Notice2025-14104
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Applications and Reporting Requirements for Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals by Specified Activities Under the Marine Mammal Protection 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
July 25, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 141 (Friday, July 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 141 (Friday, July 25, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 35280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14104]
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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; Applications and Reporting Requirements for Incidental Taking
of Marine Mammals by Specified Activities Under the Marine Mammal
Protection 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 March 31st, 2025 during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
Title: Applications and Reporting Requirements for Incidental
Taking of Marine Mammals by Specified Activities under the Marine
Mammal Protection Act.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0151.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission [extension and revision of a
currently approved information collection].
Number of Respondents: 405.
Average Hours per Response: IHA Application--281 hours; IHA Interim
Report--30 hours; IHA Draft Report--140 hours; IHA Final Report--28
hours; LOA Initial Application Preparation--1,200 hours; LOA--Draft
Annual Report--225 hours; LOA Final Annual Report--70 hours; LOA Draft
5-year Report--640 hours; LOA Final 5-year report--300 hours; LOA Gulf
of America Annual Application--70 hours; Gulf of America Draft Annual
Report--140 hours; Gulf of America Final Annual Report--28 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 77,056 hours.
Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension and revision of a
currently approved information collection, 0648-0151. The main
difference we expect related to this extension is that there will be a
smaller number of applicants/respondents than accounted for in the
existing OMB Control Number. This revision removes the passive acoustic
monitoring (PAM) and protected species observer (PSO) burden estimates.
The Office of Protected Resources determined that those activities do
not fall under the burden associated with this 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 and opportunity for public comment, we find that the taking will
have a negligible impact on the affected species or stock(s) and will
not have an immitigable adverse impact on the availability of the
species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where relevant). NMFS also
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 (mitigation); and requirements pertaining to the
monitoring and reporting of such taking.
Issuance of an incidental take authorization (Authorization) under
MMPA section 101(a)(5)(A) (through issuance of a Letter of
Authorization following issuance of incidental take regulations) or
101(a)(5)(D) (through issuance of an Incidental Harassment
Authorization) requires three sets of information collection: (1) a
complete application for an Authorization, as set forth in NMFS'
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 216.104, which provides the
information necessary to make the required statutory determinations,
including estimates of take and an assessment of impacts on the
affected species and stocks; (2) information relating to required
monitoring; and (3) information related to required reporting. As
required by the MMPA, these collections of information enable NMFS to:
(1) prospectively 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 Authorizations have been
issued to determine if predictions regarding impacts on marine mammals
remain valid.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations and
State, Local, or Tribal/Federal government.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 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 0648-0151.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Compliance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2025-14104 Filed 7-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 25, 2025.
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