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Marine Mammals: Draft Environmental Assessment on Allocating Gray Whales to the Makah Tribe for the years 2001 and 2002

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: January 17, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 11)]
[Notices]
[Page 3989]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ja01-54]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 010901C]


Marine Mammals: Draft Environmental Assessment on Allocating Gray
Whales to the Makah Tribe for the years 2001 and 2002

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

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces the availability of a Draft Environmental
Assessment (EA) that examines the environmental consequences of issuing
the International Whaling Commission (IWC) quota for gray whales to the
Makah Tribe for the years 2001 and 2002. NMFS has not identified a
preferred alternative in this draft EA and is soliciting comments on
the draft EA. The Draft EA considers four alternatives regarding the
issuance of the IWC quota to the Makah Tribe.

DATES:  Comments on the EA must be received by February 16, 2001. A
public hearing on this draft EA will be held in Seattle, WA on
Thursday, February 1, 2001, at 6:00 p.m. The public hearing will be
held at the Sand Point Magnuson Park Auditorium, 74th Street Entrance,
7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington.

ADDRESSES:  Comments on the draft EA should be addressed to Cathy E.
Campbell, NOAA/NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, 13th Floor, 1315
East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Mark the outside of the
envelope with ``Comments on Makah EA.'' Comments received over the
Internet or by electronic mail will not be accepted. Copies of the EA
and directions to the public hearing may be obtained over the internet
at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot--res/prot--res.html under ``New
Arrivals''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Cathy Campbell, 301-713-2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior to the 1997 Annual International
Whaling Commission (IWC) Meeting, NMFS formally analyzed the
environmental impacts of a decision to support or not support whaling,
and to determine whether an annual subsistence quota of up to five
Eastern Pacific gray whales would significantly affect the quality of
the human environment. A draft EA was distributed for public comment on
August 22, 1997. After reviewing and addressing the comments received,
NMFS issued a final EA and Finding of No Significant Impact on October
17, 1997.
    At its 1997 annual meeting, the IWC approved a quota of 620 gray
whales for an aboriginal subsistence harvest during the years 1998
through 2002. The basis for the quota was a joint request by the
Russian Federation (for a total of 600 whales) and the United States
(for a total of 20 whales). In 1998 and 1999, NOAA granted an
allocation of up to five whales a year to the Makah Indian Tribe, whose
subsistence and ceremonial needs had been the foundation of the U.S.
request to the IWC.
    U.S. Congressman Jack Metcalf, Breach Marine Protection, and
several other plaintiffs brought a lawsuit, Metcalf v. Daley, in
October 1997, alleging that the U.S. Government had violated the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Whaling Convention Act,
and other statutes. In September 1998, the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Washington ruled in favor of the U.S. Government on
all issues.
    On June 9, 2000, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned one
aspect of that decision, ruling that the 1997 EA should have been
completed before the U.S. and the Makah Tribe entered into a
cooperative agreement. That agreement had provided that, if the Tribe
prepared an adequate needs statement documenting a cultural and
subsistence need to harvest gray whales, NOAA would request a quota of
gray whales from the IWC. Two judges on a three-judge panel held that
the timing of the EA, which was completed after the 1996 agreement was
signed and before the 1997 annual meeting of the IWC, may have
predisposed the preparers to find that the whaling proposal would not
significantly affect the environment. The Court ordered NOAA to set
aside that finding and comply with NEPA under circumstances that would
ensure an objective evaluation of the environmental consequences of the
gray whale harvest.
    Following the Court action, NOAA rescinded its cooperative
agreement with the Makah Tribe on August 11, 2000. NOAA subsequently
set the gray whale quota for 2000 at zero (65 FR 75186, December 1,
2000), pending completion of its NEPA analysis.
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that federal
agencies conduct an environmental analysis of their actions to
determine if the actions may affect the environment. Accordingly, NMFS
prepared a draft EA that explores the environmental consequences of
four alternatives: (1) Granting the Makah Tribe the IWC quota with
restrictions to target the hunt on migrating whales (similar to the
1999 regime); (2) Granting the Makah Tribe the IWC quota with
restrictions that would allow a limited hunt on the gray whale summer
feeding aggregation; (3) Granting the Makah Tribe the IWC quota without
time-area restrictions; and (4) (No Action) - not granting the Makah
Tribe the IWC quota.
    The draft EA was prepared in accordance with NEPA and implementing
regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508 and NOAA guidelines
concerning implementation of NEPA found in NOAA Administrative Order
216-6.
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on this draft EA. Oral and
written comments may be presented at the public hearing [see DATES and
ADDRESSES]. Written comments on the draft EA may also be sent to the
previously listed address by February 16, 2001. Further details or a
copy of the EA can be obtained from the internet address above [see
ADDRESSES].

Special Accommodations

    The public hearing will be physically accessible to those with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other aids
should be directed to C. Campbell at least 10 days prior to the hearing
date (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: January 10, 2001.
Wanda L. Cain,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-1354 Filed 1-11-01; 3:33 pm]
BILLING CODE: 3510-22-S

 
 

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