Notice2023-23250
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Basic Requirements for Special Exception Permits and Authorizations To Take, Import, and Export Marine Mammals, Threatened and Endangered Species, and for Maintaining a Captive Marine Mammal Inventory Under Section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Fur Seal Act, and/or Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act
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
October 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 202 (Friday, October 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 202 (Friday, October 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72431-72432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23250]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Basic Requirements for Special Exception Permits and
Authorizations To Take, Import, and Export Marine Mammals, Threatened
and Endangered Species, and for Maintaining a Captive Marine Mammal
Inventory Under Section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the
Fur Seal Act, and/or Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the
Federal Register on June 28, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
[[Page 72432]]
Title: Basic Requirements for Special Exception Permits and
Authorizations to Take, Import, and Export Marine Mammals, Threatened
and Endangered Species, and for Maintaining a Captive Marine Mammal
Inventory Under section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the
Fur Seal Act, and/or section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0084.
Form Number(s): NOAA FORMs 89-880, 89-881, and 89-882.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current
information collection).
Number of Respondents: 423.
Average Hours per Response: The estimated average amount of time it
takes to complete each information collection instrument is as follows.
Scientific research and enhancement permit applications, 50 hours;
public display permit applications, 50 hours; protected species parts
applications, 20 hours; photography permit applications, 10 hours;
General Authorization Letters of Intent, 10 hours; major permit
modification requests, 35 hours; minor permit modification requests, 3
hours; scientific research permit reports, 12 hours; scientific
research parts only permit reports, 8 hours; General Authorization
reports, 8 hours; public display permit reports, 2 hours; photography
permit reports, 2 hours; public display inventory reporting, 2 hours;
and general record keeping, 2 hours per each type.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 6,568.
Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
Office of Protected Resources, Permits and Conservation Division is
proposing an extension of the currently approved information collection
OMB Control Number 0648-0084. The information collection request (IRC)
is under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the
Fur Seal Act (FSA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This
information collection applies to certain protected species for which
NMFS is responsible: cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and
pinnipeds (seals and sea lions); and, for ESA scientific research and
enhancement permits: smalltooth sawfish, sea turtles (in water),
sturgeon (Atlantic and shortnose), and certain foreign ESA-listed
species. This information collection may be used for future ESA-listed
species.
The MMPA, FSA, and ESA prohibit ``take'' (e.g., to harass or harm),
import, and export of marine mammals and endangered and threatened
species, with limited exceptions. Pursuant to section 104 of the MMPA
and section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, individuals, business or other for-
profit organizations, not-for-profit institutions, and government
agencies may obtain special exception permits to take, import, or
export marine mammals or endangered or threatened species for
scientific research or enhancement purposes. Section 104 of the MMPA
also provides for Letters of Confirmation under a General Authorization
for scientific research; permits for commercial and educational
photography of marine mammals; and permits for capture and/or import of
marine mammals for public display.
Persons or institutions seeking to take, import, or export
protected species must apply for a permit or authorization and
demonstrate the statutory and regulatory requirements are met. The
regulations pertaining to permits and associated reporting under the
MMPA and FSA are at 50 CFR part 216; the regulations for permit
requirements under the ESA are at 50 CFR part 222. The required
information in this collection is used by NMFS to make the
determinations required by the MMPA, FSA, ESA, and their implementing
regulations prior to issuing a permit or authorization; to establish
appropriate conditions; to evaluate the impacts on protected species;
and, to ensure compliance with the Acts.
Information required includes the name, affiliation, contact
information and qualifications of the applicant and others listed on
the application; the purpose of the request; the species, age, sex, and
number of animals; the proposed methods and mitigation to minimize
impacts to the species; a description of the impacts to the species and
environment; and the requested time frame of the permit. Permit and
authorization holders must submit reports on the activities they carry
out.
The MMPA requires NMFS to maintain an inventory of marine mammals
in public display facilities and for those facilities to report certain
information to NMFS via the National Inventory of Marine Mammals
(NIMM). The NIMM forms include an institutional contact form, a marine
mammal data sheet (MMDS), and a transfer/transport notification form.
Inventory information required by the MMPA includes the animal's name
or other identification; sex; birth date; date animal enters and leaves
a collection; source of the animal (e.g., stranding); where an animal
is transferred or transported; and date and cause of death (when
determined). Exporting facilities must provide documentation to NMFS
that the recipient facility meets standards comparable to those
required in the United States. The NIMM forms facilitate compliance
with MMPA reporting requirements and allow NMFS to keep NIMM up to
date. Based on public comment on the previous PRA notice, we simplified
the blank MMDS to only include information necessary for reporting a
birth, release, or death, and included definitions for the fields on
the MMDS. We are not proposing any changes to the MMDS or the other
NIMM forms at this time.
NMFS had originally proposed to provide additional guidance to
improve the reasonableness of our applicant's take estimates and the
accuracy of their subsequent reporting. However, we are no longer
proposing those changes due to resource limitations at this time. We
plan to work on developing additional take guidance for permit
applicants as time and resources allow.
Affected Public: Individuals; Business or other for-profit
organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal
government; Federal government.
Frequency: Permit applications, once every five or ten years;
permit reports, annually or more frequently if incidents occur;
amendments and modifications to permits, as frequently as requested by
permit holders; public display inventory reporting, 15 days prior to
transporting or transferring marine mammals and 30 days after the date
of birth or death of a marine mammal.
Respondent's Obligation: Public display forms are mandatory; permit
applications are required to receive a permit.
Legal Authority: MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), FSA (16 U.S.C. 1151
et seq.), and ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
Control Number 0648-0084.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-23250 Filed 10-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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