The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the regulations) govern the importation of certain animals and animal products into the United States to prevent the introduction of various animal diseases, including African swine fever (ASF). ASF is a highly contagious disease of wild and domestic swine that can spread rapidly with extremely high rates of morbidity and mortality. A list of regions where ASF exists or is reasonably believed to exist is maintained on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/animal-health-status-of-regions/. This list is referenced in §  94.8(a)(2) of the regulations.

Section 94.8(a)(3) of the regulations states that APHIS will add a region to the list referenced in §  94.8(a)(2) upon determining ASF exists in the region or having reason to believe the disease exists in the region, based on reports APHIS receives of outbreaks of the disease from veterinary officials of the exporting country, from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), 1 or from other sources the Administrator determines to be reliable, or upon determining that there is reason to believe the disease exists in the region. Section 94.8(a)(1) of the regulations specifies the criteria on which the Administrator bases the reason to believe ASF exists in a region. Section 94.8(b) prohibits the importation of pork and pork products from regions listed in accordance with §  94.8 except if processed and treated in accordance with the provisions specified in that section or consigned to an APHIS-approved establishment for further processing. Section 96.2 restricts the importation of swine casings that originated in or were processed in a region where ASF exists, as listed under §  94.8(a).

On December 21, 2023, the veterinary authorities of Bangladesh reported to the WOAH the occurrence of ASF in that country. In response to that report, on December 26, 2023, APHIS added Bangladesh to the list of regions where ASF exists or the Administrator has reason to believe that ASF exists, in compliance with §  94.8(a)(3). This notice serves as an official record and public notification of that action.

On January 17, 2024, the veterinary authorities of Montenegro reported to the WOAH the occurrence of ASF in that country. In response to that report, on January 22, 2024, APHIS added Montenegro to the list of regions where ASF exists or the Administrator has reason to believe that ASF exists, in compliance with §  94.8(a)(3). This notice serves as an official record and public notification of that action.

On February 26, 2024, the veterinary authorities of Albania reported to the WOAH the occurrence of ASF in that country. In response to that report, on March 1, 2024, APHIS added Albania to the list of regions where ASF exists or the Administrator has reason to believe ASF exist, in compliance with §  94.8(a)(3). This notice serves as an official record and public notification of that action.

As a result, pork and pork products from Bangladesh, Montenegro, and Albania, including casings, are subject to APHIS import restrictions designed to mitigate the risk of ASF introduction into the United States.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

Title: Foot-and-Mouth Disease: Prohibition on Importation of Farm Equipment.

OMB Control Number: 0579-0195.

Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an information collection.

Abstract: Under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq. ), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is authorized, among other things, to prohibit or restrict the importation of animals, animal products, and other articles into the United States to prevent the introduction of animal diseases and pests. The regulations for the importation of animals, animal products, and other articles into the United States are contained in 9 CFR parts 93 through 98.

In part 94, § 94.1(c) prohibits the importation of used farm equipment into the United States from regions where APHIS considers foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) to exist unless the equipment has been steam-cleaned prior to export to the United States so that it is free of exposed dirt and other particulate matter. Such equipment must be accompanied by an original certificate, signed by an authorized official of the national animal health service of the exporting region, stating that the farm equipment, after its last use and prior to export, was steam-cleaned free of all exposed dirt and other particulate matter.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of this information collection activity, as described, for an additional 3 years.

The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public (as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection. These comments will help us:

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through use, as appropriate, of automated, electronic, mechanical, and other collection technologies; e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Estimate of Burden: The public burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.2 hours per response.

Respondents: Exporters of farm equipment and foreign animal health authorities from regions where FMD exists.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 77.

Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 5.

Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 390.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 78 hours. (Due to averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per response.)

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of public record.

The purpose of the meeting is to:

1. Elect a chairperson;

2. Hear monitoring reports from previous Title II project recipients;

3. Hear from Title II project proponents and discuss Title II project proposals;

4. Make funding recommendations on Title II projects; and

5. Schedule the next meeting.

The agenda will include time for individuals to make oral statements of three minutes or less. To be scheduled on the agenda, individuals wishing to make an oral statement should make a request in writing at least three days prior to the meeting date. Written comments may be submitted to the Forest Service up to 10 days after the meeting date listed under DATES .

Please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT , by or before the deadline, for all questions related to the meeting. All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are placed in the record and are available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments received upon request.

Meeting Accommodations: The meeting location is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the USDA provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you are a person requiring reasonable accommodation, please make requests in advance for sign language interpretation, assistive listening devices, or other reasonable accommodation to the person listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section or contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TTY) or USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Equal opportunity practices in accordance with USDA's policies will be followed in all appointments to the committee. To ensure that the recommendations of the Committee have taken into account the needs of the diverse groups served by the Department, membership shall include, to the extent practicable, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, cultures, and beliefs of the American people, including underserved communities. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) regulation (5 CFR part 1320) implementing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) requires that interested members of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). This notice identifies the following information collection that RHS is submitting to OMB as a revision to an existing collection with Agency adjustment.

Title: Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI).

OMB Number: 0575-0180.

Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2025.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Estimate of Burden: This collection of information is estimated to average 1.19 hours per response.

Respondents: Intermediaries and recipients.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 90.

Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 38.44.

Estimated Total Number of Responses: 3,460.

Estimated Annual Reporting Burden on Respondents: 3,294 hours.

Estimated Annual Recordkeeping Burden on Respondents: 840 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 4,134 hours.

RHS, an Agency within the USDA Rural Development mission area, administers the RCDI grant program through the Community Facilities Division. The intent of the RCDI grant program is to develop the capacity and ability of rural area recipients to undertake projects through a program of technical assistance provided by qualified intermediary organizations. The eligible recipients are nonprofit organizations, low-income rural communities, or federally recognized Indian tribes. The intermediary may be a qualified private, nonprofit, or public (including tribal) organization. The intermediary is the applicant. The intermediary must have been organized a minimum of three (3) years at the time of application. The intermediary will be required to provide matching funds, in the form of cash or committed funding, in an amount at least equal to the RCDI grant.

Information will be collected by the field offices from applicants. The collection of information is considered the minimum necessary to effectively evaluate the overall scope of the project.

Failure to collect information could have an adverse impact on effectively carrying out the mission, administration, processing, and program requirements.

Comments are invited on:

(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility.

(b) The accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.

(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.

Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Lisa Day, Innovation Center—Regulations Management Division, at (971) 313.4750. Email: Lisa.Day@USDA.GOV .

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of public record.

AI is anticipated to yield significant growth opportunities for the healthcare sector. With AI regulation and policy formation still nascent in many markets, it is important to understand the implications of changes in these areas for U.S. healthcare industry stakeholders as governments, practitioners, and patients increasingly adopt AI solutions in healthcare and as demand for AI-enabled medical technologies grows in overseas markets. This discussion will help position ITA to work with U.S. industry stakeholders in ways that can enhance U.S. industry competitiveness in overseas markets and reduce current or future trade barriers faced by companies in this space.

The Department seeks individual input and views at the 10/30/2024 roundtable regarding overseas competitiveness of U.S. companies producing, or planning to produce, and exporting AI-enabled medical technologies. Participants will be encouraged to provide any relevant feedback on this issue during the roundtable, which may include comments on the following non-exhaustive list of possible topics:

• With the introduction of technologies such as foundational models and general-purpose AI, what are the implications of regulatory and policy shifts in markets to which your company exports AI-enabled medical technologies, and how have these changes affected your company's competitiveness?

• Which markets, given shifting regulatory and policy landscapes, present the most conducive environment for the competitiveness of U.S. AI-enabled medical technologies, from your experience?

• How do you assess the potential for public-private partnerships (P3s) to support efforts in the healthcare sector to deliver AI-enabled medical technologies to overseas markets? What would a successful P3 in this space look like? What kind of resources are needed from the U.S. Government to enable this success?

• What kinds of strategic international engagements do you believe would be most effective in supporting U.S. providers of AI-enabled medical technologies and their competitiveness in overseas markets?

• What kinds of trade barriers are you seeing negatively affect U.S. competitiveness for AI-enabled medical technologies in overseas markets? Where do you encounter these barriers? How do you think the barriers can be reduced, removed, or prevented?

○ What are the implications of regulations/policies around health data in foreign markets for U.S. competitiveness in AI-enabled medical technologies that you're seeing in your work?

The event is closed to press and the public. Industry participation is limited to a maximum of 20 qualifying industry representatives.

To attend, participants should submit the below information to HealthAI@trade.gov by no later than 10/23/2024. ITA will evaluate registrations based on the submitted information (and based on the criteria below) on a rolling basis until a maximum of 20 participants have been selected and inform applicants of selection decisions.

Applicants are encouraged to send representatives at a sufficiently senior level to be knowledgeable about their company's capabilities, interests, and challenges in the global market of AI-enabled medical technologies. Due to time constraints, there is a limit of one person to speak on behalf of each company.

Applicants should include the following information in their response email:

• Name of attendee and short bio.

• Name of company and brief company description.

• A statement self-certifying how the company meets each of the following criteria:

1. It is not majority owned by a foreign government entity (or entities).

2. It is an existing provider or prospective new market entrant, of AI-enabled medical technologies that are or will be produced in the United States in one or more of the following segments: Machine learning, natural language processing, clinical, disease detection, medical imaging, personalized care, patient monitoring, robotics, or healthcare administration.

3. The representative will be able to attend the entire roundtable.

Selection will be based on the following criteria:

• The company's production or production plans with respect to AI-enabled medical technologies.

• The company's experience in exporting AI-enabled medical technologies from the United States to overseas markets.

• Suitability of the representative's position and biography to be able to engage in the conversation.

• Ability of the company to contribute to the roundtable's purpose of seeking individual input and views on policies and initiatives that strengthen U.S. industry competitiveness of U.S. exports.

On July 28, 2021, Commerce published its final results of the 2018 countervailing duty administrative review of ribbons from China. 1 In the Final Results, Commerce assigned Yama an overall subsidy rate of 42.20 percent based, in part, on adverse facts available (AFA) for the Export Buyer's Credit Program (EBCP) and the provision of synthetic yarn and caustic soda for less than adequate remuneration (LTAR).

Yama appealed Commerce's Final Results. On August 25, 2023, the CIT remanded the Final Results to Commerce, directing Commerce to: (1) reconsider its determination on the EBCP; (2) supplement the record with the new subsidy allegation, which the petitioner filed in the 2015 administrative review of this proceeding and upon which Commerce relied in making its specificity determinations for the provision of synthetic yarn and caustic soda for LTAR programs; and (3) reconsider its determinations for the provision of the synthetic yarn and caustic soda for LTAR programs in their entirety. 2

In its final remand redetermination, issued in October 2023, Commerce reconsidered its decision to apply AFA in evaluating use of the EBCP and determined, under respectful protest, that the EBCP was not used by Yama during the period of review (POR). 3 Commerce also further considered the supplemented administrative record regarding the provision of synthetic yarn and caustic soda for LTAR programs and continued to find that these programs were specific and that Yama benefited from them during the POR. Accordingly, Commerce calculated a revised subsidy rate for Yama of 31.66 percent. 4 The CIT sustained Commerce's final remand redetermination. 5

In its decision in Timken, 6 as clarified by Diamond Sawblades, 7 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that, pursuant to section 516A(c) and (e) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce must publish a notice of court decision that is not “in harmony” with a Commerce determination and must suspend liquidation of entries pending a “conclusive” court decision. The CIT's August 13, 2024, judgment constitutes a final decision of the CIT that is not in harmony with Commerce's Final Results. Thus, this notice is published in fulfillment of the publication requirements of Timken.

Because there is now a final court judgment, Commerce is amending its Final Results with respect to Yama as follows:

Because Yama has a superseding cash deposit rate, i.e., there have been final results published in a subsequent administrative review, we will not issue revised cash deposit instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This notice will not affect the current cash deposit rate for Yama.

At this time, Commerce remains enjoined by CIT order from liquidating entries that: were produced and/or exported by Yama; were the subject of Commerce's Final Results ; and were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, during the period January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018. These entries will remain enjoined pursuant to the terms of the injunction during the pendency of any appeals process.

In the event the CIT's ruling is not appealed, or, if appealed, upheld by a final and conclusive court decision, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties on unliquidated entries of subject merchandise produced and/or exported by Yama in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b). We will instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review when the ad valorem rate is not zero or de minimis. Where an ad valorem subsidy rate is zero or de minimis, 8 we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to countervailing duties.

This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 516A(c) and (e) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

On March 14, 2024, pursuant to section 781(e)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce published the Preliminary Determination and invited interested parties to comment. 1 We notified the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of our affirmative preliminary determination. 2 Commerce also informed the ITC of its ability under the Act to request consultations with Commerce regarding Commerce's proposed inclusion of inquiry merchandise within the scope of the Orders under the authority of section 781(a) of the Act. 3

On March 29, 2024, Birmingham Fastener Inc./Houston Fastener Mfg. Inc. (Birmingham) and Dan Loc Group LLC (Dan Loc)  4 and Vulcan Threaded Products Inc. (the petitioner) filed case briefs. 5 On April 5, 2024, Birmingham and Dan Loc, 6 and the petitioner filed rebuttal briefs. 7 On May 31, 2024, Commerce held a public hearing in this matter. 8

On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled the deadline in these circumvention inquiries by seven days, extending the deadline for issuing the final determination to August 16, 2024. 9 On August 16, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for issuing the final determination in these circumvention inquiries by an additional five days, until August 21, 2024. 10

For a summary of events that occurred since the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues raised by parties for consideration in the final determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 11 The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

The merchandise covered by the scope of the AD Order is alloy and certain carbon steel threaded rod from China. The merchandise covered by the scope of the CVD Order is carbon and alloy steel threaded rod from China. For a full description of the scopes, see the Preliminary Determination PDM.

These circumvention inquiries cover unthreaded pins of alloy steel exported from China which are further processed into alloy steel threaded rod in the United States. Unthreaded pins of alloy steel are unthreaded rod, bar, or studs, having a solid, circular cross section of any diameter, in any straight length, and are non-headed. Unthreaded pins may enter unchamfered or with their ends already chamfered. Such pins may also be referenced as “pitch diameter stud blanks” or “blanks.” Unthreaded pins of alloy steel are believed to enter under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7318.15.5051, 7318.15.5056, 7318.15.5090, 7228.60.8000, 7318.15.2095, 7318.19.0000, and 7318.29.0000, several of which also cover alloy steel threaded rod.

Commerce conducted these circumvention inquiries in accordance with section 781(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226. We have continued to apply the methodology relied upon for the Preliminary Determination, including our use of facts available with adverse inferences with respect to Ningbo Zhenghai Yongding Fastener Co., Ltd. (Yongding Fastener) and its affiliated trading company, Ningbo Ningding Import & Export Co. Ltd. (Ningding I&E), 13 pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, for our final determination. See the Preliminary Determination PDM for a full description of the methodology. 14

All issues raised in these inquiries are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues raised is attached to this notice in Appendix I. Based on our analysis of the comments received from interested parties, we made no changes to the Preliminary Determination.

As detailed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, Commerce determines, pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act, that imports of unthreaded pins of alloy steel from China that are further processed in the United States into subject merchandise are circumventing the Orders. We are applying our decision on a country-wide basis. See the “Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements” section, below, for details regarding suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements.

To administer this final affirmative circumvention determination, Commerce is requiring that importers of unthreaded pins of alloy steel from China which will not be threaded into subject merchandise certify that such pins will not be further processed into subject alloy steel threaded rod. Importers will be required to submit a copy of the importer certification as part of the entry summary by uploading them into the document imaging system (DIS) in ACE, and to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and/or Commerce with the importer certification, and any supporting documentation, upon request of either agency. 15 Properly certified entries are not subject to antidumping and/or countervailing duties under the Orders. Exemption from antidumping and/or countervailing duties under the Orders is permitted only if the certification and documentation requirements specified in Appendices II and III are met.

Entries of unthreaded pins of alloy steel produced and/or exported by Yongding Fastener or Ningding I&E are not eligible for certification.

In accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(l)(3), we will direct CBP to continue the suspension of liquidation of previously suspended entries and to suspend liquidation of all entries of unthreaded pins of alloy steel from China that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 12, 2023 ( i.e., the date of publication of the Initiation Notice ). 16 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(l)(3), we will also instruct CBP to require antidumping and countervailing duty cash deposits for unthreaded pins of alloy steel from China for each unliquidated entry of unthreaded pins of alloy steel from China that have been entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 12, 2023.

For entries of unthreaded pins of alloy steel for which the exporter has a company-specific cash deposit rate under the AD Order, the cash deposit rate will be the company-specific antidumping duty cash deposit rate established for that company in the most recently-completed segment of the proceeding. For all Chinese exporters of unthreaded pins of alloy steel that do not have a company-specific cash deposit rate under the AD Order, the antidumping duty cash deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate for the China-wide entity ( i.e., 48.91 percent);  17 for all non-Chinese exporters of unthreaded pins of alloy steel which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the Chinese exporter that supplied that non-Chinese exporter.

For entries of unthreaded pins of alloy steel for which the producer and/or exporter has a company-specific cash deposit rate under the CVD Order, the cash deposit rate will be the company-specific CVD cash deposit rate established for that company in the most recently-completed segment of the proceeding. For all Chinese producers and/or exporters of unthreaded pins of alloy steel that do not have a company-specific cash deposit rate under CVD Order, the CVD cash deposit rate will be the all-others rate ( i.e., 41.17 percent). 18

These suspension of liquidation instructions and cash deposit requirements will remain in effect until further notice.

Each year during the anniversary month of the publication of an antidumping or countervailing duty order, finding, or suspended investigation, an interested party, as defined in section 771(9) of the Act, may request, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213, that Commerce conduct an administrative review of that antidumping or countervailing order, finding, or suspended investigation. Interested parties who wish to request that Commerce conduct an administrative review should wait until Commerce announces via the Federal Register the next window during the anniversary month of the publication of the antidumping or countervailing duty order to submit such requests. The anniversary month for these Orders is April.

This notice will serve as the only reminder to all parties subject to an administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

This determination is issued and published in accordance with section 781(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(g)(2).

I. Abstract

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is the only federal agency created exclusively to foster the growth and global competitiveness of minority-owned businesses in the United States. MBDA provides management and technical assistance to large, medium, and small minority business enterprises through a network of business centers throughout the United States.

Methods of collection include online, email, and mail.

Agency: Minority Business Development Agency.

Title: National Minority Business Awards.

OMB Control Number: 0640-0025.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Revision of information collection.

Number of Respondents: 250.

Average Hours per Response: 1 hour.

Burden Hours: 250.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Agenda

The Herring Committee will meet to review recommendations from the Atlantic Herring Plan Development Team, ASMFC's Technical Committee and Atlantic Herring Advisory Panel. They will review draft Atlantic herring specifications and river herring and shad catch caps for fishing years 2025-2027 and recommend preferred alternatives to the Council. In response to the results of the 2024 management track stock assessment and to meet conservation and management objectives for Atlantic herring, possibly continue discussion on whether to recommend to the Council additional management measures, including the possibility of initiating a framework adjustment or considering in-season adjustments for 2024 and 2025 catch limits, along with any other recommendations as appropriate. The Committee will make recommendations to the Council, as appropriate, and discuss other business, as necessary.

