Notice2023-11448
Marine Mammal Protection Act; Receipt of Permit Application
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on an application to conduct certain activities with marine mammals for which the Service has jurisdiction under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits activities with marine mammals unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such activities. The MMPA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing permits for any activity that is otherwise prohibited with respect to any marine mammal.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 104 (Wednesday, May 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34887-34888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11448]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022; FXIA16710900000-234-FF09A30000]
Marine Mammal Protection Act; Receipt of Permit Application
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit application; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the
public to comment on an application to conduct certain activities with
marine mammals for which the Service has jurisdiction under the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits
activities with marine mammals unless Federal authorization is issued
that allows such activities. The MMPA also
[[Page 34888]]
requires that we invite public comment before issuing permits for any
activity that is otherwise prohibited with respect to any marine
mammal.
DATES: We must receive comments by June 30, 2023.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The application, application supporting
materials, and any comments and other materials that we receive will be
available for public inspection at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> in
Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
<bullet> Internet: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Search for and
submit comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022.
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
For more information, see Public Comment Procedures under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda Tapia, by phone at 703-358-2185
or via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cd89808c8b9f8dabbabee3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e2a6afa3a4b0a2849591cc858d94">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment Procedures
A. How do I comment on submitted applications?
We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies
to comment on this application. Before issuing any requested permit, we
will take into consideration any information that we receive during the
public comment period.
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods in
ADDRESSES. We will not consider comments sent by email, or to an
address not in ADDRESSES. We will not consider or include in our
administrative record comments we receive after the close of the
comment period (see DATES).
When submitting comments, please specify the name of the applicant
and the permit number at the beginning of your comment. Provide
sufficient information to allow us to authenticate any scientific or
commercial data you include. The comments and recommendations that will
be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are: (1) Those
supported by quantitative information or studies; and (2) those that
include citations to, and analyses of, the applicable laws and
regulations.
B. May I review comments submitted by others?
You may view and comment on others' public comments at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> unless our allowing so would violate the Privacy
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) or Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
C. Who will see my comments?
If you submit a comment at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, your entire
comment, including any personal identifying information, will be posted
on the website. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes personal
identifying information, such as your address, phone number, or email
address, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold
this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so. Moreover, all submissions from organizations
or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.
II. Background
To help us carry out our conservation responsibilities for affected
species, and in consideration of section 104(c) of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), we
invite public comments on permit applications before final action is
taken. With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits certain activities with
marine mammals unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such
activities. Service regulations regarding permits for any activity
otherwise prohibited by the MMPA with respect to any foreign or native
marine mammal species are available in title 50 of the Code of Federal
Regulations in part 18.
Concurrent with publishing this notice in the Federal Register, we
are forwarding copies of this marine mammal application to the Marine
Mammal Commission and the Committee of Scientific Advisors for their
review.
III. Permit Application
We invite comments on the following application.
Applicant: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Marine Mammals
Management Office, Anchorage, AK; Permit No. 041309
The applicant requests a renewal and amendment of their permit to
capture, re-capture, release, collect carcasses of, import or export
parts of, hold, anesthetize, flipper tag, PIT tag, collect samples of,
transport, use radio transmitter for location of, use time-depth
recorders for study of, use LX2 and TDR transmitters for study of,
conduct benthic surveys of using CTD and underwater cameras, deploy
passive acoustic monitors for study of, and conduct ensonification
studies of up to 200 northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni)
annually, for the purpose of scientific research. This notification
covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year
period.
IV. Next Steps
After the comment period closes, we will make decisions regarding
permit issuance. If we issue permits to any of the applicants listed in
this notice, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register. You may
locate the notice announcing the permit issuance by searching <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> for the permit number listed above in this
document. For example, to find information about the potential issuance
of Permit No. 12345A, you would go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and
search for ``12345A''.
V. Authority
We issue this notice under the authority of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and its
implementing regulations.
Brenda Tapia,
Supervisory Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch of Permits,
Division of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. 2023-11448 Filed 5-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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