[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39485-39486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16148]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC063


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 (LOA).

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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 LOA to take marine mammals incidental to the 
explosive removal of offshore oil and gas structures (EROS) in the Gulf 
of Mexico.

DATES: This authorization is effective from July 1, 2012 through June 
30, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The application and LOAs are available for review by writing 
to Tammy Adams, Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 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, 301-427-8401.

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

[[Page 39486]]

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 granted by NMFS for periods up to five years if NMFS finds, 
after notice and opportunity for public comment, that the total taking 
over the five-year period 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). NMFS received requests for a LOA from ExxonMobil 
Production Company (ExxonMobil) for activities covered by EROS 
regulations.

Reporting

    ExxonMobil has not used explosives for any rig structure removal 
operations under the 2011 to 2012 LOA.
    Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued an LOA to 
ExxonMobil. Issuance of the LOA is based on a finding made in the 
preamble to the final rule that the total taking over the five-year 
period (with monitoring, mitigation, and reporting measures) will have 
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 will review reports to ensure that the applicant is in 
compliance with meeting the requirements contained in the implementing 
regulations and LOA, including monitoring, mitigation, and reporting 
requirements.

    Dated: June 25, 2012.
Helen M. Golde,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-16148 Filed 7-2-12; 8:45 am]
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