[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4660-4661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01624]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: Applications and Reporting Requirements for the Incidental 
Take of Marine Mammals by Specified Activities (other than Commercial 
Fishing Operations) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0151.
    Form Number(s): NA.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 95.
    Average Hours per Response: Incidental Harassment Authorization 
(IHI) application, 255; interim draft IHA report, 11; draft IHA report, 
114; final IHA report, 15; Letter of Authorization (LOA) LOA Initial 
Application and Preparation for Regulations, 1,200; LOA annual 
application, 70; LOA draft annual report, 220, LOA final annual report, 
65; LOA draft comprehensive report, 625; LOA final comprehensive 
report, 300 hours.
    Burden Hours: 13,486.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et. 
seq.) prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals unless otherwise 
authorized or exempted by law. Among the provisions that allow for 
lawful take of marine mammals, sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 
MMPA direct the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the 
incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine 
mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than 
commercial fishing), within a specified geographical region if, after 
notice of a proposed authorization to the public for review and public 
comment: (1) We make certain findings; and (2) the taking is limited to 
harassment.
    We (National Marine Fisheries Service) shall grant authorization 
for the incidental taking of small numbers of marine mammals if we find 
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or 
stock(s), and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 
relevant). The authorization must set forth the permissible methods of 
taking; other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact 
on the species or stock and its habitat; and requirements pertaining to 
the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such taking. We have 
defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 as ``. . . an impact 
resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably 
expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the 
species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or 
survival.''
    Issuance of an incidental take authorization (Authorization) under 
section 101(a)(5)(A) or 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA requires three sets of 
information collection: (1) A complete application for an 
Authorization, as set forth in our implementing regulations at 50 CFR 
216.104, which provides the information necessary for us to make the 
necessary statutory determinations; (2) information relating to 
required monitoring; and (3) information related to required reporting. 
These collections of information enable us to: (1) Evaluate the 
proposed activity's impact on marine mammals; (2) arrive at the 
appropriate determinations required by the MMPA and other applicable 
laws prior to issuing the authorization; and (3) monitor impacts of 
activities for which we have issued Authorizations to determine if our 
predictions regarding impacts on marine mammals remain valid.
    Affected Public: Federal government; state, local or tribal 
government; individuals or households; business or other for-profit 
organizations; not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: Annually and interim (90-day).
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    OMB Desk Officer: [email protected].
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent

[[Page 4661]]

within 30 days of publication of this notice to [email protected].

    Dated: January 23, 2014.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-01624 Filed 1-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P