Incidental Take Authorization: Oil and Gas Industry Geophysical Survey Activity in the Gulf of Mexico
Summary
NOAA Fisheries, upon request from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), has issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to geophysical survey activities conducted by oil and gas industry operators, and those persons authorized to conduct activities on their behalf (collectively “industry operators”), in Federal waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico over the course of five years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization to industry operators for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframe, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.
Gulf of Mexico Planning and Proposed Lease Sale Areas
Federal Register
Supporting Materials
- Feb 2022: Update regarding planned GOM rule revision
- Issued Letters of Authorization
- Application for Incidental Take Regulations (pdf, 192 pages)
- Application Addendum- BOEM Notice to NMFS of Revised Scope of Action (pdf, 4 pa…
- Application Addendum- BOEM Revised Acoustic Exposure Estimates (pdf, 17 pages)
- Application Addendum- BOEM Revised Action Area Map (pdf, 1 page)
- Acoustic Modelling Report (pdf, 385 pages)
- Acoustic Modeling Report Addendum (pdf, 6 pages)
- Cumulative and Chronic Effects Report (pdf, 50 pages)
- Cumulative and Chronic Effects Report Addendum (pdf, 12 pages)
- Gulf of Mexico Acoustic Exposure Model Variable Analysis (pdf, 171 pages)
- Expert Working Group Report (Southall et al., 2017) (pdf, 26 pages)
- Public Comments Received on Notice of Receipt (pdf, 195 pages)
- Public Comments Received on Proposed Rule
- Regulatory Impact Analysis- Proposed Rule (pdf, 209 pages)
- Regulatory Impact Analysis- Final Rule (pdf, 117 pages)
- Regulatory Impact Analysis Appendices- Final Rule (pdf, 70 pages)
- References Cited (pdf, 45 pages)
- Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
- Record of Decision (pdf, 11 pages)
- Biological Opinion
- Final Rule (pdf, 462 pages) Initially posted 12/8/2020.