60-day FRN Published 01/11/2017

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The Final EA and FONSI were
developed in compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.); NEPA Regulations (40 CFR
parts 1500–1508); other Federal laws
and regulations; and our policies and
procedures for compliance with those
laws and regulations.
The subject of our Final EA and
FONSI is the submerged lands adjacent
to the islands of Farallon de Pajaros
(Uracas), Maug, and Asuncion
permanently covered by tidal waters up
to the mean low water line and
extending three miles seaward from the
mean high tide line. The submerged
lands are among some of the most
biologically diverse in the Western
Pacific Ocean, with relatively pristine
coral reef ecosystems that have been
proclaimed objects of scientific interest
and reserved for their protection as part
of the Islands Unit of the Monument by
Presidential Proclamation (PP) 8335 of
January 6, 2009.
The submerged lands were excepted
from transfer by operation of law
(TSLA) to the CNMI Government by PP
9077 of January 15, 2014. PP 9077 also
stated that it did not affect the authority
of the Secretary of the Interior under the
TSLA to convey the excepted
submerged lands to CNMI after an
agreement has been entered for
coordination of management that
ensures the protection of the Monument
within the excepted area. We developed
the agreement (Memorandum of
Agreement or MOA) in cooperation with
the CNMI Government, DOI, and the
Department of Commerce (DOC) as part
of our conveyance process and Draft and
Final EA.
Submerged Lands Conveyance Process

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Draft and Final EA
We released our Draft EA to the
public for a 30-day comment period
announced in the Federal Register (81
FR 26825) on May 4, 2016. We
identified two alternatives in the Draft
EA and conducted a thorough analysis
of their impacts on the human
environment. We received comments
during the May–June 2016 public
comment period; substantive comments
and our responses are provided in the
Final EA. Comments concerning
technical or minor edits were
incorporated where relevant into the
Final EA.
Alternatives/Selected Alternative
Alternative 1 was the Current Land
Status Alternative (No Action); under it,
DOI would not convey the submerged
lands, including associated mineral

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rights to CNMI, and the Service and
NOAA would continue to coordinate
management of the submerged lands
and associated waters, including
fishery-related activities, in consultation
with the CNMI Government.
We selected Alternative 2 for
implementation in our Finding of No
Significant Impact, signed by the
Service’s Regional Director for the
Pacific Region on September 15, 2016.
Under this alternative (the Northern
Islands Submerged Lands Conveyance
Alternative), the parties would sign the
MOA, and DOI would convey the
submerged lands, including mineral
rights, to the CNMI Government through
the Patent with a reserved conservation
easement.
Memorandum of Agreement
The MOA was signed by the CNMI
Government, DOI, and the Department
of Commerce (DOC), on September 22,
2016. The MOA identifies the roles and
responsibilities of the CNMI
Government, DOI, and DOC, for
ensuring the protection of and
coordinating the management of the
conveyed submerged lands and
associated waters. Under the MOA, the
Service and NOAA are managing the
conveyed submerged lands for the
benefit of the CNMI people and in
consultation with the CNMI
Government.
The MOA provides for the CNMI
Government to assume primary
responsibility for managing the
submerged lands and associated waters,
consistent with the purposes and
requirements of PP 8335 and PP 9077,
by notifying DOI and DOC of its desire
to do so. CNMI’s management would
include the benthic and living marine
resources of the associated water
column, and subterranean of the
submerged lands and the associated
mineral rights within. The MOA became
effective upon conveyance of the
submerged lands, consistent with the
requirements of PP 9077. A copy of the
MOA is available in the Final EA.
Congressional Review and Patent
Completing the Draft EA and public
comment period, and the Final EA,
FONSI, MOA, and Patent, were
milestone accomplishments in our
conveyance process. After the public
comment period ended for the Draft EA,
we initiated the Congressional Review
(CR) period for the proposed
conveyance, in accordance with the
process required by subsection 1(c) of
the TSLA. The CR period was 60
legislative days, which was initiated by
the Secretary of the Interior by
describing our proposal in letters to the

