Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a request under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended, from Quintillion Subsea Operation, LLC, propose to authorize the incidental taking by harassment of small numbers of Pacific walruses and polar bears from July 1 to November 15, 2017. The applicant has requested this authorization for its planned fiber optic cable-laying activities. The area specified for inclusion in the proposed authorization includes Federal waters of the northern Bering, Chukchi, and western portions of the southern Beaufort Seas, the marine waters of the State of Alaska, and coastal land adjacent to Nome, Kotzebue, Point Hope, Wainwright, Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), and Oliktok Point, as shown in Figure 1. We anticipate no take by injury or death and include none in this proposed authorization, which if finalized, will be for take by harassment only.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS-R7-ES-2017-N065; FF07CAMM00-FX-FXEX111607MRG01] AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of receipt of application and proposed incidental harassment authorization; availability of draft environmental assessment; request for comments. SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a request under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended, from Quintillion Subsea Operation, LLC, propose to authorize the incidental taking by harassment of small numbers of Pacific walruses and polar bears from July 1 to November 15, 2017. The applicant has requested this authorization for its planned fiber optic cable-laying activities. The area specified for inclusion in the proposed authorization includes Federal waters of the northern Bering, Chukchi, and western portions of the southern Beaufort Seas, the marine waters of the State of Alaska, and coastal land adjacent to Nome, Kotzebue, Point Hope, Wainwright, Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), and Oliktok Point, as shown in Figure 1. We anticipate no take by injury or death and include none in this proposed authorization, which if ( printed page 25305) finalized, will be for take by harassment only. DATES: We will consider comments we receive on or before July 3, 2017. ADDRESSES: Document availability: The incidental harassment authorization request, associated draft environmental assessment, and literature cited are available for viewing at h…
Citation: 82 FR 25304
