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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2018 / Notices

the U.S. Section of the Council for a
term beginning in June 2018 and ending
in June 2020.
DATES: All applications must be
received by the Office of North America
by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
(EST) on April 30, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please submit applications
to Leslie Wilson, International Trade
Specialist, Office of North America, U.S.
Department of Commerce either by
email at [email protected]
(preferred method) or by mail to U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Room 30014,
Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leslie Wilson, Office of North America,
U.S. Department of Commerce,
telephone: (202) 482–0704, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Department of Commerce, the U.S.
Department of Energy, the Ministry of
Economy of the United Mexican States,
and the Ministry of Energy of the United
Mexican States established the Council
in March 2016. The objective of the
Council is to bring together
representatives of the respective energy
industries of the United States and
Mexico to discuss issues of mutual
interest, particularly ways to strengthen
the economic and commercial ties
between energy industries in the two
countries, and communicating
actionable, non-binding
recommendations to the U.S. and
Mexican Governments.
For more information, please consult
the Terms of Reference of the Council
(copy and paste link into browser):
https://www.trade.gov/hled/documents/
Signed%20US-MEX%20Energy%
20Business%20Council%20Terms%
20(May%202016%20-%20English).pdf.
The Department of Commerce is
seeking applicants for membership on
the U.S. Section of the Council. Each
applicant must be a senior
representative (e.g., Chief Executive
Officer, Vice President, Regional
Manager, Senior Director, or holder of a
similar position) of a U.S.-owned or
controlled individual company, trade
association, or private sector
organization that is incorporated in and
has its main headquarters in the United
States and whose activities include a
focus on the manufacture, production,
commercialization and/or trade in goods
and services for the energy industry in
Mexico. Each applicant must also be a
U.S. citizen, or otherwise legally
authorized to work in the United States,
and be able to travel to Mexico or
locations in the United States to attend
Council meetings, as well as U.S.

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Section and Committee meetings. In
addition, the applicant may not be a
registered foreign agent under the
Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938,
as amended.
Applications for membership in the
U.S. Section by eligible individuals,
including applications by current U.S.
section members for reappointment,
will be evaluated on the following
criteria:
—A demonstrated commitment by the
entity to be represented to the
Mexican market, including as
applicable either through exports or
investment.
—A demonstrated strong interest in
Mexico and its economic
development.
—The ability to offer to the work of the
Council a broad perspective and
business experience specific to the
energy industry.
—The ability to address cross-cutting
issues that affect the entity’s entire
energy industry sub-sector.
—The ability to dedicate organizational
resources to initiate and be
responsible for activities in which the
Council will be active.
U.S. Section members will also be
selected on the basis of who is best
qualified to carry out the objectives of
the Council to:
—Promote increased two-way
investment in the energy industry;
—Promote two-way trade in goods and
services produced by and used in the
energy industry, including the oil and
gas, renewable energy, electricity,
nuclear energy, and energy efficiency
sub-sectors;
—Promote the development of
binational value chains in the
production of goods and services in
the energy sector;
—Promote the development of modern
energy infrastructure and bolster
energy efficiency and security;
—Foster an enabling environment for
the rapid development, deployment,
and integration of new energy
industry technologies—including
clean renewable energy
technologies—into the marketplace;
—Improve competitiveness through
innovation and entrepreneurship in
the energy industry, to include the
promotion of technology exchanges
and research partnerships; and
—Partner in skills development to
create solutions in training and
education to address evolving energy
industry workforce needs.
In selecting members of the U.S.
Section, the U.S. Government selection
committee, composed of representatives
from the Department of Commerce and

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the Department of Energy, will attempt
to ensure that the Section represents a
cross-section of small, medium-sized
and large firms.
U.S. Section members will receive no
compensation for their participation in
Council-related activities. They shall
not be considered as special government
employees. Individual U.S. Section
members will be responsible for all
travel and related expenses associated
with their participation in the Council,
including attendance at Committee and
Section meetings. Only appointed U.S.
Section members may participate in
Council meetings; substitutes and
alternates may not be designated. U.S.
Section members are expected to serve
for two-year terms, but may be
reappointed.
To apply for membership in the U.S.
Section, please submit the following
information as instructed in the
ADDRESS and DATES captions above:
—Name(s) and title(s) of the applicant;
—Name and address of the headquarters
of the entity that employs the
applicant;
—Location of incorporation or
establishment;
—Size of the represented entity, in
terms of annual sales and number of
employees;
—As applicable, the size of the entity’s
export trade, investment, and nature
of operations or interest in Mexico;
and
—A brief statement of why the applicant
should be considered, including
information about the applicant’s
ability to initiate and be responsible
for activities in which the Council
will be active.
All applicants will be notified of
whether they have been selected once
the application window closes and
selection of U.S. Section members has
been made.
Dated: February 21, 2018.
Geri Word,
Director for the Office of North America.
[FR Doc. 2018–03937 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–HE–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the

