2010-26252. 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 currently approved information collection).

Number of Respondents: 71.

Average Hours per Response: Incidental harassment authorization (IHA) application, 399 hours; IHA interim draft report, 310 hours; IHA draft annual report, 422 hours; IHA final annual report, 163 hours; Letter of Authorization (LOA) initial application (preparation for regulations), 1,100 hours; LOA annual application, 70 hours; LOA draft annual report, 220 hours; LOA final annual report, 65 hours; LOA draft comprehensive report, 625 hours; LOA final comprehensive report, 300 hours.

Burden Hours: 26,410.

Needs and Uses: 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 United States (U.S.) citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing), within a specified geographical region, if certain findings are made and either regulations are issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed authorization is provided to the public for review.

Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted: (1) If the Secretary, acting by delegation through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), finds 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), and (2) if the permissible methods of taking and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings are set forth.

Issuance of an incidental take authorization (ITA) under section 101(a)(5)(A) or (D) of the MMPA requires three sets of information collection: (1) A complete application for an ITA, as set forth in NMFS' implementing regulations at 50 CFR 216.104, which provides the information necessary for NMFS to make the necessary statutory determinations; (2) information relating to required monitoring; and (3) information related to required reporting. These collections of information enable NMFS 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 take authorizations have been issued to determine if predictions regarding impacts on marine mammals were valid.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.

Frequency: Annually and on occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

OMB Desk Officer: [e-mail].

Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, [phone], Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [e-mail]).

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to [e-mail].

Dated: October 14, 2010.

Gwellnar Banks,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.