Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Notices 10481 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA985 

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 (LOA) 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, 2012 

through February 26, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: The application and LOAs 

are available for review by writing to P. 

Michael Payne, Chief, Permits and 

Conservation 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, 

301–427–8401. 

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 ‘‘take’’ means to 

harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to 

attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill 

any marine mammal. 

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 notice 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 of 

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 

34875), 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 

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), shortfinned pilot whales (Globicephala 

macrorhynchus), and sperm whales 

(Physeter macrocephalus). NMFS 

received requests for LOAs from Energy 

Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (ERT) 

and Demex International, Inc. (Demex) 

for activities covered by EROS 

regulations. 

Reporting 

NMFS Galveston Laboratory’s 

Platform Removal Observer Program 

(PROP) has provided reports for ERT 

removal of offshore structures during 

2011. Demex has not used their LOA for 

any operations to date. NMFS PROP 

observers and non-NMFS observers 

reported the following during ERT’s 

EROS operations in 2011: 

Company Structure Dates Marine mammals sighted 

(individuals) 

Biological 

impacts observed to 

marine 

mammals 

ERT ........ Vermillion Area, Block 100, Platform 

C.

April 10 to 20, 2011 ........................... Spotted dolphins (14) ......................... None. 

ERT ........ Matagorda Island Area, Block 604, 

Platforms #1 and #14.

May 3 to 7, 2011 ................................ Bottlenose dolphins (15), Spotted 

dolphins (23), and Unidentified dolphins (1).

None. 

ERT ........ Matagorda Island Area, Block 604, 

Well #3.

May 4 to 7, 2011 ................................ Bottlenose dolphins (25) .................... None. 

ERT ........ Brazos Area, Block 436, Platform B .. May 16 to 31, 2011 ............................ Bottlenose dolphins (97) and Spotted 

dolphins (5).

None. 

ERT ........ Vermilion Area, Block 83, Platform A May 30 to June 2, 2011 ..................... None ................................................... None. 

ERT ........ West Cameron Area, Block 398, Platform B.May 31 to June 10, 2011 ................... Bottlenose dolphins (25) and Spotted 

dolphins (12).

None. 

ERT ........ Vermillion Area, Block 61, Platform B June 3 to 7, 2011 ............................... None ................................................... None. 

ERT ........ West Cameron Area, Block 417, 

Caisson A.

June 8 to 9, 2011 ............................... None ................................................... None. 

ERT ........ Brazos Area, Block 453, Platform A .. June 14 to 20 and June 27 to July 3, 

2011.

Bottlenose dolphins (87) .................... None. 

ERT ........ Matagorda Island Area, Block 604, 

Platform A.

July 4 to 8 and July 10 to 12, 2011 ... Bottlenose dolphins (36) .................... None. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
10482 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Notices 

Company Structure Dates Marine mammals sighted 

(individuals) 

Biological 

impacts observed to 

marine 

mammals 

ERT ........ South Marsh Island Area, Block 107, 

Platform B.

July 23 and August 4 to 8, 2011 ....... None ................................................... None. 

Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS 

has issued an LOA to ERT and Demex. 

Issuance of the LOAs is 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 will review 

reports to ensure that the applicants are 

in compliance with meeting the 

requirements contained in the 

implementing regulations and LOA, 

including monitoring, mitigation, and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: February 16, 2012. 

James H. Lecky, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4117 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Trademark Petitions 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on the continuing information 

collection, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before April 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: 

InformationCollection@uspto.gov. 

Include ‘‘0651–0061 comment’’ in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to the attention of 

Catherine Cain, Attorney Advisor, 

Office of the Commissioner for 

Trademarks, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1451, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1451, by 

telephone at 571–272–8946, or by email 

to catherine.cain@uspto.gov, with 

‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line. 

Additional information about this 

collection is also available at http:// 

www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information 

Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) administers 

the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et 

seq., which provides for the Federal 

registration of trademarks, service 

marks, collective trademarks and service 

marks, collective membership marks, 

and certification marks. Individuals and 

businesses that use or intend to use 

such marks in commerce may file an 

application to register their marks with 

the USPTO. Individuals and businesses 

may also submit various 

communications to the USPTO, 

including letters of protest, requests to 

make special, responses to petition 

inquiry letters, petitions to make 

special, requests to restore a filing date, 

and requests for reinstatement. 

A letter of protest is an informal 

procedure whereby third parties who 

object to the registration of a mark in a 

pending application may bring to the 

attention of the USPTO evidence 

bearing on the registrability of a mark. 

A letter of protest must identify the 

application being protested and the 

proposed grounds for refusing 

registration and include relevant 

evidence to support the protest. 

A request to make special may be 

submitted where an applicant’s prior 

registration was cancelled due to the 

inadvertent failure to file a post 

registration maintenance document and 

should include an explanation of why 

special action is appropriate. 

A response to a petition inquiry letter 

is submitted by a petitioner who is 

responding to a notice of deficiency that 

the USPTO issued after receiving an 

incomplete Petition to the Director. A 

petition may be considered incomplete 

if, for example, it does not include the 

fee required by 37 CFR 2.6 or if it 

includes an unverified assertion that is 

not supported by evidence. 

The USPTO generally examines 

applications in the order in which they 

are received. A petition to make special 

is a request by the applicant to advance 

the initial examination of an application 

out of its regular order. 

A request to restore a filing date is 

submitted by an applicant who 

previously filed an application that was 

denied a filing date. The request must 

include evidence showing that the 

applicant is entitled to the earlier filing 

date. 

If an applicant has proof that an 

application was inadvertently 

abandoned due to a USPTO error, an 

applicant may file a request to reinstate 

the application instead of a formal 

petition to revive. To support such a 

request, the applicant must include 

clear evidence of the USPTO error. 

The information in this collection can 

be submitted in paper format or 

electronically through the Trademark 

Electronic Application System (TEAS). 

The USPTO has developed a TEAS 

Global Form format that permits the 

agency to collect information 

electronically for which a TEAS form 

with dedicated data fields is not yet 

available. With the introduction of the 

TEAS Global Forms, the information in 

this collection can be collected in paper 

format or electronically using the TEAS 

Global Forms. 

As part of this renewal the USPTO 

proposes to add four TEAS Global 

Forms—for responses to petition inquiry 

letter, petitions to make special, 

requests to restore filing date, and 

requests for reinstatement—into the 

collection. The paper equivalents for the 

response to petition inquiry letter, 

petition to make special, request to 

restore filing date, and request for 

reinstatement will be added as well. 

Although this collection does have 

electronic forms, there are no official 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES