Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction

Act

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Information collection; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The collection of information described below has been

submitted to OMB for reinstatement under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Copies of specific information

collection requirements and explanatory material may be obtained by

contacting the Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) Information

Collection Clearance Officer at the address or phone number listed

below.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received on or

before October 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments and suggestions on specific requirements should be

sent to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222 ARLSQ, 1849

[[Page 50579]]

C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240, Telephone 703/358-2287.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey L. Horwath, Division of Fish

and Wildlife Management Assistance, Arlington, Virginia, at 703/358-

1718.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service has submitted the following

information collection clearance requirements to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for review and reinstatement of OMB Control

Number 1018-0070 under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public L.

104-13. The OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove information

collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure maximum

consideration, the OMB should receive public comments by October 22,

1998. The Service may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not

required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a

currently valid OMB control number. A 60-day notice inviting public

comment on this information collection requirement previously was

published in the Federal Register on April 1, 1998 (63 FR 15854). No

comments on the previous notice were received. Pursuant to this request

for approval, comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the information will have practical

utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden, including

the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of

information on those who are to respond, including through the use of

appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972

authorizes the Service to allow the incidental, unintentional take of

small numbers of marine mammals during a specified activity (other than

commercial fishing) in a specified geographical region. Prior to

allowing these takes, the Service must find that the total of such

taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stocks, and will

not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the species or stocks for

subsistence uses by Alaska Natives.

The information proposed to be collected by the Service will be

used to evaluate applications for specific incidental take regulations

to determine whether such regulations, and subsequent Letters of

Authorization (LOA), should be issued; the information is needed to

establish the scope of specific incidental take regulations. The

information is also required to evaluate the impact of activities on

the species or stocks of the marine mammals, and on their availability

for subsistence uses by Alaskan Natives. It will ensure that all

available means for minimizing the incidental take associated with a

specific activity are considered by applicants.

The Service estimates that the burden associated with this request

will be a total of 1,100 hours for the full three year period of OMB

authorization. Two-hundred hours will be required to complete the

initial request for specific regulations. For each LOA expected to be

requested and issued subsequent to issuance of specific regulations,

the Service estimates that 20 hours will be invested: 8 hours will be

required to complete each request for an LOA, 4 hours will be required

for monitoring activities, and 8 hours will be required to complete

each monitoring report. The Service estimates that five companies will

be requesting LOAs and submitting monitoring reports annually for each

of three sites in the region covered by the specific regulations.

Title: Marine Mammals; Incidental Take During Specified Activities.

Bureau form number: None.

Frequency of collection: Biannually.

Description of respondents: Oil and gas industry companies.

Number of respondents: 5 for each of 3 active sites per year.

Estimated completion time: For the initial year only, a 200 hour

application burden is estimated. For the initial year and annually

thereafter, 8 hours per LOA, 4 hours for monitoring, and 8 hours per

monitoring report are estimated for each of 5 companies for each 3

active sites (20 hours x 5 companies x 3 sites).

Burden estimate: 200 hours (only in initial year for application).

300 hours (for initial year and annually thereafter).

Dated July 30, 1998.

Hannibal Bolton,

Acting Assistant Director-Fisheries.

[FR Doc. 98-25310 Filed 9-21-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-M