60-Day Federal Register Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 17, 2016 / Notices
Comments on the
applications should be addressed to
Jolie Harrison, Chief, Permits and
Conservation Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service. Physical comments
should be sent to 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and
electronic comments should be sent to
[email protected].
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible
for comments sent by any other method,
to any other address or individual, or
received after the end of the comment
period. Comments received
electronically, including all
attachments, must not exceed a 25megabyte file size. Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word or Excel or Adobe PDF
file formats only. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to the
Internet at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/
permits/incidental/research.htm
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit confidential business
information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben
Laws, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:

Availability
An electronic copy of the Navy’s
application may be obtained by visiting
the Internet at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/
permits/incidental/construction.htm.
The Navy is concurrently releasing a
draft Environmental Assessment,
prepared pursuant to requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act,
for the conduct of the construction
projects. A copy of the draft EA, which
would also support our proposed
rulemaking under the MMPA, is
available at the same Web site.

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Background
Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs the Secretary
of Commerce (Secretary) 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) if certain findings
are made and regulations are issued.
Incidental taking shall be allowed if
NMFS finds that the taking will have a
negligible impact on the species or
stock(s) affected and will not have an
unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for

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taking for subsistence uses, and if the
permissible methods of taking and
requirements pertaining to the
mitigation, monitoring and reporting of
such taking 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.’’ 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].’’
Summary of Request
On January 19, 2016, NMFS received
an adequate and complete application
from the Navy requesting authorization
for take of marine mammals incidental
to waterfront construction conducted by
the Navy. The requested regulations
would be valid for five years, from July
12, 2017, through July 11, 2022. The
Navy plans to conduct work necessary
to maintain existing waterfront
structures as well as to construct new
structures at Naval Submarine Base
Kings Bay, GA (NSB Kings Bay). The
proposed action may incidentally
expose marine mammals occurring in
the vicinity to elevated levels of
underwater sound, thereby resulting in
incidental take, by Level B harassment
only. Therefore, the Navy requests
authorization to incidentally take
marine mammals.
Specified Activities
To ensure the Navy can continue its
mission of supporting the Fleet Ballistic
Missile System and Trident Submarine
Program, the Navy proposes to repair
(including direct repairs and repairs by
component replacement) in-water
structures at NSB Kings Bay, construct
a new Transit Protection System
Operational Support Facility, and
extend the existing Layberth Pier. These
repairs, upgrades, and new construction
would (1) address critical damage and
mission and safety requirements, (2)
limit further deterioration and increase
the useful life of the structures, and/or
(3) upgrade infrastructure to meet
requirements of new submarine
technology. Construction will include

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use of impact and vibratory pile driving,
including installation and removal of
steel, concrete, and timber piles.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit
information, suggestions, and comments
concerning the Navy’s request (see
ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider all
information, suggestions, and comments
related to the request during the
development of proposed regulations
governing the incidental taking of
marine mammals by the Navy, if
appropriate.
Dated: February 11, 2016.
Perry F. Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–03213 Filed 2–16–16; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; State and Local
Implementation Grant Program
Closeout Documentation
National Telecommunications
and Information Administration,
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before April 18, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer,
Department of Commerce, Room 6616,
14th and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at [email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instruments and instructions should be
sent to Michael Dame,
Telecommunications Policy Specialist,
Office of Public Safety Communications,
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4078,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via email at
[email protected]).
SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 17, 2016 / Notices

