[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 83 (Thursday, April 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 23534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9672]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; Incidental Take of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities 
Applications

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will submit to OMB the 
collection of information described for approval under the provisions 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Copies of specific information 
collection requirements and explanatory material may be obtained by 
contacting our Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address 
or phone number listed below.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before June 28, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Your comments and suggestions on specific requirements 
should be sent to our Information Collection Clearance Officer, Anissa 
Craghead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., MS 222, 
Arlington, VA 22203, telephone (703) 358-2445, fax (703) 358-2269.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diane Bowen, Division of Habitat and 
Resource Conservation, Branch of Resource Management Support Arlington, 
Virginia, at (703) 358-2161, or Craig Perham, Office of Marine Mammals 
Management, Anchorage, Alaska, at (907) 786-3810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which 
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), require that interested members of the public and 
affected agencies be given an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). We are 
submitting a request to OMB to renew its approval of a collection of 
information concerning applications for the incidental take of marine 
mammals during specified activities. We are requesting a three-year 
term of approval for this information collection activity. Federal 
agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection of 
information is 1018-0070.
    Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 
authorizes us, acting on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to 
allow the incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of marine 
mammals during a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) in 
a specified geographic region. Prior to allowing these takes, however, 
we must find that the total of such taking will have a negligible 
impact on the species or stocks, and will not have an unmitigable 
adverse impact on the availability of the species or stocks for 
subsistence uses by Alaska Natives.
    The information that we propose to collect will be used to evaluate 
applications for specific incidental take regulations from the oil and 
gas industry to determine whether such regulations, and subsequent 
Letters of Authorization (LOA), should be issued; the information is 
needed to establish the scope of specific incidental take regulations. 
The information is also required to evaluate the impacts of the 
activities on the species or stocks of the marine mammals and on their 
availability for subsistence uses by Alaska Natives. It will ensure 
that all available means for minimizing the incidental take associated 
with a specific activity are considered by applicants.
    We estimate that the total annual burden associated with the 
request will be 2,027 hours (6,080 divided by 3). This represents an 
average annual estimated burden taken over a 3 year-period, which 
includes the initial 200 hours required to complete the request for 
specific procedural regulations (68 FR 66744). For each LOA expected to 
be requested and issued subsequent to issuance of specific procedural 
regulations, we estimate that 28 hours per project will be invested: 8 
hours will be required to complete each request for a LOA, 12 hours 
will be required for on-site monitoring activities, and 8 hours will be 
required to complete each final monitoring report. We estimate that ten 
companies will be requesting LOAs and submitting monitoring reports 
annually for each of seven sites in the region covered by the specific 
regulations.
    Title: Marine Mammals: Incidental Take of Marine Mammals During 
Specified Activities Applications, 50 CFR 18, Subpart J.
    OMB Number: 1018-0070.
    Bureau form number: None.
    Frequency of collection: Semi-annually.
    Description of respondents: Oil and gas industry companies.
    Total Annual Responses: 140 (2 per project x 70 projects).
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,027.
    Your comments are invited on: (1) Whether this collection of 
information is necessary for us to properly perform our functions, 
including whether this information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of our estimate of burden, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions we use; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information we are proposing to collect; 
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Dated: April 8, 2004.
Anissa Craghead,
Information Collection Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 04-9672 Filed 4-28-04; 8:45 am]
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