6878 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 236.5. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: NEPA and MSA. 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email 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 may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01472 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA816] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Oil and Gas 

Activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of Letter of 

Authorization. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 

amended, and implementing 

regulations, NMFS issued a Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) to Hilcorp Alaska 

LLC (Hilcorp) to take marine mammals 

incidental to oil and gas activities in 

Cook Inlet, Alaska. 

DATES: Applicable until April 21, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Young, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated 

to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the 

incidental, but not intentional, taking of 

small numbers of marine mammals by 

U.S. citizens who engage in a specified 

activity (other than commercial fishing) 

within a specified geographical region if 

certain findings are made and either 

regulations are issued or, if the taking is 

limited to harassment, a notice of a 

proposed authorization is provided to 

the public for review. 

An incidental take authorization shall 

be granted if NMFS finds that the taking 

will have a negligible impact on the 

species or stock(s), will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

subsistence uses (where relevant), and if 

the permissible methods of taking and 

requirements pertaining to the 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting of 

such takings are set forth. 

NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact 

resulting from the specified activity that 

cannot be reasonably expected to, and is 

not reasonably likely to, adversely affect 

the species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival. 

The MMPA states that the term ‘‘take’’ 

means to harass, hunt, capture, kill or 

attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill 

any marine mammal. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, the MMPA 

defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: Any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance, which 

(i) has the potential to injure a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has 

the potential to disturb a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild by causing disruption of behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (Level B 

harassment). 

Summary 

NMFS issued regulations governing 

the take of 11 species of marine 

mammal, by Level A and Level B 

harassment, incidental to Hilcorp’s oil 

and gas activities on July 31, 2019 (84 

FR 37442). These regulations include 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements for the incidental take of 

marine mammals during the specified 

activities. As further detailed in the 

regulations (50 CFR 217.167), adaptive 

management measures allow NMFS to 

modify or renew LOAs as necessary if 

doing so creates a reasonable likelihood 

of more effective mitigation and 

monitoring. NMFS issued the first LOA 

to Hilcorp under these regulations on 

July 31, 2019. NMFS published a 

Federal Register notice seeking public 

comment on its proposal to modify the 

Year 1 LOA issued to Hilcorp on August 

16, 2019 (84 FR 41957) and published 

a notice of modification on October 4, 

2019 (84 FR 53119). The Year 1 LOA 

expired on July 30, 2020. To better align 

with the open water season, Hilcorp 

applied for their Year 2 LOA with a start 

date of April 1, 2020, rather than 

waiting until the expiration of their Year 

1 LOA in July 2020. NMFS reviewed the 

application and issued the Year 2 LOA 

on April 22, 2020. In error, NMFS did 

not publish a Federal Register notice 

upon issuance, but the signed LOA and 

Hilcorp’s application were published on 

NMFS’ website immediately upon 

issuance. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued a LOA (available at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-hilcorpalaska-llc-oil-and-gas-activities-cookinlet-alaska) to Hilcorp Alaska LLC for 

the potential harassment of small 

numbers of four marine mammal 

species incidental to oil and gas 

activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska, 

provided the mitigation, monitoring and 

reporting requirements of the 

rulemaking are incorporated. 

Dated: January 15, 2021. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01426 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

Publication of Housing Price Inflation 

Adjustment 

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary 

(Personnel and Readiness), Department 

of Defense (DoD). 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES