The taking by harassment, injury, or mortality of marine mammals is prohibited by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) unless exempted or authorized by permit. The small-take program authorized the taking of marine mammals incidental to maritime activities (oil industry, shipping). It is the responsibility of the activity to determine if it might have a "taking" and, if it does, to apply for an authorization. Applications are necessary for NMFS to know that an authorization is needed and to determine whether authorization can be made under the MMPA. Reporting requirements are mandated by the MMPA and are necessary to ensure that determinations made in regard to the impact on marine mammals are valid.
US Code:
16 USC 1361
Name of Law: Marine Mammal Protection Act
Adjustments to Reponses and Burden
We based our burden estimates on discussions with current Authorization holders from three different sectors (e.g., oil and gas, state agency, and Federal government) and an accounting of the number and different types of actions that we have processed during the past three years (2013 â 2016). The total number of respondents has remained in line with the previous PRA effort (93 compared to 96) and the breakdown of non-Federal applicants for Incidental Harassment Authorizations and regulations/Letters of Authorization has also remained in line with the previous effort reporting information. The total annual burden hours have increased somewhat (15,291 compared to 13,486); however, the makeup of our applicant pool and the nature and complexity of their requested activities may vary from one information collection request cycle to the next. This inter-cycle variability will contribute to fluctuations in estimations.
Adjustments to Recordkeeping/Reporting Costs
NMFS has adjusted the total annual cost to the respondents t0 $100,626 from the previous estimate $100,700, as there are slightly fewer respondents (93 compared to 95 previously).
$701,550
No
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Dale Youngkin 301 427-8426
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
TECH MEMO Acoustic Guidance (2.0) (PDF) 508 - final.pdf
0151 SS 120716_2_7_18_FINAL_mo_clean.docx
IHA Application