[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30447-30448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11953]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Applications and Reporting Requirements for the Incidental 
Take of Marine Mammals by Specified Activities Under the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on January 29, 2021 (86 FR 7544) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Applications and Reporting Requirements for the Incidental 
Take of Marine Mammals by Specified Activities Under the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0151.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 699.
    Average Hours per Response: 281 hours for an Incidental Harassment 
Authorization (IHA) application; 30 hours for an IHA Interim Draft 
Report; 140 hours for an IHA draft annual report; 28 hours for an IHA 
final annual report (if applicable); 1,200 hours for the initial 
preparation of an application for new regulations; 70 hours for an 
annual Letter of Authorization (LOA) application; 225 hours for an LOA 
draft annual report; 70 hours for a LOA final annual report (if 
applicable); 640 hours for a LOA draft comprehensive report; 300 hours 
for an LOA final comprehensive report; 140 hours for a Gulf of Mexico 
Rule (GOM) draft annual report; 28 hours for a GOM final annual report; 
and 1,540 hours for PAM/PSO Surveys. Response times will vary for the 
public based upon the complexity of the requested action.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 259,743.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a currently 
approved information collection, 0648-0151.
    The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.) prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals unless otherwise 
authorized or exempted by law. Among the provisions that allow for 
lawful take of marine mammals, sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 
MMPA direct the Secretary of Commerce 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, after 
notice and opportunity for public comment, we find that the taking will 
have a negligible impact on the affected species or stock(s) and will 
not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the 
species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where relevant). NMFS also 
must set forth the permissible methods of taking; other means of 
effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species or stock 
and its habitat (mitigation); and requirements pertaining to the 
monitoring and reporting of such taking. NMFS Office of Protected 
Resources leads the process for the agency.
    Issuance of an incidental take authorization (Authorization) under 
section 101(a)(5)(A) or 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA requires three sets of 
information collection: (1) A complete application for an 
Authorization, as set forth in our implementing regulations at 50 CFR 
216.104, which provides the information necessary for us to make the 
necessary statutory determinations, including estimates of take and an 
assessment of impacts on the affected species and stocks; (2) 
information relating to required monitoring; and (3) information 
related to required reporting. These collections of information enable 
us to: (1) Evaluate the proposed activity's impact on marine mammals; 
(2) arrive at the appropriate determinations required by the MMPA and 
other applicable laws prior to issuing the authorization; and (3) 
monitor impacts of activities for which we have issued Authorizations 
to determine if our predictions regarding impacts on marine mammals 
remain valid.
    We do not propose any changes to the information collection beyond 
expecting an increased number of respondents and responses due to 
increases in the number of requests for incidental take authorizations 
and requests for Letters

[[Page 30448]]

of Authorization from a recent GOM rule.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; Federal 
government.
    Frequency: One application for every LOA or IHA, draft and final 
annual and comprehensive reports.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA, 16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0151.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-11953 Filed 6-7-21; 8:45 am]
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