Proposed Rule2024-18637
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Determinations for Ten Species of Giant Clams Under the Endangered Species Act; Public Hearings
Primary source
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Published
August 20, 2024
Effective
July 25, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
We, NMFS, will hold seven public hearings and three listening sessions related to our proposed rule to list five species of giant clams as endangered and five species of giant clams as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67400-67402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18637]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 223 and 224
[Docket No. 240626-0177; RTID 0648-XF174]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing
Determinations for Ten Species of Giant Clams Under the Endangered
Species Act; Public Hearings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of public hearings and listening sessions.
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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, will hold seven public hearings and three listening
sessions related to our proposed rule to list five species of giant
clams as endangered and five species of giant clams as threatened under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
DATES: Please see Public Hearings and Listening Sessions in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for date information. Comments on the
proposed rule (89 FR 60498, July 25, 2024) must be received by October
23, 2024. Comments received after this date may not be accepted.
ADDRESSES: The addresses for the venues of the in-person hearings and
listening sessions, and instructions for joining the virtual hearing
are provided below.
<bullet> Tutuila Public Hearing #1 and Listening Session: Rex H.
Lee Auditorium, Utulei, Eastern District, American Samoa 96799.
<bullet> Tutuila Public Hearing #2: Tradewinds Hotel, Tafuna,
Western District, American Samoa 96799.
<bullet> Tinian Public Hearing: Tinian Elementary School, 8th
Avenue, San Jose, Tinian, CNMI 96952.
<bullet> Rota Public Hearing: Department of Commerce, Songsong
Village, Rota, CNMI 96951.
<bullet> Guam Public Hearing and Listening Session: Pacific Islands
Club Guam, Pale San Vitores Rd., Tumon, Guam 96913.
<bullet> Saipan Public Hearing and Listening Session: Crowne Plaza
Resort, Coral Tree Ave., Garapan, Saipan, CNMI 96950.
<bullet> Virtual Hearing: This hearing will be conducted as a Webex
meeting. You may join the Webex meeting using a web browser, the Webex
desktop app (app installation required), a mobile app on a phone (app
installation required),
[[Page 67401]]
or audio-only using just a phone call, as specified below.
[cir] Join the webinar via this link: <a href="https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=m62351f6b3e964c7a1b91f6e8bc59a208">https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=m62351f6b3e964c7a1b91f6e8bc59a208</a>.
[cir] Webinar number: 2820 450 2543 Webinar password: rV5ttXEcT77
(78588932 when dialing from a phone or video system).
[cir] Join by phone: +1-415-527-5035 Access code: 282 045 02543.
You may submit comments verbally or in writing at the public
hearings, or in writing by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic comments via
the Federal e- Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and
enter NOAA-NMFS-2017-0029 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment''
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: John Rippe, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the previously
described methods to ensure that we receive, document, and consider
them. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of the comment period on October
23, 2024, may not be considered. All comments received are a part of
the public record and will generally be posted to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential
business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required
fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rippe, NMFS Office of Protected
Resources, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82c8edeaecacd0ebf2f2e7c2ecede3e3ace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c36131412522e150c0c193c12131d1d521b130a">[email protected]</span></a> or 301-427-8467.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 25, 2024, NOAA Fisheries announced a proposed rule (89 FR
60498) to list five species of giant clams (Hippopus porcellanus,
Tridacna derasa, T. gigas, T. mbalavuana, and T. squamosina) as
endangered and one species of giant clam (H. hippopus) as threatened
under the ESA due to their extinction risk, as assessed under section
4(a)(1) of the ESA. We also proposed to list four additional species of
giant clams (T. crocea, T. maxima, T. noae, and T. squamosa) as
threatened under the ESA. They are proposed to be listed due to the
similarity of appearance of products derived from these species (e.g.,
meat, worked shell products, and pearls) to those derived from the six
aforementioned species.
In that notification, we proposed to extend all of the ESA section
9 prohibitions to H. hippopus. We also proposed to issue a protective
regulation under section 4(d) of the ESA to prohibit the import and
export of derivative parts and products of T. crocea, T. maxima, T.
noae, and T. squamosa into and from the United States and its
Territories.
The proposed rule and other materials prepared in support of this
action are available at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/proposed-rule-10-species-giant-clams-under-endangered-species-act">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/proposed-rule-10-species-giant-clams-under-endangered-species-act</a>. We
are accepting public comments on the proposed rule through a 90-day
public comment period, which ends on October 23, 2024 (see ADDRESSES
for instructions on how to submit a public comment). All comments
submitted prior to this date will be considered before finalizing the
listing determination.
Public Hearings
Public hearings on the proposed listing determination for 10
species of giant clams will be held on the following dates in the
evening hours of the affected jurisdictions (American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam). Times
are given in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Chamorro Standard Time (ChST)
and Samoa Standard Time (SST). Addresses for the venues of the in-
person hearings and instructions for joining the virtual hearing are
provided under ADDRESSES above.