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House of Representatives Committee on
Natural Resources and the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, dated June 17, 2016. The CR
period was completed on November 14,
2016, thereafter we moved forward with
completing the conveyance.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
executed a Patent conveying the
submerged lands from the United States
to the CNMI Government on November
29, 2016. Governor Ralph Torres (CNMI)
accepted and signed the patent on
December 21, 2016. The Patent reserves
an easement to ensure that the
submerged lands and associated
resources conveyed to the CNMI
Government are managed and
maintained for the protection of the
Monument or other federal conservation
status, unless such conservation status
is withdrawn by an Act of Congress. A
copy of the Patent is available in an
appendix in the Final EA.
Public Availability of Documents
A copy of the Final EA/FONSI, which
includes copies of the MOA and Patent,
are available at the following libraries
and through sources identified under
ADDRESSES.
• Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, Insa˚tto
Street, Susupe, Sa’ipan, MP, 96950–
1092.
• Tini’an Municipal Public Library,
Riverside Drive, Tinian, MP 96952.
• Antonio Camacho Atalig Memorial
Library, Rota Northern Marianas
Campus, Tatachog Village, Rota, MP.
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, Pacific Region, Portland,
Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2017–00404 Filed 1–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FW–R7–MM–2017–N002];
[FXES111607MRG00–178–FF07CAMM00]

Proposed Information Collection;
Incidental Take of Marine Mammals
During Specified Oil and Gas Industry
Activities
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service) will ask the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to
approve the information collection (IC)
described below. As required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and
as part of our continuing efforts to
reduce paperwork and respondent

SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 11, 2017 / Notices
burden, we invite the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on this IC. This
IC is scheduled to expire on March 31,
2017. We may not conduct or sponsor
and a person is not required to respond
to a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
DATES: To ensure that we are able to
consider your comments on this IC, we
must receive them by March 13, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the
IC to the Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803 (mail); or [email protected]
(email). Please include ‘‘1018–0070’’ in
the subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this IC, contact Tina Campbell at tina_
[email protected] (email) or 703–358–
2676 (telephone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This information collection includes
requirements associated with specified
oil and gas industry activities and their
incidental taking of polar bears (Ursus
maritimus) and Pacific walruses
(Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in the
Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of
1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.), imposed, with certain exceptions,
a moratorium on the taking of marine
mammals. Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the
MMPA directs the Secretary of the

Interior to allow, upon request by
citizens of the United States, the taking
of small numbers of marine mammals
incidental to specified activities (other
than commercial fishing) if the
Secretary makes certain findings and
prescribes specific regulations that,
among other things, establish
permissible methods of taking.
Applicants seeking to conduct
activities must request a Letter of
Authorization (LOA) for the specific
activity and submit monitoring reports
of polar bear and Pacific walrus
observations and a final summary report
of the monitoring and the impacts of the
activity upon polar bears and Pacific
walruses to the Secretary. This is a
nonform collection. Regulations at 50
CFR 18.27 outline the procedures and
requirements for submitting a request.
Specific regulations governing
authorized activities in the Beaufort Sea
are in 50 CFR 18, subpart J. Regulations
governing authorized activities in the
Chukchi Sea are in 50 CFR 18, subpart
I. These regulations provide the
applicant with a detailed description of
information that we need to evaluate the
proposed activity and determine
whether or not to issue specific
regulations and, subsequently, LOAs.
We use the information to verify the
findings required to issue incidental
take regulations, to decide if we should
issue an LOA, and, if issued, what
conditions should be in the LOA. In
addition, we analyze the information to
determine impacts to polar bears and
Pacific walruses and the availability of
those marine mammals for subsistence
purposes of Alaska Natives.

II. Data
OMB Control Number: 1018–0070.
Title: Incidental Take of Marine
Mammals during Specified Oil and Gas
Industry Activities, 50 CFR 18.27 and 50
CFR 18, Subparts I and J.
Service Form Number: None.
Type of Request: Extension of a
previously approved collection.
Description of Respondents: Oil and
gas industry companies.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit (incidental
take regulations and/or a Letter of
Authorization (LOA)).
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
25.
Number of
responses

Activity

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Holders of an LOA seeking to carry
out onshore activities in known or
suspected polar bear denning habitat
during the denning season, must make
efforts to locate occupied polar bear
dens within and near proposed areas of
operation. They may use any
appropriate tool, such as, forwardlooking infrared (FLIR) imagery and/or
polar bear scent-trained dogs in concert
with denning habitat maps along the
Alaskan coast. In accordance with 50
CFR 18.118(a)(6)(ii)(A) and
18.128(a)(2)(ii), LOA holders must
report all observed or suspected polar
bear dens to us prior to the initiation of
activities. We use this information to
determine the appropriate terms and
conditions to be used in an individual
LOA in order to minimize potential
impacts and disturbance to polar bears.