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daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2018 / Notices
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Title: Economic Impacts of Hawaii
Reef Diving and Snorkeling.
OMB Control Number: 0648–xxxx.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (request for
a new information collection).
Number of Respondents: 4,150.
Average Hours per Response: 10
minutes.
Burden Hours: 692.
Needs and Uses: This request is for a
new collection of information.
The objective of the survey will be to
understand divers’ and snorkelers’
expenditures associated with
recreational coral reef diving activities
in Hawaii. The survey will also collect
information on divers’ attitudes,
preferences, and concerns about
recreational diving and coral reefs
health in Hawaii. We are conducting
this survey to improve our
understanding of divers’ expenditure
patterns and to estimate the economic
impact of coral reef related spending.
Results of the survey will be used to
inform coastal resource management
planning and establish a baseline for
outreach and education. The
expenditure survey is also expected to
provide useful information for local
economic and business interests. A
similar survey (OMB Control No. 0648–
0746) was implemented in south Florida
and was successfully completed in
November 2017.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Frequency: One time.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
This information collection request
may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow
the instructions to view Department of
Commerce collections currently under
review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to OIRA_Submission@
omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395–5806.
Dated: February 21, 2018.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018–03878 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XG028

Marine Mammals; File No. 21238
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.
AGENCY:

Notice is hereby given that
the Center for Whale Research
(Responsible Party: Kenneth Balcomb
III), 355 Smuggler’s Cove Road, Friday
Harbor, WA, 98250, has applied in due
form for a permit to conduct research on
marine mammals.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email
comments must be received on or before
March 29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: The application and related
documents are available for review by
selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public
Comment’’ from the ‘‘Features’’ box on
the Applications and Permits for
Protected Species (APPS) home page,
https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then
selecting File No. 21238 from the list of
available applications.
These documents are also available
upon written request or by appointment
in the Permits and Conservation
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301) 427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376.
Written comments on this application
should be submitted to the Chief,
Permits and Conservation Division, at
the address listed above. Comments may
also be submitted by facsimile to (301)
713–0376, or by email to
[email protected]. Please
include the File No. in the subject line
of the email comment.
Those individuals requesting a public
hearing should submit a written request
to the Chief, Permits and Conservation
Division at the address listed above. The
request should set forth the specific
reasons why a hearing on this
application would be appropriate.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shasta McClenahan or Amy Hapeman,
(301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
subject permit is requested under the
authority of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act of 1972, as amended
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the
regulations governing the taking and
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR
part 216), the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531
SUMMARY:

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et seq.), and the regulations governing
the taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50
CFR parts 222–226).
The applicant proposes to take 19
species of cetaceans and four species of
pinnipeds primarily in the inland
marine waters of Washington State, may
also include territorial waters up to 200
miles offshore of Oregon, California, and
Alaska. The ESA listed species include
blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B.
physalus), (Megaptera novaeangliae),
North Pacific right (Eubalaena
japonica), sperm (Physeter
macrocephalus), and Southern Resident
killer (Orcinus orca) whales, and the
Western stock of Steller sea lions
(Eumetopias jubatus). The primary
objective of the research is to monitor
the population size, demographics,
range, movement, social structure,
health, and body condition of Southern
resident killer whales, and secondarily,
to monitor the population size and
demographics of other marine mammals
in the study area. Research activities
would include manned and unmanned
aerial surveys and vessel surveys for
counts, photography, photoidentification, video recording,
observation, passive acoustic recording,
and opportunistic sampling of sloughed
skin, feces, and predation remains. The
permit would expire five years after the
date of issuance.
In compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial
determination has been made that the
activity proposed is categorically
excluded from the requirement to
prepare an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement.
Concurrent with the publication of
this notice in the Federal Register,
NMFS is forwarding copies of the
application to the Marine Mammal
Commission and its Committee of
Scientific Advisors.
Dated: February 21, 2018.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–03874 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and

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