[Federal Register: November 3, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 212)]
[Notices]
[Page 67762-67763]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03no10-85]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-FHC-2010-N246; 71490-1351-0000-L5]
Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control No. 1018-0070; Incidental Take
of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We (U.S Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the
estimated burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled to expire on November
30, 2010. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may
continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is
pending at OMB.
DATES: You must submit comments on or before December 3, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or OIRA_DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov (e-mail).
Please provide a copy of your comments to Hope Grey, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-
ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or hope_
grey@fws.gov (e-mail).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail or e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or
by telephone at (703) 358-2482.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number: 1018-0070.
Title: Incidental Take of Marine Mammals During Specified
Activities, 50 CFR 18.27 and 50 CFR 18, Subparts I and J.
Service Form Number: None.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Description of Respondents: 20 oil and gas companies.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
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Number of annual Completion time per Total annual
Activity responses response (hours) burden hours
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Application for procedural regulations \1\......... 2 100 200
LOA Requests....................................... 25 24 600
[[Page 67763]]
Onsite Monitoring and Observation Reports.......... 300 1.5 450
Final Monitoring Report............................ 25 10 250
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TOTALS......................................... 352 ................... 1,500
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\1\ Occurs once every 5 years.
Abstract: This revised information collection combines requirements
associated with specified marine mammal activities in the Beaufort and
Chukchi Seas. The Office of Management and Budget approved the
information collection requirements associated with oil and gas
exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and assigned OMB Control No.
1018-0139, which expires June 30, 2011. If OMB approves this combined
request, we will discontinue OMB Control No. 1018-0139.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) imposed, with certain exceptions, a moratorium on
the taking of marine mammals. Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA directs
the Secretary of the Interior to allow, upon request by citizens of the
United States, the taking of small numbers of marine mammals incidental
to specified activities (other than commercial fishing) if the
Secretary makes certain findings and prescribes specific regulations
that, among other things, establish permissible methods of taking.
Applicants seeking to conduct activities must request a Letter of
Authorization (LOA) for the specific activity and submit onsite
monitoring reports and a final report of the activity to the Secretary.
This is a nonform collection. Regulations at 50 CFR 18.27 outline the
procedures and requirements for submitting a request. Specific
regulations governing authorized activities in the Beaufort Sea are in
50 CFR 18, subpart J. Regulations governing authorized activities in
the Chukchi Sea are in 50 CFR 18, subpart I. These regulations provide
the applicant with a detailed description of information that we need
to evaluate the proposed activity and determine whether or not to issue
specific regulations and, subsequently, LOAs.
We use the information to verify the finding required to issue
incidental take regulations, to decide if we should issue an LOA, and,
if issued, what conditions should be in the LOA. In addition, we will
analyze the information to determine impacts to the marine mammals and
the availability of those marine mammals for subsistence purposes of
Alaska Natives.
Comments: On July 20, 2010, we published in the Federal Register
(75 FR 42118) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on September 20, 2010. We received one comment. The
commenter expressed opposition to authorization of activities for the
oil and gas industry. We note the concerns raised by this individual;
however, we do not grant authorization for industry activities.
Instead, we are required under Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA to take
certain actions with regard to the ``incidental taking'' of marine
mammals that may result from specified activities. The regulations at
50 CFR 18.27(c) define incidental, but not intentional, taking as
``takings which are infrequent, unavoidable, or accidental. It does not
mean that the taking must be unexpected.'' The commenter did not
address the information collection requirements, and we did not make
any changes to our information collection.
We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
Whether or not the collection of information is necessary,
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this
collection of information;
Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it
will be done.
Dated: October 28, 2010.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service..
[FR Doc. 2010-27694 Filed 11-2-10; 8:45 am]
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