84 FR 32697 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction and Operation of the Liberty Drilling and Production Island, Beaufort Sea, Alaska; Reopening of Public Comment Period

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are reopening the public comment period on the proposed rule under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to authorize the taking of marine mammals, by mortality, serious injury, Level A harassment, and Level B harassment, incidental to the construction and operation of the Liberty Drilling and Production Island, Beaufort Sea, Alaska. The comment period for the proposed rule that published on May 29, 2019 closed on June 28, 2019. NMFS is reopening the public comment period until July 31, 2019, to provide the public with additional time to submit information and to comment on this proposed rule.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32697-32698]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14529]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 216

[Docket No. 180627584-9388-01]
RIN 0648-BI00


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Construction and Operation of the Liberty Drilling and 
Production Island, Beaufort Sea, Alaska; Reopening of Public Comment 
Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are 
reopening the public comment period on the proposed rule under the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to authorize the taking of marine 
mammals, by mortality, serious injury, Level A harassment, and Level B 
harassment, incidental to the construction and operation of the Liberty 
Drilling and Production Island, Beaufort Sea, Alaska. The comment 
period for the proposed rule that published on May 29, 2019 closed on 
June 28, 2019. NMFS is reopening the public comment period until July 
31, 2019, to provide the public with additional time to submit 
information and to comment on this proposed rule.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed rule must be received by July 
31, 2019. Comments received between the close of the first comment 
period on June 28, 2019 (84 FR 24926), and the reopening of the comment 
period on July 9, 2019 will be considered timely received.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, information, or data on the 
proposed rule, identified by NOAA-2019-0053, by either of the following 
methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic comments via 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-2019-0053, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Jolie Harrison, Division 
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, Attn: Hilcorp Liberty Proposed Rule.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. We will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). 
Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, 
Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

[[Page 32698]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaclyn Daly, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 28, 2019, we published a proposed rule to authorize the 
taking of marine mammals incidental to the construction and operation 
of the Liberty Drilling and Production Island, Beaufort Sea, Alaska. 
The proposed rule allowed for a 30-day public comment period, which 
ended on June 28, 2019. On June 26, 2019, we received a request from 
the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) requesting a 30-day 
extension of the comment period. The request indicated that the AEWC 
and North Slope Borough required more time to conduct their review of 
the proposed rule and associated documents and provide comments. Due to 
the timing of the request, it was not feasible to publish a notice in 
the Federal Register announcing a comment period extension prior to the 
close of the initial public comment period. Therefore, we are reopening 
the public comment period until July 31, 2019, to receive additional 
information and comments that may be relevant to any aspect of the 
proposal. Comments and information submitted during the prior comment 
period will be fully considered in the preparation of the final rule 
and need not be resubmitted.
    NMFS also takes this opportunity to note that, due to changes in 
Hilcorp's proposed schedule for this proposed project, the dates of the 
proposed regulations would be shifted one year later than the dates in 
the proposed rule. Under this revised schedule, the proposed 
regulations would be valid for a period of 5 years from December 1, 
2021, through November 30, 2026. This change shifts all of the proposed 
dates for the project one year later, but it does not otherwise affect 
any of NMFS' analyses or conclusions.

    Dated: July 3, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-14529 Filed 7-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P