Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Rule to Revise Marine Mammal Special Exception Permit Requirements, 11130-11131 [2010-5142]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
11130
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / Notices
has made clear that the action of the
Omnibus Amendment will be confined
to a description of process and the
preparation of an EIS no longer appears
to be necessary. Rather, the Council will
develop an EA; if, during the
development of the EA or at such time
that the analysis indicates a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI)
statement cannot be supported, the
Council will re-initiate development of
an EIS. A public hearing draft of the
Omnibus Amendment is expected to be
available mid–2010, and the Council
will conduct several public hearings on
the draft once it is completed.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq
Dated: March 5, 2010.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010–5183 Filed 3–9–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XU93
Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for a
Proposed Rule to Revise Marine
Mammal Special Exception Permit
Requirements
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare
environmental assessment.
SUMMARY: The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces its
intent to prepare an Environmental
Assessment (EA) to analyze the
potential environmental impacts of a
proposed rule to revise Federal
regulations implementing the Section
104 permit provisions of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA; 16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). NMFS proposes
changes to the regulations to clarify
existing permitting procedures and to
codify procedures currently being
implemented through agency policy. By
this notice, NMFS requests public
participation in the scoping process that
will help identify alternatives and
determine the scope of environmental
issues to be addressed in the EA. This
notice also provides information on how
to participate in the scoping process.
ADDRESSES: Written comments must be
postmarked by May 10, 2010, and
should be mailed to: P. Michael Payne,
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:07 Mar 09, 2010
Jkt 220001
Chief, Permits, Conservation and
Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910–3226.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile to (301)713–0376, or by email
to mmpermitregs.comments@noaa.gov.
Please include ‘‘Permit Regulations NOI’’
in the subject line of the email. The
facsimile must be confirmed by hard
copy submitted by mail and postmarked
no later than the closing date of the
comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Sloan or Jennifer Skidmore,
(301)713–2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is
the Federal agency responsible for
management of cetaceans and
pinnipeds, except walrus. NMFS Office
of Protected Resources administers a
program that issues permits to various
individuals and institutions to take
marine mammals in lands and waters
under U.S. jurisdiction, and to U.S.
citizens operating in international
waters. These permits are issued
pursuant to the provisions of the MMPA
and NMFS regulations governing the
taking and importing of marine
mammals (50 CFR part 216), and in
accordance with agency policy. For
threatened and endangered marine
mammal species, permits are also
governed by the requirements of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and the regulations
governing the taking, importing, and
exporting of endangered and threatened
species (50 CFR 222–226).
Permits provide an exemption to the
statutory take prohibitions to facilitate
bona fide scientific research or enhance
the survival and propagation of marine
mammals, and to allow for import,
public display, and commercial and
educational photography of marine
mammals as provided for in the MMPA.
The MMPA and the ESA prohibit
’’takes’’ of marine mammals, and
threatened and endangered species,
respectively. Under the MMPA, ’’take’’ is
defined as to ’’harass, hunt, capture,
collect or kill, or attempt to harass,
hunt, capture, collect or kill any marine
mammal.’’ The ESA defines ’’take’’ as ’’to
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or
to attempt to engage in any such
conduct.’’ The MMPA further defines
two levels of harassment. Level A
harassment includes actions with a
potential to injure a marine mammal or
marine mammal stock in the wild. Level
B harassment includes actions with a
potential to disturb a marine mammal or
marine mammal stock in the wild by
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
causing disruption of behavioral
patterns.
Many activities, including
photography, aerial and vessel-based
surveys, tagging and marking
procedures, attachment of scientific
instruments, and collection of tissue
samples require closely approaching or
capturing animals and may result in
harassment or other acts prohibited
under the MMPA and ESA except where
allowed by permit.
The statutory requirements for
permits to allow import, public display,
research, enhancement, and commercial
and educational photography on marine
mammals are described in Section 104
of the MMPA. Section 10 of the ESA
describes the requirements for permits
for scientific purposes or to enhance the
propagation or survival of listed species.
