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DOC/NOAA

RIN: 0648-AR99

Publication ID: Spring 2009

Title: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Navy Low-Frequency Sonar Operations
Abstract: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) amends its regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to operations of the U.S. Navy's SURTASS LFA sonar to implement provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 (NDAA). The President signed into law the NDAA (P.L. 108-136) on November 24, 2003. Included in this law were amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) that apply where a "military readiness activity" is concerned. NMFS and the Navy have determined that the Navy's SURTASS LFA sonar testing and training operations that are the subject of NMFS' July 16, 2002 (67 FR 46712) final rule constitute a military readiness activity because those activities constitute "training and operations of the Armed Forces that relate to combat" and constitute "adequate and realistic testing of military equipment, vehicles, weapons and sensors for proper operation and suitability for combat use."
Agency: Department of Commerce(DOC)	Priority: Other Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage
Major: No	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 50 CFR 216
Legal Authority: 16 USC 1371 et seq

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	06/29/2004	69 FR 38873
NPRM Comment Period End	07/29/2004
Final Action	04/00/2009

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: Federal
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Agency Contact: Kenneth R. Hollingshead Fishery Biologist Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20912 Phone:301 713-2055 Email: ken.hollingshead@noaa.gov