§ 218.108 - Renewal of Letters of Authorization and adaptive management.

(a) A Letter of Authorization issued under §216.106 of this chapter and §218.107 for the activity identified in §218.100(c) will be renewed upon:

(1) Notification to NMFS that the activity described in the application submitted under §218.106 will be undertaken and that there will not be a substantial modification to the desired work, mitigation, or monitoring undertaken during the upcoming period of validity;

(2) Receipt of the monitoring reports and notifications within the timeframes indicated in the previous LOA; and

(3) A determination by NMFS that the mitigation, monitoring and reporting measures required under §218.104 and the Letter of Authorization issued under §216.106 of this chapter and §218.107, were undertaken and will be undertaken during the upcoming period of validity of a renewed Letter of Authorization.

(b) If a request for a renewal of a Letter of Authorization issued under §§216.106 and 218.208 indicates that a substantial modification, as determined by NMFS, to the described work, mitigation or monitoring undertaken during the upcoming season will occur, NMFS will provide the public a period of 30 days for review and comment on the request.

(c) A notice of issuance or denial of a renewal of a Letter of Authorization will be published in the Federal Register.

(d) Adaptive Management. NMFS may modify or augment the existing mitigation or monitoring measures (after consulting with the Navy regarding the practicability of the modifications) if doing so creates a reasonable likelihood of more effectively accomplishing the goals of mitigation and monitoring set forth in the preamble of these regulations. Below are some of the possible sources of new data that could contribute to the decision to modify the mitigation or monitoring measures:

(1) Results from the Navy's monitoring from the previous year (either from the MIRC Study Area or other locations).

(2) Findings of the Monitoring Workshop that the Navy will convene in 2011.

(3) Compiled results of Navy funded research and development (R&D) studies (presented pursuant to the Integrated Comprehensive Monitoring Plan).

(4) Results from specific stranding investigations (either from the MIRC Study Area or other locations, and involving coincident MFAS/HFAS or explosives training or not involving coincident use).

(5) Results from the Long Term Prospective Study described in the preamble to these regulations.

(6) Results from general marine mammal and sound research.

(7) Any information which reveals that marine mammals may have been taken in a manner, extent or number not anticipated by these regulations or subsequent Letters of Authorization.

[75 FR 45547, Aug. 3, 2010, as amended at 77 FR 4924, Feb. 1, 2012]