Opinion ID: 807161
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Incidental Take Under the MMPA

Text: The MMPA generally prohibits the “take” of marine mammals. 16 U.S.C. § 1371(a). “Take” is defined broadly under the MMPA to encompass “harassment,” including any act of “torment” or “annoyance” that “has the potential to injure . . . or . . . 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.” Id. § 1362(13), (18)(A)(i)-(ii). Unlawful take is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation. Id. § 1375(a)(1). A knowing violation is subject to a criminal penalty of up to a year in prison and a $20,000 fine. Id. § 1375(b). The MMPA allows several exceptions to the general take prohibition, including take for scientific research and for public display, as well as incidental take in the course of commercial fishing. Id. § 1371(a)(1)-(2). At issue in this appeal is an exception under Section 101(a)(5)(A) for incidental, but not intentional, take of “small numbers” of marine mammals from “a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region.” Id. § 1371(a)(5)(A)(i). The Service will authorize such take of “small numbers” of mammals for up to five years if it determines that the total incidental take would have a “negligible impact” on the relevant CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. SALAZAR 9527 species or stock and would not have an “unmitigable adverse impact” on availability for specified subsistence uses. Id. § 1371(a)(5)(A)(i)(I). If the Service makes the required findings, it may issue regulations — such as those challenged in this appeal — specifying permissible methods of take pursuant to the activity, specifying other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species, and specifying monitoring and reporting requirements for the authorized take. Id. § 1371(a)(5)(A)(i)(II). In 1983, the Service promulgated regulations implementing Section 101(a)(5) of the MMPA. 48 Fed. Reg. 31,220 (July 7, 1983) (codified at 50 C.F.R. § 18.27). The implementing regulations establish a two-step process: first, the Service issues incidental take regulations that govern a specified activity in a specified geographic region for up to five years; second, the Service issues letters of authorization (“LOAs”) to individual applicants authorizing their incidental take under the regulations. 50 C.F.R. § 18.27(e)-(f). Before issuing an LOA, the Service must determine that the level of anticipated incidental take is consistent with the five-year regulations. Id. § 18.27(f)(2). The implementing regulations define “small numbers” as “a portion of a marine mammal species or stock whose taking would have a negligible impact on that species or stock.” Id. § 18.27(c). They define “negligible impact” as an impact that is not reasonably likely or expected to “adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival.” Id. The oil and gas industry for more than two decades has requested and received incidental take authorization for its exploration, development, and production activities off the coast of northwestern Alaska. Between 1993 and 2006, the Service issued a series of regulations authorizing incidental take of polar bears and Pacific walruses in the Beaufort Sea. 58 Fed. Reg. 60,402 (Nov. 16, 1993); 60 Fed. Reg. 42,805 (Aug. 17, 1995); 64 Fed. Reg. 4,328 (Jan. 28, 1999); 65 Fed. Reg. 5,275 (Feb. 3, 2000); 65 Fed. Reg. 16,828 (Mar. 30, 9528 CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. SALAZAR 2000); 68 Fed. Reg. 66,744 (Nov. 28, 2003); 71 Fed. Reg. 43,926 (Aug. 2, 2006). In 1991, the Service issued regulations authorizing incidental take in the adjacent Chukchi Sea. 56 Fed. Reg. 27,443 (June 14, 1991). Little to no oil and gas exploration occurred in the Chukchi Sea over the next fifteen years. However, new opportunities for exploration and development in the Chukchi Sea prompted the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (“Association”) to request another set of five-year incidental take regulations in 2005.