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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 148 / Thursday, August 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations Monitoring.

Holders of an LOA must develop and implement a site-specific, Serviceapproved marine mammal monitoring and mitigation plan to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation measures and the effects of activities on walruses, polar bears, and the subsistence use of these species and provide trained, qualified, and Serviceapproved onsite observers to carry out monitoring and mitigation activities identified in the marine mammal monitoring and mitigation plan.
18.128

Reporting requirements.

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Holders of a Letter of Authorization LOA must report the results of monitoring and mitigation activities to the Services Marine Mammals Management Office via email at: fw7_
mmm_reports@fws.gov.
a In-season monitoring reports. 1
Activity progress reports. Holders of an LOA must:
i Notify the Service at least 48 hours prior to the onset of activities;
ii Provide the Service weekly progress reports of any significant changes in activities and/or locations;
and iii Notify the Service within 48
hours after ending of activities.
2 Walrus observation reports.
Holders of an LOA must report, on a weekly basis, all observations of walruses during any industry activity.
Upon request, monitoring report data must be provided in a common electronic format to be specified by the Service. Information in the observation report must include, but is not limited to:
i Date, time, and location of each walrus sighting;
ii Number of walruses;
iii Sex and age if known;
iv Observer name and contact information;
v Weather, visibility, sea state, and sea-ice conditions at the time of observation;
vi Estimated range at closest approach;
vii Industry activity at time of sighting;
viii Behavior of animals sighted;

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ix Description of the encounter;
x Duration of the encounter; and xi Mitigation actions taken.
3 Polar bear observation reports.
Holders of an LOA must report, within 48 hours, all observations of polar bears and potential polar bear dens, during any industry activity. Upon request, monitoring report data must be provided in a common electronic format to be specified by the Service.
Information in the observation report must include, but is not limited to:
i Date, time, and location of observation;
ii Number of bears;
iii Sex and age of bears if known;
iv Observer name and contact information;
v Weather, visibility, sea state, and sea-ice conditions at the time of observation;
vi Estimated closest distance of bears from personnel and facilities;
vii Industry activity at time of sighting;
viii Possible attractants present;
ix Bear behavior;
x Description of the encounter;
xi Duration of the encounter; and xii Mitigation actions taken.
b Notification of LOA incident report. Holders of an LOA must report, as soon as possible, but within 48 hours, all LOA incidents during any industry activity. An LOA incident is any situation when specified activities exceed the authority of an LOA, when a mitigation measure was required but not enacted, or when injury or death of a walrus or polar bear occurs. Reports must include:
1 All information specified for an observation report;
2 A complete detailed description of the incident; and 3 Any other actions taken.
c Final report. The results of monitoring and mitigation efforts identified in the marine mammal monitoring and mitigation plan must be submitted to the Service for review within 90 days of the expiration of an LOA, or for production LOAs, an annual report by January 15th of each calendar year. Upon request, final report data must be provided in a common
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electronic format to be specified by the Service. Information in the final or annual report must include, but is not limited to:
1 Copies of all observation reports submitted under the LOA;
2 A summary of the observation reports;
3 A summary of monitoring and mitigation efforts including areas, total hours, total distances, and distribution;
4 Analysis of factors affecting the visibility and detectability of walruses and polar bears during monitoring;
5 Analysis of the effectiveness of mitigation measures;
6 Analysis of the distribution, abundance, and behavior of walruses and/or polar bears observed; and 7 Estimates of take in relation to the specified activities.
18.129 Information collection requirements.

a We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget OMB control number. OMB has approved the collection of information contained in this subpart and assigned OMB control number 10180070. You must respond to this information collection request to obtain a benefit pursuant to section 101a5 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. We will use the information to:
1 Evaluate the request and determine whether or not to issue specific Letters of Authorization; and 2 Monitor impacts of activities and effectiveness of mitigation measures conducted under the Letters of Authorization.
b Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this requirement must be submitted to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at the address listed in 50 CFR 2.1.
Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
FR Doc. 202116452 Filed 8421; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 433315P

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