Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Department of the Air Force (USAF) to take marine mammals incidental to testing and training military operations proposed to be conducted in the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range (EGTTR) from 2023 to 2030 in the Gulf of Mexico. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations and subsequent Letter of Authorization (LOA) to the USAF to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to issuing any final rule and making final decisions on the issuance of the requested LOA. Agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the notice of the final decision in the final rule. The USAF's activities qualify as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA).
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 218 [Docket No. 230127-0029] RIN 0648-BL77 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments and information. SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Department of the Air Force (USAF) to take marine mammals incidental to testing and training military operations proposed to be conducted in the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range (EGTTR) from 2023 to 2030 in the Gulf of Mexico. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations and subsequent Letter of Authorization (LOA) to the USAF to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to issuing any final rule and making final decisions on the issuance of the requested LOA. Agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the notice of the final decision in the final rule. The USAF's activities qualify as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA). DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than March 9, 2023. ADDRESSES: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2021-0064 in the Search box. Click on the…
Citation: 88 FR 8146
