Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico, 10481-10482 [2012-4117]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XA985 Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; issuance of letters of authorization. AGENCY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued one-year Letters of Authorization (LOA) to take marine mammals incidental to the explosive removal of offshore oil and gas structures (EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico. DATES: These authorizations are effective from February 27, 2012 through February 26, 2013. ADDRESSES: The application and LOAs are available for review by writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910– 3235 or by telephoning the contact listed here (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or online at: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ incidental.htm. Documents cited in this notice may be viewed, by appointment, SUMMARY: during regular business hours, at the aforementioned address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Goldstein or Jolie Harrison, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301–427–8401. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs the Secretary of Commerce (who has delegated the authority to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by United States citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region, if certain findings are made and regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term ‘‘take’’ means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal. Authorization for incidental taking, in the form of annual LOAs, may be granted by NMFS for periods up to five years if NMFS finds, after notice and opportunity for public comment, that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine mammals, and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where relevant). In addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species and its habitat (i.e., mitigation), and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating rounds, and areas of similar 10481 significance. The regulations also must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to EROS were published on June 19, 2008 (73 FR 34875), and remain in effect through July 19, 2013. For detailed information on this action, please refer to that Federal Register notice. The species that applicants may take in small numbers during EROS activities are bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), Clymene dolphins (Stenella clymene), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus), melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra), shortfinned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). NMFS received requests for LOAs from Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (ERT) and Demex International, Inc. (Demex) for activities covered by EROS regulations. Reporting NMFS Galveston Laboratory’s Platform Removal Observer Program (PROP) has provided reports for ERT removal of offshore structures during 2011. Demex has not used their LOA for any operations to date. NMFS PROP observers and non-NMFS observers reported the following during ERT’s EROS operations in 2011: Biological impacts observed to marine mammals Company Structure Dates Marine mammals sighted (individuals) ERT ........ Vermillion Area, Block 100, Platform C. Matagorda Island Area, Block 604, Platforms #1 and #14. April 10 to 20, 2011 ........................... Spotted dolphins (14) ......................... None. May 3 to 7, 2011 ................................ None. Matagorda Island Area, Block 604, Well #3. Brazos Area, Block 436, Platform B .. May 4 to 7, 2011 ................................ Bottlenose dolphins (15), Spotted dolphins (23), and Unidentified dolphins (1). Bottlenose dolphins (25) .................... Vermilion Area, Block 83, Platform A West Cameron Area, Block 398, Platform B. Vermillion Area, Block 61, Platform B West Cameron Area, Block 417, Caisson A. Brazos Area, Block 453, Platform A .. May 30 to June 2, 2011 ..................... May 31 to June 10, 2011 ................... ERT ........ ERT ........ ERT ........ srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES ERT ........ ERT ........ ERT ........ ERT ........ ERT ........ ERT ........ Matagorda Island Area, Block 604, Platform A. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:37 Feb 21, 2012 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 May 16 to 31, 2011 ............................ June 3 to 7, 2011 ............................... June 8 to 9, 2011 ............................... June 14 to 20 and June 27 to July 3, 2011. July 4 to 8 and July 10 to 12, 2011 ... Frm 00010 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 None. Bottlenose dolphins (97) and Spotted dolphins (5). None ................................................... Bottlenose dolphins (25) and Spotted dolphins (12). None ................................................... None ................................................... None. None. Bottlenose dolphins (87) .................... None. Bottlenose dolphins (36) .................... None. E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM 22FEN1 None. None. None. 10482 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Notices Company Structure Dates Marine mammals sighted (individuals) ERT ........ South Marsh Island Area, Block 107, Platform B. July 23 and August 4 to 8, 2011 ....... None ................................................... Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued an LOA to ERT and Demex. Issuance of the LOAs is based on a finding made in the preamble to the final rule that the total taking by these activities (with monitoring, mitigation, and reporting measures) will result in no more than a negligible impact on the affected species or stock(s) of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on subsistence uses. NMFS will review reports to ensure that the applicants are in compliance with meeting the requirements contained in the implementing regulations and LOA, including monitoring, mitigation, and reporting requirements. Dated: February 16, 2012. James H. Lecky, Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2012–4117 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Petitions ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 23, 2012. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0061 comment’’ in the subject line of the message. • Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. • Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 18:57 Feb 21, 2012 Jkt 226001 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information should be directed to the attention of Catherine Cain, Attorney Advisor, Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313–1451, by telephone at 571–272–8946, or by email to catherine.cain@uspto.gov, with ‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line. Additional information about this collection is also available at https:// www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., which provides for the Federal registration of trademarks, service marks, collective trademarks and service marks, collective membership marks, and certification marks. Individuals and businesses that use or intend to use such marks in commerce may file an application to register their marks with the USPTO. Individuals and businesses may also submit various communications to the USPTO, including letters of protest, requests to make special, responses to petition inquiry letters, petitions to make special, requests to restore a filing date, and requests for reinstatement. A letter of protest is an informal procedure whereby third parties who object to the registration of a mark in a pending application may bring to the attention of the USPTO evidence bearing on the registrability of a mark. A letter of protest must identify the application being protested and the proposed grounds for refusing registration and include relevant evidence to support the protest. A request to make special may be submitted where an applicant’s prior registration was cancelled due to the inadvertent failure to file a post registration maintenance document and should include an explanation of why special action is appropriate. A response to a petition inquiry letter is submitted by a petitioner who is responding to a notice of deficiency that the USPTO issued after receiving an PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Biological impacts observed to marine mammals None. incomplete Petition to the Director. A petition may be considered incomplete if, for example, it does not include the fee required by 37 CFR 2.6 or if it includes an unverified assertion that is not supported by evidence. The USPTO generally examines applications in the order in which they are received. A petition to make special is a request by the applicant to advance the initial examination of an application out of its regular order. A request to restore a filing date is submitted by an applicant who previously filed an application that was denied a filing date. The request must include evidence showing that the applicant is entitled to the earlier filing date. If an applicant has proof that an application was inadvertently abandoned due to a USPTO error, an applicant may file a request to reinstate the application instead of a formal petition to revive. To support such a request, the applicant must include clear evidence of the USPTO error. The information in this collection can be submitted in paper format or electronically through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). The USPTO has developed a TEAS Global Form format that permits the agency to collect information electronically for which a TEAS form with dedicated data fields is not yet available. With the introduction of the TEAS Global Forms, the information in this collection can be collected in paper format or electronically using the TEAS Global Forms. As part of this renewal the USPTO proposes to add four TEAS Global Forms—for responses to petition inquiry letter, petitions to make special, requests to restore filing date, and requests for reinstatement—into the collection. The paper equivalents for the response to petition inquiry letter, petition to make special, request to restore filing date, and request for reinstatement will be added as well. Although this collection does have electronic forms, there are no official E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM 22FEN1

