[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18353-18354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9264]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XO80


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 letter of authorization.

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

DATES:  This authorization is effective from May 1, 2009 through April 
30, 2010.

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 Ken Hollingshead, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301-713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sections 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) direct the 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 by NMFS 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 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 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-

[[Page 18354]]

headed whales (Peponocephala electra), pilot whales (Globicephala 
macrorhynchus), and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).
    Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued an LOA to ExxonMobil 
Production Company. Issuance of the LOA 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 also finds that the applicant will 
meet the requirements contained in the implementing regulations and 
LOA, including monitoring, mitigation, and reporting requirements.

    Dated: April 16, 2009.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E9-9264 Filed 4-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S