Although non-emergency issues not contained on the agenda may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Council action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency. The public also should be aware that the meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Cate O'Keefe, Executive Director, at (978) 465-0492, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions have implemented the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) process, a multi-step method for determining the status of fish stocks in the Southeast Region. SEDAR is a multi-step process including: (1) Data/Assessment Workshop, and (2) a series of webinars. The product of the Data/Assessment Workshop is a report which compiles and evaluates potential datasets and recommends which datasets are appropriate for assessment analyses, and describes the fisheries, evaluates the status of the stock, estimates biological benchmarks, projects future population conditions, and recommends research and monitoring needs. Participants for SEDAR Workshops are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, HMS Management Division, and Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Participants include data collectors and database managers; stock assessment scientists, biologists, and researchers; constituency representatives including fishermen, environmentalists, and NGO's; International experts; and staff of Councils, Commissions, and state and federal agencies.

The items of discussion in the Review Workshop are as follows:

Participants will evaluate the data and assessment reports, as specified in the Terms of Reference, to determine if they are scientifically sound.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the intent to take final action to address the emergency.

These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES ) at least 5 business days prior to each workshop.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. ) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations are issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed authorization is provided to the public for review.

An authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where relevant), and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings are set forth.

NMFS has defined “negligible impact” in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival.

The MMPA states that the term “take” means to harass, hunt, capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.

Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, the MMPA defines “harassment” as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (Level B harassment).

On June 29, 2020, NMFS published final notice of our issuance of an IHA authorizing take of marine mammals incidental to construction of an LNG terminal in the BSC, Texas (85 FR 40250, July 6, 2020). The effective dates of that IHA were July 1, 2020, through June 31, 2021. On July 12, 2024, Rio Grande informed NMFS that the project had been delayed. None of the work identified in the initial IHA ( e.g., pile driving) has occurred. Rio Grande submitted a request for NMFS to reissue an identical IHA that would be effective from January 15, 2025, through January 14, 2026 in order to conduct the construction work that was analyzed and authorized through the previously issued IHA.

The planned activities (including mitigation, monitoring, and reporting), authorized incidental take, and anticipated impacts on the affected stocks are the same as those analyzed and authorized through the previously issued IHA.

Rio Grande plans to construct a natural gas liquefaction facility and LNG export terminal in Cameron County, Texas, along the north embankment of the BSC. The purpose of the project is to develop, own, operate, and maintain a natural gas pipeline system to access natural gas from the Agua Dulce Hub and an LNG export facility in south Texas to export 24.5 million metric tons (27 million U.S. tons) per annum of natural gas that provides an additional source of firm, long-term, and competitively priced LNG to the global market. The location, timing, and nature of the activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, are identical to those described in the initial IHA. The only exception is that Rio Grande is no longer installing two 48-inch-diameter steel piles in water, but instead will install them in dry land. The mitigation and monitoring are also as prescribed in the initial IHA.

Species that are expected to be taken by the planned activity include bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ), Atlantic spotted dolphin ( Stenella frontalis ), and rough-toothed dolphin ( Steno bredanensis ). A description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take anticipated to occur and, ultimately, the take that was authorized is found in the previous documents referenced above. The data inputs and methods of estimating take are identical to those used in the initial IHA. NMFS has reviewed recent Stock Assessment Reports, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and recent scientific literature. While estimated populations of the Atlantic spotted dolphin, bottlenose dolphin (Western coastal and Northern Gulf of Mexico stocks), and rough-toothed dolphin (Northern Gulf of Mexico stock) have been updated since the issuance of the initial IHA, NMFS determined that no new information affects our original analysis of impacts or take estimate under the initial IHA.

We refer to the documents related to the previously issued IHA, which include the Federal Register notice of the issuance of the initial 2020 IHA for Rio Grande's construction work (85 FR 40250, July 6, 2020), Rio Grande's application, the Federal Register notice of the proposed IHA (85 FR 27365, May 8, 2020), and all associated references and documents.

Rio Grande will conduct activities as analyzed in the initial 2020 IHA. As described above, the number of authorized takes of the same species and stocks of marine mammals are identical to the numbers that were found to meet the negligible impact small numbers standards and authorized under the initial IHA and no new information has emerged that would change those findings. The reissued 2025 IHA includes identical required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures as the initial IHA, and there is no new information suggesting that our analysis or findings should change.

Based on the information contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS has determined the following: (1) the required mitigation measures will effect the least practicable impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat; (2) the authorized takes will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or stocks; (3) the authorized takes represent small numbers of marine mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; and (4) Rio Grande's activities will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on taking for subsistence purposes.

To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) and NOAA Administrative Order 216-6A, NMFS must review our proposed action with respect to environmental consequences on the human environment.

Accordingly, NMFS determined that the issuance of the initial IHA qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review. NMFS has determined that the application of this categorical exclusion remains appropriate for this reissued IHA.

Incidental take of ESA-listed species from the specified activities is not expected or authorized. Therefore, NMFS determined that formal consultation under section 7 of the ESA is not required for this action.

NMFS has issued an IHA to Rio Grande for in-water construction activities associated with the specified activity from January 15, 2025, through January 14, 2026. All previously described mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements from the initial 2020 IHA are incorporated.

Meeting information, including agendas, overviews, and briefing book materials will be posted on the Council's website at: https://safmc.net/council-meetings/. Webinar registration links for the meeting will also be available from the Council's website.

Public comment: Public comment on agenda items may be submitted through the Council's online comment form available from the Council's website at: https://safmc.net/events/september-2024-council-meeting/. Written comments will be accepted from August 30, 2024 until September 10, 2024. These comments are accessible to the public, part of the Administrative Record of the meeting, and immediately available for Council consideration. A formal public comment session will also be held during the Council meeting.

The items of discussion in the individual meeting agendas are as follows:

The Council will meet in closed session to receive a litigation brief if needed, address appointments to advisory panels, the Council's Citizen Science Operations Committee and discuss restructuring the Shrimp Advisory Panels (APs).

Newly appointed Council members will be sworn in and the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award will be presented. The Council will receive reports from NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, Council liaisons, and state agencies. The Council will receive staff reports, an update on the Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary, discuss restructuring the Shrimp APs, and hear a report from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) on items not covered during committee meetings.

The Council will also receive agency reports from NOAA Fisheries, an update on the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC) Flyingfish and Dolphinfish Workgroup meeting, discuss the Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting (SEFHIER) Program Improvement Amendment, receive an update on the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative, and review allocations for species that meet the time-based criteria in the Council's Allocation Review Trigger Policy.

The Committee will receive a report from the SEDAR Steering Committee, discuss changes to the SEDAR process and identify key stocks, and review species selected for 2026 assessments.

The Committee will discuss Coral Amendment 10 addressing a fishery access area and consider resubmission to the Secretary of Commerce.

The Committee will receive an update on Exempted Fishing Permits for red snapper and receive an update on the status of amendments under review from NOAA Fisheries. The Committee will consider public hearing input on Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 36 addressing ropeless gear in the Black Sea Bass pot fishery and vessel limits for Gag and Black Grouper, modify the amendment as necessary, and consider recommending the amendment for Secretarial approval. The Committee will consider public hearing input on Amendment 55 addressing management measures for Scamp and Yellowmouth Grouper, modify the amendment if necessary, and consider recommending the amendment for Secretarial review. The Committee will also continue to discuss management measures for Black Sea Bass through Snapper Grouper Amendment 56 and provide input to staff for topics for the fall 2024 meeting of the Snapper Grouper AP.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 4 p.m. —Public comment will be accepted from individuals attending the meeting in person and via webinar on all items on the Council meeting agenda. The Council Chair will determine the amount of time provided to each commenter based on the number of individuals wishing to comment.

The Council will receive a litigation brief if needed and elect a Council Chair and Vice Chair.

The Council will receive updates on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary activities and the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Re-Visioning. The Council will receive Committee reports, review the Council Workplan and upcoming meetings, and discuss any other business as needed.

Documents regarding these issues are available from the Council office (see ADDRESSES ).

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency.

These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES ) 5 days prior to the meeting.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Agenda

The Herring Advisory Panel will meet to review draft Atlantic herring specifications and river herring and shad catch caps for fishing years 2025-2027 and recommend preferred alternatives. In response to the results of the 2024 management track stock assessment and to meet conservation and management objectives for Atlantic herring, possibly continue discussion on whether to recommend additional management measures to the Committee, including the possibility of initiating a framework adjustment or considering in-season adjustments for 2024 and 2025 catch limits, along with any other recommendations as appropriate. The Panel will make recommendations to the Atlantic Herring Committee, as appropriate, and discuss other business, as necessary.

Although non-emergency issues not contained on the agenda may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Council action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency. The public also should be aware that the meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Cate O'Keefe, Executive Director, at (978) 465-0492, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

The MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. ) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations are promulgated or, if the taking is limited to harassment, an incidental harassment authorization is issued.

Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses (where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other “means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact” on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of such species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to here as “mitigation measures”). NMFS must also prescribe requirements pertaining to monitoring and reporting of such takings. The definition of key terms such as “take,” “harassment,” and “negligible impact” can be found in the MMPA and NMFS's implementing regulations (see 16 U.S.C. 1362; 50 CFR 216.103).

NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to exceed one year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA for the initial IHA, NMFS described the circumstances under which we would consider issuing a renewal for this activity and requested public comment on a potential renewal under those circumstances. Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a one-time 1-year renewal of an IHA following notice to the public providing an additional 15 days for public comments when (1) up to another year of identical, or nearly identical, activities as described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section of the initial IHA issuance notice is planned or (2) the activities as described in the Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts section of the initial IHA issuance notice would not be completed by the time the initial IHA expires and a renewal would allow for completion of the activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the notice of issuance of the initial IHA, provided all of the following conditions are met:

1. A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior to the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing that the renewal IHA expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from expiration of the initial IHA);

2. The request for renewal must include the following: (a) An explanation that the activities to be conducted under the requested renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed under the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include changes so minor ( e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not affect the previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements, or take estimates (with the exception of reducing the type or amount of take); and

(b) A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not previously analyzed or authorized; and

4. Upon review of the request for renewal, the status of the affected species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS determines that there are no more than minor changes in the activities, the mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.

An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45 days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal. A description of the renewal process may be found on our website at: http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals.

On July 19, 2023, NMFS issued the 2023 IHA (hereinafter, the 2023 IHA is referred to as the “initial IHA” and the 2024 IHA is referred to as the “Renewal IHA”) to IWO to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to site characterization surveys off the coast of New York and New Jersey in the New York Bight (88 FR 47846, July 25, 2023), effective from July 31, 2023 through July 30, 2024. On May 3, 2024, NMFS received a request for the renewal of the initial IHA, which was deemed adequate and complete on May 24, 2024. As described in the application for renewal IHA, the specified activities for which incidental take is requested are identical to those included in the initial authorization. As required, IWO provided a preliminary monitoring report, which shows that it has implemented the required mitigation and monitoring measures and no impacts of a scale or nature not previously analyzed or authorized have occurred as a result of the activities conducted. The notice of the proposed renewal incidental harassment authorization was published for public comment on July 17, 2024 (89 FR 58124).

IWO plans to conduct an additional year of marine site characterization surveys, including high-resolution geophysical (HRG) surveys, in waters off the coast of New Jersey and New York in the New York Bight, specifically within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Area OCS-A 0542 and the associated Export Cable Route (ECR) Area. Hereafter, both the areas are referred to as the Survey Area.

The purpose of IWO's proposed surveys is to provide sufficient data to meet BOEM guidelines and support the development of offshore wind facilities in the Survey Area. Specifically, data collected would support site characterization, siting, and engineering design of offshore wind facilities including turbine generators, offshore substations, submarine cables and data necessary for project review requirements. IWO will have a maximum of three vessels surveying concurrently. Underwater sounds produced from sparkers and boomers during IWO's surveys has the potential to result in Level B harassment of 15 species (comprising 16 stocks) of marine mammals. The specified activities that may result in take of marine mammals are identical in scope, effort, potential harassment to marine mammals, and mitigation measures as the Initial IHA (88 FR 47846).

A detailed description of the surveys for which incidental take is proposed here may be found in the Federal Register notice of the initial Proposed IHA (88 FR 32735, May 22, 2023). The location, duration, and nature of the activities, including the types of equipment planned for use, are identical to those described in the notice referenced above. The IHA is effective from August 21, 2024 through July 30, 2025.

A notice of NMFS' proposal to issue a renewal IHA to IWO was published in the Federal Register on July 17, 2024 (89 FR 58124). That notice described, in detail, or referenced descriptions of IWO's activity, the marine mammal species that may be affected by the activity, the anticipated effects on marine mammals and their habitat, estimated number and manner of take, and proposed mitigation, monitoring and reporting measures. NMFS received a total of five public comment letters. Four of these comment letters were from private citizens and one was from a non-governmental organization (Clean Ocean Action (COA)). The public comments expressed general opposition to the underlying associated activities. These comments do not raise significant points for NMFS to consider or are out of the scope of this activity.

We reiterate here that NMFS' proposed action concerns only the authorization of marine mammal take incidental to the planned surveys—NMFS' authority under the MMPA does not extend to the surveys themselves or to wind energy development more generally. The public comments requested that NMFS not issue any IHAs related to wind energy development and/or expressed opposition for wind energy development generally. We do not specifically address these comments because they are out of scope of the proposed Renewal IHA (89 FR 58124, July 17, 2024) or do not raise significant points for NMFS to consider.

All substantive comments and NMFS' responses are provided below, and all comment letters are available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-invenergy-wind-offshore-llcs-site-characterization-surveys-new.

Comment 1: Several commenters expressed a concern that the proposed IHA and its associated specified activities would lead to mortality (death) of marine mammals.

Response: The public commenters did not provide any scientific evidence to support their claim that the proposed IHA and specific activities would lead to mortality of marine mammal. NMFS emphasizes that there is no credible scientific evidence available suggesting that mortality and/or serious injury is a potential outcome of the planned survey activity. NMFS notes there has never been a report of any serious injuries or mortalities of a marine mammal associated with site characterization surveys.

The best available science indicates that Level B harassment ( i.e., disruption of behavioral patterns may occur as a result of IWO's specified activities. We also refer to the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) 2021 Programmatic Consultation, which finds that these survey activities are in general not likely to adversely affect Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed marine mammal species. That document is found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/consultations/section-7-take-reporting-programmatics-greater-atlantic#offshore-wind-site-assessment-and-site-characterization-activities-programmatic-consultation.

Comment 2: COA stated that marine mammal species experiencing Unusual Mortality Events (UMEs), such as North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, and minke whales should be protected more carefully.

Response: NMFS appreciates COAs concern for marine mammals experiencing UMEs. However, COA did not suggest any additional mitigation measures that NMFS should consider incorporating into the IHA.

Comment 3: COA states the use of a Categorical Exclusion (CE) under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) should not apply and further analysis should be conducted while considering cumulative effects of the proposed IHA relative to other authorized takes in the area, including takes under the 2023 IHA.

Response: NMFS disagrees. A CE is a category of actions that an agency has determined does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment and is appropriately applied for such categories of actions so long as there are no extraordinary circumstances present that would indicate that the effects of the action may be significant. Extraordinary circumstances are situations for which NOAA has determined further NEPA analysis is required because they are circumstances in which a normally excluded action may have significant effects. A determination of whether an action that is normally excluded requires additional evaluation because of extraordinary circumstances focuses on the action's potential effects and considers the significance of those effects in terms of both context (consideration of the affected region, interests, and resources) and intensity (severity of impacts). Potential extraordinary circumstances relevant to this action include: (1) adverse effects on species or habitats protected by the MMPA that are not negligible; (2) highly controversial environmental effects; (3) environmental effects that are uncertain, unique, or unknown; and (4) the potential for significant cumulative impacts when the proposed action is combined with other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions.

The relevant NOAA CE associated with issuance of incidental take authorizations is CE B4, “Issuance of incidental harassment authorizations under section 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA for the incidental, but not intentional, take by harassment of marine mammals during specified activities and for which no serious injury or mortality is anticipated.” This action falls within CE B4. In determining whether a CE is appropriate for a given incidental take authorization, NMFS considers the applicant's specified activity and the potential extent and magnitude of takes of marine mammals associated with that activity along with the extraordinary circumstances listed in the Companion Manual for NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A and summarized above.

The evaluation of whether extraordinary circumstances (if present) have the potential for significant environmental effects is limited to the decision NMFS is responsible for, which is issuance of the incidental take authorization. Potential effects of NMFS' action are limited to those that would occur due to the authorization of incidental take of marine mammals. NMFS prepared numerous EAs analyzing the environmental impacts of the categories of activities encompassed by CE B4, which resulted in Findings of No Significant Impacts (FONSIs) and, in particular, numerous EAs prepared in support of issuance of IHAs related to similar survey actions are part of NMFS' administrative record supporting CE B4. These EAs demonstrate the issuance of a given incidental harassment authorization does not affect other aspects of the human environment because the action only affects the marine mammals that are the subject of the incidental harassment authorization.

Specifically for this action, NMFS independently evaluated the use of the CE for issuance of IWO's IHA, which included consideration of extraordinary circumstances. As part of that analysis, NMFS considered whether this IHA issuance would result in cumulative impacts that could be significant. In particular, the issuance of an IHA to IWO is expected to result in minor, short-term behavioral effects on marine mammal species due to exposure to underwater sound from site characterization survey activities. Behavioral disturbance is possible to occur intermittently in the vicinity of IWO's survey area during the 1-year timeframe. Level B harassment will be reduced through use of mitigation measures described herein. Additionally, as discussed elsewhere, NMFS has determined that IWO's activities fall within the scope of activities analyzed in GARFO's programmatic consultation regarding geophysical surveys along the U.S. Atlantic coast in the three Atlantic Renewable Energy Regions (completed June 29, 2021; revised September 2021), which concluded surveys such as those planned by IWO are not likely to adversely affect ESA-listed species or adversely modify or destroy critical habitat. Accordingly, NMFS has determined that the issuance of this IHA will result in no more than negligible (as that term is defined by the Companion Manual for NAO 216-6A) adverse effects on species protected by the ESA and the MMPA.

Further, the issuance of this IHA will not result in highly controversial environmental effects or result in environmental effects that are uncertain, unique, or unknown because numerous entities have been engaged in site characterization surveys that result in Level B harassment of marine mammals in the United States. This type of activity is well documented; prior authorizations and analysis demonstrates issuance of an IHA for this type of action only affects the marine mammals that are the subject of the specific authorization and, thus, no potential for significant cumulative impacts are expected, regardless of past, present, or reasonably foreseeable actions, even though the impacts of the action may not be significant by itself. Based on this evaluation, we concluded that the issuance of the IHA qualifies to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review.

Comment 4: COA states there is considerable uncertainty regarding the effect of preconstruction surveying on marine mammals.

Response: NMFS disagrees. NMFS has issued IHAs for marine site characterization surveys and HRG surveys since 2014 and marine mammal behavioral responses, or lack thereof, from these activities are well documented. Marine mammal monitoring reports from authorized surveys and the best available science indicates that only Level B harassment ( i.e., temporary disruption of behavioral patterns) may occur. No mortality or serious injury is expected to occur as a result of IWOs planned surveys, and there is no scientific evidence indicating that any marine mammal could experience these as a direct result of noise from geophysical survey activity.

Comment 5: COA asserted that NMFS should reject IWOs application until the cumulative impacts of every incidental take authorization on marine mammals are considered. COA also stated that NMFS must fully consider the discrete effects of each activity and the cumulative effects of the suite of approved, proposed, and potential offshore wind activities on marine mammals and ensure that the cumulative effects are not excessive before issuing or renewing an IHA.