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract
The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job
Creation Act of 2012 (Act, Pub. L. 112–
96, 126 Stat. 156 (2012)) was signed by
the President on February 22, 2012. The
Act meets a long-standing priority of the
Administration, as well as a critical
national infrastructure need, to create a
single, interoperable, nationwide public
safety broadband network (NPSBN) that
will, for the first time, allow police
officers, fire fighters, emergency medical
service professionals, and other public
safety officials to effectively
communicate with each other across
agencies and jurisdictions. Public safety
workers have long been hindered in
their ability to respond in a crisis
situation because of incompatible
communications networks and often
outdated communications equipment.
The Act establishes the First Responder
Network Authority (FirstNet) as an
independent authority within NTIA and
authorizes it to take all actions
necessary to ensure the design,
construction, and operation of the
NPSBN, based on a single, national
network architecture.
FirstNet is responsible for, at a
minimum, ensuring nationwide
standards for the use of and access to
the network; issuing open, transparent,
and competitive requests for proposals
(RFPs) to build, operate, and maintain
the network; encouraging these RFPs to
leverage, to the maximum extent
economically desirable, existing
commercial wireless infrastructure to
speed deployment of the network; and
overseeing contracts with non-federal
entities to build, operate, and maintain
the network.
The Act also charges NTIA with
establishing the State and Local
Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP)
to assist state, regional, tribal, and local
jurisdictions with identifying, planning,
and implementing the most efficient
and effective means to use and integrate
the infrastructure, equipment, and other
architecture associated with the NPSBN
to satisfy the wireless broadband and
data services needs of their
jurisdictions. The SLIGP program office
awarded $116.5 million in grant funds
to 54 active state and territorial
recipients between July 2013 and June
2014.
Moreover, the Act’s framework
contemplates that FirstNet will
coordinate its activities with state,
regional, tribal, and local governments
and imposes a statutory requirement
that FirstNet consult with these entities
as it takes all actions necessary to build,
deploy, and operate the NPSBN.

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Specifically, the Act requires FirstNet to
consult with state, regional, tribal, and
local governments about the distribution
and expenditure of any amounts
required to carry out its responsibilities,
including (i) The construction of a core
network and any radio access network
build-out; (ii) placement of towers; (iii)
coverage areas of the network; (iv)
adequacy of hardware, security,
reliability, and resiliency requirements;
(v) assignment of priority to local users
and selection of entities seeking
network access; and (vi) training needs
of local users.
Additionally, the Act specifies that
these required consultations are to occur
between FirstNet and the single point of
contact that the state was required to
designate in its application for grant
funds under SLIGP or that the governor
has since designated. Thus, progress in
meeting FirstNet’s responsibilities
under the Act, including its required
consultations, is inextricably linked to
SLIGP. FirstNet must rely on NTIA to
utilize SLIGP as the principal means to
facilitate its required consultations. At
the same time, without funding
assistance from SLIGP, the states would
lack the resources to consult effectively
with FirstNet and provide it with
information needed for it to proceed
with the design and construction of a
NPSBN in an effective and timely
manner, as required by the Act.
SLIGP recipients’ periods of
performance will end either on
December 31, 2017, January 31, 2018, or
February 28, 2018, depending on when
the award was made. Following the
award end date, grantees will be
required to complete grant closeout
activities within 90 days. The purpose
of closeout is to capture a final account
of grantee activities and how these
activities contributed to overall program
goals. To ensure effective grant
oversight and management, SLIGP
developed a closeout report form for
recipients to complete as part of postaward monitoring and closeout
activities at the end of the period of
performance. The closeout form serves
as a summary of grant-funded recipient
activities over the entire award period
and ensures that recipients comply with
all necessary closeout procedures. The
closeout form will ask recipients to
aggregate their cumulative progress
toward program priority areas identified
in their quarterly performance progress
reports (PPRs), namely stakeholders
engaged, broadband conferences
attended, staff hired, contracts executed,
governance meetings held, outreach
materials disseminated, and overall
progress toward FirstNet-determined
data collection activities. Recipients

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will also be asked to report on their
cumulative expenditures throughout the
period of performance in each object
class category, including personnel,
fringe, travel, equipment, materials/
supplies, contractual, construction,
other, and indirect costs.
NTIA will use the collection of
information to ensure that SLIGP grant
recipients are effectively monitored and
evaluated against the core purposes of
the program established by the Act. The
publication of this notice allows NTIA
to begin the process to obtain the
approval for the standard three years.
II. Method of Collection
Paper format.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: None.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission;
new collection.
Affected Public: State, regional, local,
and tribal government organizations.
Frequency: Once (at the end of the
period of performance).
Number of Respondents: 54.
Average Time per Response: Final
closeout report, 25 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 1,350 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $52,623.
IV. Request for Comments
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 shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (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 automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they will also become a matter of public
record.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Lead, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016–03139 Filed 2–16–16; 8:45 am]
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