[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 185 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48291-48292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20712]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG450


User Manual for Optional User Spreadsheet Tool for 2018 Revisions 
to Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound 
on Marine Mammal Hearing: Underwater Thresholds for Onset of Permanent 
and Temporary Threshold Shifts

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) seeks public 
comment on our User Manual for Optional User Spreadsheet Tool (Version 
2.0) (User Manual) for NMFS' 2018 Revisions to Technical Guidance for 
Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing: 
Underwater Acoustic Thresholds for Onset of Permanent and Temporary 
Threshold Shifts (2018 Revised Technical Guidance). This User Manual 
provides detailed instructions and examples on how to use NMFS' 
optional User Spreadsheet tool, which incorporates the 2018 Revised 
Technical Guidance's acoustic threshold levels to determine whether and 
how sound-producing activities are expected to result in hearing 
impacts to marine mammals.

DATES: Comments must be received by November 8, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The User Manual for optional User Spreadsheet tool (Version 
2.0) is available in electronic form via the internet at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance. You may submit comments by including NOAA-
NMFS-2018-0100, by either of the following methods:
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0100, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
    Mail: Send comments to: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle 
Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-
3226, Attn: Acoustic Guidance User Manual.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by 
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after 
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and NMFS will generally post for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender is publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy R. Scholik-Schlomer, Office of 
Protected Resources, 301-427-8449, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Presidential Executive Order (E.O.)

[[Page 48292]]

13795, ``Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy'' (82 
FR 20815; April 28, 2017), states in section 2 that it shall be the 
policy of the United States to encourage energy exploration and 
production, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to 
maintain the Nation's position as a global energy leader and foster 
energy security and resilience for the benefit of the American people, 
while ensuring that any such activity is safe and environmentally 
responsible. Among the requirements of E.O. 13795 is section 10, which 
called for a review of NMFS' Technical Guidance, originally published 
in 2016.
    To assist the Secretary of Commerce in the review of the 2016 
Technical Guidance for consistency with the policy in section 2 of E.O. 
13795, NMFS solicited public comment via a 45-day public comment period 
(82 FR 24950; May 31, 2017) and hosted an Interagency Consultation 
meeting (September 25, 2017) with representatives from ten federal 
agencies. In response to the feedback received during the public 
comment period and the Interagency Consultation meeting and per 
approval of the Secretary of Commerce, NMFS issued the 2018 Revised 
Technical Guidance (83 FR 28824; June 21, 2018).
    To help applicants implement the 2018 Revised Technical Guidance, 
NMFS also updated the accompanying optional User Spreadsheet tool for 
the technical guidance and drafted a new User Manual that provides more 
detailed instructions and examples on how to use the optional User 
Spreadsheet tool to assess auditory injury thresholds.
    NMFS is soliciting public comment on our User Manual and associated 
optional User Spreadsheet tool via a 45-day public comment period. In 
particular, NMFS invites comment on how we can further refine the User 
Manual to aid in the application and implementation of the 2018 Revised 
Technical Guidance. Input from stakeholders provided during this public 
comment period will inform updated versions of the User Manual and/or 
associated optional User Spreadsheet tool, which may be issued as early 
as the end of 2018. Please note NMFS is only soliciting comments at 
this time on the User Manual and associated optional User Spreadsheet 
tool, and not on the 2018 Revised Technical Guidance (For more detail 
on the Technical Guidance's public comment periods, see: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance).
    The 2018 Revised Technical Guidance, the updated optional User 
Spreadsheet tool, and the new companion User Manual are available in 
electronic form via the internet at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance.

    Dated: September 19, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-20712 Filed 9-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P