<bullet> American Samoa, Tutuila #1: A public hearing is scheduled
for Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at the Rex H. Lee Auditorium. Doors
will open at 5:30 p.m. SST, the informational meeting will begin at 6
p.m. SST, and the public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. SST.
<bullet> American Samoa, Tutuila #2: A public hearing is scheduled
for Thursday, September 5, 2024, at the Tradewinds Hotel. Doors will
open at 5:30 p.m. SST, the informational meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
SST, and the public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. SST.
<bullet> CNMI, Tinian: A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday,
September 10, 2024, at Tinian Elementary School. Doors will open at
5:30 p.m. ChST, the informational meeting will begin at 6 p.m. ChST,
and the public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. ChST.
<bullet> CNMI, Rota: A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday,
September 12, 2024, at the Department of Commerce, Rota. Doors will
open at 5:30 p.m. ChST, the informational meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
ChST, and the public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. ChST.
<bullet> Guam: A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September
17, 2024, at Pacific Islands Club Guam. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
ChST, the informational meeting will begin at 6 p.m. ChST, and the
public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. ChST.
<bullet> CNMI, Saipan: A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday,
September 19, 2024, at Crowne Plaza Resort. Doors will open at 5:30
p.m. ChST, the informational meeting will begin at 6 p.m. ChST, and the
public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. ChST.
<bullet> One virtual hearing is scheduled for the following time
and date:
[cir] Eastern Daylight Time Zone: the informational meeting will
begin on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 7 p.m. EDT, and the public
hearing will begin at 8 p.m. EDT.
[cir] Samoa Standard Time Zone: the informational meeting will
begin on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 12 p.m. SST, and the public
hearing will begin at 1 p.m. SST.
[cir] Chamorro Standard Time Zone: the informational meeting will
begin on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 9 a.m. ChST, and the public
hearing will begin at 10 a.m. ChST.
Six public hearings will be conducted in-person and one hearing
will be conducted online as a Webex meeting, as specified in ADDRESSES
above. The hearings will begin with a brief presentation by NMFS that
provides an overview of the proposed ESA listing determination for 10
species of giant clams. After the presentation but before public
comments, there will be a question and answer session during which
members of the public may ask NMFS staff clarifying questions about the
proposed rule. Following the question and answer session, members of
the public will have the opportunity to provide oral comments on the
record regarding the proposed listing determination. Members of the
public will also have the opportunity to submit written comments at the
hearings. Written comments may also be submitted at any time during the
relevant public comment period as described above (see DATES and
ADDRESSES). All oral comments will be recorded (audio), transcribed,
and
[[Page 67402]]
added to the public comment record for this proposed rule.
Listening Sessions
In advance of the first public hearing in American Samoa and the
public hearings on Guam and Saipan, CNMI, we will hold three listening
sessions to bring together resource managers, policymakers, and members
of the public to share information about the potential impact of the
proposed listing determination in the U.S. Pacific Island Territories
from the perspectives of the local community. The listening sessions
will be held on the following dates and times. Times are given in
Chamorro Standard Time (ChST) and Samoa Standard Time (SST). Addresses
for the venues of the listening sessions are provided under ADDRESSES
above.
<bullet> American Samoa, Tutuila: A public listening session is
scheduled for Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at the Rex H. Lee
Auditorium. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. SST.
<bullet> Guam: A public listening session is scheduled for Tuesday,
September 17, 2024, at Pacific Islands Club Guam. Doors will open at
12:30 p.m. ChST.
<bullet> CNMI, Saipan: A public listening session is scheduled for
Thursday, September 19, 2024, at Crowne Plaza Resort. Doors will open
at 12:30 p.m. ChST.
The listening sessions are intended to provide a forum for members
of the local community to share information about the potential impact
in the U.S. Pacific Island Territories of the proposed ESA listing
determination and the additional potential regulatory measures
identified in our proposal. Listing decisions must be made solely on
the basis of the best available scientific and commercial information
regarding a species' status. 50 CFR 424.11(b). We cannot consider
public comments on economic or other impacts as part of the listing
determinations. However, NMFS is offering separate listening sessions
to obtain relevant information about giant clams to assist with
analyses under other authorities and to provide more background to
local communities regarding the listing process and the ESA generally.
Following a brief presentation by NMFS that provides an overview of the
proposed ESA listing determination for 10 species of giant clams,
participants will have an opportunity to ask clarifying questions,
voice concerns about the proposed rule, or share additional information
regarding giant clams, which NMFS staff will address to the extent
practicable. All discussions that occur during the listening session
will be manually recorded in summary notes and will be addressed in the
final rule preamble.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: August 14, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-18637 Filed 8-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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