Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Application and Reports for Scientific Research and Enhancement Permits Under the Endangered Species Act, 46680 [2021-17802]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 158 (Thursday, August 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 46680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17802]


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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; Application and Reports for Scientific Research and 
Enhancement Permits Under the Endangered Species 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 April 21, 2021 (86 FR 20661) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Application and Reports for Scientific Research and 
Enhancement Permits Under the Endangered Species Act.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0402.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
currently approved collection).
    Number of Respondents: 175 per year.
    Average Hours per Response: 12 hours for permit applications; six 
hours for permit modification requests 6; two hours for annual reports.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 810.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension of a 
currently approved information collection.
    The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
imposed prohibitions against the taking of endangered species. Section 
10 of the ESA allows permits authorizing the taking of endangered 
species for research/enhancement purposes. The corresponding 
regulations established procedures for persons to apply for such 
permits. In addition, the regulations set forth specific reporting 
requirements for such permit holders. The regulations contain two sets 
of information collections: (1) Applications for research/enhancement 
permits, and (2) reporting requirements for issued permits.
    The required information is used to evaluate the impacts of the 
proposed activity on endangered species, to make the determinations 
required by the ESA prior to issuing a permit, and to establish 
appropriate permit conditions. To issue permits under ESA Section 
10(a)(1)(A), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must 
determine that (1) such exceptions were applied for in good faith, (2) 
if granted and exercised, will not operate to the disadvantage of such 
endangered species, and (3) will be consistent with the purposes and 
policy set forth in Section 2 of the ESA.
    The currently approved application and reporting requirements apply 
to Pacific marine and anadromous fish species, as requirements 
regarding other species are being addressed in a separate information 
collection. There is one administrative revision requested to the 
collection itself: NMFS will no longer require ``final'' permit 
reports; the reports will simply be considered annual reports that are 
submitted at the end of a permit's life span.
    Affected Public: Federal government; State, local, or tribal 
governments; business or other for-profit organizations, educational 
institutions.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.).
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. 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 www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
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 0648-0402.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-17802 Filed 8-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P