[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45341-45342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18669]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC127


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 Letters 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 September 3, 2012 through 
July 19, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The application and LOA are available for review by writing 
to P. Michael Payne, 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 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 EOG Resources, 
Inc. (EOG Resources) for activities covered by EROS regulations. 
Reporting
    NMFS Galveston Laboratory's Platform Removal Observer Program 
(PROP) has provided reports for EOG Resources removal of offshore 
structures during 2011. NMFS PROP observers and non-NMFS observers 
reported the following during EOG Resource's EROS operations in 2011:

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                                                                         Marine mammals     Biological impacts
            Company                  Structure            Dates             sighted         observed to marine
                                                                         (individuals)            mammals
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EOG Resources..................  Eugene Island      June 19 to 25,     Bottlenose         None.
                                  Area, Block 135,   2011.              dolphins (88).
                                  Platform B.       July 31 to August
                                                     2, 2011.

[[Page 45342]]

 
EOG Resources..................  Mustang Island     July 6 to 9, 2011  Bottlenose         None.
                                  Area, Block 759,                      dolphins (2).
                                  Platform B.                          Spotted dolphins
                                                                        (14).
EOG Resources..................  Eugene Island      July 22 to 31,     Bottlenose         None.
                                  Area, Block 135,   2011.              dolphins (33).
                                  Platform A.
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    Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued a LOA to EOG 
Resources. 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 applicants are in 
compliance with meeting the requirements contained in the implementing 
regulations and LOA, including monitoring, mitigation, and reporting 
requirements.

    Dated: July 25, 2012.
Helen M. Golde,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-18669 Filed 7-30-12; 8:45 am]
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