Response: NMFS is required to authorize the requested incidental take if it finds the incidental take by harassment of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens “while engaging in that [specified] activity” within a specified geographic region will have a negligible impact on such species or stock and where appropriate, will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of such species or stock for subsistence uses (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)). Negligible impact is defined as “an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival” (50 CFR 216.103). Neither the MMPA nor NMFS' implementing regulations require consideration of other unrelated activities and their impacts on marine mammal populations in the negligible impact determination. Additionally, NMFS' implementing regulations require applicants to include in their request a detailed description of the specified activity or class of activities that can be expected to result in incidental taking of marine mammals (50 CFR 216.104(a)(1)). Thus, the “specified activity” for which incidental take coverage is being sought under section 101(a)(5)(D) is generally defined and described by the applicant. Consistent with the preamble of NMFS' implementing regulations (54 FR 40338, September 29, 1989), the impacts from other past and ongoing anthropogenic activities are factored into the baseline, which is used in the negligible impact analysis. Here, NMFS has factored into its negligible impact analysis the impacts of other past and ongoing anthropogenic activities via their impacts on the baseline ( e.g., as reflected in the density, distribution and status of the species, population size and growth rate, and other relevant stressors).

The preamble of NMFS' implementing regulations (54 FR 40338, September 29, 1989) also addresses cumulative effects from future, unrelated activities. Such effects are not considered in making the negligible impact determination under MMPA section 101(a)(5). NMFS considers (1) cumulative effects that are reasonably foreseeable when preparing a NEPA analysis, and (2) reasonably foreseeable cumulative effects under section 7 of the ESA for listed species, as appropriate. Accordingly, NMFS has written Environmental Assessments (EA) that addressed cumulative impacts related to substantially similar activities in similar locations ( e.g., the 2019 Avangrid EA for survey activities offshore North Carolina and Virginia; the 2017 Ocean Wind, LLC EA for site characterization surveys off New Jersey; and the 2018 Deepwater Wind EA for survey activities offshore Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island). Cumulative impacts regarding issuance of IHAs for site characterization survey activities such as those planned by IWO have been adequately addressed under NEPA in prior environmental analyses that support NMFS' determination that this action is appropriately categorically excluded from further NEPA analysis. NMFS independently evaluated the use of a CE for issuance of IWO's IHA, which included consideration of extraordinary circumstances.

Separately, the cumulative effects of substantially similar activities in the northwest Atlantic Ocean have been analyzed in the past under section 7 of the ESA when NMFS has engaged in formal intra-agency consultation, such as the 2013 programmatic Biological Opinion (BiOp) for BOEM Lease and Site Assessment Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey Wind Energy Areas ( https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/29291 ). Analyzed activities include those for which NMFS issued previous IHAs (82 FR 31562, July 7, 2017; 83 FR 28808, June 21, 2018; 83 FR 36539, July 30, 2018; and 86 FR 26465, May 10, 2021), which are similar to those planned by IWO under this current IHA request. This BiOp determined that NMFS' issuance of IHAs for site characterization survey activities associated with leasing, individually and cumulatively, are not likely to adversely affect listed marine mammals. NMFS notes that, while issuance of this IHA is covered under a different consultation, this BiOp remains valid.

Comment 6: A commenter stated that Letters of Authorizations (LOA) would be more appropriate than IHAs and IHA renewals when time to complete proposed activities are unclear.

Response: Under section 101(a)(5)(D)(i) of the MMPA, the Secretary of Commerce, as delegated to NMFS, shall authorize the requested incidental, but not intentional, taking by harassment of small numbers of marine mammals by the requestor while engaged in the specified activities if NMFS finds the harassment (1) will have a negligible impact of such species or stock and (2) will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of such stocks for the taking for subsistence uses, if applicable. IWO requested an IHA for specified activities that could reasonably be completed within 1 year, and NMFS has made the required findings.

A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the Federal Register notice of the Proposed IHAs (88 FR 32735, May 22, 2023) for the initial IHA. NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, the draft 2023 Stock Assessment Reports (SARs), which included updates to certain stock abundances since the initial IHA was issued, information on relevant UME, and other scientific literature. The draft 2023 SAR updated the population estimate (N best ) of North Atlantic right whales from 338 to 340 and annual mortality and serious injury from 31.2 to 27.2. The updated population estimate in the draft 2023 SAR is based upon sighting history through December 2021 (89 FR 5495, January 29, 2024). Total annual average observed North Atlantic right whale mortality during the period 2017-2021 was 7.1 animals and annual average observed fishery mortality was 4.6 animals, however, estimates of 27.2 total mortality and 17.6 fishery mortality account for undetected mortality and serious injury (89 FR 5495, January 29, 2024). In October 2023, NMFS released a technical report identifying that the North Atlantic right whale population size based on sighting history through 2022 was 356 whales, with a 95 percent credible interval ranging from 346 to 363 (Linden, 2023).

The population estimates (N best ) also increased for the North Atlantic stock of Sperm whales, the Western North Atlantic Offshore stock of Common bottlenose dolphins, Western North Atlantic stocks of Risso's dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, and Gray seals. However, abundance estimates slightly decreased for the Western North Atlantic stocks of Common dolphins and Harbor Porpoises. NMFS has determined there is no new information that affects which species or stocks have the potential to be affected or the pertinent information in the Description of the Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities contained in the supporting documents for the initial IHA.

A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which an IHA is proposed here may be found in the notice of the proposed IHA (88 FR 32735, May 22, 2023) for the initial IHA. NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the initial IHA, recent draft SARs, information on relevant UME's, and other scientific literature and determined that there is no new information that affects our initial analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat. Therefore, that information is not repeated here; please refer to the Federal Register notice (88 FR 32735, May 22, 2023).

A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take for the specified activity are found in the Federal Register notice of the Final IHA (88 FR 47846, July 25, 2023) for the initial IHA. Specifically, the source levels, days of operation, and marine mammal density/occurrence data applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from the initial IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, and type of take remain unchanged from the initial IHA, as do the number of takes, which are indicated below in table 1.

The mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures included as requirements in the IHA are identical to those included in the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the initial IHA (88 FR 47846, July 25, 2023) and the discussion of the least practicable adverse impact determination included in that document remains applicable and accurate. The following measures required in this renewal IHA:

• Protected Species Observers (PSO): A minimum of one visual PSO must be on duty on each source vessel and conducting visual observations at all times during daylight hours ( i.e., from 30 minutes (min) prior to sunrise through 30 min following sunset). A minimum of two PSOs must be on duty on each source vessel during nighttime hours;

• Pre-Start Clearance Protocols: Prior to activating sparker systems, IWO must implement a 30-minute pre-start clearance observation period. If any marine mammals are detected within the shutdown zones prior to or during ramp-up, the sparker system equipment must be shutdown (as described above). Pre-start clearance is waived for certain genera of small delphinids and pinnipeds;

• Ramp-up: A ramp-up procedure must be used for the activation of sparker systems by gradually increasing source levels at the start or re-start of survey activities (when technically feasible);

• Shutdown Zones: If a sparker system is active and a marine mammal is observed within or entering a relevant shutdown zone, an immediate shutdown of the sparker system equipment is required. Shutdown requirements are waived for certain genera of small delphinids and pinnipeds;

• Vessel strike avoidance measures: Minimum separation distances must be maintained for marine mammals (500 m for North Atlantic right whales, baleen whales (except humpback and minke), sperm whales, and unidentified large whales; 100 m for humpback and minke whales; 50 m for all other marine mammals); restricted vessel speeds and operational maneuvers; and

• Reporting: IWO must submit a marine mammal monitoring report within 90 days of completion of the surveys.

NMFS is authorizing the incidental take of small numbers of marine mammals from specified activities identical to those analyzed in the initial IHA and is requiring identical mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures as those specified in the initial IHA. The number of takes by Level B harassment authorized is equal to that authorized in the initial IHA. In the initial IHA, NMFS determined that IWO's specified activities would have a negligible impact on the affected species and/or stocks and the authorized take for each stock would be small relative to individual stock abundance (less than one third).

NMFS has concluded that there is no new information suggesting that our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the initial IHA. This includes consideration of the estimated abundance of seven stocks decreasing/increasing slightly. Specifically, NMFS is authorizing six takes of North Atlantic right whales by Level B harassment only, and the impacts resulting from the project's activities are neither reasonably expected nor reasonably likely to adversely affect the stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival. Additionally, approximately 1.76 percent of the stock abundance is authorized for take by Level B harassment.

Based on the information and analysis contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS has determined the following: (1) the required mitigation measures will effect the least practicable impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat; (2) the authorized takes will have a negligible impact on the affected marine mammal species or stocks; (3) the authorized takes represent small numbers of marine mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; (4) IWO's activities will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on taking for subsistence purposes as no relevant subsistence uses of marine mammals are implicated by this action, and; (5) appropriate monitoring and reporting requirements are included.

This action is consistent with categories of activities identified in Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental take authorizations with no anticipated serious injury or mortality) of the Companion Manual for NOAA Administrative Order 216-6A, which do not individually or cumulatively have the potential for significant impacts on the quality of the human environment and for which we have not identified any extraordinary circumstances that would preclude this categorical exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS determined that the issuance of the initial IHA qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review. NMFS has determined that the application of this categorical exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ) requires that each Federal agency insure that any action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for the issuance of IHAs, NMFS consults internally whenever we propose to authorize take for endangered or threatened species.

NMFS' Office of Protected Resources has authorized take of four species of marine mammals that are listed under the ESA ( i.e., North Atlantic Right Whale, fin whale, sei whale, and sperm whale) and has determined these activities fall within the scope of activities analyzed in the NMFS GARFO programmatic consultation regarding geophysical surveys along the U.S. Atlantic coast in the three Atlantic Renewable Energy Regions (completed June 29, 2021; revised September 2021). The Renewal IHA neither provides new information about the effects of the action nor change the extent of effects of the action or any other basis to require reinitiation of consultation with NMFS GARFO. Therefore, the ESA consultation has been satisfied for the initial IHA and remains valid for the Renewal IHA.

NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to IWO for conducting marine site characterization with HRG surveys off the coast of New York and New Jersey in the New York Bight in BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 0542 and the associated Export ECR Area from August 21, 2024 through July 30, 2025.

Title: Regulations Governing Bankruptcies of Commodity Brokers (OMB Control No. 3038-0021). This is a request for an extension of a currently approved information collection. 1

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Air Force ROTC Program and Scholarship Application; OMB Control Number 0701-0105.

Type of Request: Reinstatement with change.

Number of Respondents: 12,600.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 12,600.

Average Burden per Response: 3 hours.

Annual Burden Hours: 37,800.

Needs and Uses: The information collection requirement is necessary to determine whether an applicant is eligible to join the Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corps (AF ROTC) program and, if accepted, the enrollment status of the applicant within the program. Upon acceptance into the program, the collected information is used to establish personal records for AF ROTC cadets. Eligibility for membership cannot be determined if this information is not collected.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet Seehra.

You may also submit comments and recommendations, identified by Docket ID number and title, by the following method:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, Docket ID number, and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

DOD Clearance Officer: Mr. Reginald Lucas.

Requests for copies of the information collection proposal should be sent to Mr. Lucas at whs.mc-alex.esd.mbx.dd-dod-information-collections@mail.mil .

The DAF has decided to replace all T-38C aircraft at Columbus AFB with up to 77 T-7A aircraft and continue flying training programs at Columbus AFB, MS.

The DAF decision documented in the ROD was based on matters discussed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, inputs from the public and regulatory agencies, and other relevant factors. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was made available to the public on May 3, 2024 through a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register (Volume 89, Number 87, Page 36815) with a waiting period that ended on June 3, 2024.

Authority: This Notice of Availability is published pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR part 1506.6) implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq. ) and the Air Force's Environmental Impact Analysis Process (32 CFR parts 989.21(b) and 989.24(b)(7)).

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Understanding Social Interactions and Sexual Behavior in the Military submitted under “DoD-wide Data Collection and Analysis for the Department of Defense Qualitative and Quantitative Data Collection in Support of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault Recommendations,” OMB Control Number: 0704-0644.

Type of Request: New.

Number of Respondents: 3,000.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 3,000.

Average Burden per Response: 0.5 hours.

Annual Burden Hours: 1,500.

Needs and Uses: The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military recommended that the Department develop a “state-of-the-art DoD prevention research capability” to better understand and develop prevention approaches for sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other forms of violence. The information collection requirement is necessary to obtain information on the full range of risk and protective factors for sexual assault and sexual harassment to support the development of evidence-based approaches for prevention.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet Seehra.

You may also submit comments and recommendations, identified by Docket ID number and title, by the following method:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, Docket ID number, and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

DOD Clearance Officer: Mr. Reginald Lucas.

Requests for copies of the information collection proposal should be sent to Mr. Lucas at whs.mc-alex.esd.mbx.dd-dod-information-collections@mail.mil .

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Waiver/Remission of Indebtedness Application; DD Form 2789; OMB Control Number 0730-0009.

Type of Request: Extension.

Number of Respondents: 4,500.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 4,500.

Average Burden per Response: 80 minutes.

Annual Burden Hours: 6,000.

Needs and Uses: The information collected on this form will be used by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to determine whether there is indication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith, and whether it is in the best interest of the United States to forgive the debt. It will also be used to determine if a debtor should have been reasonably aware of the overpayment when it occurred. If a request for waiver is denied, the debt collection office (DCO) (usually the payroll office) will continue or resume collection if collection action was previously suspended. If a request for waiver is approved, then the DCO must cancel any outstanding portion of the debt and refund any portion of the debt that may have been collected prior to waiver approval.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet Seehra.

You may also submit comments and recommendations, identified by Docket ID number and title, by the following method:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, Docket ID number, and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

DOD Clearance Officer: Mr. Reginald Lucas.

Requests for copies of the information collection proposal should be sent to Mr. Lucas at whs.mc-alex.esd.mbx.dd-dod-information-collections@mail.mil.

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Military Base Reuse Status; DD Form 2740; OMB Control Number 0790-0003.

Needs and Uses: Through the OLDCC, DoD funds are provided to communities for economic adjustment planning in response to closures and realignments of military installations. A measure of program evaluation is the monitoring of civilian job creation, and the type of redevelopment at former military installations. The respondents to the annual survey will generally be a single point of contact at the local level that is responsible for overseeing the base redevelopment effort. If this data is not collected, OLDCC will have no accurate, timely information regarding the civilian reuse of former military bases. As the administrator of the Defense Economic Adjustment Program, OLDCC has a responsibility to encourage private sector use of lands and buildings to generate jobs as military activity diminishes, and to serve as a clearinghouse for reuse data.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; State, Local, or Tribal Government.

Annual Burden Hours: 100.

Number of Respondents: 100.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 100.

Average Burden per Response: 1 hour.

Frequency: Annually.

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Application for Transitional Compensation; DD Form 2698; OMB Control Number: 0704-0578.

Type of Request: Extension.

Number of Respondents: 500.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 500.

Average Burden per Response: 20 minutes.

Annual Burden Hours: 167.

Needs and Uses: DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1342.24, “Transitional Compensation (TC) for Abused Dependents,” establishes policy in accordance with section 1059 of Title 10, United States Code. In order to validate eligibility for the benefit and to ensure payment to the appropriate claimant, the Services obtain information from the abused dependents or their legal representative. This includes personal identifiable information such as name, social security numbers, dates of birth, etc. In order to collect this information, DoDI 1342.24 directs the Service representatives to use DD Form 2698, “Application for TC.” The potential claimant travels to the office of the Service representative at the closest military installation. The Service representative provides the potential claimant with a blank hard-copy of DD Form 2698 to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements for the pay, identify the number of dependent children in the payee's custody, and obtain the current address of the eligible dependent(s) or their legal representative. The claimant will complete Section I and the Service representative will complete Sections II and III of DD Form 2698. The form is then scanned and sent electronically via secure email to Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to complete Section IV. Once confirmation of eligibility is made by DFAS, the claimant will begin receiving benefits. All records, both electronic and hard-copy, are filed/stored on a secure database and/or in a secure workspace in accordance with DoD records management protocol.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Frequency: As required.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet Seehra.

You may also submit comments and recommendations, identified by Docket ID number and title, by the following method:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, Docket ID number, and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

DOD Clearance Officer: Mr. Reginald Lucas.

Requests for copies of the information collection proposal should be sent to Mr. Lucas at whs.mc-alex.esd.mbx.dd-dod-information-collections@mail.mil .

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Facilities Available for the Construction or Repair of Ships; Standard Form 17; OMB Control Number 0703-0006.

Needs and Uses: The information collection is part of a joint effort between the Naval Sea Systems Command and the U.S. Maritime Administration, to maintain a working data set on active U.S. shipyards. The information collected is critical in providing both organizations with a comprehensive list of U.S. commercial shipyards and their capabilities and capacities.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for profit.

Annual Burden Hours: 800.

Number of Respondents: 200.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 200.

Average Burden per Response: 4 hours.

Frequency: Annually.

PCAST is an advisory group of the nation's leading scientists and engineers, appointed by the President to augment the science and technology advice available to him from the White House, cabinet departments, and other Federal agencies. See the Executive order at whitehouse.gov. PCAST is consulted on and provides analyses and recommendations concerning a wide range of issues where understanding of science, technology, and innovation may bear on the policy choices before the President. The Designated Federal Officer is Dr. Melissa A. Edwards. Information about PCAST can be found at: www.whitehouse.gov/PCAST.

Open portion: PCAST may discuss transportation research to support future innovations.

Closed portion: PCAST may hold a closed meeting of approximately one hour with the President and/or senior administration officials on topics related to transportation innovation on September 12th or 13th, which must take place at the scheduling convenience of the President and to maintain Secret Service protection. This session will be closed to the public because the session is likely to disclose matters that are to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy under 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1).

Public Participation: The open sessions are open to the public. The meeting will be held virtually for members of the public. It is the policy of PCAST to accept written public comments no longer than 10 pages and to accommodate oral public comments whenever possible. PCAST expects that public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously submitted oral or written statements.

The public comment period for this meeting will take place on September 12, 2024, at a time specified in the meeting agenda. This public comment period is designed only for substantive commentary on PCAST's work, not for business marketing purposes.

Oral Comments: To be considered for the public speaker list at the meeting, interested parties should register to speak at PCAST@ostp.eop.gov, no later than 12 p.m. Eastern Time on September 6, 2024. To accommodate as many speakers as possible, the time for public comments will be limited to two (2) minutes per person, with a total public comment period of up to 10 minutes. If more speakers register than there is space available on the agenda, PCAST will select speakers on a first-come, first-served basis from those who registered. Those not able to present oral comments may file written comments with the council.

Written Comments: Although written comments are accepted continuously, written comments should be submitted to PCAST@ostp.eop.gov no later than 12 p.m. Eastern Time on September 6, 2024, so that the comments can be made available to the PCAST members for their consideration prior to this meeting.

PCAST operates under the provisions of FACA, all public comments and/or presentations will be treated as public documents and will be made available for public inspection, including being posted on the PCAST website at: www.whitehouse.gov/PCAST/meetings.

Minutes: Minutes will be available within 45 days at: www.whitehouse.gov/PCAST/meetings.

Signing Authority: This document of the Department of Energy was signed on August 21, 2024, by David Borak, Committee Management Officer, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .

Background: The EFAB is an EPA advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2, to provide advice and recommendations to the EPA on innovative approaches to funding environmental programs, projects, and activities. Administrative support for the EFAB is provided by the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center within the EPA's Office of Water. Pursuant to FACA and EPA policy, notice is hereby given that the EFAB will hold a public webinar for the following purpose: to explore strategies for leveraging GGRF resources to attract private capital investment in zero emissions transportation projects, with particular focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDACs).