In addition to the requirements of
section 10 of the ESA, NMFS must
comply with section 7 of the ESA in
issuing permits. According to Section 7
of the ESA, NMFS must ensure that any
action it authorizes (such as by permit)
is not likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of listed species or result in
destruction or adverse modification of
critical habitat. Information requested of
permit applicants is used to evaluate
compliance with issuance criteria and
in analyses of environmental impacts
required under Section 7 of the ESA and
by the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
NMFS issuance of permits is governed
by the procedural requirements of NEPA
and the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA; 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.). NEPA
requires Federal agencies to integrate
environmental values into their decision
making process by considering the
environmental impacts of their
proposed actions, such as permit
issuance, and reasonable alternatives to
those actions. The APA governs
procedures related to imposition of
permit sanctions, and requirements for
NMFS to maintain records related to
determinations on applications.
In 2007, NMFS published an Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)
(72 FR 52339; Sep. 13, 2007) soliciting
comments from the public regarding
changes being considered to the NMFS
permit regulations, including criteria for
issuance of scientific research and
enhancement permits. NMFS sought
public comment to inform efforts to
further streamline and clarify general
permitting requirements, simplify
procedures for transferring marine
mammal parts for research, consider
application of the General Authorization
to research involving level A
harassment for non-ESA listed species,
E:\FR\FM\10MRN1.SGM
10MRN1
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / Notices
and develop a cycle for submission and
processing of applications for permits.
Some commenters indicated that the
ANPR was too general to allow for
meaningful comment. Others provided
suggestions for modifications or
expressed support for or opposition to
changes proposed in the ANPR. Based
on comments received, and an internal
scoping process, NMFS has developed
more specific proposed revisions,
additions, and restructuring to form the
basis of one or more alternatives to be
evaluated in an EA for a Proposed Rule
to revise NMFS marine mammal permit
application procedures and permit
requirements. This internal scoping
summary document contains proposed
regulatory language but does not
represent a preferred alternative. Rather,
it indicates where NMFS believes
changes to the permit regulations are
needed. The internal scoping summary
document and comments on the ANPR
are available at https://
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
mmpalregulations.htm.
NMFS is preparing an EA to evaluate
the potential environmental impacts of
promulgating revised regulations
governing permit application
submission, review, and decision
procedures including issuance criteria,
penalties and permit sanctions, and
permit conditions related to reporting,
permit modifications, and restrictions.
The purpose of the proposed revisions
to the regulations is to improve their
utility by clarifying, reorganizing, and
updating the regulatory language. These
improvements are needed to enhance
readability, compliance, and
enforcement.
This notice initiates a public scoping
period that will inform the structure of
alternatives and relevant information
considered in the EA. The number and
structure of the alternatives analyzed in
the EA will be determined based on
information gathered during scoping.
NMFS is seeking public comments on
the following:
(1) New and revised definitions.
NMFS is considering a number of new
definitions and revision of some
existing definitions to clarify terms
related to permit application
submission, review, and decision
procedures and permit terms and
conditions.
(2) Restructuring and re-ordering
some sections. NMFS is considering
consolidating some sections of Subparts
B (Prohibitions), C (General Exceptions),
and D (Special Exceptions) of the
regulations, reordering the regulations
to parallel the structure of the MMPA,
and adding sections on the Marine
Mammal Inventory, public display, and
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:07 Mar 09, 2010
Jkt 220001
photography permits. For example,
NMFS proposes consolidation of all
marine mammal parts collection and
transfer regulations into sections within
subpart C, rather than the current
distribution across multiple subparts.
(3) Revisions and additions to
application and permit requirements.
NMFS is considering substantial
revisions and additions to the sections
specific to permits for scientific research
and enhancement, commercial and
educational photography, and public
display. For example, NMFS proposes
insertions describing permit
requirements for educational and
commercial photography, which do not
have specific regulations and are
currently processed according to
regulations for scientific research and
enhancement.
(4) Factors to consider in evaluating
significance of impacts. NMFS seeks
comment from persons affected by or
otherwise interested in the marine
mammal permitting process related to
how proposed regulatory changes may
affect marine mammals and their
environment, as well as on potential
impacts on the regulated public.
NMFS will consider all comments
received during the comment period.
All hardcopy submissions must be
unbound, on paper no larger than 8 1/
2 by 11 inches (216 by 279 mm), and
suitable for copying and electronic
scanning. NMFS requests that you
include in your comments: (1) Your
name and address; and (2) Any
background documents to support your
comments, as you feel necessary. A draft
EA will be made available for public
review concurrent with publication of a
notice of proposed rulemaking.
Dated: March 4, 2010.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010–5142 Filed 3–9–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XR52
Marine Mammals; File No. 14534
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of amended
application.
