The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 directs the Department of the Interior to allow incidental taking of marine mammals upon request by U.S. citizens engaged in certain activities. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will use the information to verify the finding required to issue incidental take regulations, to decide if we should issue a Letter of Authorization (LOA), and, if issued, what conditions should be contained in the LOA. In addition, we will analyze the information to determine impacts to the marine mammals and the availability of those marine mammals for subsistence purposes of Alaska Natives.
We are reporting 356 responses and 1,800 annual burden hours, which is an increase of 4 responses and 300 burden hours.
We are reporting an adjustment increase of 100 annual burden hours. We increased the completion time based on our outreach and experience in administering this collection.
We are reporting as a program change 4 responses, 200 burden hours, and $200,000 in nonhour burden costs for the polar bear den detection report. The requirement to provide this report is in existing regulations, but was mistakenly not included in our previous submission. We are also reporting as a program change $280,000 in nonhour burden costs for consultant fees associated with this collection. Although the consultant costs were never reported as a nonhour burden cost, they were listed in item 12 of previous submissions.
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.