Completion
time per
response
(hours)

Total annual
burden hours

Application for procedural regulations .........................................................................................
LOA requests ...............................................................................................................................
Onsite monitoring and observation reports .................................................................................
Final monitoring report .................................................................................................................
Polar bear den detection survey and report ................................................................................

2
25
300
25
4

150
24
1.5
10
50

300
600
450
250
200

Totals ....................................................................................................................................

356

........................

1,800

III. Comments
We invite comments concerning this
information collection on:
• Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary, including
whether or not the information will
have practical utility;
• The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information;
• Ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and

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• Ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents.
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 IC. 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

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personal identifying information, may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can 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.

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 11, 2017 / Notices

Dated: January 6, 2017.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy, Performance, and
Management Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–00462 Filed 1–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. Geological Survey
[GX170A030AD0100]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Request for Comments
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of a new information
collection, Ecosystems Program
Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey.
AGENCY:

We (the U.S. Geological
Survey) will ask the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to
approve the information collection (IC)
described below. As required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, and as part of our continuing
efforts to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, we invite the
general public and other Federal
agencies to take this opportunity to
comment on this IC.
DATES: To ensure that your comments
are considered, we must receive them
on or before March 13, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this information collection to the
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201
Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 807, Reston,
VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648–7197 (fax);
or [email protected] (email).
Please reference ‘Information Collection
1028—NEW, Ecosystems Program
Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey’ in all
correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linn
Kwan, Senior Program Officer, Tel.
703.648.4494 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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SUMMARY:

I. Abstract
The survey will be sent to USGS
Ecosystems Mission Area stakeholders/
partners to provide respondents the
opportunity to share their comments,
insights and satisfaction of USGS
Ecosystems research products, training,
and technical assistance. The survey
results will be compiled and reported in
three new performance measures that
are being proposed for FY2018–2022.
The survey is voluntary and
anonymous. The respondents’ identities
will only be known if they chose to
share that information in the response.

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II. Data

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

OMB Control Number: 1028—NEW.
Title: Ecosystems Program
Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey.
Type of Request: New information
collection.
Affected Public: USGS partners at
other DOI bureaus, Federal and State
agencies, Tribes and Non-governmental
Organizations.
Respondent’s Obligation: None,
participation is voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Information
will be collected once at the end of each
fiscal year.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents: 150
Estimated Total Number of Annual
Responses: 120
Estimated Time per Response: 10
minutes or less to complete the survey.
Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’
Burden: None.
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA
(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor and
you are not required to respond to a
collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number and current expiration date.
III. Request for Comments
We are soliciting comments as to: (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the agency
to perform its duties, including whether
the information is useful; (b) the
accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of
information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) how
to minimize the burden on the
respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Please note that the comments
submitted in response to this notice are
a matter of public record. Before
including your personal mailing
address, phone number, email address,
or other personally identifiable
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment, including your personally
identifiable information, may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personally identifiable
information from public view, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
John Thompson,
Deputy Chief, CRU.
[FR Doc. 2017–00444 Filed 1–10–17; 8:45 am]
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National Indian Gaming Commission
Protocol for Categorical Exclusions
Supplementing the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations
Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act for Certain
National Indian Gaming Commission
Actions and Activities
The National Indian Gaming
Commission, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of proposed action and
request for comments.
AGENCY:

The National Indian Gaming
Commission (NIGC or ‘‘the
Commission’’) is amending its protocol
for categorical exclusions under the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, Executive
Order 11514, as amended, and Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
parts 1500–1508) for certain NIGC
actions.

SUMMARY:

Comments and related material
must be post marked no later than 60
days after publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Please submit your
comments by only one of the following
means: (1) By mail to: NIGC Attn:
Andrew Mendoza, Staff Attorney, C/O
Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street
NW., Mailstop #1621, Washington, DC
20240; (2) by facsimile to: (202) 632–
7066; (3) by email to: andrew_
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrew Mendoza, Staff Attorney at the
National Indian Gaming Commission:
202–632–7003 (not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:

I. Comments Invited
The NIGC encourages interested
persons to submit written comments.
Persons submitting information
concerning the Protocol should include
their name, address, and other
appropriate contact information. You
may submit your information by one of
the means listed under ADDRESSES. If
you submit information by mail or hand
delivery, submit them in an unbound
format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches,
suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit information by mail
and would like to know it was received,
please enclose a stamped, self-addressed
postcard or envelope. The NIGC will
consider all comments received during
the comment period.

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