[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 48655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19226]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC137


Marine Mammals; File No. 17324

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

ACTION: Notice; denial of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that an application for a public 
display permit (File No. 17324) submitted by the Georgia Aquarium Inc., 
225 Baker Street, Atlanta, GA 30313, has been denied.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/georgia_aquarium_belugas.htm or upon written request or by appointment in the 
following office(s):

Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 
1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 
(301) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376; and
Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Skidmore or Kristy Beard, 
(301)427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 30, 2012, a notice was published 
in the Federal Register (77 FR 52694) that an application had been 
filed by the above named applicant for a permit to import 18 wild 
caught beluga whales from the Utrish Marine Mammal Research Station in 
Russia to the United States for the purpose of public display. All 18 
beluga whales were collected in Sakhalin Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk in 
2006, 2010, and 2011. The requested permit has been denied subject to 
the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.), and the regulations governing the taking and importing 
of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    An environmental assessment (EA) was prepared analyzing the effects 
of the proposed activities on the human environment in compliance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
Based on the analyses in the EA, NMFS determined that denial of the 
permit would not significantly impact the quality of the human 
environment and that preparation of an environmental impact statement 
was not required. That determination is documented in a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI), signed on August 5, 2013.

    Dated: August 5, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19226 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
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