Registration for the Webinar: To register for the webinar, please visit https://www.epa.gov/waterfinancecenter/efab#meeting. Interested persons who wish to attend the webinar must register by September 18, 2024. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Availability of Webinar Materials: Webinar materials, including the agenda and associated materials, will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/waterfinancecenter/efab.

Procedures for Providing Public Input: Public comment for consideration by the EPA's Federal advisory committees has a different purpose from public comment provided to the EPA program offices. Therefore, the process for submitting comments to a Federal advisory committee is different from the process used to submit comments to an EPA program office. Federal advisory committees provide independent advice to the EPA. Members of the public may submit comments on matters being considered by the EFAB for consideration as the Board develops its advice and recommendations to the EPA.

Written Statements: Written statements should be received by September 13, 2024, so that the information can be made available to the EFAB for its consideration prior to the webinar. Written statements should be sent via email to efab@epa.gov. Members of the public should be aware that their personal contact information, if included in any written comments, may be posted to the EFAB website. Copyrighted material will not be posted without explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Accessibility: For information on access or services for individuals with disabilities or to request accommodations for a disability, please register for the webinar and list any special requirements or accommodations needed on the registration form at least 10 business days prior to the webinar to allow as much time as possible to process your request.

This is a summary of the Commission's document ( Public Notice ), in WT Docket No. 24-243, DA 24-789, released on August 9, 2024. The full text of this document is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-789A1.pdf.

With this Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau seeks to further develop the record for the 37.0-37.6 GHz band (Lower 37 GHz band) with the goal of informing the forthcoming report mandated by the National Spectrum Strategy (NSS) Implementation Plan. The NSS identified the Lower 37 GHz band for in-depth study to determine how a co-equal, shared-use framework which allows Federal and non-federal operations should be implemented. 1 The final report with findings is to be completed by November 2024. 2

Background. In 2016, the Commission, in coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), made the Lower 37 GHz band available for coordinated, co-primary sharing between Federal and non-federal fixed and mobile users and determined that Federal and non-federal users would access the Lower 37 GHz band by registering individual sites through a coordination mechanism that would be developed through government/industry collaboration. 3 In the accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission defined the parameters for a successful coordination mechanism and sought comment on the most appropriate coordination mechanism for the band. 4 In 2018, the Commission noted that the Lower 37 GHz band would innovatively accommodate a variety of use cases and sought comment on utilizing a third-party coordinator or alternatively, implementing a coordination model similar to that used in part 101 point-to-point bands. 5

National Spectrum Strategy. The NSS identified the Lower 37 GHz Band as a band for further study “to implement a co-equal, shared-use framework allowing Federal and non-federal users to deploy operations in the band.”  6 The NSS Implementation Plan established a schedule under which a study of the band would be completed by October 2024 and a final report issued by November 2024. 7 In order to aid in the study of the band and the preparation of the report, the Commission seeks public input on various issues relating to the Lower 37 GHz Band. 8 The record developed in response to this Public Notice will be publicly available in WT Docket No. 24-243 and shared with the NTIA, the Department of Defense (DoD), and other interested agencies.

Potential Uses of the Lower 37 GHz Band. The Commission finds that additional information on potential uses of the Lower 37 GHz band would be helpful in the preparation of the Lower 37 GHz Report. The current record on potential uses of the band is limited. While commenters foresee uses including fixed wireless broadband, point-to-point links, Internet of Things networks, device-to-device operations, augmented reality applications, smart cities, smart grids, and as part of private networks, 9 they have not provided much detail about implementation of these services in the band. The Commission therefore asks interested operators to provide specific and updated information on the contemplated uses of the band, to include interdependencies of pairing spectrum bands with the Lower 37 GHz band. The Commission also seeks input regarding the feasibility of Aeronautical Mobile Service (AMS) operations within the band. 10 This information will be helpful as we develop sharing mechanisms for the band. The Commission anticipates that operations offered in the band initially will be point-to-point and point-to-multipoint operations, although other types of operations—including mobile operations—may develop later. The Commission encourages commenters to explain how the various ideas presented below would facilitate or hinder contemplated operations.

Coordination Framework. Under the contemplated framework, proposed operations must be successfully coordinated with the relevant Federal and non-federal operators before they can be registered. A coordination portal, where Federal and non-federal operators could generate phase one coordination contour(s), which identifies if further phase two coordination would be required, has been proposed. The Commission seeks input on the portal's capabilities in all phases and how the coordination portal could be funded. As referenced in the NSS, 11 in 2020 the Commission began intra-governmental collaboration with NTIA and DoD to further define and develop a possible coordination mechanism that permits the innovative type of spectrum sharing envisioned for the band. These conversations focused on balancing the desire to make this spectrum available expeditiously for deployment with the need to protect both Federal and non-federal operations in the band from harmful interference. In addition, the Commission intends that the framework be sufficiently flexible to accommodate multiple uses while also being simple enough to deploy more quickly than other more elaborate sharing mechanisms.

As an outgrowth of prior discussions with representatives from the Commission, NTIA, and DoD, a two-phase process emerged as a possible coordination mechanism to ensure meaningful access to spectrum by later entrants, including Federal entrants, while ensuring adequate protection from harmful interference to incumbents. 12 In the first phase, an interference contour would be drawn around each existing and potential site based on its technical parameters, including transmitter details such as location (latitude and longitude), equivalent isotropic radiated power, antenna height, and antenna azimuth angle. The contour calculation would also take into account propagation loss due to terrain. If the prospective site's contour does not overlap with that of any existing registration, coordination is successful, and registration of the new site may proceed. If there is overlap, there would be a second phase of coordination, in which operators would communicate directly to discuss whether and under what circumstances a placement inside the relevant contours might be feasible. This phase would allow for more advanced interference mitigation techniques, such as antenna directivity, polarization, or shielding to provide solutions in specific situations without requiring a one-size-fits-all approach. The operators would be required to provide technical information on their respective operations  13 and cooperate in good faith to determine whether coexistence would be possible. A dispute resolution process would be established to resolve any disputes that arose during the coordination process. The Commission seeks input on what information should be included within a dispute resolution process. If the second phase of coordination is successfully achieved, the applicant would be permitted to register that particular site.

For non-federal site registrations, the technical details of the proposed site would be part of the registration and publicly available in the Universal Licensing System (ULS). For Federal site registrations, NTIA would maintain the relevant technical details. For non-federal coordination with Federal incumbents, these Federal site registration details would be queried during the first phase of coordination. That query would return either a green light (no contour overlap), or a yellow light (overlapping contours and potential interference risk); for a yellow light result, contact information for the relevant Federal agency would be provided to allow a non-federal applicant to proceed to phase two, as described above. The Commission seeks input on this coordination framework.

Adjacent Band Protection. In the 2016 R&O, the Commission adopted an out-of-band emission limit that it concluded would “keep emissions from an UMFUS device into the 36-37 GHz band well below the −10 dBW level specified by footnote US550A,” noting that the −10 dBW power limit “was adopted to protect passive sensors in the 36-37 GHz band in accordance with ITU Resolution 752 (WRC-07).”  14 Under FCC part 30.203, operations are limited to −13 dBm/MHz, which expands to −13 dBW/GHz. Subsequently, Resolution 243 (WRC-19), Table 1, established a −23 dBW/GHz unwanted emission mean power for IMT stations within the frequency band 36-37 GHz. 15 In light of these developments, the Commission seeks input on whether additional measures are needed to protect spaceborne remote passive sensors in the 36-37 GHz band.

Licensing. For non-federal operations, the licensing process would consist of two steps. A non-federal entity seeking to operate in the Lower 37 GHz band would first obtain a nationwide non-exclusive license from the Commission, and then, following successful coordination, would register specific site locations in ULS. All registered site locations would be protected from harmful interference from any subsequent registrations, on a first-come first-served basis. 16 Registered non-federal sites would then generally be required to finish construction and begin operation within 120 days of the date the registration is accepted, or the registration would be cancelled, and the licensee would forfeit their interference protection priority. As discussed above, the Commission anticipates that most sites initially would be either point-to-point links or point-to-multipoint deployments, but this licensing process would potentially be able to accommodate other uses as well. The Commission seeks input on this licensing process.

Priority Access. Consistent with the questions asked in the 2018 FNPRM, 17 the Commission envisions that the lower 200 megahertz band segment, 37.0-37.2 GHz, would be subject to priority use by DoD and military agency departments. The goal of this priority access would be to ensure that spectrum is available for military deployments, which may be on a longer timescale than commercial deployments. Military interests include pursuing air-to-ground use as part of a future sharing framework for the Lower 37 GHz band. This interest, in part, reflects the physics of the band inasmuch as in the upper atmosphere, the propagation is dominated by line-of-sight paths with reduced obstruction and atmospheric absorption. Given technology advancements since the adoption of the 2016 R&O, the Commission seeks input on this matter. The Commission also invites suggestions on the conditions under which non-federal users could operate in this portion of the band while maintaining the requisite flexibility for military deployments. For example, allowing non-federal users to register and deploy sites immediately, subject to a condition that they must modify or potentially cease operations in the future if those operations conflict with later military deployments could allow this spectrum to more quickly be put into use. Further, the Commission could impose conditions that specify that non-federal operators would not be protected from harmful interference from subsequent military deployments. The Commission seeks input on implementing priority access.

The Commission seeks input on these and any other suggestions for the use of this band, as we continue to explore options for making this spectrum available for shared use.

Ensuring Widespread Access to Lower 37 GHz Spectrum. Given the limited number of channels available in the Lower 37 GHz band, the variety of potential uses of the band, and the fact that both Federal and non-federal entities will have access to the band, the Commission anticipates that initial demand for the band may exceed the available supply of channels in some areas. The Commission recognizes there is a risk, particularly in larger markets, that future entrants (both Federal and non-federal) may be precluded from accessing the band if the band is fully licensed in the initial licensing phase. On the other hand, the Commission wants operators to put this available spectrum to use quickly—both for non-federal and Federal uses—in order to serve the public interest.

