60-day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 28, 2023 / Notices
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; Basic Requirements for
Special Exception Permits and
Authorizations To Take, Import, and
Export Marine Mammals, Threatened
and Endangered Species, and for
Maintaining a Captive Marine Mammal
Inventory Under Section 104 of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Fur
Seal Act, and/or Section 10(a)(1)(A) of
the Endangered Species Act
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB).
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before August 28, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
at NOAA.PRA@noaa.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
0084 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to Amy
Sloan or Carrie Hubard, National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of
Protected Resources, Permits and
Conservation Division, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301–427–8401), amy.sloan@noaa.gov
or carrie.w.hubard@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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SUMMARY:

I. Abstract
The NMFS, Office of Protected
Resources, Permits and Conservation

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Division is proposing an extension and
revision of the currently approved
information collection OMB Control
Number 0648–0084. The information
collection request (IRC) is under the
authority of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.;
MMPA), the Fur Seal Act (16 U.S.C.
1151 et seq.; FSA), and the Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.;
ESA). This information collection
applies to certain protected species for
which NMFS is responsible: cetaceans
(whales, dolphins and porpoises) and
pinnipeds (seals and sea lions); and, for
ESA scientific research and
enhancement permits: smalltooth
sawfish, sea turtles (in water), sturgeon
(Atlantic and shortnose), and certain
foreign ESA-listed species. This
information collection may be used for
future ESA-listed species.
MMPA Section 104 and ESA Section
10(a)(1)(A) Permit Applications
The MMPA, FSA, and ESA prohibit
‘‘take’’ (e.g., to harass or harm), import,
and export of marine mammals and
endangered and threatened species,
with limited exceptions. Pursuant to
Section 104 of the MMPA and Section
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, individuals,
business or other for-profit
organizations, not-for-profit institutions,
and government agencies may obtain
special exception permits to take,
import, or export marine mammals or
endangered or threatened species for
scientific research or enhancement
purposes. Section 104 of the MMPA also
provides for Letters of Confirmation
under a General Authorization for
scientific research; permits for
commercial and educational
photography of marine mammals; and
permits for capture and/or import of
marine mammals for public display.
Persons or institutions seeking to take,
import, or export protected species must
apply for a permit or authorization and
demonstrate the statutory and regulatory
requirements are met. The regulations
pertaining to permits and associated
reporting under the MMPA and FSA are
at 50 CFR part 216; the regulations for
permit requirements under the ESA are
at 50 CFR part 222. The required
information in this collection is used by
NMFS to make the determinations
required by the MMPA, FSA, ESA, and
their implementing regulations prior to
issuing a permit or authorization; to
establish appropriate conditions; to
evaluate the impacts on protected
species; and, to ensure compliance with
the Acts.
Information required includes the
name, affiliation, contact information
and qualifications of the applicant and

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others listed on the application; the
purpose of the request; the species, age,
sex, and number of animals; the
proposed methods and mitigation to
minimize impacts to the species; a
description of the impacts to the species
and environment; and the requested
time frame of the permit. Permit and
authorization holders must submit
reports on the activities they carry out.
For this renewal, the only change we
propose is to provide additional
guidance to improve take number
estimates and reporting. The intent is to
improve the reasonableness of our
applicant’s take estimates and the
accuracy of their subsequent reporting.
In reviewing permit reports, we have
found that the takes requested are, in
many cases, substantially greater than
that used. This new guidance will be
included in all relevant application
instructions.
MMPA Section 104 National Inventory
of Marine Mammals
The MMPA requires NMFS to
maintain an inventory of marine
mammals in public display facilities
and for those facilities to report certain
information to NMFS’ (via the National
Inventory of Marine Mammals [NIMM]).
The NIMM forms include an
institutional contact form, a marine
mammal data sheet (MMDS), and a
transfer/transport notification form.
Inventory information required by the
MMPA includes the animal’s name or
other identification; sex; birth date; date
animal enters and leaves a collection;
source of the animal (e.g., stranding);
where an animal is transferred or
transported; and date and cause of death
(when determined). Exporting facilities
must provide documentation to NMFS
that the recipient facility meets
standards comparable to those required
in the United States. The NIMM forms
facilitate compliance with MMPA
reporting requirements and allow NMFS
to keep NIMM up to date. Based on
public comment on the previous PRA
notice, we simplified the blank MMDS
to only include information necessary
for reporting a birth, release, or death,
and included definitions for the fields
on the MMDS. We are not proposing
any changes to the MMDS or the other
NIMM forms at this time.
Prior to the previous PRA notice,
NMFS published a Federal Register
notice (84 FR 4443; February 15, 2019)
and extension (84 FR 15593; April 16,
2019) seeking comments on
implementing NIMM. After
consideration of public comments
(available at: https://
www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAANMFS-2019-0012), we had proposed

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 28, 2023 / Notices

certain inventory reporting revisions in
the previous PRA notice. This included
proposed revisions MMDS to (1) define
birth and clarify that a birth must be
reported if the marine mammal is born
alive, no matter how long it lives; (2)
clarify that stillbirths are not required to
be reported; and, (3) standardize
reporting of cause of death via a two-tier
system. We received comments both for
and against these proposed changes as
well as comments about public access to
NIMM. Commenters also asserted that
the use of the February 15, 2019,
Federal Register notice seeking
comment on ‘‘proposed policies and
procedures for the administration and
maintenance of the online inventory
database’’ did not clearly state that the
agency would finalize these policies and
procedures through the PRA process.
These same commenters expressed
concern about the agency’s proposal to
exclude stillbirths from the ‘‘birth’’
definition.
The agency takes the views of our
constituents seriously and because of
the substantive comments received, we
will not propose those changes to NIMM
at this time. Instead, the agency will
seek public comment on the final
policies and procedures for NIMM
through a separate process in the future.

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II. Method of Collection
Permit applications, permit report
form information, and inventory forms
are available as downloadable Word or
PDF versions online at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permits-andforms#protected-resources or via email.
Respondents may submit all
applications, forms, and reports by
email or mail. Respondents may also
submit scientific research and
enhancement permit applications and
Letters of Intent under the General
Authorization via our online application
system known as APPS (Authorizations
and Permits for Protected Species;
https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov).
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0084.
Form Number(s): NOAA FORMs 89–
880, 89–881, and 89–882.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(revision of a current information
collection).
Affected Public: Individuals; Business
or other for-profit organizations; Not-forprofit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal
government; Federal government.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
423.
Estimated Time per Response: The
estimated average amount of time it
takes to complete each information
collection instrument is as follows.

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Scientific research and enhancement
permit applications, 50 hours; public
display permit applications, 50 hours;
protected species parts applications, 20
hours; photography permit applications,
10 hours; General Authorization Letters
of Intent, 10 hours; major permit
modification requests, 35 hours; minor
permit modification requests, 3 hours;
scientific research permit reports, 12
hours; scientific research parts only
permit reports, 8 hours; General
Authorization reports, 8 hours; public
display permit reports, 2 hours;
photography permit reports, 2 hours;
public display inventory reporting, 2
hours; and general record keeping, 2
hours per each type.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 6,568.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $80.00 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: MMPA (16 U.S.C.
1361 et seq.), FSA (16 U.S.C. 1151 et
seq.), and ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department/Bureau to: (a)
Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we

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cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–13711 Filed 6–27–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XD055]

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to Marine Site
Characterization Surveys in the New
York Bight
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of an Incidental
Harassment Authorization.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, notification is hereby given
that NMFS has issued an Incidental
Harassment Authorization (IHA) to
Attentive Energy LLC (AE) to
incidentally harass marine mammals
during marine site characterization
surveys off of New York and New Jersey
in the New York Bight.
DATES: This Authorization is effective
from June 20, 2023 through June 19,
2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karolyn Lock, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
Electronic copies of the application and
supporting documents, as well as a list
of the references cited in this document,
may be obtained online at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-other-energyactivities-renewable. In case of problems
accessing these documents, please call
the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

Background
The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of
marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and
(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce
(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon
request, the incidental, but not
intentional, taking of small numbers of
marine mammals by U.S. citizens who

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