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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10481-10482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4117]



[[Page 10481]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA985


Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals 
Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf 
of Mexico

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of letters of authorization.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and 
implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has 
issued one-year Letters of Authorization (LOA) to take marine mammals 
incidental to the explosive removal of offshore oil and gas structures 
(EROS) in the Gulf of Mexico.

DATES: These authorizations are effective from February 27, 2012 
through February 26, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The application and LOAs are available for review by writing 
to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office 
of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3235 or by telephoning the 
contact listed here (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or online 
at: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. Documents cited 
in this notice may be viewed, by appointment, during regular business 
hours, at the aforementioned address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Goldstein or Jolie Harrison, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301-427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) directs the Secretary of Commerce (who has delegated the 
authority to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not 
intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by United States 
citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial 
fishing) within a specified geographical region, if certain findings 
are made and regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term ``take'' 
means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, 
capture, or kill any marine mammal.
    Authorization for incidental taking, in the form of annual LOAs, 
may be granted by NMFS for periods up to five years if NMFS finds, 
after notice and opportunity for public comment, that the taking will 
have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine mammals, 
and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of 
the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where relevant). In 
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible 
methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable 
adverse impact on the species and its habitat (i.e., mitigation), and 
on the availability of the species for subsistence uses, paying 
particular attention to rookeries, mating rounds, and areas of similar 
significance. The regulations also must include requirements pertaining 
to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.
    Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to 
EROS were published on June 19, 2008 (73 FR 34875), and remain in 
effect through July 19, 2013. For detailed information on this action, 
please refer to that Federal Register notice. The species that 
applicants may take in small numbers during EROS activities are 
bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Atlantic spotted dolphins 
(Stenella frontalis), pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella 
attenuata), Clymene dolphins (Stenella clymene), striped dolphins 
(Stenella coeruleoalba), spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), 
rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), Risso's dolphins (Grampus 
griseus), melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra), short-finned 
pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and sperm whales (Physeter 
macrocephalus). NMFS received requests for LOAs from Energy Resource 
Technology GOM, Inc. (ERT) and Demex International, Inc. (Demex) for 
activities covered by EROS regulations.

Reporting

    NMFS Galveston Laboratory's Platform Removal Observer Program 
(PROP) has provided reports for ERT removal of offshore structures 
during 2011. Demex has not used their LOA for any operations to date. 
NMFS PROP observers and non-NMFS observers reported the following 
during ERT's EROS operations in 2011:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         Marine mammals      Biological impacts
      Company               Structure                 Dates                 sighted          observed to marine
                                                                         (individuals)             mammals
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERT................  Vermillion Area, Block  April 10 to 20, 2011..  Spotted dolphins (14)  None.
                      100, Platform C.
ERT................  Matagorda Island Area,  May 3 to 7, 2011......  Bottlenose dolphins    None.
                      Block 604, Platforms                            (15), Spotted
                      1 and 14.                                           Unidentified
                                                                      dolphins (1).
ERT................  Matagorda Island Area,  May 4 to 7, 2011......  Bottlenose dolphins    None.
                      Block 604, Well                                 (25).
                      3.
ERT................  Brazos Area, Block      May 16 to 31, 2011....  Bottlenose dolphins    None.
                      436, Platform B.                                (97) and Spotted
                                                                      dolphins (5).
ERT................  Vermilion Area, Block   May 30 to June 2, 2011  None.................  None.
                      83, Platform A.
ERT................  West Cameron Area,      May 31 to June 10,      Bottlenose dolphins    None.
                      Block 398, Platform B.  2011.                   (25) and Spotted
                                                                      dolphins (12).
ERT................  Vermillion Area, Block  June 3 to 7, 2011.....  None.................  None.
                      61, Platform B.
ERT................  West Cameron Area,      June 8 to 9, 2011.....  None.................  None.
                      Block 417, Caisson A.
ERT................  Brazos Area, Block      June 14 to 20 and June  Bottlenose dolphins    None.
                      453, Platform A.        27 to July 3, 2011.     (87).
ERT................  Matagorda Island Area,  July 4 to 8 and July    Bottlenose dolphins    None.
                      Block 604, Platform A.  10 to 12, 2011.         (36).

[[Page 10482]]

 
ERT................  South Marsh Island      July 23 and August 4    None.................  None.
                      Area, Block 107,        to 8, 2011.
                      Platform B.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to these regulations, NMFS has issued an LOA to ERT and 
Demex. Issuance of the LOAs is based on a finding made in the preamble 
to the final rule that the total taking by these activities (with 
monitoring, mitigation, and reporting measures) will result in no more 
than a negligible impact on the affected species or stock(s) of marine 
mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on subsistence 
uses. NMFS will review reports to ensure that the applicants are in 
compliance with meeting the requirements contained in the implementing 
regulations and LOA, including monitoring, mitigation, and reporting 
requirements.

    Dated: February 16, 2012.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-4117 Filed 2-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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