[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 106 (Thursday, June 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31423-31424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13315]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XW70


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 a 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 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 June 1, 2010 through May 
31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: The application and LOA 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 Jolie Harrison, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301-713-2289.

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

[[Page 31424]]

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), short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and 
sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).
    Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued an LOA to Ridgelake 
Energy, Inc. 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: May 27, 2010
Helen M. Golde,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-13315 Filed 6-2-10; 8:45 am]
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