[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67762-67763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27694]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-FHC-2010-N246; 71490-1351-0000-L5]


Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control No. 1018-0070; Incidental Take 
of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize 
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 
30, 2010. We 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. However, under OMB regulations, we may 
continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is 
pending at OMB.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before December 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or [email protected] (e-mail). 
Please provide a copy of your comments to Hope Grey, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-
ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or [email protected] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail or e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or 
by telephone at (703) 358-2482.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number: 1018-0070.
    Title: Incidental Take of Marine Mammals During Specified 
Activities, 50 CFR 18.27 and 50 CFR 18, Subparts I and J.
    Service Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: 20 oil and gas companies.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

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                                                      Number of annual   Completion time per     Total annual
                      Activity                            responses        response (hours)      burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application for procedural regulations \1\.........                   2                100                   200
LOA Requests.......................................                  25                 24                   600

[[Page 67763]]

 
Onsite Monitoring and Observation Reports..........                 300                  1.5                 450
Final Monitoring Report............................                  25                 10                   250
                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------
    TOTALS.........................................                 352  ...................               1,500
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Occurs once every 5 years.

    Abstract: This revised information collection combines requirements 
associated with specified marine mammal activities in the Beaufort and 
Chukchi Seas. The Office of Management and Budget approved the 
information collection requirements associated with oil and gas 
exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and assigned OMB Control No. 
1018-0139, which expires June 30, 2011. If OMB approves this combined 
request, we will discontinue OMB Control No. 1018-0139.
    The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) imposed, with certain exceptions, a moratorium on 
the taking of marine mammals. Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA directs 
the Secretary of the Interior to allow, upon request by citizens of the 
United States, the taking of small numbers of marine mammals incidental 
to specified activities (other than commercial fishing) if the 
Secretary makes certain findings and prescribes specific regulations 
that, among other things, establish permissible methods of taking.
    Applicants seeking to conduct activities must request a Letter of 
Authorization (LOA) for the specific activity and submit onsite 
monitoring reports and a final report of the activity to the Secretary. 
This is a nonform collection. Regulations at 50 CFR 18.27 outline the 
procedures and requirements for submitting a request. Specific 
regulations governing authorized activities in the Beaufort Sea are in 
50 CFR 18, subpart J. Regulations governing authorized activities in 
the Chukchi Sea are in 50 CFR 18, subpart I. These regulations provide 
the applicant with a detailed description of information that we need 
to evaluate the proposed activity and determine whether or not to issue 
specific regulations and, subsequently, LOAs.
    We use the information to verify the finding required to issue 
incidental take regulations, to decide if we should issue an LOA, and, 
if issued, what conditions should be in the LOA. In addition, we will 
analyze the information to determine impacts to the marine mammals and 
the availability of those marine mammals for subsistence purposes of 
Alaska Natives.
    Comments: On July 20, 2010, we published in the Federal Register 
(75 FR 42118) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on September 20, 2010. We received one comment. The 
commenter expressed opposition to authorization of activities for the 
oil and gas industry. We note the concerns raised by this individual; 
however, we do not grant authorization for industry activities. 
Instead, we are required under Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA to take 
certain actions with regard to the ``incidental taking'' of marine 
mammals that may result from specified activities. The regulations at 
50 CFR 18.27(c) define incidental, but not intentional, taking as 
``takings which are infrequent, unavoidable, or accidental. It does not 
mean that the taking must be unexpected.'' The commenter did not 
address the information collection requirements, and we did not make 
any changes to our information collection.
    We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal 
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.

    Dated: October 28, 2010.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service..
[FR Doc. 2010-27694 Filed 11-2-10; 8:45 am]
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