The Commission seeks input on what measures could be taken to control access to the Lower 37 GHz band during the initial site registration phase. For example, during this phase, applicants could be limited to a single 100 megahertz channel per site, which would ensure that multiple operators could access the band. Another possible approach would be to establish accelerated buildout deadlines ( e.g., 60 or 90 days) for registrations issued during the initial phase. That would provide some assurance that only bona fide operators who are ready to construct and commence operations file site registrations. Finally, to avoid cases where multiple applicants seek to register the same channel, the Commission could reserve the right to grant an applicant a different 100 megahertz channel than the channel it originally sought.

Finally, the Commission seeks input on whether there are alternative measures that should be considered to enable multiple providers to operate in the Lower 37 GHz band.

The Federal Hazardous Substance Act and Hazardous Material Transportation Act prescribe standards for packaging of hazardous substances. To meet the requirements of the Acts, the General Services Administration Regulation prescribes provision 552.223-72, Hazardous Material Information, to be inserted in solicitations and contracts that provides for delivery of hazardous materials on a Free On Board (FOB) origin basis.

This information collection will be accomplished by means of the provision which requires the contractor to identify for each National Stock Number (NSN), the DOT Shipping Name, Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazards Class, and whether the item requires a DOT label. Contracting Officers and technical personnel use the information to monitor and ensure contract requirements based on law and regulation.

Properly identified and labeled items of hazardous material allows for appropriate handling of such items throughout GSA's supply chain system. The information is used by GSA, stored in an NSN database and provided to GSA customers. Non-Collection and/or a less frequently conducted collection of the information resulting from GSAR provision 552.223-72 would prevent the Government from being properly notified. Government activities may be hindered from notifying their employees of; (1) All hazards to which they may be exposed; (2) Relative symptoms and appropriate emergency treatment; and (3) Proper conditions and precautions for safe use and exposure.

Respondents: 563.

Responses per Respondent: 3.

Total Responses: 1,689.

Hours per Response: .5.

Total Burden Hours: 844.5.

Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary, whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information collection documents from the GSA Regulatory Secretariat Division, by calling 202-501-4755 or emailing GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite OMB Control No. 3090-0205, Hazardous Material Information, in all correspondence.

The General Services Administration requires contractors holding Multiple Award Schedule Contracts to identify in their GSA price lists those products that they market commercially that have environmental attributes in accordance with GSAR clause 552.238-78. The identification of these products will enable Federal agencies to maximize the use of these products and meet the responsibilities expressed in statutes and executive order.

Respondents: 934.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 934.

Hours per Response: 1.

Total Burden Hours: 934.

A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register at 89 FR 52052 on June 21, 2024. No comments were received.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information collection documents from the Regulatory Secretariat Division by calling 202-501-4755 or emailing GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite OMB Control No. 3090-0262, Identification of Products with Environmental Attributes, in all correspondence.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies to publish a 30-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice that summarizes the following proposed collection(s) of information for public comment:

1. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Titles of Information Collection: ASC Forms for Medicare Program Certification; Use: The form CMS-370 titled “Health Insurance Benefits Agreement” is used for the purpose of establishing an ASC's eligibility for payment under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (the “Act”). This agreement, upon acceptance by the Secretary of Health & Human Services, shall be binding on the ASC and the Secretary. The agreement may be terminated by either party in accordance with regulations. In the event of termination of this agreement, payment will not be available for the ASC's services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries on or after the effective date of termination.

The CMS-377 form is used by ASCs to initiate both the initial and renewal survey by the State Survey Agency, which provides the certification required for an ASC to participate in the Medicare program. An ASC must complete the CMS-377 form and send it to the appropriate State Survey Agency prior to their scheduled accreditation renewal date. The CMS-377 form provides the State Survey Agency with information about the ASC facility's characteristics, such as, determining the size and the composition of the survey team on the basis of the number of ORs/procedure rooms and the types of surgical procedures performed in the ASC. Form Numbers: CMS-370 and CMS-377 (OMB control number: 0938-0266); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Private Sector—Business or other for-profit and Not-for-profit institutions; Number of Respondents: 1,711; Total Annual Responses: 1,711; Total Annual Hours: 1,559. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Caroline Gallaher at 410-786-8705.)

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies to publish a 30-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice that summarizes the following proposed collection(s) of information for public comment:

1. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Rate Increase Disclosure and Review Requirements (45 CFR part 154); Use: 45 CFR part 154 implements the annual review of proposed increases in premiums for health insurance coverage called for by section 2794 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act). The regulation established a rate review program to ensure that all rate increases that meet or exceed an established threshold are reviewed by a state or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to determine whether the proposed rate increases are unreasonable. Each state or CMS also reviews all proposed rate changes from issuers offering non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and/or small group markets for compliance with the Federal rating rules at sections 2701, 2705, 2717(c)(4), and 2753 of the PHS Act, section 1312(c) of the Affordable Care Act, and 45 CFR 147.102, 147.110, 148.180, and 156.80. Accordingly, issuers offering non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and/or small group markets are required to submit Rate Filing Justifications to CMS. 45 CFR 154.103 exempts grandfathered health plan coverage as defined in 45 CFR 147.140, excepted benefits as described in section 2791(c) of the PHS Act and student health insurance coverage, as defined in § 147.145, from Federal rate review requirements.

The Rate Filing Justification consists of three parts. All issuers must continue to submit a Uniform Rate Review Template (URRT) (Part I of the Rate Filing Justification) for all single risk pool plans. 45 CFR 154.200(a)(1) establishes a 15 percent federal default threshold for reasonableness review. Issuers that submit a rate filing that includes a plan with a proposed rate increase that meets or exceeds the threshold must include a written description justifying the rate increase, also known as the consumer justification narrative (Part II of the Rate Filing Justification). We note that the threshold set by CMS constitutes a minimum standard, and most states currently employ stricter rate review standards and may continue to do so. Issuers offering a QHP or any single risk pool submission containing a rate increase of any size must continue to submit an actuarial memorandum (Part III of the Rate Filing Justification). The actuarial memorandum is required whenever a state with an Effective Rate Review Program, as determined in accordance with 45 CFR 154.301, requires it to be submitted, and for all plans in states that do not have an Effective Rate Review Program. Form Number: CMS-10379 (OMB control number: 0938-1141); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Private Sector; Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions, State, Local, or Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 620; Number of Responses: 2,551; Total Annual Hours: 46,102. (For policy questions regarding this collection, contact Keith McNamara at 410-786-7010.)

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of information that they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c). Generally, it applies to voluntary and mandatory requirements that are related to any one or more of the following activities: the collection of information, the reporting of information, the disclose of information to a third-party, and/or recordkeeping.

While there are some exceptions (such as collections having non-substantive changes and collections requesting emergency approval) section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires that federal agencies publish 60- and 30-day notices in the Federal Register and solicit comment on each of its proposed collections of information, including: new collections, extensions of existing collections, revisions of existing collections, and reinstatements of previously approved collections before submitting such collections to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

Interested parties are invited to submit comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of the collection, including: the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of our agency's functions; the accuracy of burden estimates; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden. See DATES and ADDRESSES for instructions for submitting comments.

While we will review all comments received, we may choose not to post off-topic or inappropriate comments. Otherwise, all comments will be posted without edit under the applicable docket number, including any personal information that the commenter provides. Our response to such comments will be posted at reginfo.gov under the applicable OMB control number.

At this time, our collection is made up of the main umbrella (see collection number 1 in the following list) and fifty individual generic collections of information (see collection numbers 2 through 51 in the following list). Details such as the collection's requirements and burden estimates can be found in the collection's supporting statement and associated materials (see ADDRESSES for instructions for obtaining such documents).

While this notice announces our request to reinstate a previously approved information collection, we are seeking reinstatement under OMB control number 0938-1148. A large portion of the individual generic collection of information requests are currently active and approved by OMB under control number 0938-1476 which is set to expire on December 31, 2024. To avoid duplication and keep the individual generic collections in their proper home, we intend to discontinue 0938-1476 when 0938-1148 is approved by OMB.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0029.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0029 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: William N. Parham at 410-786-4669.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #1.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0030.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0030 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Gigi Raney at 410-786-6117.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #2.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0031.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0031 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Alexis Gibson at 410-786-2813.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #5.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0032.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0032 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Vikki Guarisco at 443-764-4776.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #7.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0033.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0033 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Stephanie Bell at 410-786-0617.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #9.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0034.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0034 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Rebecca Burch Mack at 303-844-7355.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #10.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0035.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0035 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Teresa DeCaro at 202-384-6309.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #11.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0036.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0036 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Martin Burian at 410-786-3246.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #13.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0037.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0037 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Richard Kimball at 410-786-2278.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #16.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0039.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0039 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Pascale Ghafari at 410-786-0719.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #17.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0040.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0040 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Joyce Jordan at 410-786-3413.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #21.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0042.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0042 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Robert Lane at 410-786-2015.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #24.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0044.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0044 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Richard Kimball at 410-786-2278.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #27.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0046.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0046 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Martin Burian at 410-786-3246.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #28.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0047.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0047 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Wendy Alexander at 410-786-5245.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #29.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0048.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0048 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Stephanie Bell at 410-786-0617.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #30.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0049.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0049 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Wendy Alexander at 410-786-5245.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #31.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0050.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0050 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Michele MacKenzie at 410-786-5929.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #32.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0051.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0051 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Andrew Badaracco at 410-786-4589.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #33.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0053.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0053 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Martin Burian at 410-786-3246.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #34.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.

eRulemaking Docket ID Number: CMS-2024-0054.

Docket Web Address: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/CMS-2024-0054 .

For Policy Related Questions Contact: Chanelle Parker at 667-290-9798.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

CMS ID Number: CMS-10398 #35.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1148.