[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 135 (Thursday, July 14, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41446-41447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17763]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 226

RIN 0648-BA81


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Public Hearings 
for Proposed Rulemaking To Revise Critical Habitat for Hawaiian Monk 
Seals

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: We, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are announcing 
six public hearings to be held for the proposed rule to revise critical 
habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal, which was published in the Federal 
Register on June 2, 2011. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting 
dates and locations. As noted in the proposed rule, we will consider 
written comments received on or before August 31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: 
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting dates and locations. You 
may submit written comments on the proposed rule identified by 0648-
BA81 by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail or hand-delivery: Submit written comments to 
Regulatory Branch Chief, Protected Resources Division, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, 1601 Kapiolani 
Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu,

[[Page 41447]]

HI, 96814, Attn.: Hawaiian monk seal proposed critical habitat.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted to one of these two 
addresses to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent to any other address or individual, 
or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered. 
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) voluntarily 
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information. We will accept anonymous comments (enter ``NA'' in the 
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only. The petition, 90-day 
finding, 12-month finding, draft biological report, draft economic 
analysis report, draft ESA 4(b)(2) report, and other reference 
materials regarding this determination can be obtained via the NMFS 
Pacific Islands Regional Office Web site: http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_critical_habitat.html or by submitting a request to the 
Regulatory Branch Chief, Protected Resources Division, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, 1601 Kapiolani 
Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814, Attn: Hawaiian monk seal 
proposed critical habitat. Background documents on the biology of the 
Hawaiian monk seal, the July 2, 2008, petition requesting revision of 
its critical habitat, and documents explaining the critical habitat 
designation process, can be downloaded from http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_critical_habitat.html, or requested by phone or e-mail from 
the NMFS staff in Honolulu (area code 808) listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Higgins, NMFS, Pacific Islands 
Regional Office, (808) 944-2157; Lance Smith, NMFS, Pacific Islands 
Regional Office, (808) 944-2258; or Marta Nammack, NMFS, Office of 
Protected Resources (301) 427-8403.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In the notice of the proposed rulemaking, we propose to revise the 
current critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus 
schauinslandi) by extending the current designation in the Northwestern 
Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) out to the 500-meter (m) depth contour and 
including Sand Island at Midway Islands; and by designating six new 
areas in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), pursuant to section 4 of the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Specific areas proposed for the MHI 
include terrestrial and marine habitat from 5 m inland from the 
shoreline extending seaward to the 500-m depth contour around: Kaula 
Island, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui Nui (including Kahoolawe, Lanai, 
Maui, and Molokai), and Hawaii (except those areas that have been 
identified as not included in the designation). We propose to exclude 
the following areas from designation because the national security 
benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion 
will not result in extinction of the species: Kingfisher Underwater 
Training area in marine areas off the northeast coast of Niihau; 
Pacific Missile Range Facility Main Base at Barking Sands, Kauai; 
Pacific Missile Range Facility Offshore Areas in marine areas off the 
western coast of Kauai; the Naval Defensive Sea Area and Puuloa 
Underwater Training Range in marine areas outside Pearl Harbor, Oahu; 
and the Shallow Water Minefield Sonar Training Range off the western 
coast of Kahoolawe in the Maui Nui area. In addition we are soliciting 
comments on all aspects of the proposal, including information on the 
economic, national security, and other relevant impacts. We will 
consider additional information received prior to making a final 
decision on critical habitat designation.

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 with 45 days of publication of a proposed 
regulation to list a species or to designate critical habitat (see 50 
CFR 424.16 (c)(3)). To allow the public an opportunity to provide 
comment on the proposed rule, we will hold six public hearings. We will 
accept oral and written comments on the proposed rule to revise 
Hawaiian monk seal critical habitat (76 FR 32026; June 2, 2011) during 
these hearings as described in this notice.

Dates and Locations of the Hearings

    August 8, 2011--Mitchell Pauole Center, 90 Ainoa Street, 
Kaunakakai, Molokai 96748--5:30-8 p.m.
    August 9, 2011--Kihei Community Center, 303 E. Lipoa Street, Kihei, 
Maui 96753--5:30-8 p.m.
    August 10, 2011--Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, 4191 Hardy 
Street, Lihue, Kauai 96766--5:30-8 p.m.
    August 11, 2011--McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Park, 1201 Ala Moana 
Blvd., Honolulu, Oahu 96814--5:30-8 p.m.
    August 15, 2011--Mokupapapa Discovery Center, 308 Kamehameha 
Avenue, Suite 109, Hilo, Hawaii 96720--5:30-8 p.m.
    August 16, 2011--Kahakai Elementary School, 76-147 Royal Poinciana 
Drive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii 96740--6:30-9 p.m.
    Oral and written comments on the proposed rule to revise Hawaiian 
monk seal critical habitat (76 FR 32026; June 2, 2011) received during 
these hearings will be part of the administrative record. People 
wishing to make an oral statement for the record at a public hearing 
are encouraged to provide a written copy of the statement and present 
it to us at the hearing. In the event that attendance at the public 
hearings is large, the time allotted for oral statements may be 
limited. Oral and written statements receive equal consideration. There 
are no limits on the length of written comments submitted to us.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Persons requesting sign language interpretation or other 
reasonable accommodations to participate in the public meetings should 
contact Jean Higgins (808) 944-2157. To allow sufficient time to 
process requests, please call not later than 5 p.m. on July 28, 2011.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1533 et seq.

    Dated: July 11, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-17763 Filed 7-13-11; 8:45 am]
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