Oops! New Rules for Businesses Bumping into Sea Mammals
Published Date: 7/25/2025
Notice
Summary
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is updating the paperwork rules for companies and groups that might accidentally affect marine mammals during their work. Fewer applicants are expected, and some monitoring tasks are no longer counted in the paperwork. This update keeps protections strong while making reporting clearer, with about 405 folks involved and a big chunk of time spent on applications and reports.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Mandatory MMPA Incidental Take Filing
If your company or government agency seeks authorization for activities that might accidentally "take" marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, you must submit an annual, mandatory information collection to NOAA (OMB Control Number 0648-0151). The collection (an extension and revision) covers complete applications for Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHA) or Letters of Authorization and required monitoring and reporting information.
Large Annual Paperwork Time Burden
NOAA expects about 405 respondents and reports a total annual burden of 77,056 hours for this collection. Average hours per response include examples such as IHA Application—281 hours and LOA Initial Application Preparation—1,200 hours; reporting items (interim, draft, final) range from 28 to 640 hours, and the collection is required annually and mandatory.
PAM and PSO Monitoring Removed from Burden
NOAA removed passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) and protected species observer (PSO) burden estimates from this information collection because those activities are determined not to fall under the collection's paperwork burden. As a result, PAM and PSO monitoring tasks are not counted in the OMB Control Number 0648-0151 burden estimates.
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