[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8921-8922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4074]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XU55


Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals 
Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf 
of Mexico

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

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of letters of authorization.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) 
and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS 
has issued one-year Letters of Authorization (LOAs) to take marine 
mammals incidental to the explosive removal of offshore oil and gas 
structures (EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico.

DATES:  These authorizations are effective from February 27, 2010 
through February 26, 2011 and May 15, 2010 through May 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES:  The application and LOAs are available for review by 
writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation, and 
Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3235 
or by telephoning the contact listed here (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT), or online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. Documents cited in this notice may be viewed, by 
appointment, during regular business hours, at the aforementioned 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Howard Goldstein or Jolie Harrison, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301-713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) directs The Secretary of Commerce (who has delegated the 
authority to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not 
intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by United States 
citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial 
fishing) within a specified geographical region, if certain findings 
are made and regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term 
``taking'' means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to 
harass, hunt capture, or kill marine mammals.
    Authorization for incidental taking, in the form of annual LOAs, 
may be granted by NMFS for periods up to five years if NMFS finds, 
after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the taking 
will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine 
mammals, and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 
relevant). In addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include 
permissible methods of taking and other means effecting the least 
practicable adverse impact on the species and its habitat (i.e., 
mitigation), and on the availability of the species for subsistence 
uses, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating rounds, and 
areas of similar significance. The regulations also must include 
requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. 
Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to EROS 
were published on June 19, 2008 (73 FR 34889), and remain in effect 
through July 19, 2013. For detailed information on this action, please 
refer to that Federal Register notice. The species that applicants may 
take in small numbers during EROS activities are

[[Page 8922]]

bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Atlantic spotted dolphins 
(Stenella frontalis), pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella 
attenuata), Clymene dolphins (Stenella clymene), striped dolphins 
(Stenella coeruleoalba), spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), 
rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), Risso's dolphins (Grampus 
griseus), melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra), short-finned 
pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and sperm whales (Physeter 
macrocephalus).
    Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued an LOA to Energy 
Resource Technology GOM, Inc., Noble Energy, Inc, and Demex 
International, Inc. Issuance of the LOAs are based on a finding made in 
the preamble to the final rule that the total taking by these 
activities (with monitoring, mitigation, and reporting measures) will 
result in no more than a negligible impact on the affected species or 
stock(s) of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse 
impact on subsistence uses. NMFS also finds that the applicants will 
meet the requirements contained in the implementing regulations and 
LOAs, including monitoring, mitigation, and reporting requirements.

    Dated: February 22, 2010.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-4074 Filed 2-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S