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
11131
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
Ned Cyr, Director, NOAA Office of
Science and Technology, Silver Spring,
MD, has submitted a revised application
for a permit to conduct research on
marine mammals in the Pacific Ocean.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail
comments must be received on or before
April 9, 2010.
ADDRESSES: The application and related
documents are available for review by
selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public
Comment’’ from the ‘‘Features’’ box on
the Applications and Permits for
Protected Species (APPS) home page,
https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then
selecting File No. 14534 from the list of
available applications.
These documents are also available
upon written request or by appointment
in the following office(s):
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301) 713–2289; fax (301) 713–0376; and
Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West
Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,
CA 90802–4213; phone (562) 980–4001;
fax (562) 980–4018.
Written comments on this application
should be submitted to the Chief,
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, at the address listed above.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile to (301) 713–0376, or by email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov.
Please include the File No. in the
subject line of the e-mail comment.
Those individuals requesting a public
hearing should submit a written request
to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and
Education Division at the address listed
above. The request should set forth the
specific reasons why a hearing on this
application would be appropriate.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tammy Adams or Carrie Hubard, (301)
713–2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
September 11, 2009, notice was
published (74 FR 46745) of a request for
a permit under the authority of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972,
as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.), the regulations governing the
taking and importing of marine
mammals (50 CFR part 216), the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
and the regulations governing the
taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50
CFR 222–226).
The original application is a request
for a five-year permit to conduct a
research program involving studies of
sound production, diving and other
E:\FR\FM\10MRN1.SGM
10MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11130-11131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5142]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XU93
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for a
Proposed Rule to Revise Marine Mammal Special Exception Permit
Requirements
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare environmental assessment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces its
intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the
potential environmental impacts of a proposed rule to revise Federal
regulations implementing the Section 104 permit provisions of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). NMFS
proposes changes to the regulations to clarify existing permitting
procedures and to codify procedures currently being implemented through
agency policy. By this notice, NMFS requests public participation in
the scoping process that will help identify alternatives and determine
the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the EA. This
notice also provides information on how to participate in the scoping
process.
ADDRESSES: Written comments must be postmarked by May 10, 2010, and
should be mailed to: P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation and
Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring,
MD 20910-3226. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301)713-
0376, or by email to mmpermitregs.comments@noaa.gov. Please include
``Permit Regulations NOI'' in the subject line of the email. The
facsimile must be confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Sloan or Jennifer Skidmore,
(301)713-2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is the Federal agency responsible for
management of cetaceans and pinnipeds, except walrus. NMFS Office of
Protected Resources administers a program that issues permits to
various individuals and institutions to take marine mammals in lands
and waters under U.S. jurisdiction, and to U.S. citizens operating in
international waters. These permits are issued pursuant to the
provisions of the MMPA and NMFS regulations governing the taking and
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), and in accordance with
agency policy. For threatened and endangered marine mammal species,
permits are also governed by the requirements of the Endangered Species
Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations governing the
taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species
(50 CFR 222-226).
Permits provide an exemption to the statutory take prohibitions to
facilitate bona fide scientific research or enhance the survival and
propagation of marine mammals, and to allow for import, public display,
and commercial and educational photography of marine mammals as
provided for in the MMPA. The MMPA and the ESA prohibit ''takes'' of
marine mammals, and threatened and endangered species, respectively.
Under the MMPA, ''take'' is defined as to ''harass, hunt, capture,
collect or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, collect or kill
any marine mammal.'' The ESA defines ''take'' as ''to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to
attempt to engage in any such conduct.'' The MMPA further defines two
levels of harassment. Level A harassment includes actions with a
potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild.
Level B harassment includes actions with a potential to disturb a
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption
of behavioral patterns.
Many activities, including photography, aerial and vessel-based
surveys, tagging and marking procedures, attachment of scientific
instruments, and collection of tissue samples require closely
approaching or capturing animals and may result in harassment or other
acts prohibited under the MMPA and ESA except where allowed by permit.
The statutory requirements for permits to allow import, public
display, research, enhancement, and commercial and educational
photography on marine mammals are described in Section 104 of the MMPA.
Section 10 of the ESA describes the requirements for permits for
scientific purposes or to enhance the propagation or survival of listed
species. In addition to the requirements of section 10 of the ESA, NMFS
must comply with section 7 of the ESA in issuing permits. According to
Section 7 of the ESA, NMFS must ensure that any action it authorizes
(such as by permit) is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence
of listed species or result in destruction or adverse modification of
critical habitat. Information requested of permit applicants is used to
evaluate compliance with issuance criteria and in analyses of
environmental impacts required under Section 7 of the ESA and by the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
NMFS issuance of permits is governed by the procedural requirements
of NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA; 5 U.S.C. 551 et
seq.). NEPA requires Federal agencies to integrate environmental values
into their decision making process by considering the environmental
impacts of their proposed actions, such as permit issuance, and
reasonable alternatives to those actions. The APA governs procedures
related to imposition of permit sanctions, and requirements for NMFS to
maintain records related to determinations on applications.
In 2007, NMFS published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(ANPR) (72 FR 52339; Sep. 13, 2007) soliciting comments from the public
regarding changes being considered to the NMFS permit regulations,
including criteria for issuance of scientific research and enhancement
permits. NMFS sought public comment to inform efforts to further
streamline and clarify general permitting requirements, simplify
procedures for transferring marine mammal parts for research, consider
application of the General Authorization to research involving level A
harassment for non-ESA listed species,
[[Page 11131]]
and develop a cycle for submission and processing of applications for
permits.
Some commenters indicated that the ANPR was too general to allow
for meaningful comment. Others provided suggestions for modifications
or expressed support for or opposition to changes proposed in the ANPR.
Based on comments received, and an internal scoping process, NMFS has
developed more specific proposed revisions, additions, and
restructuring to form the basis of one or more alternatives to be
evaluated in an EA for a Proposed Rule to revise NMFS marine mammal
permit application procedures and permit requirements. This internal
scoping summary document contains proposed regulatory language but does
not represent a preferred alternative. Rather, it indicates where NMFS
believes changes to the permit regulations are needed. The internal
scoping summary document and comments on the ANPR are available at
https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/mmpa_regulations.htm.
NMFS is preparing an EA to evaluate the potential environmental
impacts of promulgating revised regulations governing permit
application submission, review, and decision procedures including
issuance criteria, penalties and permit sanctions, and permit
conditions related to reporting, permit modifications, and
restrictions. The purpose of the proposed revisions to the regulations
is to improve their utility by clarifying, reorganizing, and updating
the regulatory language. These improvements are needed to enhance
readability, compliance, and enforcement.
This notice initiates a public scoping period that will inform the
structure of alternatives and relevant information considered in the
EA. The number and structure of the alternatives analyzed in the EA
will be determined based on information gathered during scoping. NMFS
is seeking public comments on the following:
(1) New and revised definitions. NMFS is considering a number of
new definitions and revision of some existing definitions to clarify
terms related to permit application submission, review, and decision
procedures and permit terms and conditions.
(2) Restructuring and re-ordering some sections. NMFS is
considering consolidating some sections of Subparts B (Prohibitions), C
(General Exceptions), and D (Special Exceptions) of the regulations,
reordering the regulations to parallel the structure of the MMPA, and
adding sections on the Marine Mammal Inventory, public display, and
photography permits. For example, NMFS proposes consolidation of all
marine mammal parts collection and transfer regulations into sections
within subpart C, rather than the current distribution across multiple
subparts.
(3) Revisions and additions to application and permit requirements.
NMFS is considering substantial revisions and additions to the sections
specific to permits for scientific research and enhancement, commercial
and educational photography, and public display. For example, NMFS
proposes insertions describing permit requirements for educational and
commercial photography, which do not have specific regulations and are
currently processed according to regulations for scientific research
and enhancement.
(4) Factors to consider in evaluating significance of impacts. NMFS
seeks comment from persons affected by or otherwise interested in the
marine mammal permitting process related to how proposed regulatory
changes may affect marine mammals and their environment, as well as on
potential impacts on the regulated public.
NMFS will consider all comments received during the comment period.
All hardcopy submissions must be unbound, on paper no larger than 8 1/2
by 11 inches (216 by 279 mm), and suitable for copying and electronic
scanning. NMFS requests that you include in your comments: (1) Your
name and address; and (2) Any background documents to support your
comments, as you feel necessary. A draft EA will be made available for
public review concurrent with publication of a notice of proposed
rulemaking.
Dated: March 4, 2010.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5142 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
