Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Military Readiness Activities in the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Study Area

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

Proposed rule; proposed letters of authorization; request for comments.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Department of the Navy (including the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps (Navy)) and on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard; hereafter, Navy and Coast Guard are collectively referred to as Action Proponents) for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and three associated Letters of Authorization (LOAs) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take of marine mammals incidental to training and testing activities conducted in the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) Study Area over the course of seven years from November 2025 through November 2032. NMFS requests comments on this proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOAs; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final rule, if issued. The Action Proponents' activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA).

Comments and information must be received no later than June 9, 2025.

A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2024-0115. You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0115, by any of the following methods:

• Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2024-0115 in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to Jolie Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225.
• Fax: (301) 713-0376; Attn: Jolie Harrison.

Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information ( e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter “N/A” in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

A copy of the Action Proponents' Incidental Take Authorization (ITA) application and supporting documents, as well as a list of the references cited in this document, may be obtained online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​national/​marine-mammal-protection/​incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ).