The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking public comments
to inform the scope of an environmental assessment being prepared to
evaluate the impacts of revising regulations for permits for scientific
research, enhancement, and public display of marine mammals. These
permits are issued pursuant to Section 104 of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing federal regulations. The
environmental assessment is being prepared in compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act as part of the regulatory revision
process.
NMFS has initiated a 60-day public scoping and comment period to inform
the alternatives to be considered and determine the scope of the
analysis. Additional information about the regulatory revision process,
including a scoping document outlining some possible changes to the
implementing regulations, is available at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/mmpa_regulations.htm.
NMFS proposes changes to the marine mammal permit regulations to clarify
existing permitting procedures and to codify procedures currently being
implemented through agency policy. NMFS is especially interested in
public comments in the following four areas: new and revised
definitions, restructuring and reordering of contents, changes to
application and permit requirements, and factors to consider in
evaluating environmental impacts of changes to the regulations.
NMFS will consider all written comments received during the comment period.
Written comments about the environmental assessment should be submitted
by May 10, 2010 to:
P. Michael Payne
Chief, Permits Division
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
email: [email protected]
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