviews, and 
other materials relating to the proposed critical habitat designation 
can be found on the NMFS Alaska Region website 
www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1533

    Dated: January 13, 2010.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-997 Filed 1-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S